MEETING ON THE OUTCOME OF THE FIRST PART OF THE SYNOD
Webmaster • December 11, 2023
TUESDAY 12th DECEMBER, AT 6.00pm, IN THE OLDE FORGE CAFÉ
You probably remember that, over a year ago now, we held two extremely well-attended meetings in preparation for a Synod of the whole Catholic Church throughout the world which was called by Pope Francis. The aim of the Synod is to review the way our Church lives and proclaims the Good News of God’s saving love, in the world today. Thanks to the very good work of Marian and Lorenza, who were our Parish representatives for the Synod in our Archdiocese, we made a number of suggestions and comments, in the light of the discussions at our two meetings. These were forwarded to the Archdiocese and in turn formed part of the Archdiocesan report in preparation for the Synod. Our own Archbishop John was one of the three Bishops from England and Wales who represented the United Kingdom in the one-month meeting of the world-wide Synod itself in Rome which recently ended. Archbishop John has written a report and given his reflections on this first part of the Synod. The second part will be next year, after the whole Church throughout the world has had a chance to pray and ponder the outcome of the first part. I had the pleasure, last week, of being with the Archbishop when he spoke about the Synod and what it has produced so far. I’d very much like to share with you what he spoke of and of what the Synod has so far achieved and listen to your views. I’ll then be able to feed back to Archbishop John exactly what we think and what we hope for. Please come to this hour-long meeting so that we can all play a prayerful, reflective part in shaping our future church, built on truth and love. The Holy Spirit who guides the Church has often spoken through people like you and I, in the last two thousand years. What you feel and what you say must be spoken and must be heard.
OCTOBER 3/4: 5pm Claire; 10.30am Chinwe 10/11: 5pm Richard; 10.30am Marian 17/18: 5pm Phil; 10.30am Patricia 24/25: 5pm Collette; 10.30am Giannina 31: 5pm Mike 1st November: 10.30am Chris
Thank you so much to all for your excellent work in the Evangelisation Cafe. Please everyone, let’s double our efforts to fulfil what the Lord asks of each of us, by being involved in God’s work of bringing others to know the Lord Jesus in his Church. We can do this really well by inviting and accompanying members of our families, our friends and neighbours to our Evangelisation Cafe.
All Bishops and Priests are encouraged to take three weekends, each Summer, for a rest from their normal duties. I haven’t been very good at doing this, in the past! The Archbishop, leading by his own good example, strongly urges his fellow Bishops and Priests to do so. Priests who work in parishes that are blessed to have more than one priest, are more easily able to take three weekends away by sharing each other’s duties. Our African and Indian priests serving in this diocese are able to visit their families overseas. I have just taken three weekends away from our parish for a good rest. I felt able to do this because of the many laypeople in our parish who give of their time and energy and take responsibility, even when I am away from the parish, to support so much of what we d o in our parish. Thank you so much for your wonderful support for me and for all that we do together to build God’s Kingdom, to: Our Pastoral Assistant, Secretary, Safeguarding Representative, Eucharistic Ministers, Lectors, Hosts, Bakers, Servers, Church Cleaners, Flower Arrangers, Health and Safety and Gardening and Maintenance Team and everyone who helps in any way.
If you are not a Catholic Christian but you are open to hearing a little bit about our Faith, please register your interest by printing your name and address and phone number on the sheet you will find in the porch of the church. Please talk to me in person or send me an Email, or call me on the phone, and we can get together for a chat. Shortly, we will be starting a small discussion group to explore our Catholic Faith but in a very relaxed, informal way. Our first meeting will be on Thursday 22nd October at 7.00pm in Parish Room.
If you are an adult or at least a teenager and haven’t yet received the great Sacrament of Confirmation for whatever reason, please register for our Course of Preparation for this Sacrament. We will welcome Bishop Gerard to our parish on Sunday 7th February 2027 when we will celebrate together the Sacrament of Confirmation, during our 10.30am holy Mass. We will begin our Course of Preparation for this Sacrament on Saturday 24th October at 11.00am in our Parish Room. Whatever be your age, whether you be at least a teenager or someone in later life, this Sacrament is for you so that your Faith will grow stronger. You will find a Registration list in the porch of the church. Please print your name, address and contact ‘phone number on the list.
3/4: 5pm Phil; 10.30am Margaret, Simone, Mary(H) 10/11: 5pm Paul Donovan; 10.30am Giannina, Regina, Gaberielle(H) 17/18: 5pm Patrick; 10.30am Paul Mould, Lorenza, Ross(H) 24/25: 5pm Lizzie; 10.30am Patricia, Maggie, Marian(H) 31: 5pm David 1st November 10.30am Angela, Margaret, Phil(H) Thank you to our wonderful Ministers of the Eucharist who have accepted the Lord’s invitation to this awesome, sacred ministry, by their willingness to give up their own plans and convenience in order to do God’s will rather than their own. Let us pray for them because they too fight the same personal weaknesses we all have to fight against and they too have to fight the same temptations we all have to fight. God be with them.
Dear Sisters and Brothers who share in this privileged, sacred ministry, please meet with me on Saturday 17th October at 10.30am for a period of silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, in our church. Following 30 minutes of silent prayer, we will then move to the Parish Room for a short meeting to reflect on the gift of this awesome ministry, finishing before 12.00 midday. Dear members of our parish, please pray for all our Eucharistic Ministers that they themselves may become increasingly like the Lord Jesus who calls them to follow him in a closer and closer way.
We begin again our special liturgy for children during Sunday holy Mass, next Sunday. Dear Parents please encourage your children who attend Primary Schools, to take part in their own liturgy, each Sunday, during the School Terms. Please do your best to come on time for our 10.30 holy Mass so that the children have plenty of time for their own, very special way of understanding the love of the Lord, through the wonderful work of our Catechists.
23rd OCTOBER at 5.00pm We will shortly begin our parish-based Parents and Children programme of preparation for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist. Dear Parents, please register your children for the Course of Preparation for these two great Sacraments which is shortly to begin. You will find a Registration list in the porch of the church. Please print your own name, address, contact phone number and your child’s name. The first meeting for parents and children will be on Friday evening, the 23rd of October, at 5.00pm in the Parish Room. At this meeting, I’ll explain the details of the Course to you and we will fix the dates for First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion in 2027. Please note that the children must be at least 7 years of age.
OLDE FORGE CAFE BAKERS/PROVIDERS ROTA OCTOBER 2026 3: Ros S 10: Caroline 17: Helen M 24: Vanessa 31: Kinga Please, if possible, could you provide enough cakes for the whole of each week. Thank you to everybody who is helping to provide cakes. To avoid having too many cakes, Coral mentioned to me that non-perishable cakes can be safely stored in the Cafe for a short while. When it is your turn to provide a non-perishable cake, please bring your cake to the Cafe a few days before the date of your turn. OLDE FORGE CAFE - HOSTS ROTA OCTOBER 2026 3: Phil, Maggie Bowes 4: Giannina, Marian 6: Maggie Bailey, Collette 10: Jim, Lorenza 11: Collette, Lesley 13: Patricia, Ros 17: Lizzie, Simone 18: Mary, Emmanuela 20: Gabrielle L, Lorenza 24: Regina, Patricia 25: Giannina, Ros 27: Paul, Marian 31: David, Vanessa Please note that for each of the above dates when the Cafe is open, one of the two Hosts has been trained in the use of the new coffee machine. Please would that trained person be the only person operating the machine and also please train the other person in its use. Many thanks. Thank you to everybody who acts as a Host. If an unexpected emergency occurs on the date you are scheduled to be a Host, please don’t worry about the Cafe. No need to try to find someone to ‘stand in’ for you. There is no need whatsoever to ‘swop’ with someone! We are not a Business, having to stay open to make money! - we open when and if we can. We take this role of ‘Host’ as a Vocation from the Lord to be his Missionary and his Prophet. Actually, the Cafe has, at times, functioned well with just one Host. The success of our Evangelisation Cafe depends on us. The more we speak to others of our Cafe, inviting them to visit us, the more successful it will be. Please invite members of your families, your friends, your neighbours and colleagues. Please check when it is your turn to be a Host (or a Baker!). Please see this role as a Calling, a Vocation from the Lord which you are generously telling the Lord you will do”. Thank you so much for your trust in the good Lord
