Holy Week and Easter Services

Pope Francis has died at 7.35am on Easter Monday at the age of 88 Requiescat in Pace. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-04/pope-francis-dies-on-easter-monday-aged-88.html

The Jesus of History: Through the Eyes of Luke. We are delighted that the Jesuit Scripture scholar Fr Nicholas King SJ is coming to the deanery to look at the historical Jesus, particularly as presented by St Luke. All are welcome, so do join us to hear of this fascinating subject. Saturday 24th May, 10.00am to 12.30pm at Hedley Lodge, Belmont Abbey.

WOW (Widow or Widowers) group Since 2022 we have steadily grown in numbers and now there are almost twenty of us, aged from 65 to 80+. We meet in the Belmont parish centre on the first Tuesday of the month at 11 O'clock, share a cuppa, cake and friendly chat. We also have some sort of activity, in March it was pancakes (as the meeting fell on shrove Tuesday) supplied by the kitchen at Belmont Abbey, and a quiz. Last month we had a game of “Bird Bingo” which was enjoyed by all. We go for the occasional meal out, the Cider Orchard Restaurant at the college being a particular favourite. In the summer months we have been on outings to local National Trust Properties. We go to parish events as a group meaning there is always someone you know to sit with. As a group we help with the Annual Summer Fete either as stall holders, washer ups or car park attendants. Although based at Belmont Abbey, the group is open to any widow or widowers not just parishioners, several of our members are non-catholic. That said, we always start the meeting with our WOW Prayer,where we particularly remember our loved ones’ anniversaries. New to this year I have also started to do a newsletter for the group. Anyone interested can just turn up on the meeting day or in any further info is required my email is: juliemirfin@btinternet.com . March 25 Newsletter

11th March, 10:30am – Community Coffee Morning, CAB in attendance. 25th March, 10:30am – Community Coffee Morning, CAB in attendance. These coffee mornings will be held regularly on Tuesday mornings every 2 weeks and are open to all. 13th April - Easter Raffle and Easter Hat Parade after Morning Mass. 17th May - Parish Quiz. 13th July – Bring a dish to share, Pimm’s, strawberries and cream. 26th September – MacMillan Coffee Morning. 11th October – Parish Quiz. 18th October – Jumble Sale. 15th November – Christmas Fayre. 7th December – Christmas Lunch, bring a dish to share plus raffle. To be arranged, Bingo, Children’s Film Night, Children’s Quiz.

As part of our ‘Warm Spaces Project’ the parish will be hosting a coffee morning on Tuesday 25th March from 10.30am in the Parish Hall. Representatives from the Citizens Advice Bureau will be in attendance for private consultations. Please do your best to support the coffee morning and bring your friends as holding these community events improves our chance of obtaining Lottery grants and other funding towards our hall renovations. Thereafter, regular coffee mornings will be held on the second Tuesday of the month.

The Holy Father has decided that 2025 will be a year of Jubilee, something which happens every 25 years. The theme is “Pilgrims of Hope” We are all on a pilgrimage towards Heaven, towards ‘sharing the glory of God’, as St Paul puts it. Any pilgrimage or journey is sustained by hope: hope in the destination. We are currently preparing for the Jubilee Year 2025, which Pope Francis has given the theme, Pilgrims of Hope. We might say that this Jubilee Year, and our preparations for it, are another pilgrimage within that great pilgrimage of our faith, one in which we seek to deepen our sense of hope in God’s promises, in ‘sharing the glory of God’. As we look at the world around us, hope is something that is very much needed in these times. We need it, too, in our personal lives, in the lives of our families, and as a virtue cultivated in all of our relationships. It is important that we share the hope we gain in faith, with others, a hope borne of the knowledge of God’s love and the experience of knowing Jesus Christ. Our Year of Preparation for the Jubilee Year is to be a year of prayer, focusing, in particular, on the Lord’s Prayer, in order to foster our relationship with God our Father. This will open us up to receiving the graces and blessings that He wishes to bestow on us during the Jubilee Year…Archbishop Mark O’Toole.

Our small team of volunteers needs more help with the soup lunches on Saturdays from 11.30am to 1.30pm. We serve tea, coffee, soup, bread & butter and biscuits to a small group of regular visitors. It is easy to do, no qualifications are needed except a willingness to be on a flexible rota and chat to those we support. Contact Denise, John or pop along one Saturday to see how it works. Thank you!

Would you like to have a birthday or special occasion celebrated for a friend or family member or Sympathy for the loss of a cherished person? You can have a Mass said for that person on these special occasions or for any other special intention. Grab a Mass Intention envelope and enter the name and date for the Mass you require. Envelopes are available at the rear of the church. You can call or email the parish office at the Presbytery. This is a beautiful and special way to pay tribute to our loved ones. There is no better gift that we can that offer, none more supreme than the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass.

Our parish piety shop is now open for you to browse the wide selection of religious items and cards on offer. Please go and have a look what is on offer and if there is something you want but isn’t there let us know and we can try and order it for you.