On Friday, 13th October at 7pm, we will have our parish ceilidh in the church hall. While there may be no food provided at the ceilidh, we can offer you a bar and a good dance! Tickets are available in the porch at £2/person or £5/family after Masses over the following weekends. We look forward to seeing you there!
Month: September 2017
St Helen’s Church AGM
Yes, is that’s time of year again and it offers an opportunity to look at what has happened over the past year, think about what we would like to happen in this coming year, and start planning it, will be on the evening of Tuesday 26th September. Reports from the parish groups and ministries will be published shortly. Meanwhile, please book the date.
Welcome!
This weekend, we welcome two people to our church.
Firstly, we welcome Fr Angelo, a Comboni missionary, who has spent much of his apostolate in Egypt. He will be celebrating Mass for us and will tell us about the work his order do in mission territories throughout the world. Please keep him and all who work to spread the Good News of Christ in your prayers.
Secondly, we welcome Zachary Good into the church as he is baptised. We also extend a warm welcome to his parents, godparents, family and friends joining us for this celebration. Please pray for him as he begins his journey with the Lord. If you would like to know more about the Catholic faith, click here.
St Helen’s Church AGM and Report
As many of you are aware, the St Helen’s Annual General Meeting will take place on the 26th September. Here is the letter from Father Kelly and just below it you can download the AGM Report. We look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible on Tuesday 26th September, 2017.
Dear Fellow Parishioners
On Tuesday 26th September, we are all invited to an ‘Annual General Meeting’ of the Parish at 7.00pm. Not an invitation or a title to send us into spasms of excitement!
However, this evening is not planned or proposed as the stiff business affair the title suggests. Rather it is an opportunity for us to celebrate together a year of shared faith, thank and congratulate each other for the prayer, care, and communion we have received and given, if necessary note and seek to iron out individual difficulties or communal problems, and shape together and look forward to the year to come in the Parish.
So yes, a busy evening, but important for us all and for the Parish. To help us prepare, the various parish groups and ministries have produced these reports of the year past. Many thanks to them for the reports, and for the year of Christian work and ministry they relate. Representatives of each group are asked to be present on the evening to answer your questions and hear your comments and suggestions: An opportunity and call to us all to continue and build up the life and mission of our Parish.
Please read and enjoy the reports, and come to discuss and further them and any other Parish issues on Tuesday 26th September at 7.00pm in the Parish Hall.
May God continue to pour out his blessings on us as a Parish, and each of us individually.
John Kelly
Download AGM Report 2017
The Word This Week
It is striking that from Saint Matthew’s 18th chapter, which is on relationships within the community, the Church has chosen this passage. The first part is all about sorting out disagreements and about forgiveness. Despite the presence of Christ in the Christian community, there are disagreements and misunderstandings in every community and every family. The vital thing is to sort them out before they fester. So here we are given a safe process. We also get a reminder that Christ is present always in his community. So the decisions of the community will be considered binding in the sight of God. It is especially striking that the same promise is here given to the Church as had earlier been given to Peter: The authority Peter exercises is that of the whole Church.
Today’s Scripture: (Psalter: Week 3)
Ezekiel 33: 7 – 9
If you do not speak to the wicked man, I will hold you responsible for his death.
Response: Psalm 94.
Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;
hail the rock who saves us.
Let us come before him, giving thanks,
with songs let us hail the lord.
Come in, let us bow and bend low;
let us kneel before the God who made us
for he is our God and we //
the people who belong to his pasture,
the flock that is led by his hand.
O that today you would listen to his voice!
‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the desert //
when your fathers put me to the test;
when they tried me, though they saw my work.’
Romans 13: 8 – 10
Love is the answer to every one of the commandments.
Acclamation for the Gospel:
Alleluia, Alleluia. Alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord,
consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia, Alleluia. Alleluia!
Matthew 18: 15 – 20
If he listens to you, you have won back your brother.
Prayer of the Faithful: R/. Lord, save us all
Read this weekend’s readings here:
Reading 1 – Ezekiel 33:7-9
Psalm – Psalm 95:1-9
Reading 2 – Romans 13:8-10
Gospel – Matthew 18:15-20
A Calling To All
As school starts up again, the Parish also swings into its educative cycle. But we speak of ‘catechesis’, rather than teaching. They are close, but should not be confused. RE is teaching and learning about religion – a subject which doesn’t necessarily demand belief from teacher, or pupil. But Catechesis, such as preparing for the sacraments, or the children’s liturgy of the Word, is something very different: It is faith talking to faith. The faith of the catechist speaks to and stirs up the faith of the children, young people, or adults they work with (and often the other way too). In this way, we are all called to be Catechists for one another in the Parish, and to be Catechised. This is what we will enjoy with Elliot (our seminarian who joins us this year); this is what parents are called to at home; This is what we work at in sacramental preparation; this is the ‘added on’ that our teachers give in our ‘faith schools’; and this is the life of our Parish. Where and how do you share faith now (you might be surprised!)? Where and how could you, or would you like to do more?
A Warm Welcome To Elliot Hanson
St Helen’s would like to extend a warm welcome to Elliot Hanson, seminarian, who comes to spend his fourth year of formation for ministerial priesthood with us. We look forward to what he will bring us of youth, energy, and new thinking, and willingly offer him the experience and joy of Parish life. Please note we are all asked to take part in this ‘formation’: Priesthood is not a job, but a way of life, so Elliot is not learning, we are not teaching – together we are sharing and growing in a way of life and faith. You can read a little more about Elliot’s faith journey on the Archdiocese website.
Cardinal Newman High School 50th Anniversary Mass
The Cardinal Newman High School 50th Anniversary Mass will be celebrated in our church at 6.30pm this Friday, 8th September. All past and present pupils and their families are invited. The School has been a most important agency and formative influence for our Parish, and we are honoured to be asked to host this celebration. We will continue the celebration in the Community Hall after Mass.
