Welcome to the Catholic parish of March and Chatteris.
The Parish of Our Lady of Good Counsel & St Peter
8 St Johns Road, March, PE15 8RJ
Diocese of East Anglia. Registered Charity Number 278742
Serving the communities of March, Chatteris, Manea, Wimblington & Doddington
Sunday 22nd May 2022
Lectionary: Sundays Yr C Weekdays Cycle II Week 2
Sat 21st
6 pm Mass First Mass of Sunday (For all mankind)
Sunday 22nd May 6th Sunday of Easter
9 am Mass Chatteris Parish Church
11 am Mass March (People of the Parish)
Mon 23rd No Mass
Tue 24th No Mass
Wed 25th St Bede the Venerable 10 am Mass (The souls of priests and religious)
Thur 26th The Ascension of the Lord. Solemnity
12 pm Mass (People of the Parish)
7 pm Mass
Fri 27th St Augustine of Canterbury
10 am Mass and Adoration (Unbelievers)
Sat 28th
6 pm Mass First Mass of Sunday (Faithful souls)
Sunday 29th May 7th Sunday of Easter
World Communications Day
9 am Mass Chatteris Parish Church
11 am Mass March (People of the Parish)
Mon 30th No Mass
Tue 31st The Visitation of the BVM 10 am Mass
Wed 1st June St Justin 10 am Mass
Thur 2nd 10 am Mass
Fri 3rd St Charles Lwanga & Comps
10 am Mass and Adoration
Sat 4th
6 pm Mass First Mass of Sunday
Sunday 5th June Pentecost Sunday. Solemnity
9 am Mass Chatteris Parish Church
11 am Mass March (People of the Parish)
Confessions are available before Mass.
Please pray for those who are sick or housebound in March and Chatteris Parish:
Fr Ivan Weston, Carol Campey, Estelle Misso, Gerard Bourne, Jack Pettingill, Claire Reynolds, Mary Fabriz, Margaret Griffiths, Beryl Dow, Anna Sullivan, and all those who are known to us.
We also remember those whose anniversaries occur at this time: Jason O’Grady, Maria Fiore, Maria Saporito, Jeanie German, Nicholas Harding, John Fosbueary, Kathleen Bull, Michael Moore, John Jones, Maria Vanderwyden, Rose Tubbs and Keith Edmonds.
News and Events
Please join us again for teas and coffees in the hall after 11 am Mass each Sunday.
Below is a transcript of the letter from Bishop Alan Hopes to be read out at the Masses on 21 & 22 May 2022
RC DIOCESE OF EAST ANGLIA
The Right Reverend Bishop Alan S Hopes B.D. A.K.C.
Bishop of East Anglia
eMail: bishop@rcdea.org.uk
Registered Charity No. 278742
A PASTORAL LETTER
FROM
THE BISHOPS OF ENGLAND & WALES
TO BE READ OUT AT ALL MASSES IN THE DIOCESE
ON THE WEEKEND 21 & 22 MAY 2022
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
At our recent meeting, the Bishops of England and Wales prepared a
statement marking the end of the provisions regarding the Sunday
Mass Obligation which were made two years ago at the beginning of
the Covid pandemic. Now that the reasons for those provisions have
lessened significantly, they will end as from June 5th as we celebrate the
Solemnity of Pentecost.
I have asked for our message to be read out to you this weekend and
for it to be made widely available for others to read. Our message is an
encouraging one – it is a message of invitation asking us to renew our
fundamental Christian duty of attending Mass on Sundays and Holy
Days.
Returning to Mass at Pentecost
An invitation from the Bishops of England and Wales
This is the bread come down from heaven (John 6:58)
A beautiful hallmark of the Catholic faith is the profound desire to
participate in the Holy Mass and share in the Eucharist. We do so with deep
gratitude and joy. The Eucharist gives the Church her identity – “The
Eucharist makes the Church, and the Church makes the Eucharist.” It
enables us to worship Almighty God, to support each other on our journey
of faith, and to be a visible sign of faith in the world. This hallmark is
supported and strengthened by the precept that our fundamental Christian
duty is to worship God by participating in the celebration of Mass.
Attending Mass on Sundays and Holy Days is the greatest of all privileges,
sometimes referred to as “the Sunday Obligation.”
Since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, until the present time, we have
shared with you our judgment that the situation of the last two years has
meant that the Sunday Obligation has been impeded and has needed to be
fulfilled in other ways. We thank God that this situation has now changed.
The pressing challenges of the pandemic have lessened significantly. Most
people have resumed the wide range of normal activities, no longer
restricted by the previous Covid measures. We therefore believe that the
reasons which have prevented Catholics from attending Mass on Sundays
and Holy Days of Obligation no longer apply.
We understand there will still be some members of our congregations who,
for reasons of health, do not feel safe enough to return to Mass. It has
always been the understanding of the Church that when the freedom of any
Catholic to attend Mass in person is impeded for a serious reason, because
of situations such as ill health, care for the sick or legitimate fear, this is not
a breach of the Sunday Obligation.
Our Catholic people and parishes have benefitted during these difficult
times from the online streaming of Mass and other services. “Virtual
viewing” of Mass online does not fulfil the Sunday Obligation. It may,
however, be a source of continual spiritual comfort to those who cannot
attend Mass in person, for example those who are elderly and sick, for
whom the obligation does not apply. In this context, we recognise
gratefully the ministry of those who administer Holy Communion to the
elderly, sick and housebound.
We are grateful to our clergy, religious and lay faithful who have served
our parishes, schools and communities with dedication and distinction
throughout this pandemic. Now we look forward with renewed faith and
confidence.
In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Lord’s Supper, the Lord Jesus
entrusted to us the precious gift of Himself. With humility, we glory in
being a Eucharistic people for whom attendance at Mass is essential.
Looking forward to the forthcoming feast of Pentecost, we now invite all
Catholics who have not yet done so to return to attending Mass in person.
As the Church needs the witness of the presence of each person, so too each
believer needs to journey in faith and worship with their fellow disciples.
Nourished by our encounter with the Risen Lord Jesus, fed with His Word
and His Body and Blood in Holy Communion, and supported by the
presence of each other, we receive strength week by week, to serve the
Lord and glorify Him with our lives.
Approved by the Plenary Assembly of the Bishops’ Conference
Friday 6th May 2022.
Wednesday Evening Prayer: You are warmly invited to join us for Evening Prayer on Zoom, every Wednesday at 5.00 pm for 5.15 pm. Please feel free to pass on this email address to request a zoom link from Sr Mary: maryfitzpatrick1623@gmail.com
Next Saturday 4th June – 5 pm First Communion Preparation
Party for Pentecost!
You are invited to a garden tea party at Pentecost
Sunday 5th June 2022
(Jubilee Bank Holiday Sunday)
3pm-5pm
14 Regent Avenue, March, PE15 8LN
Helping victims of Russian aggression in the Ukraine
St Olga Ukrainian Catholic Church in Peterborough is grateful for the generous donations from parishioners of Our Lady of Good Counsel.
The supplies will be sent on their 15th Lorry for the Ukraine. See below for goods required.
There are boxes in the porch next to the Food Bank box.
Survival Equipment
Portable stoves Batteries, (AA and AAA), Flash lights and torches, sleeping bags, thermos flasks, polystyrene cups, disposable tableware
Medical Products
Antiseptic cream
First Aid kits
Hygiene Products
Soap bars, flannels, sanitary products, hand gel , razor blades, toothpaste, toothbrushes
Nurofen tablets
Baby formula
Nappies and adult pads
Food supplies (no glass containers
Meal replacements
Non perishable food – pre-packaged meals, tinned food, dried fruit, nuts, tea / coffee sachets, small juice or squash boxes
Hosting refugees
Rosmini Centre will help with enquiries and sponsoring
Contacts:
Rosmini Centre
69a Queens Rd Wisbech PE13 2PH
01945 474422
rcw_manager@btconnect.com
Advice on how you can help people caught up in the war in Ukraine is available from the Catholic Social Action Network at https://www.csan.org.uk/ukraine/
Our Lady of Good Counsel March
From the March Food Bank;
A very big and heartfelt thank you to all those who donated all the wonderful cleaning materials! They will keep them going for many months!
There will be a basic list of things needed near the food box in the church foyer. Donate when you can. All help is gratefully received.
And once again, Thank you.
Volunteers wanted: We are looking for volunteers male or female, young or old to help out at our Church now and again. Gardening, painting and odd jobs. We would like to develop a work party where we can meet up as and when needed.
Please contact Mary Anne 07435 145168. Lesley 01354 680401 mob.07947143864 or please give Father Nicholas your name and contact details. Thank you.
Readers required for Mass: If you are happy to read at the 6pm or 11am Masses, please email marchrcnewsletter@gmail.com or contact Fr Nicholas.
Financial Matters
Gift Aid envelopes are available at the back of the church. Please notify us if you are unable to collect yours.
The Parish have changed their bank. For donations to the parish, please use the following details:
Bank; NatWest Bank
Account Name: Our Lady’s RC Church
Sort Code 53 – 81 – 42
Account Number 86729101
Please add your name in the reference box
Please make cheques payable to ‘Our Lady’s RC Church’
We are still carrying a large debt on our hall (funded by a Diocese loan) and whilst our outgoings are relatively light at the moment our main source of income is the weekly offertory which is obviously well down.
The offertory is to support your Priest, the church and the poor.
Many will be struggling or have lost work at this time, so no one should feel under any pressure or obligation. However, if you can, please consider setting up a Standing Order monthly into our Bank Account – you can cancel at any time needed. Or you can send one-off donations direct if you bank online:
Synod on Synodality
What does it mean ?
“Synod” come from two Greek words meaning “ a way together” . It has come to mean a business meeting in the Church. There can be a synod in a diocese when a bishop meets with his priests and others to make practical arrangements. In these gatherings the participants are not like MP’s – they advise and recommend the bishop on his decisions.
The Pope also meets regularly with groups of bishops from all over the world. There have recently been such meetings on marriage and family issues and on the particular problems of the Amazon region of South America. Again the bishops discuss and recommend and the Pope takes any decisions.
In 2023 a “Synod on Synodality” is proposed. The Pope wants the whole church to make recommendations about how things can be done in a more open way involving many more people. To prepare for this he is asking people to meet in every diocese and parish.
To guide us we have 10 questions to look at. Our thoughts will be passed to a team in the diocese and then collated nationally to be presented at the Synod of Bishops planned for 2023.
What are we going to do ?
Take a copy of the 10 questions home, look at it, have your thoughts, discuss it in your home. Alternatively click on the picture below to complete the questionnaire online:
Synodal Pathway
https://www.rcdea.org.uk/synodal-pathway/
It has been decided that livestreamed Masses from Our Lady of Good Counsel will no longer be transmitted. Please see the list of live streamed Masses here: https://www.cbcew.org.uk/home/our-work/health-social-care/coronavirus-guidelines/online-mass-directory/
CATHOLIC CHURCH
ENGLAND AND WALES
Click Live Catholic Mass online to visit https://www.cbcew.org.uk/ for an online directory of churches in England and Wales streaming Catholic Mass live online. You may enter a post code to see Masses in your area.
Daily Masses will be live streamed from St John’s Cathedral every day at 10am. You can watch all of these Masses at: www.sjbcathedral.org.uk
St. Luke’s https://twitter.com/saintlukesbull
Link from parish website saintlukesparish.org.uk
https://www.facebook.com/105785057750972/live/
Walsingham https://www.walsingham.org.uk/live-stream/
And also churchservices.tv has Masses from all over Britain and Ireland.
Children’s Liturgy Websites (They can be accessed via google search engine)
Children’s Liturgy-Cathedral-St Marie’s Cathedral
Sermons4Kids
Cafod – Children’s Liturgy
Diocese of Westminster Children’s Liturgy
Catholicmom.com
For craft orientated sites, see Catholic Inspired and Catholic Icing
Sunday Liturgy for Children
Also some hymns –
You have called us (with lyrics) – You Tube By Bernadette Farrell
Shepherd Me, O God – You Tube By Marty Haugen:
Here I am Lord (with lyrics) – YouTube: by Eric Tom
One Bread, One Body with lyrics.wmv You tube
Dial A Mass opportunity: Telephone Sunday Mass from St Mary’s cathedral, Middlesborough is being offered by Middleborough diocese.
The Mass is recorded at 12noon on Sunday and is available once it’s been uploaded so after 1pm is best. It is then available all week.
The number to call is 01642 130120. Calls are charged at local rate and free if in your included minutes.
Rebecca tried it and you can hear it hands free with your speaker volume up so a couple can listen together.
Foodbank: As we can’t do our usual monthly collection for the Foodbank in church, if you are able to do so please consider adding an item if you are shopping in Tesco, Sainsburys, Iceland, Badgeney Road Co-op and direct to the Foodbank on Monday mornings (10:30-11:30). Both stores have collection boxes which are emptied weekly. The Foodbank continue to distribute supplies to about 25 families a week in March and the surrounding areas. All donations gratefully received but they are short of uht milk, coffee, peas, carrots, mashed potato, and even baked beans at the moment. Also household items and toiletries; bleach, washing up liquid, shampoo, toothpaste, and shower gel.
If you or someone you know is in difficulties at this time, it may help to know that March Foodbank is open 1pm – 2.30pm on Tuesdays at Centenary Baptist Church in the High St in March. Just turn up to speak to someone.
Parish Contacts
• Parish Priest: Fr Nicholas Kearney 01354 650788 email: marchcatholicpriest@gmail.com
• Deacon: Rev Martin Wells 01354 741488 email: mwells42@btinternet.com
• Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (fmm) 01354 652266
• Newsletter: Please submit items for consideration to: marchrcnewsletter@gmail.com
• All Saints Inter-Church Academy Primary, County Road March 01354 659000
• Please visit the Parish website for the latest updates: https://www.catholicchurchmarch.co.uk/
May God bless you and keep you safe this week