ST JOSEPH’S JOURNAL Volume 53 No: 34
CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION & SAINT JOSEPH
23 ST JOHN’S STREET, HERTFORD SG14 1RX
Email: hertford@rcdow.org.uk
Parish Priest: Canon Terence Phipps Tel: 01992 582109
DATE: 19 September 2021
TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
The page numbers for the prayers for this Sunday’s Mass are at the front of The Parish Mass Book. Please note that there is a Loop system in the Church.
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THE VIEW FROM THE PRESBYTERY
Life comes back very slowly to something approaching normal, but we still have to be careful. We have removed the white ribbons and yellow crosses from the benches, but we ask you to continue to wear face covering in church and to spread out as much as possible. You are asked to continue using the hand sanitisers at the door of the church and the church hall, and we have kept the arrows on the floor to remind people of the one-way system for communion. We shall not have congregational singing for a bit, and the choir will probably begin their work in a few weeks as long as the numbers of people infected seems manageable.
You will see two baskets of rather unfamiliar gadgets at the church entrance and in the cloister. These are “Harry’s Hangies” and are to be used on public transport (and elsewhere) when you would want to avoid touching surfaces. The notices near the baskets give a good idea of how they work, and you are free to take them if you wish. They were designed and produced by one of our younger parishioners, Harry Jordan, who is just about to go to Nottingham University to study mechanical engineering. We wish him all the best at the university, thank him for offering these gadgets free of charge, and congratulate him for the award he received for the design of the hangies.
We still need money counters to count the weekend collection and I would encourage people to think about whether they could be governors of St Joseph’s School. If you think you could manage either of these tasks, please give your name and contact details to me and I will try to sort things out.
We started to have tea and coffee after the 10.30 Mass on Sunday last week, but very few people attended (three to be precise!). Could I encourage people to enjoy this facility and could I also encourage people to sign up on the list in the church, to indicate their willingness to join the people on the rota for making tea and coffee. It is not an onerous task.
With all the schools back, I draw your attention to the notices about Open Evenings at St John Henry Newman and St Mary’s. Always keep the schools in your prayers. The new St Francis Academy, of which our own St Joseph’s School is a member, certainly needs our prayers and is a very exciting initiative.
As always: keep safe; keep smiling; keep going! We are not completely out of the woods yet, so please be careful in what you do. In particular, please use masks in church. I know they can be a bit of a nuisance, but they have – along with the vaccination programme – been very helpful in reducing infection
God Bless – Fr Terry
POPE’S INTENTION SEPTEMBER
September An Environmentally Sustainable Lifestyle We pray that we all will make courageous choices for a simple and environmentally sustainable lifestyle, rejoicing in our young people who are resolutely committed to this.
IF YOU GO IN TO HOSPITAL: Catholics in hospital are unlikely to receive an automatic visit from the Catholic Chaplain. If someone is sick in hospital, please let us know here at the Presbytery, and/or ask the staff on the ward, so that your loved one can be visited whilst in hospital, and receive Holy Communion and any other Sacraments from the Chaplain
FIRST COMMUNION 2021/22
If you would like your child/ren to prepare for First Communion, please write to Fr Terry or Mrs Walker stating their name, address, date of birth, place of baptism and the school they attend. All candidates must be in year 3 or above. Classes will start on Tuesday 9th November from 4-5pm in the church hall.
THE LOBSTER POT LUNCH: Starting on Friday 15 October at 12.45pm in the church hall. Lunches cost £15 for a three course meal, glass of wine, coffee and chocolates. Menus to follow in the cloister. If you would like to come along please sign the board on the table in the cloister
MASS ON TUESDAY will be at 10am and not at 12.15pm due to a Deanery meeting. Sorry for any inconvenience.
ON SEPTEMBER 25 GERRY STEYAERT AND HIS YOUNGEST DAUGHTER AMY ARE TAKING PART IN THE THREE PEAKS CHALLENGE to raise funds for the mental Health charity Mind. The challenge is to attempt to climb the three highest mountains in Great Britain (Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowden) in 24 hours. Mind was founded in 1946 and have done and continue to raise awareness and provide advice and support on mental health issues. Any sponsorship that you can provide for this very worthwhile cause will be greatly appreciated. Sponsorship can be sent to Mind through the following Virgin Money Giving pages:
https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GerrySteyaert https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AmySteyaert
ROSARY GROUP: Come and join us in the church on Tuesday evenings at 7pm for recital of the Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.
RECENTLY BAPTISED:
Harry Hansford & Zachary Sandford Green and Alfie Oates
MOTHER & TODDLER GROUP on Fridays at 9.30-11.00am. All are welcome.
MASS INTENTIONS
Saturday:
6.00pm: Laurie Carroll (RIP Anni)
Sunday: 25th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
8.30am: Rose & Philip Murphy (RIP)
10.30am: People of the Parish
6.00pm: Fr Philip Miller (Ints)
Monday:
10.00am: Tony McColgan (RIP)
Tuesday:
10.00am: Ned Byrne (RIP)
Wednesday:
10.00am: Julian Brotherton (Ints)
Friday:
12.15pm: Alice McCarthy (Ints)
Saturday:
6.00pm: Birdie Leahy (RIP)
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at 5pm and benediction at 5.45pm
RECENTLY DECEASED:
Vincenzo Tuzzeo, Victoria Evans