ST JOSEPH’S JOURNAL Volume 53 No: 39
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: 24 October 2021 THIRTIETH 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
This weekend we have our First Holy Communion celebrations, one Mass on Saturday afternoon at 2.30 and one on Sunday at 10.30. The 35 children who will receive Holy Communion for the first time have worked very hard over the last few months to prepare for this moment, and I would ask you to keep them in your prayers. They are a great credit to their families and to the parish and we wish them well for the future. The next group of children will start their preparations on Tuesday 9 November.
Also, this weekend, we celebrate World Mission Sunday, which this year is focusing on the difficult and dangerous situation in parts of Nigeria. We shall remember that intention in our prayers and there will be a retiring collection for the work of Missio, which concentrates on the world-wide missionary activity of the Church. You are also asked to bring in any of the red Missio boxes, which many people keep at home, so that they may be counted. They can be left in the sacristy, and I thank you for all your contributions.
Envelopes are available for the November Dead List. You can write the names of those you wish to pray for (with a donation if you wish) and these names will be kept in the casket near the Pietà, and masses will be said for the Holy Souls during the month of November.
We have had a bit of trouble just recently with a group of young people who have misbehaved in the church and the garden in the late afternoon. To counter this, we shall have to lock the church earlier than usual for a while and I apologise for any inconvenience caused.
I would like to thank all those who came to the meeting last Wednesday about the preparations for the Synod in Rome in 2023. There were some interesting points made and these will need to be thought and prayed about. We shall need to have other meetings so as to welcome different groups of parishioners and I suggest Wednesday 17 November at 7pm in the hall for our next one. It may not be possible for many people, but trying to find slots in a busy diary is never easy. It would be wonderful if we could hear from people who have not had much to do with the Church for some time. It would be good to listen to them to know why they have left the practice of the Faith and perhaps find some strategies for welcoming people back. Let’s see if we can be guided by the Holy Spirit into a renewed and revitalized membership of the Body of Christ, which the Church sometimes struggles to be.
There are three social events which we might find appealing this month. On Friday evening, 12 November, there will be birthday celebrations in the hall; on Friday 19 November there will be the Lobster Pot lunch and on Tuesday 30 November there will be the Advent Lunch. More details about these will be given in due course, but please sign the lists on the chest at the back of the church.
As always: keep safe; keep smiling; keep going! Wear masks in church and keep your hands clean.
God Bless – Fr Terry
POPE’S INTENTION OCTOBER
Missionary Disciples – We pray that every baptized person may be engaged in evangelization, available to the mission, by being witnesses of a life that has the flavor of the Gospel.
IF YOU GO IN TO HOSPITAL: 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.
MOTHER & TODDLER GROUP on Fridays at 9.30-11.00am. All are welcome.
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.
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: Friday 19 November at 12.45pm in the church hall. Lunches cost £15 for a three course meal, glass of wine, coffee and chocolates. Please call Sue on 07711 584 517.
FUNERAL MASS FOR PEGGY STEVENS will take place on Friday 29 October at 2pm. May she rest in eternal peace.
CHRISTMAS STALLS: During November we will be selling Advent Calendars, diaries and many other Christmas items. The stall will be held after the weekend Masses.
Friday 12 November from 7pm there will be a BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION in the church hall for FR TERRY. If you would like to come along and bring a plate of something, please sign the board on the table in the cloister.
ADVENT LUNCH on Tuesday 30 November, in the church hall after the 12.15 Mass. If you would like to come along please sign the board on the table in the cloister.
‘THE HUNTED PRIEST: FR JOHN GERAD SJ, THE ENGLISH MISSION AND THE GUNPOWDER PLOT’ Thursday 11 November, 8pm at St Andrew’s Church Centre, St Andrew’s Street, Hertford.
Michael Maslinski will be giving a talk about the extraordinary life of his ‘ten greats’ uncle, Fr John Gerard, to Hertford and Ware Local History Society. All are welcome. Tickets are £3 on the door.
RECENTLY BAPTISED
Evelyn Grace O’Malley
MASS INTENTIONS
Saturday:
6.00pm: Fr George Kallungal (RIP)
Sunday: 30th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
8.30am: People of the Parish
10.30am: First Holy Communion Children
6.00pm: Baby Sophia Hlanzi (RIP)
Monday:
10.00am:Roger & Shelagh Stacey (RIP)
Tuesday:
12.15pm: Mary Josephine Baldwin (RIP)
Wednesday:
10.00am: Mary Shevlane & Family (Ints)
Friday: Blessed Martyrs of Douai College
12.15pm: Celia Rochford (RIP)
Saturday:
6.00pm: Kevin & Dorothy Mullen (RIP)
Confessions: 10-10.30am & 5-5.40pm
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at 5pm and Benediction at 5.45pm
RECENTLY DECEASED:
Maureen Byrne, Tony Queally, Peggy Stevens