ST JOSEPH’S JOURNAL Volume 52 No: 39
CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION & SAINT JOSEPH
23 ST JOHN’S STREET, HERTFORD SG14 1RX
https://parish.rcdow.org.uk/hertford
Email: hertford@rcdow.org.uk
Parish Priest: Canon Terence Phipps Tel: 01992 582109
DATE: 25 October 2020
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
The retiring collection for Cafod two weeks ago made a total of £399.80, so thank you very much for that. I shall leave the Cafod envelopes out for this weekend and if there are any more donations they can be posted through the presbytery letter box in the Cafod envelopes. Many thanks for your contributions and please keep on with the donations of clothing (especially children’s clothing) and of food for the Food Bank. A lot of people are in need at the moment, so anything we can do to help is very much appreciated.
This weekend we shall celebrate the First Holy Communion Masses we couldn’t do in June. It will be a rather different celebration from usual, with all the restrictions in place, but we wanted to give the children, who have worked so hard to prepare for the sacrament, the chance to have some celebration as they receive the Lord for the first time. Please keep them in your prayers over this momentous weekend, and in the future.
Next Saturday and Sunday we shall celebrate All Saints Day and plunge into November. We shall have the usual casket at the Pietà for any names of people you want prayed for and the lists and envelopes will be kept on the table in the cloister. Please just post the envelopes through the presbytery door and leave an offering if you wish. We shall have Masses for the Holy Souls throughout the month and pray for the dead after each weekday Mass. On Monday 2 November we celebrate All Souls Day and will do the usual Blessing of the Graves at North Road Cemetery. We shall have to keep socially distant as we do this, so we shouldn’t really be a huge group, but we shall certainly pray for those who have died and commend them to the Lord.
I need to give you advance warning of a hospital procedure that I have to have on 23 November at the Rivers Hospital. The 23rd is a Monday and I will have to have a Covid test on the previous Friday and then keep isolated over the weekend. We have begun to look for priests who might be able to say the Masses over those two days and I shall keep you posted. It is never easy to find clergy who are free at the weekend, especially at short notice, but let’s hope we can manage. There is never an ideal date for medical procedures, so I had to take what was offered and I hope it all goes well. I should be back on duty very quickly.
As I mentioned last week, I don’t quite know how Christmas will be celebrated this year with all the restrictions of social distancing and a ban on congregational singing. I am also not sure how we can avoid being overwhelmed by the numbers we normally get now that we have a maximum of 50 people at each Mass. I would just urge people to be patient and to realise that things are not going to be the same as in previous years. Many thanks for your cooperation.
God Bless – Fr Terry
POPE’S INTENTION OCTOBER:
The Laity’s Mission in the Church
We pray that by the virtue of baptism, the laity, especially women, may participate more in areas of responsibility in the Church.
NHS APP FOR TRACK & TRACE: Places of worship and halls are now expected to display a QR code which people can use to ‘check in’ and which will be used by Test & Trace. Please scan the QR code when you arrive, using the NHS COVID-19 app. If you do not have a smart phone please do not worry, we will continue to ask for your name and contact details. Consent is required for your details to be taken and recorded, however, registration in this way is not mandatory. It is to assist the tracking of people to prevent the spread of the virus. Posters with the QR code can be found on the notice boards and in the hall.
ONLINE DONATIONS TO OUR CHURCH:
Westminster Roman Catholic Diocese Trustee Hertford as the account name.
Account number 21263242
Sort code: 40-05-20
Many parishioners are now using Standing Order to donate their weekly/monthly offerings THANK YOU! If you would like to do the same, the forms are available on the website to download.
IF YOU WRITE A CHEQUE TO THE PARISH please can you make payable to WRCDT Hertford. Thank you.
CHRISTMAS STALLS: There will be a stall selling advent calendars, advent candles and other Christmas items after all Masses on the weekends of 31 October and 1 November, 14 & 15 November and 28 & 29 November. They will be held in the large room of the church hall.
TO OUR CATHOLIC UNIVERSE AND CATHOLIC TIMES READERS IN THE PARISH: – at the moment you are unable to collect your paper at Mass, but you can get it delivered direct to your home every week, POST FREE. Please go to www.thecatholicuniverse.com
BOOKING YOUR PLACE AT MASS: Please book your place in advance and arrive in plenty of time so that you can sanitise your hands and be seated by our Stewards. If you have not booked, then unfortunately you will not be guaranteed a place. Please inform the Parish Office if you are unable to attend Mass after you have booked a seat, so that the space can be offered to another Parishioner. In response to Government guidance and for your safety, we are asking for your contact details so that individuals can be notified in the event of any suspected Covid-19 case. Your details will be kept for 21 days following each Mass to enable us to provide details to the trace & test system should an outbreak occur. Full details of the Privacy Notice can be found at www.rcdow.org.uk/privacy-policy
RECENTLY DECEASED: Philomena Carey
Mass Intentions
Saturday:
10.00am: Private Intention
6.00pm: First Holy Communion Children
Sunday: 30th Sunday of the Year
10.30am: First Holy Communion Catechists
6.00pm: People of the Parish
Monday:
10.00am: Shelagh Stacey (RIP)
Tuesday:
10.00am: Mary & Charles Rafter (RIP Anni)
Wednesday: Ss Simon & Jude
10.00am: In Honour of & Thanksgiving to St Jude
Thursday: Blessed Martyrs of Douai College
7.30am: Martin Ward (RIP)
Friday:
10.00am:
Saturday:
10.00am: Private Intention
6.00pm: People of the Parish