PARISH NEWSLETTER FOR ST. JOSEPH’S (MAIDENHEAD)
& ST. ELIZABETH’S (COOKHAM)
Palm Sunday, Year B
There are two parades of Holy Week:
- First into Jerusalem from Bethany on the Sunday and Jesus being acclaimed as a political saviour. People hoped he would triumph, that his followers would put him into power and all hoped he would get rid of the Romans.
- The second, from Jerusalem outside the walls of the city on the following Friday, to Calvary; a man in disgrace. A man carrying his cross, crowned with thorns, mocked, bullied and tortured. And about to be killed. Like the parade to a dishonoured graveside.
Jesus had all sorts of followers – some just hoping for a miracle; some outcasts; some people on the make for themselves, or the ones who stayed till the end, like his mother, an aunt and a few of the followers. The others were at a distance, they would come back, and would follow later to the end. We hope to be in that second parade. Palms are for waving in triumph, then they wither. The cross is forever, for all time. The cross is his love, and as we follow in this parade, we show our willingness to console him in love to the end.
This is a holy week because a man like us, and one of the Trinity, gave his life.
Look at a crucifix and say, ‘what will I do for Christ?’
Lord, by your cross and resurrection, you have set us free;
you are the Saviour of the world.
1st Reading: Isaiah 50:4-7
Psalm: Psalms 21 R/: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
2nd Reading: Philippians 2:6-11
Acclamation: Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory: Christ was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross. But God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all names.
Gospel: Mark 14:1-15:47
Holy Week Schedule
Holy Thursday 28 Mar 8pm Mass of The Lord’s Supper
(St Joseph’s) During the Offertory Procession members of the congregation are welcome to bring non-perishable food/gifts to the altar for those who are poor. A basket is placed at the front of the altar and in the Choir loft
Good Friday 29 Mar
11am Walk of Witness (Providence Place)
11.30am Walk of Witness (St John the Baptist Church, Cookham Dean)
3pm Solemn Liturgy for Good Friday in St Joseph’s
Good Friday Collection: for Christians in the Holy Land. The Pontifical Good Friday Collection supports the Christian community in the Middle East. This last year has been particularly challenging for this small
community which seeks ‘to be the salt, light and leaven of the Gospel’ in the region, often living in difficult circumstances.
Give via Dona or with link below: https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/good-friday-collection-for-christians-in-the-holy-land
Holy Saturday 30 Mar
10am Swieconka: Blessing of Easter baskets (St Joseph’s)
8pm Easter Vigil in St Joseph’s
Easter Sunday 31 Mar Usual Sun mass times
Easter
Collection: The Easter
Collection for our clergy supports Father Ephraim and Father Liam and is both an important opportunity for us to express our gratitude to them for their service, care and guidance – and our Priest relies on this offering to make up a large part of his income for the year. Give via https://tinyurl.com/yukndymw or Dona
Easter Monday 1 Apr 3pm Mass in St Joseph’s
What's happening in Church:
- Order of Mass – in the new hymnbooks, pg 4-10
- Easter & April Magnificats on sale now
- 5 Apr First Fri Healing Mass 10am St Joseph’s + 7pm at St. Edmund Campion
- 14 Apr 2.30-5pm, Bereavement Support Group St Edmund Campion Hall. Come for a cup tea and cake to talk or share with others who are also grieving
- 19 Apr 7.30pm Bingo Night at St Joseph’s Hall. Tickets at £5 from Siobhan 07816445416. Please bring cash for the bar & raffle. Proceeds to Maidenhead SVP.
- 21 Apr Filipino Mass All are welcome!
Magazine We need writers, contributors, photographers for our upcoming Parish Magazine. Please contact the office if you’re interested in helping or advertising!
BABIES TO TEENS PROGRAMMES
23 Mar 11am FHC reconciliation session in Church
2 Apr Baptismal Course at St Joseph’s. Parents: if your child is being baptised in M’head. Please meet one of the parish priests before attending.
27 Apr 4.00pm Confirmation session at St Edmund Pri
Buy your FHC & Confirmation gifts from the Repository now!!
We have a new contactless machine that will accept Gift Aid! You only have to input your details ONCE and ALL future donations with the same card will be Gift-Aided!
To reduce repeating information in the printed newsletter, we have printed hand-bag/ wallet-friendly information packs and placed them at the entrance/exits of the church. Please keep this with you for future reference. Thank you for helping us save the environment by reducing paper waste!
LENT
Lent concludes: The holy season of Lent concludes with the beginning of Maundy Thursday Mass at 8pm on 28th March. We then move into the season of Holy Week.
- Lenten Project: Fast River Ambulance for Congo’s Basankusu Missionary Charity. CDP Maidenhead St Josephs Church Ac 00882667 / 30-93-04. Pls include your name and “+Lent” as reference.
- Easter Prayer Cards: please contact Joan Boland or office for prayer cards dedicated to loved ones (by Good Friday). Donations will go towards flowers for Easter
- Teresa, Margaret & UCM would like to thank cake donors & buyers at last week’s bake sale! £218 was raised!
- Thank You to everyone who participated and helped in our Quiz Night on Friday. It raised £885 for our Lenten Project! Special thanks to Ros and Andrew Granger who ran the Quiz!
Dates for your Diary
- 26 Mar 11am Chrism Mass at the cathedral in Portsmouth. The entire diocese, bishop, priests, deacons and lay faithful gather to renew their promises to serve God and his people, and the bishop blesses the holy oils. It is an annual event, and one of the most solemn and important liturgies of the liturgical year. The Mass takes its name from the blessing of the holy oils used in the sacraments throughout the year, which are then given to priests to take back to their parishes. You are most welcome to attend this Mass.
- 6 Apr 10- 4:30pm Preparation for Divine Mercy Sunday Retreat at Aylesford Priory, Aylesford, Kent on. All welcome. Call Millie on 07957594646 for more information. Coaches from Ealing Broadway and Victoria
- 10 Apr 6.30pm Talk on the Dignity and Immense Value of Women by Dr Judith Thomas. Also 6 Apr 10am St Edward’s Windsor; 8 Apr 10am St Edmund’s/ 7pm St Thomas More Twyford
- 13 Apr 1- 4:30pm Divine Mercy Reflection St Mary’s R C Church, 157 Aldershot Road, Guildford GU2. Holy Rosary, teachings on Message of Mercy, Stations of the Cross, Mass, etc. Millie 07957594646 for more info.
- 20 Apr Resurrection in Art & Poetry workshop led by Fr Oliver Holt. Contact [email protected]
- 23-30 Aug Lourdes Pilgrimage with Fr Tom. More details to follow/ contact Fr Tom
- 1 May 8pm Meet TV presenter Sean Fletcher Talk about his life, religious journey, deep Christian faith, passionate causes and media roles. Maidenhead Synagogue SL6 8QX (parking onsite). Limited spaces – email [email protected] to book
Can you help?
Inspire and empower children & young people in your local Catholic schools by delivering an assembly or a workshop. CAFOD will provide training and all resources. Contact Jo Lewry [email protected] or phone 07710 094447 for more info.
If you want to donate directly to SVP for helping refugees who are facing homelessness & destitution, you can do so via CDP Maidenhead St Josephs Church Ac 00882667 / 30-93-04. Please include your full name and “+SVP” so we can earmark your contribution.
A steering group of religious and other groups are trying to establish three new initiatives under the auspices of the Brett Foundation. One is temporary hosting for refugees through a Gift-a-Room scheme. The second is a temporary Winter homeless shelter for all rough sleepers.The third is a Drop-in Centre to provide basic support for all people living on the streets, such as food and shower facilities. We are asking for any or all of:-
*Offers of a room for a refugee for up to two months – references will be taken for both host and refugee and a mentor provided to help both with any issues
* Volunteers to help with the homeless shelter for all rough sleepers for a variety of tasks, such as cooking, cleaning up, welcoming people and/or occasional overnight stays either once a week or once a month
* Volunteers at the Drop-in Centre for all rough sleepers for tasks such as making teas/coffees and making guests feel welcome either once a week or once a month.
We have created the following material to explain the schemes on The Brett Foundation website: there is a full page devoted to each of the streams, as well as an introductory page with links to each of the streams: https://www.brettfoundation.charity/homeless-project
This is a link directly to the Gift-a-Room scheme: https://www.brettfoundation.charity/homeless-project/gift-a-room-scheme
If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate call us on 07749 917134
3 hours per week on to include youth club session on Thursday evenings and prep beforehand.
For details please contact Ros Webb on 07500766947.
appeal for volunteers. Would you enjoy meeting and helping all kinds of people on Saturday and pay-day Friday nights? Come try a taster session around Maidenhead town centre with a small friendly group. Contact: [email protected] or see facebook.com/maidenheadstreetangels
RESOURCES
Magnificat: This is one of the best publications around for following scripture readings for daily Mass and every Sunday. There are also many interesting articles to help you in your spiritual life. If you would like a copy please get in touch with the Parish Office to arrange. We can leave in the sacristy or post out to you. The Magnificat is only £5 per month.
Day by Day: Available in the church at all times. Please leave the £1 in the candle box.
Library: We have a parish library located in the corridor of the Parish Centre. This is dedicated to Theology/Religious books. Please feel free to borrow/swap.
St Joseph’s Church Repository: is open after 11am every Sunday. We have lots of cards, candles, rosary beads, statues and many more religious gifts on sale. If a Sunday does not suit to visit, then please phone the office on 01628 783988 and we can arrange a time that best suits.
Vacancies: We currently have some exciting opportunities across the Diocese for an Estate Manager, IT Manager, Choral Director, and Parish Administrators.
All vacancies posted here.
Other information and links
Rosary Group via Zoom every Thursday at 2pm (See here for joining instructions) ►
Last session for December will be on Thursday the 14th of December at 2pm
Rosary will resume on Thursday the 11th January 2024 at 2pm
Missio If you have a Red Box which is ready to be emptied, please bring it in over the coming weeks.
If you’re away from your church or the Diocese, you can still keep in contact with all the latest news from the Bishop or the Diocese via: E- News (subscription service available)
Twitter @PortsmouthRC
Facebook @PortsmouthRC @StJoMaidenhead
Are You New To Our Parish?
Thank you for your interest in our parish. Whether you’re just visiting us for a brief time, looking for a new parish home, returning to the practice of your Catholic faith or are interested in finding out more about the Catholic Church, we are happy to answer your questions, listen to your comments and help you in any way that we can. We are a parish of the Diocese of Portsmouth, and are a very vibrant community, made up of ‘old’ Maidenhead families and relative “newcomers” from all walks of life.
We hope that you find our Catholic parish a caring community that is loving, welcoming and supportive of all. Our mission is to grow in the image of Christ through the Holy Spirit, to be formed by the Word and our prayer, to use our gifts to welcome those who are here and reach out to those who are not. We invite you to join us as partners in the mission. Together, let us get to know Christ better and to make Him better known. May God Bless you wherever you are and thank you for exploring our website and newsletter. Please stop by the parish office to introduce yourself! We would love to meet you.
Code: SI: Special Intention, RIP: Rest in Peace, A: Anniversary, FM: Foundation
We would like to get the newsletter distributed on time and are grateful for understanding in the deadline for submissions of announcements and mass intentions. Please send all contributions no later than Thursday 10am.