Newsletter 398 14th January 2024

PARISH NEWSLETTER FOR ST. JOSEPH’S (MAIDENHEAD)
& ST. ELIZABETH’S (COOKHAM)

2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B

 

Good things take time We need time for the best things in life to come to fruition.  Love grows in marriage, friend-ship, and family over many years. It has significant moments but often it cannot be rushed. Jesus’ disciples were invited to stay with him the ‘rest of that day’ to get to know him; it would not happen immediately at the river.  ‘Rest of the day’ would mean a very long time.
How well do I know Jesus?   How much do I know about him?
What do I find out in this reading about Jesus?  He is one who does not force himself on people – he asks ‘what do you want?’ He likes an honest answer.  He looks into people and sees more to them, like he did with Peter and gave him a new name.  He saw faithfulness in Peter even though others would see weakness. When we read a gospel story, we can pause here and there and ask, what is new in this story about Jesus?   Or what is new about myself? The gospel is always new. It is a treasure chest to bring out new aspects of the truth of Jesus each time we read it. In prayer he has time for each of us. They stayed with him for a long time and he does not seem to hurry them. The lord is not in a hurry with us in any way except to love us.

Let the words, ‘Come and see’

echo in your mind and heart today and all this week.

Lord, thank you for calling me to the Eucharist;

and for calling me into prayer.

1st Reading: 1 Samuel 3:3-10,19

Psalm: Psalm 39  R/ Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will

2nd Reading:1 Corinthians 6:13-15, 17-20 

Acclamation: Alleluia, alleluia! We saw his star as it rose and have come to do the Lord homage. Alleluia!

Gospel: John 1:35-42

Announcements:

Baptisms:

20th Aidan & Alonzo

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Memorials/Funerals:

25th Pasqualina Sellitto

St Mary’s Catholic Pre School: apply now for a space if your child will be 2 by Sept 2024. Email the Pre School to book a visit and complete an application form. See https://www.stmarys-maidenhead.org.uk/pre-school/

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!

Church closure for planned electrical works. The church will be closed on 16-17 Jan. Masses will be held in St Joseph’s Centre as follows:

10am 16 Jan (Tue) Hall

10am 17 Jan (Wed) Elizabeth’s Room

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

PT Youth worker needed. Contact Fr Ephraim/ office

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!

Second Collections this month:

21st Cathedral

28th Racial Justice

We continue to pray for :

First Holy Communion. Children who were eligible to start Stage Two did so recently at both churches.

Confirmation Programme: Candidates, eligible to start Stage Two of the Confirmation Programme will begin this stage Saturday 13 Jan 2024, at 4.30pm at St. Edmund Campion.  Please bring your Mass attendance cards.
Please note the requirements to enter Stage Two of the programme.

RCIA: We are blessed with having 5 candidates join RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) from the 3 church communities of St. Joseph’s, St. Elizabeth’s and St. Edmund Campion. Some desire to be baptised, others to be received into the church from another church, and some are Catholics who desire to complete their Initiation process by the Sacrament of Confirmation. All will be fully initiated at the Easter Vigil, 30 Mar.

Dates for your Diary

meets on 2nd Sun of each month at St Edmund Campion Hall. If you are bereaved and would find it helpful to talk or share with others who are also grieving, join us over a cup tea and cake .

 First session in St Edmund Campion

is observed in the octave of St Peter and St

Paul. 2024 theme is ‘You shall love the Lord your God… and your neighbour as yourself’ (Lk 10:27). Resources for each day can be found on:  Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2024 (ctbi.org.uk)

after 11am Mass. Table top sale in aid of the Closer to Christ Campaign. If you have unwanted Christmas gifts or any other items to sell, please contact office and pay £10 per table. Profits from sales are yours. There will also be a parish table for any single items you wish to donate. We will be running a raffle too.

All are welcome!

@ Bakedd the Artisan Bakery in town. Buy a coffee and make new friends! The tables are free for anyone to join!  

Courses & Talks

with Fr Bernie Zoom: ID 82806901794 Password 312990 or: https://tinyurl.com/2hz5axvp

Sessions will be held every Thursday thereafter unless notified.

In Chertsey, book: https://coretlumenchristi.churchsuite.com/events/rgck3kfl

Available for all Parents whose child is being Baptised at either St Joseph’s, St Elizabeth’s or St Edmund Campion. The course is a 90-minute preparation and guidance. It is held at St Joseph’s the first Tuesday of the month at 7pm.

Virtual event. Call or text: 07887 296983 / 07973 380443 Email: [email protected]

Website: www.retrouvaille.org.uk

Winchester. £20 Book https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/ e/what-does-it-mean-to-be-human-medical-ethics-and-social-care-today-tickets-773097012977

For Lower Sixth/Year 12. Do you want to help build a Christian society?  The programme offers stimulating and high-quality intellectual content, spiritual nourishment, personal development, inter-personal skills, team-building, with expert academics and professionals. Bursaries available as needed. See more at www.christianleadershipformation.com

Divine Renovation will be holding the Catholic Parish Summit next June 12th – 14th in Harrogate. The Summit, entitled ‘Where is your parish going?’  will feature Archbishop Mark O’Toole, Sr Miriam James Heidland, and Fr James Mallon, among others. Come along to see what’s behind a growing movement of parishes coming to new life and learn how your parish can do it too. Save your spot today at catholicparishsummit.com and be part of this impactful gathering of parish leaders. 

Plus!: Use the Diocese of Portsmouth’s exclusive promo code 25OFFCPS ˟ to save on your ticket before they sell out.

˟ This code will provide 25% off basic tickets and is available until 1stDecember.   Please also note the young adults code to promote for anyone under 30: YA@CPS

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.

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Double your donations – until 22nd Jan, £19.15 will feed TWO children for a year. Here’s a video of St Mary’s Meals impact on the community, and the link to donate. 

 

Action for Rough Sleepers in Maidenhead

 

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

 

PILGRIMAGES/ WALKS/ RETREATS

£899.00 pps.  Price includes flight, 10kg hold luggage, 5 nights’ in 4* Castlecourt Hotel, Westport with Dinner, Bed & Breakfast. Lunch on three days.  All entertainment, excursions and transport included.  Visit Knock, Galway City, Kylemore Abbey, Croagh Patrick & Ashford Castle.  Single supplement on Enquiry.  Contact Patricia or Natali on 01268 762 278 or 07740 175557 or email [email protected]

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.

 

Are you a budding journalist? Or someone with some time to spare?
We are looking to relaunch the biannual Parish Magazine. 
Please contact the Parish office for more details!

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.