Sunday 4th May 2008

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Congratulations to the children who made their First Holy Communion last Sunday:
David Alvaro, Jack Bennett, Luke Buck, Cecilia Funnell, Oscar Harley, Alex Hart, Cora Higgs, Benedict McCabe, William Pickford, Isabel Quigley, Michael Revell, Max Roberts, Sophie Royle, Edward Sherrat,t George Tyldesley

Sincere thanks to all who were involved in their programme of preparation – school staff, parish catechists, parish prayer sponsors, parents and other family members. My thanks, also, to all who contributed, on the day, to make our Mass an inspiring and entirely memorable occasion for all concerned. The team of parents, who worked so hard to provide the refreshments after Mass in the Parish Centre, also did a splendid job. (Thanks for saving some of the home-made cakes until I arrived!)

Prayer intentions for May:
Please remember in your prayers Michael McManus, Oisin Sweeney, Eddie Henshall, Aidan Quigley, Alan Bennett and Margaret Bramwell who have died recently. Pray also for their bereaved relatives and friends.

Kindly pray for the following, whose anniversaries occur this month:
Ernest Smith, Thomas Ludlow, William Murtagh, Elizabeth Vernon, Sidney Hartley, Anne Collins, Stan Potts, Patrick McGeady, Arthur Clarke, Margaret Wymbs, John Moran, Alfred Bann, Hubert Lyster, Arthur Clayton, William Challoner, James Jordan, Mary Ann Murphy, Winifred Hamilton, Mary Margaret Kingston, Elizabeth Cooney, Arthur Wilde, Margaret Jefferey, Bernard Clarke, John Brian Johnson, Gordon Galgani, Sheila Stanesby, Harold Biggar, Blanche Kelly and Peter Hughes.

Please remember in your prayers those members of our parish who are either sick (in hospital or Nursing Home), elderly, or housebound;
especially Eileen Barry, Bryan Bennett, Terence Boardman, Christopher Brown, Agnes Butcher, Kathleen Butterworth, Vin Casey, Nancy Collins, Dr Jean Coope, James Dalzell, John Dickenson, Margaret Fallon, Laura Francis, Margaret Glynn, Zena Greave, Bernice Hall*, Isabel Hartley, Deacon John Lomas, Peter Macpherson, May Michaux, Winifred Murphy, Betty Oldfield, David Roberts, Veronica Shatwell, Gabrielle Shirley and Norman Smith.

Bereavement Teams
The Annual gathering for those who minister to the bereaved takes place on Saturday, 10th May 10.00am to 3.00pm at St Vincent’s Knutsford. The guest speaker will be Fr. Chris Jenkins, and the theme is ‘Being There’. If you would like to attend please contact Helen on 572410.

Christian Aid Week: 11th – 17th May 2008
Volunteers are needed for house-to-house collections during Christian Aid week. If you are able to spare some time to help, please sign up on the list on the Justice & Peace notice board at the back of church. This is one of the UK’s largest fundraising events and last year our parish raised over £580 for this good cause, so please help if you can! For more information, contact Jennifer Coward (Tel: 573990).

Diary Dates

The Prayer of the Church
Currently, we have started to recite Morning Prayer from The Prayer of the Church after Mass on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. All are welcome to take part.

Please Note - further details on the notice board:
• 10th May – Meeting of Bereavement Teams. St Vincents, Knutsford, at 3pm.
(Guest speaker: Fr Chris Jenkins. Theme “Being There”. Contact: Helen 572410).
• 16th May – Mass for Jubilarians with Bishop Brian, St Columba’s, Chester (7pm).
• 16th – 18th May - Weekend Retreat for Catechists at Loreto, Llandudno.
• 18th May – Wirral Coastal Walk for CAFOD.
• 23rd June – Reading Group Meeting at Savio House (8pm). (Contact: Helen 572410).

The Diocesan Reading Initiative
Our book for the summer term is “The Welcoming Parish” by Donal Harrington. If you would like to borrow a copy of the book please contact Helen on 572410. The Reading Group meets on Monday, 23rd June, at 8.00pm at Savio House.

Shrewsbury Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes 2008
Monday July 28th to Tuesday August 5th 2008.
It is proposed that anyone wishing to attend as pilgrims during the special 150th year might choose to join St Gregory’s parish group as part of the Diocesan larger pilgrimage travelling on the above dates.
The booking availability for the 2008 Pilgrimage has been brought forward by some months because 2008 is the 150th anniversary of the first Apparition of Our Lady to Bernadette. For this reason there is an expectation of heavy bookings in Lourdes throughout the year 2008.
For those preferring to fly, deposits of £50 are being accepted now, with the guarantee of a full return of such monies in the event of a serious need to cancel: places are limited and regular pilgrims have already secured their interest. Dates for air-born pilgrims are Tuesday July 20th to Monday August 4th.
It is hoped that all booking forms will be available by October/November 2007 and anyone interested should contact Ursula Hamilton (574938 or email: Ursula.Hamilton@btinternet.com ) who will act as parish co-ordinator.

Salesian Pilgrimage / Holiday to France and Italy
If you are interested in joining a group of Salesian Co-operators, visiting Annecy (St Francis de Sales) Turin (St John Bosco) and Rome from the 24th August - 3rd September, at a cost of approx £750, contact Fr Bernard Parkes from (Savio House), who will be chaplain and guide.
You don’t have to be a Salesian Co-operator to be included. (Contact Fr Bernard on 575405.)

Gift Aid
The tax reclaimed by St Gregory’s through the Gift Aid scheme for the tax year 2006-2007 amounted to £5,454.62. This is just tax back on top of the weekly donations. We are very grateful for this extra, very large amount for our funds, and wish to thank the donors for their generosity and for participating in the scheme. Newcomers to the parish who are taxpayers may wish to consider covenanting their weekly donations to the Church. There is no hassle attached to this, and administration is now quite minimal. All that is required is the filling in of a Gift Aid form. Once this is done, there is nothing further involved: the arrangement simply continues indefinitely until such time as the donor chooses to cancel it.
As long as the Gift Aid goes on, every donation made, of whatever amount, qualifies for a tax refund to the Church. If you wish to take this up, please speak to Fr Francis or Pat Cohen.

First Communion Preparation (Catholic Children at non-Catholic Schools)
Do you have a child attending at a non-Catholic school? Would you like your child to be prepared to receive Holy Communion?
If your child is in Year 3 or above this September, they are eligible to join the Parish First Sacraments Programme.
Please contact Fr Francis as soon as possible, as the Programme gets underway this month. Alternatively, you can contact Helen Bassirat on 572410.

Lectio Divina
The Lectio Divina Group meets every Tuesday evening
8.45 – 10.00pm (prompt) at 2 Legh Road Prestbury.
Lectio Divina is a Benedictine way of praying with scripture, and the group will focus on the Gospel of the following week.
All are welcome and if you would like more information call Helen on 572410

Project 2030
In your 20s? The twentysomethings have a regular programme of events for Catholics in their 20s.
Things coming up include:
Snowden, visit Chester Zoo, week in Taize, weekend in London, Edinburgh Festival, visit the Holy Land.
If you’d like to receive more details of these and other events locally contact hugh@project2030.fsnet.co.uk or text/ring Clare on 07950 202205.

Bible Study Group
A bible study hour will be held on Tuesdays at 2pm in the presbytery, all are welcome to come along when you can.

Hospital Visiting
If you know of any parishioners who are in hospital and would like to be visited, please give the details to Father Mageean who will arrange for a visit.

Readers
Some readers have requested Mass leaflets for the following week. These are always available from the vestry. Just pick one up after Mass.

St Gregory's Parish is now a FAIRTRADE Parish

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