A message from Fr John

Dear Friends

Good morning - I hope you’re well

We had a delightful Poetry Evening last night - only 45 minutes but a good selection of poems from a wide variety of sources. The one we all enjoyed was this one by Blake - a lovely way to teach children how to pray.

The Lamb
BY WILLIAM BLAKE
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
By the stream & o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing wooly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice!
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee

Little Lamb I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb I'll tell thee!
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild,
He became a little child:
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
Little Lamb God bless thee.

Yesterday, I forgot to mention that we celebrated the funeral of William O’Keefe from Winton. Please pray for him and his family.

In preparation for tomorrow, you might look up the story of St Charles Lwanga and his companions, martyrs from Uganda in the 19th Century - remarkable young men and a wonderful example of fidelity. At their Canonisation Pope Paul VI recalled the words of the 3rd Century theologian, Tertullian. ‘The blood of the martyrs is the seed of Christians’. The Church really comes into its true nature in times of adversity.
I wonder how our generation will face up to the challenge of this present crisis which is not going away quickly - what kind of Church will we be handing on to our young people.
Let us pray for those who are sick:

Evelyn, Adela, Winnie, Sylvia, Joe, Susan, Irene and Audrey

And for those who have died:

Fr Peter, Michael, Roy, Alf, Malcolm, Elsie, Matthew, Anne, Stella, Chris, Kenneth, Carol Ann, Ingeburg, Winnie, Patricia, Eileen, Maureen, Joan, Frank, Robert, Lynda, Cecilia, Lourdes, Dale, John, Eileen, Michael, Graham, Maria, Andrew, Gladys, Ellen, Patrick, Pauline, Michael, Alice, Gordon, Mary William and Elsie

Let’s also pray that the struggles in USA are brought to a swift and just conclusion

St Joseph pray for us

Every blessing

Fr John