A message from Fr John

Dear Friends

Good morning

I hope you’re managing to stay well and safe - it appears as though the virus, whilst seeming to have abated slightly, poses an even greater threat if we ignore the basic rules of distancing and hygiene … but we know that, don’t we?
It does mean, however that we are not yet ready to gather in significant numbers for public worship; when the time is right, there will be much rejoicing of course but tempered by the sadness of so many missed parishioners and friends.

There was a very telling statement from the Spanish Bishops who in a joint Statement reminded their country that it owes a great debt of gratitude to the elderly, who have suffered most during the Covid-19 pandemic. The statement, in preparation for the 26 July Day of the Elderly, warned that ‘a society that abandons its elderly and disregards their wisdom is a sick society with no future, because it lacks memory’.

I was in Peel Green Cemetery for funerals twice this week; it was an opportunity to visit the graves of my grandparents, Joseph & Winifred and James & Mary, who died in the 1970s and the last one in 1990. I enjoyed remembering them and their great joy, patience and hospitality, and in their own very different ways taught me so much: one about sheer hard work and the delight of gardening, another about flexibility and treating each individual uniquely, another about the utter delight in having children around, and the other about prayerful compassion. Good memories for sure.

We need our old people - and we need to care for them, protect them and keep them close to our hearts.

And we depend so much on our brilliant scientists who are striving to find answers - cures and vaccines. Lord help them.

Masses received:
Michael Clarke, Audrey Judge, Winifred Wood, Marilyn Turner, Safe delivery, Sheila Riley, Emily Louise Jones, Freda Jones, Pat & Jack Sampson, Michael Dale, Maria Scott, Anne Kipling, Fr Peter Gooden, Joan King, Joseph Clarke, Gerard Daly, Mike Kenny, John Bowles, Dominic & James Green, In Thanksgiving, William & Elizabeth Durkin, Michael Daggett

Three meetings next week:

Monday 7.00pm Poetry Evening - new-comers welcome. We have had some good contributions - some witty, some thoughtful. And we’ve even shared a virtual glass of wine. If you want to join us, contact Cecelia Rhodes at cmrhodes99@icloud.com

Tuesday 7.30pm Bereavement Support Group

Thursday 7.00pm Eco-Team

St Joseph, pray for us

Every blessing

Fr John