Parish Newsletter

Covid-19 Restrictions - Where Are We Up To?

Good news on the national figures for infections, hospitalizations, deaths and vaccinations. All very much pointing in the right direction. But too early to start lifting restrictions here in Church. My hunch, for what it is worth, is that restrictions will be lifted gradually and stage by stage: possibly the need to Track and Trace first, then perhaps the need to sanitize the church between Services. My guess is that hand sanitizing and social distancing will be with us for quite some time. But in all easing of restrictions, we will be guided by Bishop Mark’s Diocesan Guidelines, which are always in line with National Policies. Watch this space, everyone!

Holy Week and Easter – The Stats!

544 of you attended the Holy Week and Easter Services in total: 68 on Maundy Thursday evening, 82 on Good Friday afternoon, 64 on Holy Saturday Evening for the Vigil, 78 on Easter Sunday Morning at 9.00 am, 83 at 10.00 am, 79 at 11.00 and 90 at 12.00 noon. You can see from those figures how full we were and how Booking was absolutely essential. A huge thanks to the Booking Team and our fantastic army of Stewards, without whom none of this would have been possible. One of our parishioners remarked to me that we’ll know exactly what we’re doing for Booking next Christmas... They should be out of hospital fairly soon and I hope not limping forever.

Rented Accommodation Wanted

A young Catholic lad is coming up to work at Airbus at Broughton and would like to rent accommodation in the area, ideally with a Catholic family, and would like to be part of our Parish Community. (He wants to be a Werbie? The fool!) He comes Tekkie-recommended (Teccomended?), and you can’t say higher than that. He’s 24, single, graduate engineer, non-smoker, and can provide full references. He’d like to start early September, for six or twelve months. He’d like a bedroom and access to the kitchen: a sitting room as well would be ideal, but not essential. He’d like to cook his own meals and would need somewhere to park his small car. Anyone interested in helping out, see FP.

Christianity in the Middle East

Fellowship and Aid to the Christians of the East (FACE) have organised a FREE webinar on the Future of Christianity in the Middle East with Cardinal Sako, Head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, and Cardinal Fitzgerald, former Apostolic Nuncio to Egypt and delegate to the Arab League of States. It takes place at 10.00 am on Saturday, 24th April. For more information and to book, please visit www.cardinalsako.eventbrite.com

Easter "Day by Day" and Sacred Heart Messengers

On the table as you leave, £1 each. You can always pop the money in next week! Plus, Diocesan Year Books and Diocesan Ordos, if you never picked up your copies: £5 each. Again, because of the one-way system, if it helps, take your mag with you today and pop the money in next week.

"Universe" and "Catholic Times"

If you are unable to collect your paper at Mass you can now get it delivered direct to your home every week post free - it’s quick and simple! just go to www.thecatholicuniverse.com or call us on 0161 820 5722 and we will arrange delivery for you.
Special offer 3 months: £25.00
Special offer 12 Months: £99.00
Digital copy 12 Months: £55.00
Or Digital copy/and hard copy for £115.00 (Easter special offer). All papers are Covid safe and packed in a sterile component.

The Covid-19 Restrictions Are Still in Place!

• 1. The wearing of face coverings in church by the faithful (unless the person has a valid exemption from this regulation).
• 2. Social distancing of people within the church building.
• 3. Stewarding of the church premises to assist the faithful whilst in church.
• 4. Frequent hand cleansing, either with sanitiser or washing.
• 5. Suitable one-way systems in the building to prevent excessive interaction between people from different households or bubbles.
• 6. Good ventilation of the church building to refresh the air quality within.
• 7. Cleaning of the church building after each act of public worship.
• 8. The timely dispersing of the faithful after the acts of worship avoiding congregating in car parks or on the streets outside the church.

Joining the Gift Aid Scheme

If you pay income tax, joining the Gift Aid scheme increases the value of your donations to the Parish by 25% at no extra cost to you. Interested in joining the scheme? Please contact FP or Denise Jones.

Asbestos Work in the Cellars and Garage

As avid readers of the Blog [Who they? Ed] you will have been following the Daily Asbestos Saga. Significant traces were found in the House Cellars and minimal traces in the garage. As you wouldn’t want your Parish Priest to die a long lingering death (I heard that, Choir), it all had to be removed. They started work the day after Easter Monday - exquisite timing - and finished on Thursday of this week. The Cellars have never looked so clean and tidy. (Might do for our Airbus Engineer? Just a thought...)

Photo of the Week: The Baptismal Font

Fascinating photo showing where the Font used to be, in the back corner (where the Parish Library is today). We still have the incredibly heavy Font Lid, and I’ve often wondered what use it could be put to. You can see the pulley used to raise it. Occasionally, of course, it fell during the ceremony and caught the Priest a fatal blow to the back of the head in mid-dunking. But we had four Priests here in those days and could afford the loss. Thanks for all those of you who identified Fr Corcoran last week and - you think - one of the Salvatorians.