It is almost a year since the death of Fr. Arthur Mulcahey who served the parish of St. Ambrose Barlow, Astley, for many years. To mark the first anniversary of his death there will be a Memorial Mass for Fr. Arthur on Friday 27th November at 7.00 pm at St. Ambrose Barlow. Please come along and join us in prayer.
Today, the Feast of Christ the King, is the last Sunday of the Church’s Year and National Youth Sunday. We celebrate the place of children and young people in the Church. In his annual message to young people, Pope Benedict XVI speaks about hope. He says: “Christ is the great hope to which we all aspire and who never disappoints”.
There will be a Second Collection in each parish today to support the work of Animate - the Archdiocesan Youth Service. You can find out more about Youth Sunday at this website: http://www.nationalyouthsunday.org.uk and about Animate at this website: http://www.animateyouth.org
The Archdiocese of Liverpool has a new website: http://www.liverpoolcatholic.org.uk/
Today (Sunday) is the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.
In our prayers, let us remember all who have been killed on our roads and those who grieve their loss.
Let us also remember all who have been injured and the emergency services who attend the scene of accidents.
Ashton, Leigh and Wigan NHS are looking for volunteers to work as visitors during the present influenza pandemic (swine flu).
They need volunteer help with the following roles:
A) Volunteer Flu Friend – this involves the collection and delivery of medication. (must be CRB checked).
B) Flu Friend Plus – which involves the above plus helping with shopping, walking the dog, etc. (must be CRB checked).
C) Promotion of Self-Reliance – making sure that people are aware that swine flu HAS NOT gone away and letting them know that to access medication they will need to be able to send someone to collect it for them and that they should start to consider this now.
If you feel you could help in any of these roles, then please contact Lynne Calvert on 01942-481725.
The voice of His Holiness features on a new album from Music From The Vatican called “Alma Mater� to be released on 29th November. It is a beautiful collection of modern classical music performed by the Vatican Choir. There are further details on the noticeboards at the back of churches, or check out the website: http://www.musicfromthevatican.com
There will be a Mass to remember children who died before birth, at birth, or anytime afterwards on Wednesday 25th November at 7.00 pm at Holy Family. All are welcome.
If you know someone who might appreciate an invitation, please let them know about the Mass.
This Sunday is Prisoners’ Sunday - a day of prayer and action for prisoners, their children and families, prison workers, ex-offenders and victims of crime.
The theme of this year’s Prisoners’ Sunday is ‘Hold Fast to Hope’ - a hope that is rooted in the Christian belief that the divine spark is in all people, that no-one is beyond redemption and that change can and does take place.
There will be a Second Collection today for PACT (The Prison Advice & Care Trust) - a charity which provides practical support to prisoners’ children and families, and to prisoners themselves.
Website: http://www.prisonadvice.org.uk
(Liverpool Archdiocesan Missionary Project)
This weekend, we celebrate LAMP Sunday when we think and pray for our brothers and sisters in Latin America. For many years, priests from the Archdiocese have worked in Latin America, especially in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. Through them, we have a very special relationship with the people over there. There will be a Pastoral Letter from the Archbishop marking the thirtieth anniversary of the project, and the annual LAMP collection, which goes to finance projects in the parishes served by our priests in Latin America, will take place at the end of Mass. If you are a tax payer, please use the Gift Aid envelopes provided. Many thanks.
Mohammad Salem Abu Eid was 14 years old when he was detained by Israeli forces in February 2008 and accused of throwing stones at the Separation Wall, which cuts through the Palestinian West Bank. He was beaten, interrogated in the absence of a lawyer and family member, persuaded to sign a confession, prosecuted in a military court and sentenced to four months imprisonment. Whilst in prison, he received no education and no family visits.
Mohammad, accompanied by his mother, Sumya, will be speaking about his experiences on a tour of Liverpool, London, Sheffield and Oxford in November 2009. Also speaking will be: Jihad Alshomali, Juvenile (Justice Coordinator, Defence for Children International Palestine section) and Abdefattah Abusrour (President of Palestinian Theatre League).
Since September 2000, approximately 5,000 Palestinian children under the age of 18 have been arrested by the Israeli authorities in Occupied Palestine. The UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (Article 37b) states: ‘No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily’.
Monday 2nd November, 7.00 – 9.00 pm, at the Quaker Meeting House, School Lane, Liverpool L1 3BT.
Church Leaders in Birmingham published the following statement in ‘The Birmingham Post’ this week:
“The BNP sometimes claims it is standing for ‘Christian Britain’. We refute that wholeheartedly and would like to point out that some churches have stated that BNP membership is incompatible with Christian discipleship. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for all people and, celebrating the international, multi-racial, multi-ethnic nature of our churches we feel our faith in Jesus calls us to positively engage and work with our neighbours of other faith traditions. The BNP has nothing to do with Christianity and many of its hate-filled, fear-generating messages are completely counter to the loving challenge of the Christian gospel.”
During Advent, the Archdiocesan Justice & Peace Department will be presenting two evenings in the Pastoral Area on the themes of “Live Simply” and “Climate Change”. The evenings will take place on Monday 30th November and Wednesday 2nd December. The venues for the Justice & Peace evenings have not yet been decided, but there will be a Planning Meeting on Monday 2nd November at St Joseph’s, Leigh, at 7.00 pm, for anyone who would like to be involved in the planning.
Sr Helen Prejean is a Catholic sister, educator, anti-death penalty activist and author. Her book ‘Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States’ tells her story about walking to Death Row with inmates sentenced to death, and was made into the film ‘Dead Man Walking’. She is a very inspirational speaker and speaks movingly about this subject which is close to her heart. There will be two events in the Archdiocese:
An Evening with Sr Helen Prejean
Sunday 15th November at De La Salle School, Mill Brow, St Helens WA10 4QH. Doors open 4.00 pm, Mass 5.00 pm. Tickets £10 – send a SAE to: IRENAEUS, 110a Alexandra Rd, Crosby, L23 7TG. Tel: 0151 924 5127.
A Day for Yr 11, 12 & 13 with Sr Helen Prejean
Monday 16th November: 10.00 am - 12.30 pm at St Mary’s, Lowe House, Crab St, St Helens, WA10 2BE. Tickets £3. Further details from: http://www.animateyouth.org
Sunday 1st November at 6.00 pm at St Mary’s, Leyland. Boyce & Stanley are fantastic performers, well known on TV, their songs and hymns are used in churches throughout the country. See notice board for further details. Website: http://www.cjmmusic.co.uk
The Latin Patriarch for Jerusalem, Archbishop Twal, will be visiting Liverpool on Sunday 15th November. He will be the principal celebrant at the 11.00 Mass in the Cathedral. During his visit, the Friends of the Holy Land will be launched in support of the critically small Catholic presence in the Holy Land.