Bulletin - 12th March 2017

Post date: Mar 10, 2017 2:28:23 PM

PARISH REGISTER – If you have changed or have a new mobile telephone number or email address please complete a Parish Register Form available at the back of church and hand to Fr. Harriott. Thank You

NEW PARISHIONERS - If you are a new member of the parish, would you please make yourself known to Fr. Harriott or a member of the Parish Council and complete a form available at the back of church.

A retiring collection will be taken today for your Family Fast Day offerings to support the works of CAFOD.

12^th Mar. 2017 Readers – B. Simpson & G. Killen Ems – M. Mills, S. Harnwell & J. Coulson

Teas – Jim & Elizabeth Robinson

19^th Mar. 2017 Readers – V. Rooker & K. Dawson Ems – S. Muir, T. Robson & J. Kingston

Teas – Heather & Peter Farrier

GARDEN PARTY MEETING – A meeting of the Garden Party Committee and all interested parties will be held after Mass today in the Hall.

ST. PATRICK'S CEILIDH Will be held this Friday 17^th March 2017 in the Benedictine Club. All our partnership parishes have been invited, but we ask as many parishioners as possible to come along and support this social evening.

Tickets £3 adults £1 children will be available after Mass. Refreshments via a shared table.

WALKING TOGETHER IN HOPE – The Cuddy's Corse Walk, Sunday 19^th March 2017. Chester-le-Street to Durham via Finchale Priory. Please see the notice board for additional information.

MOTHERING SUNDAY 26^th MARCH 2017 – The Youth/Children of the Partnership will be taking part in the Mass as Readers and taking the Offertory procession.

WALK WITH ME BOOKLETS – “A Lenten Journey of Prayer”. On sale at the back of church. Cost £1

CHURCHES TOGETHER LENTEN LUNCHES – Held at St. Paul's Dudley every Wednesday during Lent at 12.30pm.

COFFEE AFTERNOONS – The next two Coffee Afternoons will be on Thurs. 20^th April and Thurs. 11^th May 2017. at 1.30pm. These are open to ALL, not just parishioners, Please come along and invite a friend and/or your neighbour.

FUTURE EVENTS – These are detailed on the back of the Newsletter and (if space is available) will also be mentioned on the front of the Newsletter nearer their date. When available, posters will also be displayed on our noticeboard.

TAX CHANGES 2017, DOES IT AFFECT YOUR GIFT AID STATUS – From April 2017 the personal Income Tax allowance will increase to £11500 per annum and the first £1000 of interest recieved from banks, building societies etc., as well as £5000 dividend income will be exempt from tax (for basic rate tax payers).

This is great news for some of us, but makes it important that those of us who are in the Gift Aid Scheme should check that we still be a taxpayer from April 2017.

If you will then no longer be a taxpayer, you will then be unable to remain in the Gift Aid Scheme and should advise the Diocese accordingly. Anyone unsure of their situation should contact Derek Harrison (Parish Gift Aid Organiser) either by tel.

01670 715271 or email derek.harrison1949@hotmail.com. All queries will be treated confidentially.

PLANNED GIVING/GIFT AID – Your envelopes will be available for collection at the back of church.

Envelopes have been provided this year for those paying by Direct Debit, to include special collection envelopes.

We hope to modify the boxes next year.

Anyone requiring a box of envelopes, please speak to Gerry Killen or Derek Harrison

ADDITIONAL PARISH & DIOCESAN INFORMATION- can be obtained from the Parish website https://sites.google.com/site/stjohnsannitsford. Anyone experiencing problems accessing the site, Contact Jerry Laidler

PLEASE SUPPORT Your Fledgling Partnership

LAST CHANCE to Get Your Tickets

FAMILIES who are most welcome.

St. Patrick’s Night Ceilidh for All the Community

Friday 17^th March @7:30pm:

Tickets £3 per adult £1 Children - shared table - All will be welcome, especially families.

+ Tickets are on SALE NOW at the back of church +

All in our partnership would like to thank the Benedictine Catholic Social Club for supporting and getting this event off the ground as they are an integral part of our community. We’d also like to thank businesses that have generously provided some raffle prizes (£100 Amazon voucher and free entry to Blue Reef Aquarium)

Irish Dancers wanted! It would be lovely to open our partnership Ceilidh on St. Patricks evening on Friday 17^th March with some Irish dancers. Any volunteers? Your support is always very much appreciated.

Cake Sale – A Big Thank You – to you all for supporting this and we hope you like the cakes J

Family Mass – Mothering Sunday – Sunday 26^th March - The 9.30am Mass @ St John’s on Sunday 26th March will be a family Mass led by our young people. If any of our young people aged 6+ would like to participate in the mass or if anyone would like to assist with the organising of the liturgy please contact Kathryn Maggs. It would be lovely to see you there, your support as always is very much appreciated.

CAFOD Family Fast Day – was on Friday 10^th March – a collection will be held at the back of church

Coin-It-In Cans for CAFOD – Thank you to all who ‘donated’ empty beer cans (including the ones that were full J). At the back of church are cans for anyone to take away and put SMALL change in. Our hope is to encourage children and families to give something small to StJohns YPC appeal to raise £750 for a community water supply in a village in Africa that CAFOD support.

Flame17 – By the time you read this approximately 10,000 young people – 800 from our own diocese and a few from our own local parishes - will have made it back home after spending a very long day at Wembley at the Flame event organised by the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation (CYMFed) which seeks to help shape and support Catholic Youth Ministry in England and Wales.

UPDATE – StJohns YPC DVD – Thank you for all those who showed an interest in buying this DVD. We intend to create the DVD and distribute at Easter. One of the reasons for the delay is that the YPC hope to make additional videos of the Stations of the Cross. So again thanks for your patience and sorry for our delay.

StJohns YPC Allotment - It’s that time of year again J - Over the next few weeks StJohns YPC will be handing out FREE seeds for you to grow on your windowsills or in StJohns YPC allotment – Let’s hope for a bumper year J

Red Poppy Seeds Appeal – If you happen to have some spare packets of red poppy seeds then StJohns YPC would love to have them for a WWI & WWII initiative they’re hoping to plan – details to follow J

An Invitation from Sacred Heart – Our New Partnership Member :)

Partnership Social Evening at Sacred Heart - open to all parishioners of all ages within the partnership and chance again to get to know each other in an informal setting – and Sacred Heart will supply the beverages & nibbles J This will be held on Friday 31^st March at Sacred Heart Parish Hall starting with Mass at 7pm at Sacred Heart (PLEASE NOTE: There will be NO Mass at St. John’s on Friday 31^st)

List at back of church so please provide your name and contact details.

Know of any community focused event/activity, then please let us know and we will try our best to publicise.