Bulletin - 5th March 2017

Post date: Mar 02, 2017 4:52:29 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.

5^th Mar. 2017 - Readers – R.S-Dickerson & J. Kingston Ems – Z. G-Johnson, S. Hall & M. Cowan

Teas – Rob & Barbara Wareing

12^th Mar. 2017 Readers – k. Dawson 7 M. Cowan Ems – M. Mills, S. Harnwell & J. Coulson

Teas – Jim & Elizabeth Robinson

OFFERTORIES - This figure does not include Direct Debit payments

This Friday 10^th March 2017 will be Family Fast Day and a retiring collection for CAFOD will be taken next Sunday 12^th March 2017 to receive your offerings.

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 this Thursday 9^th March and the 20^th April 2017

at 1.30pm. These are open to ALL, not just parishioners, Please come along and invite a friend and/or your neighbour.

ST. PATRICK'S CEILIDH Will be held 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.

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

RED MISSION BOXES – 2016 parishioners raised the sum of £1089.01 Many thanks for your generosity.

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 received 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.harrison 1949@hotmail.com. All queries will be treated confidentially.

MASS OFFERINGS – Weekday Mass intentions are not too far in advance, please use the envelopes at the back of church. Please provide your telephone number just in case your requested date is not available

ADDITIONAL PARISH & DIOCESAN INFORMATION- can be obtained from the Parish website https://sites.google.com/site/stjohnsannitsford. Anyone experiencing problems accessing the site, please contact Jerry Laidler on 07801 452372

PLEASE SUPPORT Your Fledgling Partnership

We would really appreciate if you could support this get together in bringing our community together - from our partnership parishes, churches together, Benedictine club members and especially 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.

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 - After mass this morning the Youth Council will be selling cakes to raise money for their funds to support future family focus activities. Many thanks for your support.

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: - Friday 10^th March – Living in poverty is the reality for millions of the world’s poorest people who make a living from the land. Florence was like this. After she lost her husband, she struggled to support her family. She was hired to work on land and barely had enough to feed herself and her children. She was given 500 little fish the size of your thumb as well as the tools and training to build ponds and farm them. In a few months, she turned these tiddlers into school books and clothes for her children.

This is the beauty of long-term aid that you help to make happen: it gives people the dignity to give their children and their children’s children a future. Envelopes will be handed out at the back of church.

And Invitations 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. More details including timings to follow. List at back of church so please provide your name and contact details.

Life in the Spirit Seminars - Following Pope Francis' invitation to all Catholics to participate in a Life in the Spirit course, a small group from Sacred Heart have for some time been thinking and praying about putting on the course. We would hope to run this from the week beginning April 24th (evening, time and venue open for discussion) ending with Baptism in the Spirit at Pentecost at the beginning of June. We would like to open this to everyone in the new partnership, so, if anyone feels that they would like to help run the course (some of you may already have experienced this), then please join us in the church hall at Sacred Heart North Gosforth on 7th March at 7:30pm when we hope to set out a programme to start in April.

If you are interested please contact: Ged Downey tel: 0191 2421718, mobile 07740 336459

And last, but certainly not least …

Well Done to Ross George of StPauls – JP2 Gold Award …

Well done to Ross George of St. Paul’s for achieving his John Paul II GOLD award. He received his award along with 120 other young people from across our diocese who were also awarded JPII awards by Bishop Seamus at Ceremony held at the Tyne Theatre on Thursday evening. Congratulations and well done on these great achievements from all at St. Johns.

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