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SCRIPTURE
READINGS
|
Joshua |
5:9-12 |
| Psalm |
33 |
| II
Corinthians |
5:17-21 |
| Luke |
15:1-3,
11-32 |
A
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY
TO
ALL OUR MOTHERS!
LAETARE!
REJOICE!
Today's
prayers and readings, the very change of colour
at the altar, are all chosen to put us in a hopeful
and happy frame of mind. As Easter approaches, the
austerities of Lent are forgotten for a day. I would
like to use this occasion to share with you some
reasons why we as a parish community should indeed
be rejoicing.
Our
church is in good shape just now. We have a fine
building in good repair and well maintained. The
beauty of the church (with its renowned music) attracts
people from all over the world. But what is the
real beauty of Farm Street? You are! The people
who share our life and worship, who come to pray
and celebrate, to learn and to grow, to enjoy one
another's company – this is the true beauty of our
church.
We
have a tremendously committed staff of paid personnel
who keep us going day by day and we are grateful
to them beyond words. But I want especially to thank
the many volunteers who devote so much of their
time and labour to our mission. We have over a hundred
parishioners who are taking time out of their busy
lives to do something extra for the church. A wonderful
spirit is generated by this amount of commitment
and energy and I wish to thank you all for taking
lay engagement to a new level. Farm Street is not
something that a few Jesuits are doing on behalf
of people who may or may not show up for Mass. We
are fully a joint enterprise: clergy and laity in
partnership, building the Body of Christ in the
centre of this great city. This year will see the
launch of our new website and the publication of
a Parish Directory as well as other tools of communication
and information so that we can better share the
Good News. And, as you see, we are introducing a
new format for our weekly newsletter: the old size
just wasn't big enough any longer! We also rejoice
in the Mount Street Jesuit Centre and its work.
We are very fortunate indeed to be in partnership
with this major institute of lay formation.
Capital
and operational expenses have been vey high this
year and our surplus for 2009 is modest, but the
accumulated surplus of the last five years will
enable us to undertake significant charitable works
here and abroad and we can look forward to some
exciting projects. I shall be writing about these
plans soon. A tremendous Thank You for all your
support!
I
have been your Parish Priest for five and a half
years - wonderful years for me personally. It is
likely that I shall be with you for a few more years
to come (gulp!). I am hoping to take a short sabbatical
leave at the end of the year. While I am away, the
clergy and Parish Council will be helping you to
take part in a shared discernment on the direction
you would like to see us going.
Rejoice
in the Lord always and may God grant you every blessing
from above.
Fr
William Pearsall SJ
LENT
AND HOLY WEEK
Palm
Sunday , March 28
th
There
will be an exchange of palms with Grosvenor Chapel
at 10:45am
in Mount Street
Garden
.
Monday
in Holy Week , March
29 th
6:45pm:
Penance Service with opportunity for individual
confession.
Maundy
Thursday , April
1 st
Mass
of the Lord's Supper at 6pm.
Good
Friday , April 2
nd
This
is a day of fasting and abstinence. 3pm: Liturgy
of the Passion
6pm:
Seven Last Words
Holy
Saturday , April
3 rd
8pm:
Easter Vigil Mass
Easter
Sunday : regular
Mass times
STATIONS
OF THE CROSS
There
are Stations of the Cross on Fridays during Lent
at 12:30pm Children's Stations of the Cross
will take place on Sunday
March
21st at 10.30am in the church.
REFLECTION
DAYS FOR VOLUNTEER GROUPS
We
are very grateful to all our many volunteers for
the dedication they bring to serving our church.
To help in their formation and training we are offering
the opportunity for a half-day of prayer, reflection
and practical matters for our major volunteer groups.
If you are in one of these groups please put your
date in your diary. The days begin at 10am
and finish at around 2pm
.
Sat
March 20 th : Senior Altar Servers
Sat
April 17 th : Catechists
Sat
June 12 th : Readers (this includes weekday readers
as well as those on the Sunday rota)
Sat
September 18 th : Welcomers (greeters, coffee and
bookshop helpers and night receptionists)
Sat
September 25 th : Ministers of Holy Communion.
Junior
Altar Servers will have an evening this Friday,
March 12 th .
Please
see any of the clergy for details. We realise that
there are “unattached” volunteers and we will try
and serve them also.
CONFESSIONS
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND PARENTS
SUNDAY
14th MARCH at 10.30am in the church
LENTEN
TALKS
Sundays at
5pm in the Hall . Fr Anthony Meredith
continues his series of Lenten talks. The
topic today: Being a Christian Soldier
Next
week: JOURNEY'S END. All are welcome .
LENTEN
APPEAL
We
continue to collect for our Lenten CAFOD (Catholic
Agency for Overseas Development) appeal. The theme
this year is “give it up!”. We are invited to give
up some of our luxuries so that our brothers and
sisters in developing countries can have the basics:
food, water, shelter and medical help. This is a
part of our Lenten Alms-giving, so let's be generous.
FARM
STREET FILMS
On
Thursday 11th March at 6:45pm
“ Films at Farm
Street ”
presents Molokai
by director
Paul Cox ( 1999
). The true story of Fr Damien, the leper priest.
March
25 th : Romero (dir. John Duigan, 1989). The story
of Archbishop Oscar Romero, a modern martyr.
April
15 th : El Norte (dir. Gregory Nava, 1983). A couple's
journey.
All
welcome, admission free.
COUNCIL
OF CHRISTIANS AND JEWS
‘Ethical
issues surrounding the end of life' is the topic
for discussion with Rabbi Rich and Canon Woodward.
MONDAY 15th MARCH, 7-8.30pm. West London Synagogue,
34 Upper Berkley Street, W1. All are welcome.
There
will be no rehearsals of the Children's Choir until
after Easter
FAITH
MATTERS
Tuesdays
in Lent, 7-8:30pm Westminster Cathedral Hall, Ambrosden
Avenue , SWIP 1QJ.
The
final lecture in this series takes place on TUESDAY
MARCH 16th at Westminster Cathedral Hall Ambrosden
Avenue SW1 at 7pm.
ARCHBISHOP
VINCENT NICHOLS will speak on THE
PRIEST AS WITNESS
All
are welcome.
All
of these talks can be downloaded from the Westminster
Diocesan website.
THE
ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
On
SATURDAY MARCH 20th at 2:15pm
Dr
Rowan Williams will be speaking at Farm Street Church
on The
Fellowship of the Baptised .
This talk is part of the John Coventry Memorial
Lectures, established to promote better understanding
and deeper appreciation of our common Christian
heritage in families where different Church traditions
are represented. All are welcome . For
further details, contact the Association of Interchurch
Families 0203 384 2947 or www.interchurchfamilies.org.uk
MOUNT
STREET JESUIT
CENTRE
ONE-DAY
WORKSHOP
WE
WHO WERE WITH HIM
Wednesday
24 th March, 10am – 2pm ,
To
book a place, e-mail brian@mountstreet.info
with your phone number or call 020 7495 1673
Led
by BRIAN PURFIELD
As
Holy Week approaches, you are invited to spend time
in prayer and reflection with some of the people
who encountered Jesus during his Passion. Based
on characters and events found in the Passion Narrative
of the Gospel of St. Luke.
Please
use Gift-Aid envelopes for your donations if you
are a UK
Tax-payer .
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