Newsletter_Oct11

Tomorrow evening (Monday 12th) at 6pm we welcome His Excellency Archbishop Faustino Sainz Muños, Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain , as celebrant for a Mass in honour of the St Francis Leprosy Guild, one of our special Farm Street charities. The Mass will be followed by a reception in the Hall and a presentation by Sr Claire Houareau SJC on the recently beatified Jesuit Jan Beyzym, founder of the leprosy centre at Marana , Madagascar . All are welcome.

A Justice and Peace Group will be starting in the parish. The J&P Network is a national organization within the Catholic Church to promote more just social structures and to support those who are working for peace. It provides information and advocacy and gives opportunities for people in parishes to take part in supporting causes on behalf of the poor and the powerless. If you are interested in joining this group, please contact Patsy Cummings at pcummings@rcdow.org.uk .

Parents of children who wish to make their First Holy Communion in 2010 need to register by Sunday 25 th October 2009 . The first meeting for children and parents is on Sunday 8 th November 2009 at 10.30am following the family Mass. Fr William will be arranging to meet with the parents individually in the next week or so. For further details see Patsy Cummings after Mass or pcummings@rcdow.org.uk .

Stonyhurst College and St Mary's Hall are co-educational Catholic boarding schools in the Jesuit tradition and are the historic centre of Jesuit education in England . They are holding open days on Saturday 17 th October 2009 for entry to and including 11 years and above, and on Saturday 7 th November 2009 for 13 years and above and sixth form entry. For further information or to collect an invitation, please see Fr William or contact Stonyhurst direct on 0125 482 6345 or visit www.stonyhurst.ac.uk .

On Wednesday evening the Farm Street Filipino Community gathered for Mass with the Philippine Ambassador and a number of clergy to pray for the victims of the devastating typhoons which have caused so much damage to life and property. Four million people have been affected; 42,000 are living in emergency shelter. This Sunday we are asking for donations for an emergency appeal to come to their assistance. All donations will be sent to the Jesuit Curia in Manila who will guarantee the most effective use of your contributions. Please see the photos at the back of the church.

Thank you so much for your response to our Harvest Appeal. CAFOD envelops may be handed in at any timebefore October 19th.

As the relics of St Therese have made their way through various parts of Britain the popular response has been enormous. Liverpool and Manchester especially have witnessed such an outpouring of devotion that even the secular press has made this a top story. The relics arrive in London this week end for a four-day period. There are leaflets at the doors giving details of services and visiting time at the Cathedral. For further information, contact Fr Michael Dunne on 0207 798 9360 or st.therese@rcdow.org.uk.

We thank those who have offered their services to look after the door and telephone at 114 Mount Street on weekdays from 5 to 8:30pm . Even if you could only do this once a month we would still like to have a few more volunteers. A great way to help the Church and Jesuit community! Contact Fr William.

CARJ (Catholic Association of Racial Justice) is holding discussions and events around the country to celebrate 25 years of progress in working for racial justice. The date and venue of this event has been rescheduled to take place on Saturday 24 th October 2009 at St John Vianney Parish Centre, West Green Road, N15 3QH , from 1.30pm to 4.30pm . This event is now being incorporated into the Westminster Justice and Peace Commission Annual Day. If you would like to attend, please contact Patsy Cummings on pcummings@rcdow.org.uk or Barbara Kentish at Westminster Justice and Peace on justiceandpeace@rcdow.org.uk .

In order to accommodate all the items relating to parish activities, as well as items of interest from the Diocese and beyond, and in order to provide a weekly essay for reflection, we will bechanging the newsletter format in the near future. If you have ideas or appropriate skills to offer we would be very happy to hear from you. The website is also undergoing a revamp. There has been some interest shown in starting a parish magazine. Again if you have ideas or appropriate skills to offer, please let the parish office know. Many thanks.

The annual census of Mass attendance takes place throughout October. Please do not be alarmed if you find your head being counted by one of the clergy at Sunday Mass.

An opportunity for a small group to be guided in prayer through selected passages from Luke using both Lectio Divina � �divine reading�- to listen, ponder and pray the word of God, and Imaginative Contemplation - finding yourself within the gospel scene. Both are ancient methods of prayer which bring scripture to life and link scripture with our daily lives. Each evening we will take a story from St. Luke's gospel, and enter into the story in a way that will help us discover what this Word of God is saying to each of us as individuals in our own unique lives.

A Women's workshop to Explore Your Sense of Self, Your Communication with Others and where in Life You cannot find Your Voice

These mid-week workshops are a new feature and we hope will be useful to those who may be free at this time. Please help get the word around.

A series of four separate talks presented by Fr Dominic Robinson SJ, 7pm-8.30pm on alternate Thursdays, 15 October � 26 November. A unique opportunity to examine in some depth the decrees of the Council and to try to understand their meaning for the Church today.