Cathedral Church of St Marie, Sheffield Everyone Welcome

Cycle A – 13th January to 19th January 2008

When Jesus was baptised, the heavens were opened and the Spirit of God came upon him and a voice spoke from heaven; “This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him.”

_________________________

Baptism Congratulations: Welcome to Silvi Pip Hinchcliffe who was baptised on 6th January 2008 and congratulations to parents Shaun and Jacqueline.

_________________________

2008 White Flower Appeal
The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) will be holding its annual White Flower Appeal this weekend. In common with the Catholic Church, SPUC defends and upholds the sanctity of human life from conception until natural death.

_________________________

Alms Giving During the Season of Lent.
In 2007 the parish nominated The Smile Train, a charity providing medical help for children on the African continent born with a cleft lip, to receive the Lenten Alms. With the season of Lent starting early this year we need to begin receiving nominations now for the Alms giving in 2008. Three nominations have already been put forward and any further suggestions should be given to Cathedral House by 17/18th January so that a decision can be made by the parish the following week.

_________________________

St Marie's Parish Pastoral Council - Tuesday 15th January
The first meeting of the year will be held in the Houlden Hall at 7:30pm. Among other things, the PPC will be looking at setting its priorities for the coming year. All are welcome, particularly if you have any thoughts about issues the PPC should be considering.

_________________________

First Holy Communion
Our team of catechists who have prepared children for their First Holy Communion have given great service to the parish over the years and I am very grateful for their commitment and good work. Recently they have each needed to make new commitments in other areas of their lives and I support them in their request to step down from their work as catechists. We are therefore seeking new volunteers to come forward and undergo preparation and training during the New Year and Spring and begin the First Holy Communion programme during the summer so that the children can make their First Holy Communion in the autumn. If you are able to become involved with the preparation for and running of the First Holy Communion programme please contact Fr Craig Fitzpatrick on 0114 272 2522 or by email at frcraig.fitzpatrick@stmariecathedral.org

_________________________

Diary for January 2008

Saturday 19th January - Architect’s Visit - Using the Cathedral Space Well – A Consultation with the Cathedral Parish. 10.15am in the Cathedral.

Saturday 19th January - Deacon Bill’s Birthday: 7.30pm-11pm St Vincent’s Club

Sunday 20th January - Weekend of Christian Unity. Rev Bob Heathcote will speak at the 10.30am Mass and Mr Philip Baiden will speak at the 6.30pm Mass. Both are from our neighbour, the Central United Reformed Church.
W/E 26th/27th January - Looking After Our Children & Vulnerable Members of Our Community. Lisa Markham Diocesan CPO will be speaking at all Masses.

_________________________

Keeping In Touch
The Keeping In Touch (KIT) initiative is a lay-led ministry that was originally established in the Portsmouth diocese. It is designed to reach out to all local Catholics, whether or not they go to Church, allowing them to explore their faith, ask questions, raise issues and deal with difficulties without the need to commit themselves to anything. KIT is different from Journey in Faith in that it is aimed at existing Catholics, rather than those wishing to become Catholics. The initiative combines a series of small group meetings with home visits and we are hoping to launch KIT in the Parish this summer. The first stage is to establish a KIT Team whose members will be responsible for organising and running the series of group meetings and/or carrying out home visits. A meeting is taking place at Cathedral House on Wednesday 30 January at 6.30 pm to decide on the dates and organisation of the group meetings and anyone interested in joining the KIT Team is invited to come along to find out more. A leaflet is available at the back of the Cathedral and we would ask for the reply slip to be completed and returned to Cathedral House as soon as possible.

_________________________

Thank You
The Faith4youth Christmas concert on 21st December raised a grand total of £461.55 for CAFOD! Members of the group would like to thank everyone at St. Marie's for their support in this...& remind them to keep their diaries free for Christmas 2008!!

_________________________

Message from Fr Joseph
Happy New Year. I hope you are all fine. There is a bit of tension in Uganda because of the instability in Kenya. There are many refugees coming to Uganda. We are experiencing shortage of goods because the Mombassa port which serves most of East and Central Africa is part of Kenya. Fortunately, governments are trying to do all possible to look for alternative passages for these goods especially oil which is necessary for any economy. Pray for us please. God bless, Fr Joseph

_________________________

City of Sanctuary Strategy Planning Event - Thursday 7th February
How can we realise our vision of Sheffield as a place of welcome and hospitality? What are the urgent priorities for asylum-seekers and refugees in Sheffield? What about the needs of new migrants in our city? ICOSS Building, Sheffield University, 219 Portobello, Sheffield S1 4DP 1.30pm to 4pm. All welcome

_________________________

Help Needed with the Rite of Election - Sunday 10th February
This is a Diocesan celebration which is held at the Cathedral on the afternoon of the First Sunday of Lent. Its purpose is to enable Bishop John to meet and encourage all who are being prepared for Adult Baptism of Reception into the Catholic Church. We need volunteers to help welcome and register those who arrive for the service and also some help with providing refreshments after the service. If you can help please contact Fr Desmond as soon as possible.

_________________________

Vacancies
Together for Regeneration (TfR) requires two energetic and resourceful people, who enjoy a constant challenge, to fill the following posts:
Two Voluntary, Community and Faith Sector Regeneration Advisers
To provide organisational and project development support to Voluntary, Community and Faith Sector groups in Barnsley and Doncaster. £25,219 pa + non-contributory pension. Funded by The National Lottery through Big Lottery Fund for 3 years. Please see the notice board for details on how to apply.