Masses & Liturgies for the Coming Week…
Saturday 1st April
9am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions
10am Lenten Weekday Mass (Celebrated in Lady Chapel)
6pm The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
6:30pm Vigil Mass for Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord
Sunday 2nd April
9:30am The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
10am Mass for Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord
Tuesday 4th April
1pm – 3pm St. Mary's Warm Welcome (Details below)
Wednesday 5th April
9:15am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
10am Lenten Weekday Mass
7pm Consecration to St. Joseph (Meeting 6 & Day of Consecration)
Maundy Thursday 6th April
10:20am Funeral Service for Cecilia Watson RIP at Accrington Crematorium
7:30pm Mass of the Lord's Supper & Washing of Feet
8:30pm Watching at the Altar of Repose
9:30pm Night Prayer
Good Friday 7th April
(Day of Fasting & Abstinence)
9am – 10am Confessions
10am Stations of the Cross
3pm Solemn Liturgy of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Holy Saturday Saturday 8th April
8:30pm The Easter Vigil
Easter Sunday 9th April
10am Easter Mass
Sanctuary Lamp
This week (1st April - 8th April), the Sanctuary Lamp is for Amy Houston.
Last Week's Offertory Collection
£728.12 Thank you for your kind generosity.
Easter Chicks
Thanks to all those who were involved in making, selling and buying the Easter Chicks. The amount raised for church funds was £168.50.
Good Friday Collection
The Bishop has reminded us of the mandatory collection on Good Friday for the places of Palestine, which supports the life of the Church in the Holy Land.
Parish Lenten Walk
Thanks to everyone who came along to the Huncoat Trail walk and for Marie for being our guide. The varied terrain and country we covered in a few hours was impressive plus you appreciate the history that's shaped our local area.
Easter Walk: Pendle Hill 16th April
Hills are always great places to rise above your worries and see the bigger picture and we are blessed to have Pendle Hill on our doorstep. I have to confess I've never walked up Pendle so my thanks to Adam (our parish seminarian) for helping to be our guide for this one.
We'll begin the walk by meeting at the Car Park on Barley Road, BB12 9JX, at 1:30pm on Divine Mercy Sunday, 16th April
Route Terrain: Hill moorland, woodland, farmland
Distance: 5 ½ miles (9 km)
Height gain: 1,560 feet (475 m)
St. Mary's Warm Welcome
This parish initiative has been such a huge success over the last few cold winter months. The aim was to bring people together in a warm space, to break up the dark days with music, company and a decent brew and cake. A number of people have commented that it really has been a warm welcome and made a difference to a depressing winter. The last Warm Welcome for this current season will be on Tuesday 4th April from 1pm – 3pm.
Good News!!! By popular demand and the support of all those volunteers involved we will resume the St. Mary's Warm Welcome this autumn when the temperature drops and the dark days return. Thank you to the band, Anthony, Dylan and Michael, for keeping us all singing and doing requests. Thanks to Ciara, Jennifer, Karen, Maureen and other helpers for the endless supply of refreshments. Finally a BIG THANK YOU to all those who have come and made it such a warm welcoming atmosphere.
Congratulations!!!
Over the last few years Adam Bamber has become a familiar face to many of us here at St. Mary's. As you know Adam is a seminarian for the diocese of Shrewsbury and is studying for the priesthood at Oscott College. This week he was given the good news by his Rector that he will receive candidacy in May. What is Candidacy? It's a formal stage when the Church affirms Adam's discernment about his vocation to priesthood. Let's continue to pray for him and for all those discerning God's calling.
Mass for Vocations to the Priesthood
The diocesan series of Masses for Vocations to the Priesthood returns in April to help inspire conversation and prayer around the call to priestly life. The next Mass will take place at 7pm on Friday 21st April at Salford Cathedral. All are very welcome to attend. To find out more about these Masses, please visit https://www.dioceseofsalford.org.uk/monthly-vocations-masses/
St. Mary's School
On Thursday Mrs. Durkan's class joined us for our morning parish Mass. The Gospel reminded us that some people still didn't fully know that Jesus was God and so became confused and angry with Him. As we approach Holy Week we are drawn closer to Jesus through the liturgies and prayers so that we can know Him better.
St. Oswald's School
On Friday morning the whole school undertook a sponsored walk to raise money for CAFOD. The children walked from St. Oswald's to church and back again. When they arrived at church we were able to pray and ask Our Lady to be a mother to all those families who had been affected by the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey.
Easter Flowers
Each year (Christmas & Easter) we offer the opportunity for people to sponsor a flower display in church in prayer for a loved one who has died or for deceased family and friends. We are blessed to have Maureen and other volunteers who freely share their talents to make this happen so that the windows in church and the statues of St. Patrick, St. Joseph and St. Margaret Clitherow are beautifully decorated. If you would like to sponsor a display for £20 please see one of the stewards, with your money, who have the list at the back of church. There has been a significant increase to the cost of flowers so if people would like to donate money for flowers in general during the Easter season then please put your donation in an envelope marked 'Flower Money'. Thank you.
Easter Raffle
We are hoping to begin an Easter Raffle, to help raise money for our church, and it would be great if parishioners had any Easter eggs to donate as prizes. If you are able to kindly donate an Easter egg then please pass them to one of the stewards at the back of church. You will also be able to begin buying tickets for the raffle from this weekend (£1 a ticket or £5 a strip).
The Raffle will be drawn on the 16th April Divine Mercy Sunday (The Second Sunday of Eater) after the 10am Mass.
Feast of Divine Mercy – Jesus I trust in You
On Divine Mercy Sunday, 16th April 2023, we celebrate at St. Mary's, Clayton Le Moors with 1:30pm Adoration, opportunity for confessions and a talk by Tony Hickey. 3Pm Holy Mass followed by refreshments. All Welcome.
Livestream of Chrism Mass at Salford Cathedral
This year's Chrism Mass for the Diocese of Salford will be taking place at 11am on Wednesday 5th April at Salford Cathedral. If you would like to pray along at home, the Mass can be livestreamed at https://salfordcathedral.co.uk/
Resources for Holy Week and Easter
During the course of Holy Week and Easter, the Diocese of Salford will be sharing a number of resources to help you pray and reflect at home. To find out more or access these resources, please visit https://www.dioceseofsalford.org.uk/news/ or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
St. Mary's Paris Centre Photos
Thank you to those who contributed photos to the St. Mary's Parish Centre exhibition. All the photos are safely at the stewards desk (Narthex) ready for collection. Photos that aren't taken we will put in the parish archives.
Christian Leadership Formation Programme
This is a unique opportunity with respect to anything currently on offer in the UK. The programme offers:
• a holistic formation in the Catholic philosophy and theology underpinning key themes related to the common good (e.g. human dignity, human rights, civil law, subsidiarity, vision for a human ecology, distribution of public goods and finances, etc.)
• a strong, liturgical framework of Mass, divine office, Eucharistic adoration, rosary, and a 12-hour silent retreat
• Workshops in public speaking, changing culture, statesmanship
• Team-building activities and socials
Our previous cohort were all deeply impacted by the programme, regardless of what preconceptions, views and opinions they came with. Amongst their feedback, they said it was the best thing they'd done all year; they noted how it had opened their eyes to the world of theology; how they had transformed their ideas of a synonymity between their professional and spiritual lives; etc. We have bursaries to offer those students who cannot contribute to all or part of the programme's cost. Our partners in delivering the programme include St Mary's University, Twickenham, the Catholic Union of Great Britain, and Alliance Defending Freedom UK.
We are only seeking to recruit 15 participants from amongst the applicants, but we are struggling to get the message through to potential candidates via the usual school channels. Applications close at the end of March (although we will accept forms after this date from those who have advised us of their incoming application).
St Oswald's RC Nursery School, Hartley Ave, Accrington
Did you know that St Oswald's is able to offer a free nursery education for your child?
Our nursery is well staffed and resourced, providing a secure, caring learning environment for your child. Our staff are very experienced, friendly and approachable and we can promise you a warm welcome. The school's website, www.stoswaldsromancatholicprimaryschool.com/nursery has more information about what the children learn whilst they are there.
The Nursery has two classes :
* Class 1 - session times run from 8.55 a.m. to 11.55 a.m.
* Class 2 - session times run from 12 noon to 3 p.m.
Everyone is entitled to 15 hours of free education and eligible families are entitled to 30 hours.
Please check the Lancashire County Council website to see if you are eligible for 30hrs.
We offer a Breakfast Club from 8 a.m. which costs only 50p and children receive breakfast and activities. We also have links with childminders in the area who mind children from 3 p.m. onwards if this is required. Please ask for details.
Children must be three years of age to start and out of nappies.
If you would like to visit our nursery and / or put your child's name down on our Admission list for when they have their 3rd birthday, please do not hesitate to call Mrs. Lee on 01254 234924.
Diocesan Pilgrimage to Walsingham, Saturday 20th May, 2023
The Diocese of Salford's annual pilgrimage to Walsingham will be returning on Saturday 20th May.
This year's pilgrimage has a number of places available to join the Day Pilgrimage and a very limited number of places for the overnight stay. The cost is £45 for the day trip and £134 for an overnight stay in a Standard room, and £150 for an overnight stay in an En-Suite room. For more information, email walsingham.pilgrimage@dioceseofsalford.org.uk or call 0161 817 2214.
Alongside the main pilgrimage, we will also have our Youth Pilgrimage. For more information please email youth@dioceseofsalford.org.uk
Non Diocesan Coaches to Walsingham Pilgrimage
We are aware that there are a number of parishes, who may have arranged their own transport for the Diocesan Pilgrimage to Walsingham.
Parishes should make it clear, if advertising these coaches, that they will not have undertaken the Diocesan Risk Assessment, including safeguarding and Health and Safety. These coaches will not, therefore, be covered by the diocesan public liability insurance.
As a consequence, we would ask parishes to only advertise those coaches that have been centrally organised and will be fully covered by our insurance.
Please note that in no circumstances should vehicles be described or represented as official or authorised Diocesan transport, as this would be misleading to those booking the same in good faith. Responsibility for the same will remain personally with those hiring the vehicle concerned so we would strongly discourage this option.
Mr Edward Nally
Secretary to the Diocesan Trustees
Diocese of Salford
Register for the Laudato Si' Animators' Course
The Vatican-backed Laudato Si Movement organises an online Laudato Si' Animators' Course which is set up to educate and enable people to inspire others, in parishes, schools and in the world at large, to engage in dialogue and action on the current environmental crises. The course, which starts on 19th April 2023, will educate and empower you to bring the Laudato Si' Encyclical to life. The course is from Wednesday 19th April – May 17th with weekly seminars at 2pm (or you can view the recordings afterwards). For more information and to register see: https://laudatosianimators.org/see or watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy9YGWle8AA
God Bless and keep praying.
Our Lady of Oswaldtwistle, pray for us.
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
Fr. O'Brien