Sunday 9th April 2023
Easter Sunday
!HAPPY EASTER!
He is Risen, Alleluia!
Masses & Liturgies for the Coming Week…
Holy Saturday Saturday 8thApril
8:30pm The Easter Vigil
Easter Sunday 9thApril
10am Easter Mass
Easter Tuesday 11th April
5pm – 5:50pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
6pm Easter Mass
Easter Wednesday 12thApril
9am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
10am Easter Mass
Easter Thursday 13thApril
11:30am Requiem Mass for Joseph Kemp RIP
Easter Friday 14thApril (No Abstinence)
5pm – 5:50pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
6pm Easter Mass
Easter Saturday 15thApril
9am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
10am Easter Mass (In the Lady Chapel)
6pm The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
6:30pm Vigil Mass for the Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)
Sunday 16thApril
9:30am The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
10am Mass for the Second Sunday of Easter
1:30pm Parish Walk Meeting at Clough Head Information Centre (details below)
Sanctuary Lamp
This week (8th April - 15th April), the Sanctuary Lamp is for Doreen Robinson.
Last Week's Offertory Collection
£617.71. Thank you for your kind generosity.
Easter Blessings & Thanks
Thank you to everyone who made this Easter such a prayerful and joyous celebration. The faith and love that have made people go above and beyond has truly been inspiring. From the beautiful flower displays and Lychgate, the commitment shown by the altar servers, the talents of the musicians and singers who came on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, the faithfulness of the stewards, the buffing, polishing and dusting of the cleaners, the dedication of the readers, the behind the scenes work of anonymous volunteers…Thank you! But also a huge Thank You to all who came to the various Masses, Liturgies and prayers during the Triduum. May God continue to bless you all in your faith and witness to the Risen Lord.
St. Mary's Warm Welcome – Thank you
Last Tuesday, on behalf of the parish, Michael Leeming offered thanks to all those generous volunteers who have helped make the St. Mary's Warm Welcome such and enjoyable experience and helped dispel the winter blues. Come this autumn we will begin again as the temperature drops and the days get shorter.
Parish Easter Walk
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)
Easter Raffle
Next weekend the parish Easter Raffle will be drawn. Because so many generous people donated eggs and other prizes we could be a long time waiting for all the tickets to be picked aftre Mass on Divine Sunday. There are a lot of prizes!!! Therefore the raffle will be drawn on Friday 14th April and the winning numbers put up on the narthex noticeboard next to the stewards desk. Bring your ticket next weekend to church to see if you've won.
St Oswald's School
On Wednesday Miss Collinge created a beautiful liturgy for Holy Week which focused on the Last Supper. With prayers, scripture and music it set a real reflective tone for the school community. Many of the children will not experience the Masses and Liturgies over the Easter Triduum but this service allowed them to glimpse the importance of the Easter season and gave me the opportunity, as the parish priest, to talk about the Blessed Sacrament as that most tangible gift of Jesus' love for us. I was also invited by the younger children to look at the outdoor Easter gardens they had made in the playground, all complete with crosses and empty tombs! Another imaginative way the staff, Mrs Guest and Mrs Holden, were able to pass on the Easter story to the younger pupils.
St. Mary's School
I was invited on Thursday for the school Lenten Read Around. This is where the staff read the story of the Passion to the children from the different perspectives of those who witnessed Jesus' death and resurrection. At different stages the children then sang hymns that related to the Passion and I was impressed how strong and confident they were – we may have future singers for our church!
38th Diocesan Synod
The Bishop has now formally called for the diocese to have it's 38th Diocesan Synod which will continue until the Final Synod Gathering in 2025. For more information visit www.dioceseofsalford.org.uk
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/
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.
Parish Amalgamation
Following consultation with the Presbyteral Council, the Bishop has decreed the extinctive union of the following parishes and the forming of a new parish:
St James the Less, Rawtenstall and St Joseph and St Peter, Newchurch. The name of the new parish will be Holy Apostles, Rossendale
Christian Leadership Formation Programme
This is a unique opportunity with respect to anything currently on offer in the UK. The programme offers:
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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)
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a strong, liturgical framework of Mass, divine office, Eucharistic adoration, rosary, and a 12-hour silent retreat
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Workshops in public speaking, changing culture, statesmanship
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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
Robert Almond
The family of the late Robert Almond have requested that this item be placed in the parish newsletter:
Robert (Bob) Almond, died 31/3/2023 [Retired teacher of Mount Carmel High School]
St Mary's church was a keystone in Bob's life when he was in Oswaldtwistle, and his membership of the choir was something he always cherished and spoke of fondly when living in South Wales. His tenor voice never failed him to the end.
God Bless and keep praying.
Our Lady of Oswaldtwistle, pray for us.
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
Fr. O'Brien