Mass times & intentions for next week

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ARRANGEMENTS AT MASS: Please allow the right hand side communicants to return to their places before coming forward from the left hand side, starting from the front please. Those receiving on the tongue to come forward at the end and kneel across the bottom altar step.

THERE IS NO LONGER A SUNDAY MASS AT KIRKBY STEPHEN: John Murray can offer to help with lifts for anyone without transport to come to Mass at Appleby and you can join a WhatsApp group for Catholics in Kirkby Stephen. Enquiries via parish office.

CATHOLIC VOICE for April is now available by clicking the button on the left or from the Narthex.

THIS WEEK:
Tues 3pm Prayer Group in the Quiet Room
3.45pm First Holy Communion Preparation in School
Thurs 7.30pm PPC Planning Group for revised constitution
Sun 21st 9.30am First Holy Communion Preparation in Haydock Centre

ADVANCE DATES:
Sun 28 April Family event and picnic
Friday 3 May 3.45pm First Confessions at St. Catherine’s
Sat 4 May 3pm Clergy Fraternal at Alston
Sun 5 May 2.30pm Baptism of Joseph Campbell at Our Lady of Appleby
Thur 9 May Solemnity of the Ascension:
Masses: 6pm Alston for the Vigil (8th May), On the day 9.15am at Penrith and 7pm at Appleby
Sat 11 May 10.30am First Holy Communion Mass at St. Catherine’s

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

MISSIO - Red Boxes at St. C’s will be collected after morning Masses this Sunday, so please bring boxes to church. Empty boxes will be returned to the Narthex as soon as possible after that for you to collect. Many thanks, Lorna Mullett and Denis Smith

NEXT SUNDAY is Vocations Sunday when we are asked to reflect on praying for and promoting vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and consecrated religious life. There will be a Special Collection for the Ecclesiastical Education Fund and a Pastoral Letter from the Bishop for the ‘Good Shepherd’ Sunday.

Do you donate your offertory by standing order and have signed a gift aid declaration? You can now collect a box of blue dated envelopes for all the Special Collections so that we can claim gift aid on those donations too. Boxes are available in the Narthex - please write your details on the form (beside the box number taken). At the present basic rate of tax of 20%, for every £10 you donate to a Special Collection we can reclaim an additional £2.50.

TEAS & COFFEES
at St Catherine’s - every week after 8.30am & 10.30am
at Our Lady of Appleby - 1st Sunday

All welcome!

** We need an extra volunteer to complete the tea and coffee rota for St Catherine’s 8.30am Mass (working in pairs). If you can help, please contact Mary Coen directly or via the Parish Office. **

Events for Families & Young People 2024

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On Sunday 28 April, weather permitting, there will be a family walk, picnic and fun in the park at Lowther. 

We will meet at 2pm in the Lowther Castle car park (postcode for SatNat CA10 2HH) and then set out together on a family-friendly walk of about 2 miles. Please, bring a picnic for after the walk, when there will be family fun and games. 

For more details email Deacon Charlie on  charlie.conner@lrcd.org.uk or call 07895 742 732.

To find out about and/or be reminded of upcoming events join our WhatsApp community and if you have any questions or ideas, please speak with Deacon Charlie or email him on charlie.conner@lrcd.org.uk.

Gift Aid Envelopes commencing 7th April 2024

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Yellow envelopes: These are ready for collection in the Narthex. Please note that the boxes also include blue Special Collection envelopes (in date order and pre-printed).

Blue Special Collection envelopes: For donors who do not use yellow envelopes, please consider taking a box of blue Special Collection envelopes. Boxes of these (with the envelopes pre-printed and in date order) are available in the Narthex. If you take a box of blue envelopes, please write your details on the form (beside the box number taken).This is for Gift Aid reclaim purposes.

Pink Visitor envelopes: These are intended for Visitors only. If you donate regularly, please do not use the pink envelopes. If you would like to donate regularly, please consider doing so by Standing Order, or alternatively, please ask for a set of yellow (including blue special collection) envelopes.

Gift Aid scheme: A Gift Aid tax reclaim will be submitted to HMRC shortly. Please notify us if you are no longer a taxpayer or if you paid insufficient tax during 2023/24 to cover the tax that will be reclaimed on all your donations given under Gift Aid to all charities during the tax year. At the present basic rate of tax of 20%, 25p is reclaimed for every £1 donated. If you changed address during the tax year, please ensure that you notify the Parish. If you are a taxpayer and would like to commence gift-aiding your offerings, please complete for a Gift Aid declaration form here. Should you prefer to donate by Standing Order, please also complete the bank mandate form. Thank you, Ann Roncoli (Gift Aid Organiser) giftaid.stcatherines@btinternet.com

Parish Pastoral Council

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Thanks to all who attended/sent apologies for our recent meeting - Parish Pastoral Council Minutes for 5 March meeting & the latest financial summary are on the noticeboard in the narthex.

The next PPC meeting is on Tuesday 11 June at 6.30pm at Penrith. It will be the final AGM and meeting of St. Catherine’s PPC. The main item will be to lay the ground for a new Pastoral Parish Council and constitution for our new Parish of St. John Boste, representing our three church communities and school. More to follow.

100 Club

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Image from unsplash

Thank you for the great response to Christine’s appeal.

Envelopes are still available for new memberships and renewals. It would be great if we can get over 100 members this year to celebrate our joining together as one Parish!

For an annual subscription of £15 you get a chance to win prizes of £25, £15 and £10 every month and raise money for the parish.

Collect an envelope from the Narthex, fill in your name and address and either:

1) Set up an annual Standing order

Account name: LRCDTR

Sort code: 40-27-02

Account number: 31335200

Payment reference: Your surname/100 Club

Amount: £15.00 Start date: April

or

2) Enclose £15 cheque (made payable to St Catherine’s) or cash and return it to the Parish Office.

The list of winners for the month is displayed in the Newsletter and on noticeboards. Cheques are posted to home addresses promptly after each draw.

If you have already set up a standing order you don’t need to complete a new form. (If you’re not sure, contact the Parish Office.)

Thanks to our Hospitality Group!

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Many thanks to the Hospitality Group at St. Catherine’s for providing a splendid lunch for 15 clergy from our North Cumbria Deanery last Tuesday. It was very much appreciated!

Merger of Parishes

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Our two parishes will officially merge as one this Thursday 29 February 2024 at noon. The name of the new Parish will be St. John Boste. Each church retains its current title of dedication, as does the school in Penrith.

Parishioner, Professor Michael Mullett has written a short history of St. John Boste here.

Download the Decree and Reasons for Merger here.

Let’s keep our Parish in our prayers especially at this time, asking for the guidance of St. John Boste and the patrons of our three churches, St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Wulstan and Our Lady of Appleby (their prayers continue for us!). We will need to look at forming a new parish council in due course. Also, a prayer card for St. John Boste is being prepared to mark the creation of the new parish. Every Blessing, Fr. John

John Bradburne Pilgrimage Climb 2024

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Image: John Bradburne

Our John Bradburne Pilgrimage Climb up Cross Fell will take place on Saturday 8 June 2024.

This is the highest mountain in England outside the Lake District. John Bradburne climbed and wrote about it many times in his poetry. The summit is just 5 miles from Skirwith where John was born and spent his early years. We start at Kirkland church, walk to Wythwaite then up Grumply Hill toWildboar Scar and on to the summit where we stop for lunch and prayers.

11 miles and 2400 feet of ascent which will take approximately 6 hours. You will need to be fairly fit and dressed for a boggy walk with possibly a cold wind, even in June. Before the walk, there will be a Mass held at St John the Evangelist Church, Skirwith, CA10 1RQ at 10am. All welcome to join the Mass. There will be refreshments, talks and an exhibition on John Bradburne and the Mutemwa Leprosy Care Centre in the Skirwith Village Hall after the walk.

To book your place and make your donation please visit: www.johnbradburne.com or call Kate on 07979187498.

I do hope you will all be able to join us!

Right to Life - Ask your MP to support the abortion time limit reduction amendment

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righttolife.org.uk

Encourage your MP to support an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill that would reduce the abortion time limit from 24 to 22 weeks in England and Wales. This pro-life amendment may be debated and voted on as early as next week so we must gather support quickly. Research indicates that a significant number of babies born at 22 or 23 weeks can now survive outside the womb, leaving a contradiction in our abortion law.

Take action: Collect a postcard today from the back of the church and post it to your MP urgently in support of this amendment or, if you are in Penrith & the Border, email Dr Neil Hudson MP directly neil.hudson.mp@parliament.uk - he does not have a good voting record on pro-life issues and needs encouragement.

Confirmation 2024

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Congratulations to all who were confirmed by Bishop Paul last Tuesday evening. The Mass and celebration afterwards were much appreciated – thank you to all involved for your great work! Special thanks to Deacon David and Sue who led the preparation programme and to those who supported the candidates on their spiritual journey.

We pray for the continual presence of the Holy Spirit in all our lives. Fr John