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Obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy
Days of Obligation to resume from Pentecost
The Bishops' Conference of England & Wales realise that most people
have resumed the wide range of their normal activities, no longer being
impacted by the Covid restrictions. Accordingly they believe the reasons
which have prevented Catholics from attending Mass no longer apply.Therefore
looking forward to the forthcoming feast of Pentecost - Sunday 5th June
- all Catholics who have not yet done so are invited to return to attending
Mass in person. As has always been the case if a person cannot attend
Mass due to ill health, legitimate fear or caring for others then this
is not a breach of their Sunday obligations.
A beautiful hallmark of our Catholic Faith is the profound desire to
participate in the Holy Mass and share in the Eucharist. With humility
we glory in being a Eucharistic people. So we look forward with renewed
faith and confidence in all being back together again attending Mass
in person supporting each other on our journey of faith and being a
visible sign of faith in the world.
Fr Michael
Have you ever considered
you may be called to the priesthood or
the religious life? Southwark Vocations will be hosting a
60 minute webinar on Tuesday 24th May at 7pm entitled 'Here I
am, send me' where different presenters will speak about discovering
God's plan for each one of us. Please join us by registering for the
event in advance by following the link here
A Concert for Ukraine: Medway Singers
and St Simon Stock choir invite you to St Simons Stock Church, Bleakwood
Rd., Walderslade , ME5 0NF on Sunday 22nd may at 6pm. Entry is free
but there will be a collection during the concert,
There are some job vancancies within the diocese See:
https://www.rcsouthwark.co.uk/get-involved/vacancies/
Parish 30th
Anniversary Celebration
Date for your diaries: This year it is the 30th Anniversary of our church,
29th May to be exact! We thought
it would be lovely to celebrate this by having a 'parish picnic' on
Sunday 29th May from midday onwards. The school have kindly agreed to
let us use their field. Please do put this date in your diaries, we
would love to see you all there. More details to follow.
From the parish social committee.
P.S. We are still looking for new members to join the Parish Social
Committee so if you are interested please mention it to Father or e-mail
parkwood@rcaos.org.uk.
Easyfundraising
£87.10 was raised in February bringing us to a total of
£478.27 so far. 2 more Parishioners signed up in February making
a total of 20. Please do consider signing up and helping the Parish
with this easy fundraising initiative. Thank you. Fr Michael.
You can raise FREE donations
when you shop online with over 5,000 retailers. It's simple and only
takes 2 minutes to sign up! Please sign up now at https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/staugustineofcanterbury/
It is a simple process. When you register please select St Augustine
of Canterbury, Parkwood as your preferred charity. Each time you shop
on line please log on to Easyfundraising first and then select your
retailer e.g. Argos and you will be directed to their site and you then
shop in the usual way. Please do try and give it a go. If
you are a taxpayer and do not currently use Gift Aid either
via the envelopes or Bankers Order then please do consider signing up
as the Parish will receive an extra 25% on what you give without any
hassle or additional cost to you. There is a simple One Page Form to
complete, a supply of which is available on the table in the Narthex.Thank
you for your support.
Mass Intentions - New Envelopes
Please note there are now new WHITE envelopes for Mass Intentions. These are
general purpose envelopes although there is space under
"Other/Comment" to include the name of the person who the Mass is
for and the preferred date etc. Please remember to annotate with R.I.P if
appropriate.
A supply of these new envelopes can be found on the table in the Narthex.
Please fully complete both sides. Thank you
Tea & Coffee after the Sunday Morning
Masses
We are looking to resume this starting this weekend. Everyone is
welcome and if you would be willing to take a turn to help serve the tea and
coffee then please do let me know. It is a valued opportunity to meet and
chat with your fellow parishioners and indeed to welcome any new parishioners
joining us for the first time. Thank you. Fr Michael.
Poor Box.
Whilst we included Medway Foodbank in our recent round of
donations from the Poor Box I am conscious that there may be people
even closer to home and perhaps within the Parish who might also welcome
our support. If you or someone you know are struggling financially and
in need of a little help then please do get in touch with me. This will
of course be in the strictest confidence. Thank you. Fr Michael.
The Bishops have issued a statement regarding
the importance of Honouring Sundays.
The full text can be read here
If you are unable to attend Mass live Masses can also be viewed
via https://www.churchservices.tv/
or at https://mass-online.org/
Holy Communion will not be available online so you may like to make an Act of Spiritual Communion
Holy Communion for the Housebound and Hospitalised:
If you know of anyone who is housebound or in hospital who would like to
receive Holy Communion for Christmas then please give me their contact
details and I will arrange a visit. Thank you. Fr Michael.
The Catholic Post
Please ensure you take your free copy of The Catholic Post which is a
brand new monthly Catholic newspaper. Whilst the Parish will cover the cost
so that each edition is free of charge to you the intention is that you may
wish to donate £1 per copy which you can place in the Papers moneybox in the
Narthex. The paper provides thoughtful articles and news from around the
country and beyond from a Catholic perspective and the content will grow as
the paper becomes established and circulation increases. I commend it to
you. Fr Michael
Second Collection causes 2021 can be seen here.
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