Parish Newsletter

Farewell, 2019…

On Tuesday, we say farewell not just to a year but to a decade. The Queen referred to 2019 as a “bumpy” year in her Christmas Day Broadcast, and it’s certainly been that for our nation, if not for us individually. For us a Parish? The highlight was probably 31^st May, and the Ordination here in our beautiful church of Fr Neill to the Priesthood by Bishop Mark, five years after he and Marlene were received into the Church at the Benedictine Convent in Curzon Park. What a glorious evening that was! The year began, as always, with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, with our County-wide service at Tarporley Baptists, and our own journey around the six churches of Christleton and Rowton, one a day, culminating in St Werburgh’s on the Saturday and our own Music Group leading a very fine Ecumenical Service in Christleton Methodists on the Sunday evening. February saw our usual very popular Annual Social down in our club, and two new initiatives: Chester Parishes Together, trying to see what the five parishes could better do together than separately, and the Diocesan Health and Safety initiative, asking every parish to get up to speed on this vital area. Both have borne fruit amazingly, and will continue to do so in 2020, I know. March took us into Lent, and as well as our own Friday Evening Devotions, we also led the ecumenical visit, each Tuesday afternoon, to one of the Chapels of Chester that serve the whole city and country: the Hospice at Backford, the Countess Hospital, the University, our Catholic High School and St Peter’s at the Cross. A record late Easter Sunday on 21^st April gave our H&S Stewards an easy “first go” at looking after the Easter Vigil, just dark as we all came into church, carrying our candles! May was our Parish Visit to Liverpool, the Synagogue, University and Cathedral, and then the Ordination, everyone coming up trumps. Pentecost Sunday on 9^th June saw many members of our Catholic Enquiry Course coming fully into the Catholic Church, and the start of July our lovely SVP Summer Lunch for so many of our senior Parishioners. August for me was an unforgettable fortnight in Milan – I don’t care about the rest of you! – and then back to the new term at Primary School, High School (welcoming our new Head Teacher) and University, with Sunday Evening CathSoc meetings starting up again. We were pleased to host the NW Regional Chaplains Meeting here in November; but before that, we had the National Altar Servers Annual Mass in Liverpool Cathedral, and the launch of our biennial Confirmation, which came to a glorious climax with Bishop Mark in St Clare’s on 19^th November. The Month of the Holy Souls we always celebrate with great devotion, and this year a number of our finest parishioners have been “Promoted to Glory”, in the Salvation Army’s resonant phrase. Bishop Brian, who led our Diocese 1995-2010, was counted among their number. May he, and all of them, Rest in Peace. And so to December, Advent and Christmas. As we now stand on the verge of a new year and a new decade, may God bless all us, our families and Parish.

Christmas Thanks

Huge thanks to everyone who made our five Christmas Masses so joyful, as we welcomed record numbers to St Werburgh’s: Readers, Eucharistic Ministers, Welcomers, Altar Servers, Musicians, Florists – a real team effort!

Diocesan Ordos and Year Books for 2020

Now arrived. £5 each, on the News Stand.

SVP Christmas Lunch for the Elderly

Saturday 11^th January 2020 in the Primary School at 12.30 pm. For further information contact Stephen Perry: 07775 851 204.

On the Shelf?

Many of you leave Christmas Cards for each other on the Sacristy Window Ledge, which is an excellent way of distributing them without paying postage. But do please all check if there are any for you, and do put full names on, as we have a lot of Caths, and far too many… (I’m not going to finish that sentence).

Photo of the Week: Parish Church, Madeira

Estreito da Calheta (as they say in German). Notice the extraordinary mock Gallery? Thanks, Gordon! Many of you pointed out that Karlskirche last week is not the Cathedral in Vienna, which is St Stephen’s. I was wondering which of you would be the first…