St Werburgh's Roman Catholic Parish, Chester
Parish Newsletter
SUNDAY 6th DECEMBER: SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT (YEAR B)
Booking for Christmas Masses
Thank you for a fantastic response in the first week of booking: within 48 hours of opening on Tuesday Morning, six of the nine Masses were fully booked. This is the situation as of Saturday Morning, 5th December:
Christmas Eve
- 4.30 pm: NOW FULL
- 6.00 pm: NOW FULL
- 8.00 pm: NOW FULL
- 9.00 pm: 17 places booked
- Midnight: 47 places booked
Christmas Day
- 9.00 am: NOW FULL
- 10.00 am: NOW FULL
- 11.00 am: NOW FULL
- 12.00 Noon: 14 places booked
If you wish to book a place at one of the three Masses where there are still places, please do so as soon as possible: online (see below), or by telephone/in person Weekdays 10.00-11.00 am. Because of this amazing response, we are compiling a Waiting List for the Masses that are fully booked. More places may become available as we start to plot all the bookings on the Seating Plan, and see the balance of bubbles versus singletons; and we have had a couple of cancellations already, so do get your name on that waiting list – an email to us is easiest – and let’s keep fingers crossed!
Booking Online? Please Read This First
- The link is on the Parish website, top box.
- ‘Contact Information’: person making the booking.
- Full details of each individual you are booking for. Do not book "John Smith" four times, but give us the four individual names, please.
- If everyone in your booking is the same bubble, choose ‘Bubble 1’. If they are from two Bubbles, ‘Bubble 2’ and so on.
- You will receive a confirmation email.
- Later on, we will tell you where you are sitting.
- Ignore references to ‘tickets’. There aren’t any!
Booking by Telephone or In Person?
Please try to make it 10.00-11.00 am Weekday Mornings, when there are highly trained professional call-handlers ready to take your call. Well, a couple of parishioners anyway. If you phone up or call morning, noon and night, it will drive FP to drink. Actually, he knows the way already...
SVP Christmas Appeal: Please Don’t Forget!
Second Collections have had to go by the board this year, as you can imagine. But I’d like to make an exception for the SVP. They do a superb job supporting families and housebound every Christmas, and this year it’s more necessary than ever. The two lockdowns and those who’ve lost their jobs means this could be a bleak Christmas for many. If you want to support this Appeal, please send me your contributions via post, letterbox (or Sunday Basket when we’re open again for Mass). Many thanks for all those envelopes that have come in so far!
Reminders for ALL Christmas Masses
- Please only come to one of the nine Masses
- Face coverings are compulsory unless you have Health Exemption.
- Please arrive 15/20 mins before the start time.
- No parking available at church, we’re afraid - the alleyway is for Stewards only.
- Once seated, don’t move around the church.
- The toilets at church are unfortunately not open.
- If you have any special mobility/wheelchair needs, please let us know.
- If you are bringing a baby who will sit on a knee throughout the Mass, you do not need to book a separate seat for them.
- If you need to cancel, let us know asap.
November/December Holy Souls Mass Intentions
- Mon 7th Dec: McKeown and Norbury Families
- Tues 8th Dec: Margaret Catterson’s Family
- Wed 9th Dec: Mick and Sheila Fields’ Family
- Thurs 10th Dec: Mike and Margaret’s Hart’s Family
- Fri 11th Dec: Judith and Walter Done’s Family
- Sat 12th Dec: Celia Hickey’s Family
- Sun 13th Dec: Matt and Christine Lawton’s Family
- Mon 14th Dec: Lyn and Richard Williams’ Family
- Tues 15th Dec: Finn Abberton
- Wed 16th Dec: John and Frances Matthias’s Family
- Thurs 17th Dec: John and Sarah Collins and Family
- Fri 18th Dec: Keith and Helen Gornall’s Family
- Mon 28th Dec: Jan Howatt’s Family
- Wed 30th Dec: Wendy O’Brien’s Family
- Thurs 31st Dec: Celia Murphy’s Family
- Tues 5th Jan: Les and Eileen Owens’ Family
Congratulations to St Clare’s!
Our sister parish down on the Lache celebrate their Diamond Jubilee on Tuesday, and I’m delighted and honoured to be able to join them for one of their special Mases on that day. We were privileged to work alongside them for fourteen months in 2009-10, and many wonderful friendships were forged in that period. Well done, Fr Emeka, Kate, Lulubelle and everyone at St Clare’s! Here’s to the Centenary!
Message from Bishop Mark - Friday 4th December
It would not be our wish to turn anyone away from the Christmas Masses when we have safe capacity within the church. However, it remains a troubling question as to how to deal with people who may arrive at Christmas without having reserved a place. Turning people away and any unpleasant scenes are the last thing we would wish in the context of gathering for Mass. To avoid embarrassing situations at the entrance to the church it is proposed that clear notices be placed and a steward be on hand either at the car park entrance or at the start of the pathway on the approach to the church. The notice might be along the lines of "Tickets Only for Covid Safety" or "Reserved Places Only for Covid Safety".
+ Mark, Bishop of Shrewsbury
Photo of the Week: School Football Team 1952
Come on, Mr Hewson and Mr Cunniffe, thinking caps on! Let’s see how many of these we can identify.
Seminarians Training Fund Second Collection
This annual Collection is for the training and formation of Priests. If you wish to Gift Aid your donation, please make your donation Online. To donate Online please go to www.dioceseofshrewsbury.org/clergy-education-and-training-fund