St Werburgh's Roman Catholic Parish, Chester
Parish Newsletter
SUNDAY 20th DECEMBER: FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT (YEAR B)
Booking for Christmas Masses
Just a handful of places left at some of the Masses, now that we were able last week to increase capacity by ten (thanks to the number of bubbles booking). If you want one of these last places, either email us or phone. First come, first served! Sadly, it will not be possible to accommodate anyone who does not have a booking. Please help us to get that message out there far and wide: you can ring to see if there are any places up to Wednesday lunchtime. Then we’ll need to print off all the lists and seating plans. So, if you haven’t booked by then, please do not just turn up, as we will not be able to admit you.
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.
SVP Christmas Appeal: Last Chance!
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. Many thanks for all those envelopes that have come in so far! Closing date for contributions - Christmas Day!
November/December Holy Souls Mass Intentions
- 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
Photo of the Week Last Week
That extraordinary archive photo of the Papal Legate en route to the Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, June 1932. The whole party is snapped on Chester Station! Our excellent friend John Wilbraham has found the telegram of thanks sent afterwards, and you can see it on the Blog for last Thursday.
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. www.dioceseofshrewsbury.org/clergy-education-and-training-fund
This Week’s Photo of the Week: FHC 1954
Another treasure from the archives, the school First Holy Communion Class from 1954. Come on, Sage of Ingham! Put that bottle of Single Malt down (we all saw you on the Zoom Chat last night, don’t think we didn’t!) and get spotting. If any of you recognise any of the faces, do please let us know.
Mass Intentions
With Lockdown Two, going from four Masses on a Sunday back to one, the timetable for Mass Intentions was disrupted, as it was by the decision to have individual Holy Souls Mass Intentions rather than our usual Book. Now that we’re back to Public Masses and the Holy Souls lists have been worked through, we are gradually getting back to normal. If your intention has not appeared yet (and you didn’t ask for a specific date), don’t worry: it will surface very soon now. And if you have not yet let me have your 2021 Lists, get them in asap, as the 2021 Mass Diary is already filling up quickly.
Christmas Mass Bookings
If you have booked successfully, you will have received both an acknowledgement and a subsequent notification of where you are sitting. If you think you’ve booked and received neither, then the chances are you haven’t! Please phone us Monday-Wednesday, 10.00-11.00, to check. Olive from Orford will be standing ready to take your call... (Actually, she sits. She says it’s easier to balance phone, pen and whisky glass that way. Bless.)
Masses After Christmas
Sadly, no Boxing Day Altar Servers Mass, as we just couldn’t do it as we normally do with the needs of social distancing and Covid-19 restrictions. Normal Masses on Sunday 27th December - 9.00, 10.00, 11.00 and 12.00 noon. Then a New Year’s Day Mass on Friday 1st January at 10.00 am, and an Epiphany Mass on Wednesday 6th January, also at 10.00 am. Like Sunday Masses, please queue safely apart, and be ready to give us your Track and Trace details. Just to repeat: Mass Obligation has been suspended during this pandemic, for Christmas, Epiphany, Sundays, the lot. So, no-one need feel that you have to come to Mass. But, if you would like to join us, we would love to see you! Simples! Totes amazeballs!