Parish Newsletter

Parish Renewal Group Storming Ahead

We’re all ready for our first “Open Meeting” on Wednesday 21st, here in church at 6.00 pm, to launch the first wave of our renewal: looking after the Church, House and Garden. If you signed up for any of these activities – church cleaning, gardening, church banners, church and house linen, parish library, church flowers, church notice boards, silver and brass, trips to the skip and charity shops – then we will have contacted you personally with an invitation for Wednesday. Roadmap will be out next Sunday, showing you how we are unrolling all our renewal programme, month by month. July’s focus is Welcome Ministry in Church, and Welcome to new parishioners. If you didn’t sign up for June’s focus but would still like to come along on Wednesday, we’d love to see you. We want every parishioner to feel welcome to be involved in any way they would like. (PS: ringing some new volunteers, they find our emails have gone to spam. Wot a cheek! Always a good idea to check spam for lurking messages?)

North Wales Railways – Thursday 20th July

Excellent response, with forty-six of the places now taken. First priority was given to those who’d signed up and paid for the last projected trip. This means we now have FOUR spare places. Flyers with full details at the back of church, plus a sign-up sheet. £72. Sign up today! List will close next weekend.

Day on Discernment: Gifts & Service for Lay People

A day of prayer, fellowship, teaching and workshops to help discover how you can best use your gifts at the service of God and neighbour. St Columba’s Church Hall, Saturday 24th June, 10.00 am – 4.15 pm. Bring a packed lunch. All are welcome!
Further details from Stephen Yates 07517-906-438 stephen.yates@dioceseofshrewsbury.org

Friday 30th June: 'Music for a Summer's Evening'

Chester Cathedral Nave Choir will be singing a concert of evening music at St Werburgh's, 30th June at 7.45 pm. Free entry. Retiring collection.

Chester’s Active Travel Festival – Father’s Day Tomorrow: Sunday 18th June 11.00-16.00

Why not leave the car at home on this Sunday, and walk or cycle into Mass? You and your family can then enjoy the fun, entertainment and information at Chester’s first ever Active Travel Festival to be held in the Lower Castle Car Park CH1 2DN. We hope to encourage more people to see walking and cycling. See www.atfest.uk for much more details.

Christ and Creation: Final Talk Next Wednesday

At the Cathedral, on Wednesdays 21st June.

7.30 pm, in the Refectory.

Friends of the Venerabile Visit Last Week

Huge thanks to everyone for making the Friends so welcome here in Chester last week. They’re a great support group, who do so much to help the work of the Venerable English College in Rome, one of our five seminaries for England and Wales. Special thanks to Catherine and Laura who came up trumps with a superb buffet lunch on Tuesday and to Simon our au pair boy who proved himself a domestic goddess. A major surprise to his wife as she tells me he wouldn’t know where the kitchen was at No 12…

National Gallery Exhibition – St Francis: 11th July

nationalgalleryorg.uk/exhibitions/saint-francis-of-assisi . We are organising a parish trip down by train, mid-morning (when the prices come down), stroll down to Trafalgar Square, see the exhibition, meal somewhere and back early evening. We’re closing the list at sixteen, and by next weekend I hope to have costings. Which is when you will have to pay up! Always a snag, isn’t there?

Chester Heritage Festival June 17th–28th

Ann Marie Curtis will give a power point presentation at 2.30 pm on Sunday 25th June, at St Werburgh’s, about Chester Lead Shot Tower, its owners and the people who worked there. She will also lead a walk around the Boughton area on Monday 26th June, starting at the Lead Shot Tower at 10.30. Anyone wanting to come must book through the Chester Heritage Festival 2023 website.
Can anyone help with a cup go tea after the talk on Sunday afternoon? Let FP know if you can.

New! – Our Own Grand Piano in Church!

Delighted to hear our new Grand Piano played in church for the first time last Sunday, a gift from the Cathedral and the Byatt family. Apologies for the typo: it’s a Broadwood piano, not Broadway, as we said last week. If I hear anyone bashing out the Lullaby of Broadway on it, there’ll be trouble…

Shrewsbury Diocesan Lourdes Hospitality Group

Next meeting: Tuesday 27th June, 7.30 pm, via zoom. Link from secretary@teamshrewsbury.co.uk
or text/call 07541-249-267.

Primary School Raffle Tickets

On sale after Morning Masses next weekend, Sunday 25th June. £1 each. First prize is £100, with lots of other prizes, and all money raised going to our Primary School. Thanks for your support, everyone!

Newsletter Items?

Email them over in a cut-and-paste format, but please head them “Newsletter”, as I do a search under that term to check I haven’t missed any. By Thursday, please, if you want them to make Sunday.

Last University Mass for this Academic Year

Monday, 26th June, 1.10 in the Uni Chapel. We break for two months, resuming on Monday 4th September. Thanks to everyone for their support this year.

SS Peter and Paul: Holyday of Obligation

Thursday 29th June: Masses at the usual times, 7.30 am, 12.15 pm and 7.30 pm, and you must of course…

Parish Diary for 2023-4

After inevitable gaps for Covid years, we’re up and running again. Could all organisers of parish groups and activities get their dates for 2023-4 (September to July) to us by the end of July? The Diary has two great functions: it gives everyone maximum notice of forthcoming events and meetings, and it prevents clashes, two events being organised at the same time. Huge thanks to Denise for all her work on this.

Photo of the Week: St Christopher Stained Glass

In the Disabled Loo (The Loo with View), showing you some of the detail you might have missed. Thanks to Mr ’Orne for sending it in.