Dear parishioners, what a week! It was so good to see so many come and honour our heavenly patroness and pray for our mission here in Chester. We have had some very positive feedback and there was a lovely atmosphere at the various celebratory ‘moments’. Canon Jonathan’s encouraging homily will soon be made available, and I will be writing to the various volunteers, musicians and others who lent support in so many ways. All of this shows the deep love and affection for the parish, which I feel honoured to serve. It was a joy to welcome the Lord Mayor for her first visit to the parish, where she generously spent time speaking to parishioners. We also received messages of support and congratulations from Ms. Samantha Dixon, MP., and from the Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire. It is good to strengthen the bonds with civil society and elected representatives. Daniel, from the Hospice of the Good Shepherd, joined regulars at Welcome Wednesday and also represented the Hospice at Thursday evening’s event. It is wonderful to know that through your generosity and hard work the parish raised over £25,000. Well done for all the efforts and initiatives enabling this. Lyn Williams will soon prepare a detailed report and inform us of its use. I am personally delighted with the result, which is a concrete example of our saying ‘YES’ to the culture of life, which as we know is at times a countercultural choice, but one which shows our commitment to the Church’s social teaching.

We pause and take a deep breath, since we’ll soon be embarking on the Lenten journey of prayer, fasting and charity, as we prepare to renew our baptismal commitment at Easter, and pray for those who are entering the Church. We’ll continue to accompany our enquirers and potential catechumens along the way through a series of meetings, the next being on Wednesday the 11^th of February at 7 pm, and there’ll be more next week about Lent and the ways in which we can deepen our relationship with Christ during the next couple of months. With every good wish and blessing, Fr David +

Copies of the Sacred Heart Messenger for February & Day by Day for Lent are now available at the back of church.

Mark Gorzelak leads the Gardening Group that helps maintain St Werburgh’s church and Presbytery gardens. The group would welcome some new faces to join the small but eager band of volunteers.

Marriage Week 7th - 14th February 2026 is an annual celebration offering the opportunity to support and promote marriage and family life. Jane Deegan, the Director for Marriage and Family Life Vocation, is seeking to build a team of volunteers to support this vital ministry in the Diocese. Please see the poster and flyers at the back of the Church. If you would like to volunteer in any capacity and/or would like to find out more, please contact Monika.Golembiewska@dioceseofshrewsbury.org

First Holy Communion Catechesis. The next meeting for parents and children in the FHC Parish Group will take place on Tuesday 10^th February at 6:30 pm at church. The children will receive a new preparation book for their First Holy Communion. Please could they bring their pencil cases and folders as usual.

Welcome Wednesday. 11^th February 10 am to 12 noon. Hannah Moore will be presenting a talk all about the charity Mary’s Meals, which provides nourishing meals to children in over 15 developing countries, thereby ensuring they get a school education: well worth our support. Come along for a cuppa & a chat.

Bereavement and Loss Group will meet on Wednesday 11th February 1.15 pm to 2.45 pm. All are welcome for a tea/coffee and a chat in the parish meeting room.

Lead Kindly Light – The Journey of faith. The next meeting will take place on Wednesday evening at the earlier time of 7pm in the parish meeting room. Those who participated last time have been notified and are warmly invited to attend, as well as anyone else interested in knowing more about our beautiful Catholic Faith. The session will be led by Natalie Orefice, Diocesan Catechetical Coordinator.

‘The Slow Work of God’. A presentation at St Werburgh’s on the 12^th February at 7.30 pm, by Stephen McCarthy about his latest book, of the same title. Flyers at the back of church.

There will be a funeral service in church, for the late Margaret Chantler (sister of Ann Murphy) on Monday the 16^th of February at 10:30 am., followed by committal at Blacon.

World Day of Prayer Service, International, Ecumenical, Women-led, All Are Welcome Friday 6^th March 10.30 am, At St John the Baptist Church, Vicarage Lane, Chester CH1 1QX

Photo of the week: The photo this week shows what an incredible job Blackwells Stonemason did restoring the grave of Canon Chambers, Parish Priest at St Werburgh’s from 1902 to 1924. Here we see one of his successors, Fr Paul Shaw blessing the restored grave at Overleigh Cemetery 9^th October 2025.