Strange story about Galileans being killed by Pilate. They were no greater sinners. They thought then that people who suffered were being punished. Jesus asks us to repent but does not punish the sinner. ‘Repent’ is the word of Lent — and followed by the invitation to believe the good news of the gospel. God is not a punishing God.
The story about the fig tree is about the patience of God, our need for Anne to repent and grow in our faith and prayer, and it is about the 'God of the many chances'. The God of Jesus never lets go on us, and always believes in our future. All of us carry particular faults and failings through life, and even though we try our best, find that they stay with us. God knows this and sees our efforts to change and be renewed. Prayer helps us to believe in ourselves as God believes in us.
In the different desires and activities of life we can be with God or not with him. We can love him fully or find ourselves tempted from God's path. Jesus calls all the time to change so that we live out of the best side of ourselves and change so that we become more like him. At the Eucharist we pray, 'May we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity'.
Renew us O lord, in love, in hope and in joy in your care for us.
1st Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15. God pities his people in Egypt and will free them, through Moses
Psalm (from Psalm 102). Response: The Lord is kind and merciful
2nd 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12. We must persevere, in order fo be saved
Gospel Luke 13:1-9. The Lord of the vineyard offers us ample chance to bear fruit
BAPTISMS
UKRAINE RED CROSS APPEAL CONCERT Saturday 26th March at 7:30pm in the Church. Enjoy an wonderful mixture of music given by the renowned Reading Male Voice Choir and guest artists. Tickets are at zero cost with all donations on the night going to the appeal. Tickets can be booked through the TicketSource web site.
EASTER VOLUNTEERS needed for Readers and Eucharistic Ministers to cover Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the Vigil and Easter Sunday. Please sign up as soon as you are able to. Thank you. The sign-up sheets will be in the church porch from this weekend.
MASS VIA YOUTUBE Mass is streamed live on Wednesday (9.30am) and Sunday (11.15am). To join, just click on the YouTube icon on the parish website shortly before Mass starts. Due to demand, this service will continue for the foreseeable future.
STATIONS OF THE CROSS Each Friday from 11th of March, the Stations of the Cross will be prayed in our parish via Zoom. The Stations of the Cross have formed part of Christian devotion at Passiontide for many centuries because they enable us to engage actively with the path of suffering walked by Jesus. They originated when early Christians visited Jerusalem and wanted to follow literally in the footsteps of Jesus, tracing the path from Pilate’s house to Calvary. They would pause for prayer and devotion at various points. Eventually, those pilgrims brought the practice back to their home countries and ever since then Christians of differing traditions have used this form of devotion.
Please join us on the Zoom link each Friday at 6pm. Each week the Stations will be prayed from a different perspective. Please note the updated Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87402848519?pwd=Y3BnNEFOWS9sblhrMmhKVkg4d05mQT09.
LENTEN PENITENTIAL SERVICES FOR THE PASTORAL AREA As part of our spiritual preparation for Easter it is customary for all of us to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Our Lenten Season is a Journey, leading us through the Sacred Scriptures to understand who Jesus is and why he came into our world. As we enter into the most sacred week of the church liturgical year in a few weeks' time (Holy Week), we have the opportunity to walk side by side with the Lord and receive this beautiful sacrament of God's desire to be always united to us; he recognises our human frailty and weakness, and like the Father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, he sees us “while we are a long way off”; he comes out to meet us and embraces us in his loving forgiveness!
The sacrament of Reconciliation will be celebrated at the following days and times in our Pastoral Area:
Wonderful opportunity to avail of this healing sacrament.
EASTER VOLUNTEERS needed for Readers and Eucharistic Ministers to cover Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the Vigil and Easter Sunday. Please sign up as soon as you are able to. Thank you. The sign-up sheets will be in the church porch from this weekend.
FIRST FRIDAY Each First Friday will see a ‘Healing Mass’ being celebrated alternately at St. Joseph’s Church and St. Edmund Campion Church for 2022. We bring together all our needs and especially asking God’s healing spirit upon people and situations in our parish. You are very welcome.
The First Friday of the month is also traditionally a time when a priest visits a home to anoint anyone who is house bound, with holy oil, and to administer the sacrament of Holy Communion. The parish has several people on this list. If you, or someone you know would like a visit from a priest, then please contact Fr. Liam or Fr. Ephraim.
FACE COVERINGS AND SOCIAL DISTANCING Please, It is encouraged, from a moral and respectful point of view, to continue wearing face masks during Public Worship. This indeed, is not a legal requirement, and several of our parishioners have an exemption from wearing masks.
If you wish to continue adhering to social distancing in the Church, then please arrive at least 10 minutes before Mass, and a section in the church will be reserved for you. Please, please respect the distancing in this area so that people can worship in peace and comfort. If you do not arrive before the Mass starts it will not be possible to guarantee a place in this area.
“SHIELDING” for those in our community who continue to join at the Eucharist via YouTube on a regular basis, but for one reason or another, cannot physically come to the Church, and would like to receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion, please let Fr. Liam or the parish office know. Fr. Liam will bring the Holy Sacrament to you whilst adhering to social distancing and a safe environment.
CAFOD LENT FAST DAY The collection last weekend raised £834.09. Thank you very much for your support and generosity. A special thanks to all the children who spoke at the Masses to talk about Lent Fast Day and who were great ambassadors for CAFOD!
CAFOD has launched an online appeal as well: Ukraine crisis: How you can help | CAFOD.
SVP In common with many other organisations, the Saint Vincent de Paul Society have a way for supporters to donate to SVP efforts in relation to the crisis in Ukraine. The link below is to the SVP International Disaster Fund, should any individuals wish to donate through this channel. www.svp.org.uk/news/ukraine-crisis-–-how-help
MAIDENHEAD FOR UKRAINE Please see the flyer for Maidenhead for Ukraine. You can drop off essentials from this list only, (please no clothes, no footwear, no toys and no books) to the Church this weekend, until Sunday afternoon. At any other time, they can be dropped to 4 Marlow Road.
UKRAINE SUPPORT CAKE SALE We held a cake sale in the Parish Centre coupled with a collection after each of the masses last weekend. £1,000 to Ukraine Red Cross - this will be doubled by a Parishioner's company, £1,000 to UNICEF and claimed £250 gift aid - the £1,000 will be doubled by a Parishioner's company, £1,139 to World Vision (this may end up being doubled by the company if they don't meet their total giving target). So total raised by the parish so far is £5,389. In addition to the fundraising, it was wonderful to come together as a community.
UKRAINE Levi Cobra Bruni asked his friends to bring money for charity instead of presents for his birthday party on Sunday. Levi (year 4) has raised £290 and decided to give the money to Red Cross Ukraine's appeal his Mother is sending the donation via her company charity funds as there is a 200% top-up scheme. Massive well done to Levi!!
LENTEN APPEAL for W.O.R.K. and THAMES VALLEY HOSPICE Parishioners will be given a jam jar to collect money in, and supplementary details of the WORK project during Lent. Jam jars can be the returned to the Parish Office, or John Lynn after each of the weekday / weekend masses. Any queries please contact John Lynn on 07931 292934 who is a member of the Knights of St Columba (KSC) who are coordinating the appeal.
SIF FORMS FOR SCHOOL APPLICATION Fr Liam is available by appointment to sign SIF Forms, please remember to bring your stamp cards showing Mass attendance.
PARISH COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday 15th March at 7pm in St. Edmund Campion Parish Centre.
STAGE 2 CONFIRMATION PROGRAMME The Confirmation will be held at Portsmouth Cathedral on Sunday 8th May at 3pm. Session 5 is on Saturday 12th March, 4:45pm at St. Joseph's Centre
SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION FOR FIRST HOLY COMMUNION CLASS Saturday 12th March, 5pm at St. Edmund Campion Church.
RCIA Thursday 17th March, 7:15pm at Edmund Campion Parish Centre.
STUDYING, REFLECTING and PRAYING WITH THE NICENE CREED Every Sunday we proclaim our faith at the Eucharist. This short course is to help us understand what we believe. We will be studying, reflecting and praying with the Nicene Creed. The sessions will be on Wednesdays at 7pm, starting on 16th March for four weeks. Please see the poster. (Duration: 60 minutes).
NOURISHING OUR SPIRITS A Seminar for Women. Saturday 12th March 2022. 9:30am to 12:30pm St. Joseph's Parish Centre, Speaker: Dr. Judith Thomas. How do we nourish our spirits in today's ‘troubled’ world? Come and spend some time (no discussion groups) to find out what will nourish and energise our innermost selves? Let's look at Scriptures and past traditions to examine our spiritual tool kit —and trust that the Holy Spirit will bring an abundance of God into our lives!
The seminar is free of charge but registration is required. To Register please email Margaret Tackney, Seminar Administrator: margarettackney@yahoo.co.uk
FIRST FRIDAY ADORATIONS FROM JANUARY TILL SEPTEMBER St Edmund Campion Church Ruby Jubilee Celebrations are taking place in September 2022. In order to prepare for this, we are hosting a novena of 9 first fridays to pray, to meditate, to fast and to give joy for everything to all that our church community has offered us over 40 years of service and the faith and support it has given to our families. If you can come for an hour or 2 hours or even whole evening starting on the first Friday of January (7th) from 7pm until 8am Saturday morning. We would love to start a rota, where a number of people could do this on the first Friday of each month from January through to September in preparation for prayer and our celebration. During this time the church will be open through the night and everyone is welcomed to come and stay with the Lord. Please contact or text Agnieszka on 07871 258181 or email gnieszka@gmail.com.
THE COWSHED The Cowshed is a new charity which provides support to people of all backgrounds in Berkshire experiencing hardship. The aim of The Cowshed is to provide good quality clothes and other essentials to anyone in need. They offer their services to people from all faiths and none.
We would like to ask you to look at their website and donate whatever you can from their list: www.thecowshed.org.
PILGRIMAGES A pilgrimage is a journey that has religious or spiritual significance. The journey is usually taken to an important religious place. There are many sites of Christian pilgrimage and our parishes are offering a number of opportunities for you to go pilgrimage and a great spiritual journey.
PARISH COLLECTION Please continue to support your parish, its activities and outreach programmes by contributing to the weekly collection via the 'baskets' and/or Contactless. It is very positive that a lot of our parishioners, over the course of the pandemic, switched their contribution from cash to Bank Transfer.
NB: If you want to set up a direct debit or standing order (or even make a one-off donation) the account details are:
Account name: St. Edmund Campion Maidenhead
Sort code: 30-93-04
Account number: 00882551
PARISH “CELTIC CABARET” with Steve Carroll, on Friday 25th March in the School Hall, in aid of the Lenten project. Tickets on sale for £10 (to include cheese & wine BYOB) after all Masses this weekend or phone Kathryn on 07708 094818.
JOHN PAUL II AWARD This is a faith achievement award for young people between the age of 16 and 18. It is non-competitive, inclusive, flexible and voluntary.
The Award enables participants to take an active part both in the life of their Church and in the life of their community and society. For further details, contact Jonathan on manorcott@outlook.com or 01628 626527.
WEDNESDAY BRIDGE CLUB All past bridge players and parishioners who would like to learn the game are invited. Please contact John Lynn for more information.
THURSDAY CLUB Meets every other Thursday (next is 20th March). Open to everyone, of all ages. A chance to meet up, have a coffee and a chat. We also organise occasional speakers and days out. Please contact Angela for more information.
ST VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY If you, or anyone you know, are in need, or would appreciate a friendly chat, in person or over the phone, from one of our number, please call 07749 917134 for further details.
YOGA CLASSES continue every Tuesday at 12 noon in the parish centre. For more information contact Rachel at wellhappyyoga@gmail.com or the parish office. Now on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/wellhappyyoga) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/wellhappyyoga/).
COX GREEN LUNCHEON CLUB For more information contact Ruby Doughty on 01628630703 or rubydoughty@yahoo.co.uk.
TODDLERS GROUP Every Friday from 8:45 to 10:45am in the Parish Centre. Contact Jenny on jennyoliver51@hotmail.com for more information.
PARISH HALL The Parish Hall is available to hire, for parties, celebrations, meetings, training, classes and anything else you can think of. It’s a great community space, and is available for £25 per hour.
To celebrate National Bird Box week we heard from Órlagh and Vincent about the work they are doing to care for God’s creation and in particular how they are making the land around the church more wildlife friendly. You were invited to do the same at home and many of you placed an order for your own homes for bees, birds, hedgehogs and bats. You can still do so by going to www.BNBG.org.uk.
This is part of the Eco-Church scheme we have signed up to which asks us to look at five areas: our church buildings, the land around it, how we include looking after our planet in our worship, supporting other communities impacted by climate change, and making changes in our own lives.
We have other activities planned for later this year and would be happy to hear from you if you would like to get involved or have an idea of your own. Please contact Sarah Bowden (bowden.sarah@googlemail.com).
LIBRARY We have a parish library located in the foyer of the Parish Centre. One bookcase is dedicated to Theology/Religious books, another bookcase to Fiction/Non-Fiction and a third smaller bookcase to children's Bibles/Bible stories etc. Please feel free to borrow/swap.
If you would like to donate, we can only accept books that are in excellent and clean condition. Thank you and enjoy.
FOODSHARE We are a collection point for Foodshare. Our collection area is just inside the porch doors, but if you leave food outside, out of hours (in a bag or other covering) the building is regularly checked. Foodshare are currently really in need of tinned vegetables and tinned meat, amongst all the regular donations.
APPOINTMENTS If you wish to speak to Fr Liam or Fr Ephraim in confidence on any matter, please contact either one for an appointment. They are happy to visit your home if so desired, adhering to social distancing guidelines.
HOUSEBOUND If you know of anyone who is sick and/or housebound, please let Sarah (Parish Office), Fr Liam or Fr Ephraim know so that a visit can be arranged.
FOR PRACTICAL PURPOSES, FOR THE COMING MONTHS
Father Ephraim will be the ‘link person’ for pastoral matters concerning the parish of St. Joseph’s and St. Elizabeth’s. He will also be chaplain to St. Mary’s school.
Father Liam will be the ‘link person’ for the parish of St. Edmund Campion and will be chaplain to St. Edmund Campion school.
Fr. Ephraim and Fr. Liam are on call each day and will serve our community as best they can. You can call either of them on their mobile numbers, contact them via email or visit them at St. Joseph’s Presbytery. As we enter a new liturgical year, the four or five weekends of a month will see the same priest celebrating Mass in that particular parish. So, for January, Fr. Liam will preside at weekend Masses at St Joseph’s & St. Elizabeth’s and Fr. Ephraim at St. Edmund Campion. The following month they will swap around.
THE WELCOMING MINISTRY (Mass Rep) is dedicated to helping all parishioners and visitors enhance their worship experience at Mass by making them feel welcome and included in our Eucharistic celebration, helping them connect with our parish, and participating in the numerous ministry opportunities offered at St. Edmund Campion. The Mass Rep is the ‘overseer’ in ensuring that the various ministries during Mass are fulfilled. Further, they are there to help you with any queries.
We thank our mass reps:
6:15pm Saturday: Reena K. 9:30am Sunday: Elvira E-M & Shirley F. 11:15am Sunday: Julie C.
ADMISSION INTO ST EDMUND CAMPION SCHOOL AND NURSERY is based on Mass attendance for some categories. In our parish, we have an attendance card available from the table in the church lobby. Every time you come to Sunday Mass please get your card stamped. For information on the current Admissions Policy see the school's website, www.st-edmund.org.uk.
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