MONEY FOR OLD ROPE
Recently a colleague of mine committed a faux pas. Apparently he was hoping to increase the parish offertory and made noises in that direction to his congregation. But the deacon took him to task! A credit crunch, when everyone is worried about their finances is no time to be asking people to contribute more to the parish coffers. In any case, it has always been my experience that responsible parishioners review their giving fairly regularly and adjust accordingly. However, I'm with Aladdin! Something for nothing - new lamps for old, and who's the genie? HM Treasury. What am I bleating on about? GIFT AID! It really is money for old rope.
What we would love to do is to maximize the potential of the Gift Aid Scheme which the Chancellor of the Exchequer has greatly simplified in recent years. What it means is that if you are a tax payer each £1 you put in the collection is potentially worth £1.28. Our Diocese is a Registered Charity and therefore, the Treasury will refund 28p of your tax for every £1 you put in the collection if you sign a Gift Aid Form. Of course, all this has to be verifiable and so those who sign a Gift Aid Form will be asked either to give their offertory using the Parish Envelopes or by a Standing Order. Last year 92 parishioners were in the scheme and the tax reclaimed was £7,100!
So, if you pay tax, and simply put your offertory directly into the basket, the parish looses out on what is potentially a big sum. But if, as a tax payer, you join the Gift Aid Scheme the offertory collections will increase without extra money being put into the basket. And Gift Aid can only be reclaimed on what you actually give. So, if for some reason you have to reduce or even stop your offertory giving, the reclaim automatically ceases. Please give this scheme careful consideration. There are Gift Aid Scheme Forms in the church porch. For more information please speak with Fr Loughran. It really is Money for old Rope!
MOVING STATUES
From time to time in the press we get reports of statues, usually in Catholic churches, moving or weeping or bleeding. Often there is an all too easy explanation, like the leak in the rusty pipe just above the statue of our Lady making her appear to cry drops of blood! Well, we are going to have our own moving statues, only this time manual labour will be required. Yes, a little change around in the church. It seems that many of you are not too enamoured by the art work at the front (sanctuary end) of the church. Consequently there will be some rearrangement' of the furniture. But what? St Clare will go the day Chapel and the crucifixion scene to near the west door. These walls will then be plastered and painted to provide a reflective surface for light. In these two places the statues of our Lord and our Lady, presently on the south wall, will be positioned, and new stands for votive candles will be placed in front of them. The present candle stands seem to be regarded as an eye sore and dangerous to boot. The space vacated by the statue of our Lady will house the statue of the Risen Lord in front of which will be placed the baptismal font where His risen life is received. Eventually, about the statues arches will be formed to detract from the angularity of the building and to add something of the feminine.
But what of the space vacated by the removal of the statue of the Risen Christ? Just what so many have asked for over these last months: the restoration of the Blessed Sacrament in a tabernacle in the middle of the sanctuary. The church teaches that the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament should not be on the altar (table) where the Mass is celebrated and may be placed in a chapel specially set aside for Eucharistic Worship. As the vast majority of weekly Masses are celebrated in the chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is, this negates the spirit of the teaching. So we shall place Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament just where he should be, at the very heart of the church. Of course, this will transform the main church once again into shrine, a place of devotion, a house of the living God. Perhaps once again we shall unlock the church so that people can spend time not just with our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, but also light a candle at the shrines seeking the intercession of our Blessed Lady and the saints.
AND NOW IT IS YOUR TURN
Waiting for a delayed flight at Charles de Gaulle airport late on a Sunday evening had its compensations: A Cabaret! Well, of a fashion. The artistes were 5 and 4 respectively and their repertoire was every known nursery rhyme under the sun. At the end of each performance by the 5 year old, she told her little brother, Now it's your turn.' And dutifully he copied her, so we got everything twice over. What a long evening that was!
But those words are something that I want to say to some of you: Now it is your turn. But what do I mean? Well, I've been looking round the parish at some of those who exercise a ministry (readers, communion, greeters etc), those who clean the church or are involved in this way and that; and I have noticed (or rather been told by the folk concerned) that the age profile is [I have to be delicate here!] of a senior nature. As one woman put it, We're past our sell by date!'
That is why I would like to augment with newer blood the ministries and duties undertaken in the parish. So: it is your turn. If you are not engaged in a ministry or some parish activity, will you please consider it? Don't consider why you CAN'T do it, but rather consider how you CAN do something. I would love people to volunteer to create welcoming teams at each Mass. I would love people to volunteer to be on the readers' rota or to be a minister of communion, to do some church cleaning, help with the Children's' Liturgy, give a bit of time in the sacristy getting things ready for Mass. I would love to form a bereavement support group. This sort of action builds community; it is one way of belonging, of owing' the parish. So please volunteer; write down your name a details and hand them to one of the priests. At the very least, be ready to say yes' when you are asked to play your part.
THROUGH THE REGISTERS
Since the last edition of this Newsletter the following have had funerals conducted by the clergy from St Clare's, and we send our condolences to their families:
Lois Swarbrick, 1.1.09; May Walmsley, 24.1.09; Margaret Prince, 26.1.09; Billy Staples, 29.1.09. May their souls and the souls of all the Faithful Departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
We send our best wishes and congratulations to the families of the following who have been baptised here recently:
Elliott Bamber 8.2.09; Annie Read, 22.2.09. Water of Life cleanse and refresh them, bringing them to life in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
FROM THE DIOCESE
Appointment: Canon Alf Hayes (Milnthorpe & Arnside) to St Wulstan's & St Edmund's, Fleetwood. Fr David Burns (St Wulstan's & St Edmund's, Fleetwood) to Milnthorpe & Arnside. Fr Jim Burns (Assistant Priest, St Mary's Cleator) to St Mary's Great Eccleston as Administrator. Welcome: To Frs Thomas Kuruvila Kalapurackal and Fr. Mathew Jacob Choorapoikayil from the Eparchy of Thamarassery in Kerala, India who are on loan to the Diocese for the next three years. Presently Frs Thomas (formerly Judicial Vicar in his Diocese) and Mathew (formerly Diocesan Director of Education and Youth Director) are residing at St Joseph's, Preston as they participate in a three month induction course to help them in their future appointments. We pray they will be very happy amongst us. Missionary Sisters of Christ the King from Poland who now reside at The Holy Family Presbytery, Westgate who will be an invaluable assistance to the Parish and the Polish community in the Lancaster/Morecambe area. Chrism Mass 2009 Holy Thursday, 9 April, at 11.30am - Lancaster Cathedral All our priests, deacons, religious and lay people are invited to this special diocesan celebration when the priests will rededicate themselves to the service of God's people. Mass in Celebration of Marriage A Mass in Thanksgiving for the Sacrament of Marriage will be held in Lancaster Cathedral on Saturday 23 May at 3.00pm with Bishop Michael Campbell as Principal Celebrant. All are welcome, most especially married couples and families. For more information, please contact Deacon Keith Armstrong email
PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL
In our last Newsletter I outlined my hopes for a new PPC of 12 parishioners, and asked for volunteers to nominate themselves. It did not go according to my hopes! However, I am grateful to those few who have responded and for the time being, they will form a Parish Advisory Group who will assist me in guiding the Parish.
This continues to meet each month and the areas that it has recently dealt with are: Car Park, Parish Accounts, Surface Water Drainage, Quotes for New heating system - Parish Hall, Request for a new storage shed (pre-school club), Re-Ordering of some aspects of the church, Summer Fair.
PARISH SOCIAL GROUP
The last meeting considered the following: Break Fast after the Easter Vigil Mass; St. Georges Day Celebration to be held Sunday lunchtime - 26th April, with a limit of 50 tickets. Sunday 29th March CAFOD Cross Sunday 5th April CAFOD Cross. Saturday 11th April Breakfast with Fair Trade Stall & Charity Lenten Boxes. Tuesday 21st April Parish Lunch. Sunday 26th April St George's Lunch. Friday 15th May Bingo @ St Clare's Parish Hall. Tuesday 26th May Parish Lunch Sunday 7th June Jacobs Join & BBQ. Lunch Friday 19th June Barn Dance/ Ceildhi evening @ Corpus Christi RC High School Sunday 28th June Joint PTFA/Parish Summer Fair Tuesday 28thJuly Parish Lunch. I believe that some of these events and dates have yet to be confirmed.
OTHER GROUPS
The other groups in the Parish are continuing to go quietly about their business: the SVP, the Children's Liturgy, the church cleaners, the prayer group, the uniformed groups, youth group, parent and toddlers and others unmentioned. Thank to all of them
DIVINE MERCY
From the diary of a young Polish nun, a special devotion began spreading throughout the world in the 1930s. The message is nothing new, but is a reminder of what the Church has always taught through scripture and tradition: that God is merciful and forgiving and that we, too, must show mercy and forgiveness. But in the Divine Mercy devotion, the message takes on a powerful new focus, calling people to a deeper understanding that God's love is unlimited and available to everyone - especially the greatest sinners.
The message and devotion to Jesus as The Divine Mercy is based on the writings of Saint Faustina Kowalska, an uneducated Polish nun who, in obedience to her spiritual director, wrote a diary of about 600 pages recording the revelations she received about God's mercy. Even before her death in 1938, the devotion to The Divine Mercy had begun to spread. The message of mercy is that God loves us - all of us - no matter how great our sins. He wants us to recognize that His mercy is greater than our sins, so that we will call upon Him with trust, receive His mercy, and let it flow through us to others. Thus, all will come to share His joy. It is a message we can call to mind simply by remembering ABC.
A - Ask for His Mercy. God wants us to approach
Him in prayer constantly, repenting of our sins and
asking Him to pour His mercy out upon us and upon
the whole world.
B - Be merciful. God wants us to receive His mercy
and let it flow through us to others. He wants us to
extend love and forgiveness to others just as He does
to us.
C - Completely trust in Jesus. God wants us to know
that the graces of His mercy are dependent upon our
trust. The more we trust in Jesus, the more we will
receive.
During Lent, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy is recited each Friday at 3pm in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. Of course, it can be recited privately at any time.
There is a website with more information: www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/index.htm