Catholic Bletchley

WELCOME TO OUR PARISH WEBSITE: Our Parish serves the whole of Bletchley as well as its outlying villages, Newton Leys, parts of Emerson Valley and Furzton. As we learning to steer a course through the necessary restrictions brought about by the pandemic we are finding news ways to reach out, stay connected and share our faith.

TIMES OF PARISH LITURGIES

SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER 9th May
The Day of Prayer for Eastern Christians
6:00pm (STA) (Saturday) Vigil Mass of Sunday
9:00am (AS) Mass
11:00am (AS) Mass

Monday 10th May Eastertide Feria
10:00am (STA) Mass

Tuesday 11th May
Eastertide Feria
10:00am (AS) Mass

Wednesday 12th May
Eastertide Feria
10:00am (STA) Mass

Thursday 13th May
SOLEMNITY OF THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD
10:00pm (AS) Mass

Friday 14th May
Feast: St Matthias
10:00am (STA) Mass

Saturday 15th May
Eastertide Feria
NO MORNING MASS

SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER 16th May
6:00pm (STA) (Saturday) Vigil Mass of Sunday
9:00am (AS) Mass
11:00am (AS) Mass

STA: St Thomas Aquinas Church, Sycamore Avenue, MK2 2JE
AS: All Saints Church, Shenley Road, MK3 6HG

LIVESTREAM MASS via Facebook: Tuesday, sixth week of Easter. 10am.

PRAYING WITH THE POPE: Each year, the Holy Father asks for our prayers for a specific intention each month. You are invited to answer the Holy Father’s request and to join with many people worldwide in praying for this intention each month.

THE HOLY FATHER’s INTENTION FOR May AD 2021:
The Month of The Blessed Virgin Mary
Pope Francis’ Prayer Intention for the month: The World of Finance
Let us pray that those in charge of finance will work with governments to regulate the financial sphere and protect citizens from its dangers.

Mary’s Month of May
Pope Francis has asked that each day of May, all Catholics recite the Holy Rosary (at 6:00pm Rome-time / 5:00pm UK time) for an end to the Coronavirus pandemic. He has asked thirty Marian shrines of the world (including the Basilica at Walsingham) to take the lead on this.

Prayers for the Church in the East
The Day of Prayer for Eastern Christians will take place on the Sixth Sunday of Easter (9th May) with the participation of Christians from all over Europe, the Middle East, the Horn of Africa and India. This will offer Eastern and Western Christians an opportunity to unite in prayer during Eastertide and is commended to us by the Metropolitan Archbishops of England and Wales.

Parish Pentecost Novena
We would like to encourage all our parishioners to pray this novena from Ascension Thursday (13th May) to the eve of Pentecost Sunday for our parish and for an end to the Covid-19 pandemic:

Our Father… / Hail Mary… / Glory be…

Our Lady of Walsingham: Pray for us.
St Joseph: Pray for us.
St Thomas Aquinas: Pray for us.
All Saints of God: Pray for us.

Come Holy Spirit, help us to cherish the past:
Without being its captive.

Come Holy Spirit, help us to celebrate the present: Without losing perspective.

Come Holy Spirit, help us to embrace the future:
Without fear of what is to come.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord. Amen

Requiescant in Pace
Please pray for the repose of the soul of:
Matthew Puthiyadath Matthew
Bridget Mary Ambrose
Mandy Elphick-Pont
Christopher Walter Medway
Annie Maughan
Angela Mullins
Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them.

Our Brothers and Sisters in India
As another wave of COVID-19 spreads across India, mission hospitals and parish stations are often people’s only hope. Fr Ambrose, Missio’s National Director in India, has received news from St Thomas’ Hospital in Chennai (which is run by Franciscan Sisters) that it is under incredible strain trying to meet the needs of people suffering from Covid-19. He said: ‘They believe that the number of infected people is three times higher than the number declared by the Government. Most hospitals are closed to COVID patients; the Sisters opened their doors, even though they lacked the necessary equipment, because they could see that people were desperate’. We pray for the peoples of India and likewise for our many parishioners who have family and friends there. Please help with a gift to Missio’s COVID-19 Mission Response (selected from drop down menu) here: https://missio.org.uk/donate/

Virtual Coffee Morning
We thought we might try running a ‘virtual’ meetup on the third Sunday of the month (starting today, 16th May). Make yourself a drink and chat with parishioners:
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/7026400318?pwd=NzRmb1dSR0xkUzdNRGw1NDVmVWpXQT09
You can access this from your browser (with no need to install any software). Link also on the parish website.

Summer Youth Camp
Event:                Lifeteen Summer Camp 2021
Date: Wednesday 28^th July from 3pm – Sunday 1^st August 2021 till 2pm
Cost:   £225.00 for camping (to provide own tent); £275.00 for dormitory or £50.00 for online camp. You will be required to pay a £50.00 non-refundable deposit when booking. Final payment due by 1^st July 2021
Where:   Alton Castle, Staffordshire (transport will NOT be provided)
Description : Summer Camp is 5 days of fun and activities where young Catholics gain formation and friendships. Included in the price is accommodation, all food, daily Mass and Reconciliation, all activities including a day at Alton Towers Theme Park, biking, trekking, climbing, archery, campfires and much more.

For more information and to go to the bookings page visit https://nymo.org/summercamp/

Still Looking Ahead…
We have been giving a lot of thought to what we are going to do when there is no longer need for social distancing and we are able to use the maximum space in both our churches once again. For a long time before the pandemic, it was felt that the five Sunday Masses (which includes the Vigil Mass on Saturday) was one too many as both the 7:30am Mass at St Thomas Aquinas Church and the 6:30pm Sunday Mass were often less than half full. St Augustine’s, Heelands also had a 6:30pm Sunday Mass and so it seemed strange to “compete”. To rationalise I am therefore proposing that the 7:30am Sunday Mass at St Thomas Aquinas Church is moved to 5pm and the 6:30pm Mass at All Saints is cancelled. If the numbers at Mass increase, we could then revisit whether five Masses are again necessary. I would be extremely interested to hear your thoughts and opinions before we make any final decisions.

Ask for the intercession of St Joseph
Pope Francis has spoken of how his devotion to the Foster-Father of Jesus has grown during the pandemic and likewise Bishop David has asked that we “make more” of the example of St Joseph (particularly as this year is dedicated to him). In light of which, please implore the intercession of the Most Chaste Spouse of Our Lady for all affected by Covid-19 (especially at this time for those in India) and for the unemployed. Did you know that it was once common practice to have a green votive lamp (and candles) burn in prayer before an image of St Joseph?

Catholic Basics
An engaging introduction to the Catholic faith offered at 7:00pm (to 8:30pm) on a Monday evening via Zoom: 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th June. The course is free but there is a cost of £20 for the course pack of four texts. For more information and booking, contact Ann Collon:
admin@nores.org.uk / (01582) 723312.

The Catenian Association
An international brotherhood of Catholic men, the Catenian Association provides practising Catholic laymen and their families with friendship, social activities and support through an international network of local branches or ‘circles’.

To find out more information visit our website: https://www.thecatenians.com/find-a-circle/, email: membership@thecatenians.com or contact Richard Golden: (01908) 503331.

PARISH OFFERTORY GIVING
The impact of the Coronavirus pandemic has had a huge effect on our Parish income and we still have bills to pay. As a means of mitigating against this loss we would like to encourage those parishioners who do not currently give by Standing Order to donate online. This can be done at:
https://northamptondiocese.org/donate/
Please ensure that you type the parish name and area i.e. “St Thomas Aquinas and All Saints, Bletchley” in the NOTES SECTION of the donate page.

Or.., by Standing Order via your own bank:
You can also set up a standing order for donations to the parish using either your on line bank account or in branch. The information required to make the donation is as follows.
Bank: NatWest
Sort Code: 60-06-11
Account Name; 46898093
Account Name: Northampton Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust
Payment Ref: St Thomas Aquinas, Bletchley

Alternatively CHEQUES made payable to “St Thomas Aquinas Church” can be posted to:
The Presbytery, 1 Sycamore Avenue, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, MK2 2JE.

GIVE US A CALL TO DONATE OVER THE PHONE: Every Tuesday between 10am – 4pm, a member of the Diocesan Finance Team will be available by phone for you to donate to our Parish community over the telephone. To donate simply call 01604 712065 with your debit or credit card details.

CATHOLIC RADIO IN THE UK

Heaven’s Road Catholic Online Radio www.heavensroadfm.com is an online radio broadcasting features like prayers, interviews and music to appeal to a Catholic audience – they also have many podcasts and broadcast over 40 daily live Masses from 15 churches in England and Ireland from their website www.heavensroadfm.com.

KEEPING UPDATED ON COVID IN MILTON KEYNES: As we have a Parishioner who is a volunteer Covid Champion, we will be receiving regular updates and information about the Covid 19 situation in Milton Keynes, which we hope you will find useful.