Bletchley Parish

July is the month dedicated to the Most Previous Blood of Jesus. Devotion to the Precious Blood reminds us that it is through the shedding of Christ’s blood on the Cross we are redeemed. In the Holy Scriptures we read:

“Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God.” Romans 5:9

“Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10: 19-22.

“The Precious Blood courses through the Church, giving life to the Body of Christ. It was the cleansing agent that allowed the holy saints and martyrs to wash their robes clean. It is the price of our redemption, the object of our salvation, and the assurance of our eternal inheritance.”

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. During this lockdown we are finding news ways to reach out, stay connected and share our faith.

JOIN US AT MASS FROM HOME: Live Stream via Facebook
We will be live streaming weekday Mass in the Parish at 10am. Sunday Mass will now be live streamed at 11am. If you are unable to connect for the live broadcast it will remain recorded for 24 hours and so can be viewed later on. We will post a link around 10 to 15 minutes before each broadcast which will appear below.

FRIDAY: Feast of St Thomas the Apostle 10:00am MASS from St Thomas Aquinas Church, Bletchley.

PUBLIC CELEBRATION OF MASS AND PUBILC ACTS OF WORSHIP will resume on Saturday 4th July. This is great news! At the moment the attendance at each Mass or act of worship will be limited with one metre plus social distancing in place. St Thomas Aquinas can accommodate 40 people and All Saints 60 people with some flexibility if households sit together. Face masks or coverings will need to be worn. The obligation to attend Sunday Mass is still suspended and so if you are in an “at risk group” or have any any concern about the risk of infection we still encourage you to remain at home. The resumption of Public Mass is a process that will take time. We anticipate that numbers at Mass we will be small to begin with and we will of course be observing all appropriate hygiene and safety measures. At this stage there will be no congregational singing and the Mass will be shorter than normal. The exchange of the peace and the use of holy water, children’s liturgy and the stamping of parish diaries will remain suspended. A Priest will be available for confession before each Sunday Mass.

UK GOVERMENT TEST AND TRACE :It is mandatory that all those attending both Sunday or Weekday Mass register their details for the Government’s Test and Trace System. If you are attending a public Mass in our Parish YOU MUST email:

staq.register@gmail.com

Please write: your name, contact telephone number and the date and time of the Mass you are attending. Your details will be held securely by the Parish for 21 days after which they will be permanently deleted in accordance with GDPR. Your details will only be used for the test and trace system. A full copy of the Parish Privacy Notice can be found on this website or at the back of each Church on the Notice board.

PROPOSED MASS SCHEDULE FROM 4th July:
Sunday 5th July: Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
6:00pm (STA) (Saturday 4th July) Vigil Mass of Sunday
9:00am (AS) Mass
11:00am (AS) Mass

Monday 6th July: Feria
10:00am (STA) Mass followed by Adoration

Tuesday 7th July: Feria
10:00am (AS) Mass followed by Adoration

Wednesday 8th July: Feria
10:00am (STA) Mass

Thursday 9th July: Feria
10:00am (AS) Mass

Friday 10th July: Feria
10:00am (STA) Mass

Saturday 11th July: Feast of St Benedict, patron of Europe
9:30am (STA) Mass followed by Adoration
10:00-10:30am (STA) CONFESSIONS

Sunday12th July: Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
6:00pm (STA) (Saturday) Vigil Mass
9:00am (AS) Mass
11:00am (AS) Mass

Please note that the 7:30am Mass and 6:30pm Mass remain suspended. It is hoped that these will be reinstated in due course.

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

STATEMENT by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, president of the Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales: Tuesday 23rd June 2020 I welcome the statement by the Prime Minister earlier today, that places of worship are now able to resume collective acts of worship from 4 July. This is welcome news for members of all religions in England. I thank all who have worked hard to bring this about, not least my fellow religious leaders.

As Catholics we now look forward to being able to celebrate Mass together again from 4 July. We have waited with patience and longing for this moment, understanding the importance of protecting the health of people in our society. Now we are full of anticipation that we will be able again to take part together in the Eucharist, which lies at the centre of our faith.

It is important that we continue to abide by the guidance, given by the Government, on appropriate social distancing and the other measures to avoid all unnecessary risk. Our own detailed guidance will be distributed around dioceses and parishes so everyone can be confident that they may come to Mass securely and understand the part they are to play in protecting each other from any remaining risk of infection.

The past few months have been a time of fashioning new patterns of prayer, new ways of exploring and enriching our faith and vigorous ways of reaching out to those in need. We can build on these, forgetting nothing of the graces we have been given. Yet now, with the experience of opening our churches for individual prayer already gained, this return to the more normal patterns of worship will be of great importance to all Catholics.

This time of our ‘Eucharistic fast’ has made our hearts grow in longing for that moment when we can come together and receive again the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist. That moment is now very near and for that we thank God.

REQUIESCANT IN PACE

Please pray for the repose of the souls of our dear parishioners who have died recently and for their families as they grieve their passing: Michael Conyers, Peter Graham, Arlene Farrell and Anna Ciliberti. Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them.

PARISH OFFERTORY GIVING
The suspension of pubilc Masses 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: NRCD Trust
Payment Ref: STAQ 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.

CHILDREN’S LITURGY RESOURCES, CAFOD have created a sign up service by which parents can access online Children’s Liturgy materials. Please follow the link: https://cafod.org.uk/Education/Children-s-liturgy

OUR CATHOLIC SCHOOLS: Please pray for our staff and students as our Parish Schools have now partially re-opened. We are particularly grateful to our school staff who have worked so hard and courageously to provide a safe learning environment for Reception, Year One and Year Six as they return to class.

School Admissions: September 2021
As a result of the closure of our Churches during the time of pandemic if you were issued with a 2020 Parish Diary for a Certificate of Catholic Practice for School Admissions in September 2021 then you will now automatically be given a reference by Fr Christopher irrespective of the number of stamps. The Diary does not need to be handed in. Fr Christopher will contact the School informing them you have been granted a Certificate of Catholic Practice.

CAFOD AND SCHOOLS: For Parents and Teachers. Last week, CAFOD launched a National Assemblyfor schools. This amazing assembly can be used both in the school setting for collective worship, as well as at home. It is all about CAFOD’s ‘Summer of Hope’ and informs, inspires and encourages children, at a time when children may really need it. It is led by passionate youths and is a real must-watch! https://cafod.org.uk/News/Events/Summer-hope-assembly

MESSAGE from Fr Wayne Coughlin, Diocesan Director of Missio: I have been reluctant to make appeals that parishioners support Missio (which is the Pope’s Official Charity for Overseas Mission) due to the sheer number of demands being placed upon people at this time and given how wonderfully so many of the faithful have responded to requests from charities such as the SVP, the Foodbank, etc. However, Missio has learned that due to the Covid-19 crisis many Priests and Religious Sisters in the poorest parts of the world don’t have any income or even enough food to eat. Missio is therefore asking people to support Pope Francis’ Emergency Covid-19 Fund: https://missio.org.uk/donate/covid-19-emergency-fund/

Missio Home-schooling Resources These free downloadable resources are aimed at Sunday Mass, homeschooling or for support staff caring for children in school. The activity sheets include simple tasks, questions, prayers and Sacred Scripture. They are designed to help young people learn, reflect, and stand in solidarity with children around the world already living in hardship. The special liturgy sheets for each Sunday of the year plus many other wonderful resources can be found here: https://missiontogether.org.uk/calendar/home-and-parish-resources/

MESSAGE FROM CATHOLIC MARRIAGE CARE: The latest UK government figures have shown a dramatic and substantial increase in calls to mental health and relationship support helplines. Families, individuals and couples are seeking advice, direction and support during arguably our greatest cross-generational challenge. Marriage Care Milton Keynes is at the forefront of providing counselling support and marriage preparation for couples in Milton Keynes and the surrounding villages. Unlike some relationship organisations, we do not charge a session fee to our clients. All clients are invited to donate via a mobile app. We urgently require the following volunteers: Individuals or couples to train as marriage preparation facilitators Trained relationship couple counsellors – who can spare a few hours each week. For further information please email milton-keynes.admin@marriagecare.org or telephone 07795 461270.

MESSAGE FROM CAFOD: “CAFOD, our Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, launched its coronavirus emergency appeal on 30 April. Coronavirus (Covid-19) has now spread worldwide, with confirmed cases in many countries where CAFOD works. The effects of coronavirus on developing countries are likely to be devastating. Many countries have very weak healthcare systems and will not be able to cope. Families without enough to eat and without access to clean water, possibly living with other diseases, will be particularly vulnerable to coronavirus. It is not just a public health emergency. Many of the world’s most vulnerable people will lose their jobs and be unable to support their families. The poorest and most marginalised communities, working hard to transform their lives, will be pushed further into poverty. CAFOD is adapting its programmes to help manage the risk of coronavirus in communities and working with local Church aid agencies on the frontline of this crisis. They are already working to get food to where it is needed most; to improve hygiene, handwashing and sanitation in communities and households; producing radio messages, posters and leaflets in local languages on risks and prevention; and training community volunteers to carry out awareness campaigns. In order to continue protecting and improving the lives of those in poor communities, your prayers and gifts are needed now more than ever. While we are not able to hold collections in our church, you can donate at cafod.org.uk/coronavirusappeal Thank you”

PRAYING THE HOLY ROSARY TOGETHER