A new Alpha course will commence soon. This will be held in St Mark’s church hall on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 pm. The course is an eleven-week programme with each session beginning with a shared meal, followed by a talk and then a group discussion. Alpha is held in an open, friendly and relaxed environment and is designed to allow members to explore the basics of the Christian faith without any pressure and is recommended for us all. The first session will be on 8th May, and a sign-up sheet for this is available in the porch.
Thursday of this week is the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, commemorating the fortieth day after the Resurrection when Jesus ascended body and soul into Heaven and took His seat at the right hand of His Father. The Ascension marks the completion of Jesus’ earthly mission. It is a Holy Day of Obligation when all Catholics are required to attend Mass, and Masses at St Mary Magdalen will be at 10:00 am and at 7:00 pm.
A big thank you to all those who helped to make the international evening last Saturday such a success. It was a very enjoyable evening and attracted visitors from other parishes to our church for the Saturday evening Mass. Everyone took part in the dancing and it was a pleasure to see empty chairs. Several requests have already been received for this to be repeated, so watch this space for further announcements and news of other social events in the parish.
The next stage of our project to update and improve the hall facilities will take place on Wednesday 8th May when Hadleigh Glass will be installing new uPVC double glazed windows in place of the existing single glazed wooden framed versions. This work is costing £14,500. The toilet windows will be replaced at a later date when a revised layout to incorporate a wheelchair accessible facility has been agreed - a proposed layout is available for viewing and comment on the noticeboards in both the church and hall foyers. As well as updating the toilet facilities, and subject to the availability of funding, other planned works include refurbishing and refitting the kitchen, modernising the heating arrangements and renovating the floor. In January the parish received a grant of £6,950 from the Benefact Trust to put towards hall improvements, further grants are being sought and the aim is to finance as much of the work as possible from grants, hall rental income and proceeds from social activities. Please speak to any member of the Finance Committee if you would like further information or would like to contribute to this project in any way.
The May edition of Catholic East Anglia, the Diocesan newspaper, is available in the church porch. This is free – please do take a copy home and read it.
Amongst other items, this edition contains a report on the Chrism Mass led by Bishop Peter in Holy Week, Easter celebrations across the Diocese, recollections of missionary service from our own Fr Pat Cleary, a report on the visit of a Papal Nuncio to Cambridge, Bishop Alan’s 80th birthday celebration and an article reflecting on the constitutions of the Second Vatican Council.
The newspaper is also available to read on-line here on the parish web site - click the cover image on the left to do so.
Next Sunday is World Communications Day. It’s a day when we pray for all those who work in the media. It was established by Pope Paul VI in 1967 as an annual celebration that encourages us to reflect on the opportunities and challenges that the modern means of social communication afford the Church to communicate the gospel message.
To mark this year’s World Communications Day, the Holy Father Pope Francis has issued a message entitled Artificial Intelligence and the Wisdom of the Heart: Towards a Fully Human Communication. This message can be read in full here on the parish web site.
To support the church’s work in this important field, the Communications Office of the Bishop’s Conference of England and Wales is a team working in the media to publicise and promote Catholic content within mainstream media and to help support its work, there will be a retiring collection after all Masses next weekend.
With the warmer summer weather on its way (!), our thoughts turn to the wonderful garden that the parish is blessed to have available. Chrissie and Paul Riches work tirelessly to maintain this for us and do a fantastic job for which we should all be very grateful.
We want to encourage greater use of this tranquil space, and to that end if anybody has, or knows of, any garden benches that are, or are about to become, available, and could be donated to the parish, we would love to receive them to provide additional seating in the garden.
Please speak to Paul or Chrissie, or email [email protected] if you can help.
This year’s Diocesan pilgrimage will take place on Bank Holiday Monday, 6th May. It will begin with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the Church of the Annunciation, Friday Market, until 11.45 am. At 12 noon there will be the Regina Caeli and the Crowning of the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham by Bishop Peter Collins in Friday Market. A procession will then make its way down the Holy Mile to the Shrine reciting the Rosary and singing hymns. On arrival there will be a brief Penitential Service and the opportunity for Confessions at the Crosses around the meadow, followed by a break for lunch and private visits to the Shrine in the Slipper Chapel, and at 3 pm, Bishop Peter will celebrate Pontifical Mass which will conclude the pilgrimage.
Many thanks to our skilled team of flower arrangers who worked so hard to make the church look spectacular for Easter
The final draw of the 150 Club year took place on Easter Sunday after the 10:00 am Mass. This draw included the end of year bonus prizes – the major prizes of the year. A full list of the prize winners can be found here, and a complete list of all this years winners can be found here.
As the Club’s financial year end is 31st March, we are especially on the lookout for additional members to bolster the membership as the new year starts. Some of our supporters have sadly passed away during the past year, others have moved away from the parish and so there is plenty of room for new joiners just to make up the numbers. If you are not a member, why not sign up today and help support your parish. Application forms are available in the church porch or, you can sign up on-line here.
Existing members will shortly receive annual renewal instructions by email, or new payment envelopes if you have not registered your email address. If you have any questions about your subscription or payment method, please contact the secretary by email at [email protected].
