Newsletter 3rd June 2018
Welcome to the first newsletter for the month of June.
Today is kept as Corpus Christi – the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. Although Ascension Day was moved back to the Thursday, it was decided that Corpus Christi should remain on the Sunday. It as if there is not enough time to celebrate this mystery on Maundy Thursday and so there is a special feast once the Easter Season is completed.
Next Sunday the second group of Children will be making their First Holy Communion. There will be a practise in the Church on Saturday morning and 10.30am after the morning Mass. The celebration will be at the 11am Mass. The children are asked to go to the big hall before the Mass and to arrive by 10.30 on the Sunday. The 11am Mass will be very full so you might consider an alternative time this week.
Friday is the feast of the Sacred Heart.
On other days it is the ninth week of ordinary time.
The next meeting of the Parish Council is due to take place on 14th June and I hope to have the agendas ready for next Sunday.
If you have not done so already, please take your new box of gift aid envelopes. Please use the envelopes each week as unless your donation is recorded, we cannot claim the tax refund. Let me know if you would like to make your donations through gift aid so that I can give you a form and some envelopes.
A request – please close the garden gate when you leave if you have brought a car into the garden – quite a lot of unauthorised visitors at present and I need to keep things secure.
The new railway timetable seems to be settling down. It is good to see that there are still trains to Victoria after the initial fears and four trains an hour to Charing Cross. The Thameslink services are being introduced in stages over several weeks. I hope all the signalling problems have been resolved. The orange jackets seem to be out on the line regularly.
Gradually I am cutting back some of the overgrown areas in the garden and hope to put in some more shrubs. The copper beech is flourishing now that the other tree have been cut back and is turning into a wonderful tree.
A prayer for a summer day:
Lord, who has made heaven and earth and all that is good and lovely, help us to find delight in the gifts of your creation and ever to rejoice in the riches of thy bounty, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Time for some Rupert Brooke:
Deep meadows yet, for to forget
The lies, and truths and pain? … oh! Yet
Stands the Church clock at ten to three
And is there honey still for tea?
Something for your picnic: melt 3oz butter with six tablespoons of honey and melt gently. Mix in four tablespoons of peanut butter and 8oz of broken biscuit and place in a greased tin. Leave to cool until it is firm. (Bad luck if you have a nut allergy)
News of the boy – he has won some prizes for his reading – he seems to have read everything and knows all the answers – I wonder where he gets this from? – meanwhile his sister is enjoying the school sports – her mother was very good at lacrosse.
Works in hand during the coming weeks will include and external redecoration of the house. If you look closely, you can see that it is badly needed. Some of the windows require some new putty as well as redecoration so it cannot be left for another year.
I hope you are all enjoying the summer.
Best wishes to you all,
Monsignor Nicholas Rothon