The Messenger 15th March 2024

Receive the newsletter by email ▾

Holy Week and Easter 2024

Holy Thursday – 28th March

7:00pm – St Josephs – Mass of the Lord’s Supper

Good Friday – 29th March

10:00am – St Joseph’s – Stations of the Cross

10:00am – Our Lady Star of the Sea – Stations of the Cross

10:00am – Notre Dame – Stations of the Cross

3:00pm – St Josephs – Solemn Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion

Holy Saturday – 30th March

11:00am – St Josephs – Swieconka – Blessing of Easter Baskets

8:30pm – St Josephs – Solemn Easter Vigil and First Mass of Easter

Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord – 31st March

8:00am – St Josephs – Mass

9:15am – OLSS – Mass

10:30am – St Josephs – Mass

11:00am – Notre Dame – Mass

No evening Mass

Mass Times

Saturday 16th March

10:00am – St Josephs – Mass

6:00pm – OLSS – Mass

Sunday 17th March

8:00am – St Josephs – Mass

9:15am – OLSS – Mass

10:30am – St Josephs – Mass

4:30pm – St Josephs – Sung Evening Prayer and Benediction

5:30pm – Notre Dame – Stations of the Cross: Led by Parish Groups

6:00pm – Notre Dame – Mass

Monday 18th March

7:30am – St Josephs – Mass

10:00am – St Apollines Chapel – Mass

11:30am – OLSS – Stations of the Cross

Tuesday 19th March – ST JOSEPH, Solemnity

9:30am – St Josephs – Mass

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament after Mass until 10:30am

Wednesday 20th March

9:30am – St Josephs – Mass

6:00pm – St Josephs – Mass

7:00pm – St Josephs – Exposition, Rosary & Benediction for Vocations

Thursday 21st March

9:30am – St Josephs – Mass

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament after Mass until 10:30am

6:00pm – OLSS – Mass

7:00pm – St Josephs – Lenten Talk

Friday 22nd March

7:30am – St Josephs – Mass

9:00am – Blanchelande – End of Term Mass

11:00am – Le Platon – Mass

6:00pm – St Josephs – Stations of the Cross: Delancey Music Group

7:00pm – Centre For Peace – Rosary

Saturday 23rd March

10:00am – St Josephs – Mass

6:00pm – OLSS – Mass

Sunday 24th March – PALM SUNDAY of the Passion of the Lord

8:00am – St Josephs – Mass

9:15am – OLSS – Mass

10:30am – St Josephs – Mass

4:30pm – St Josephs – Sung Evening Prayer and Benediction

5:30pm – Notre Dame – Stations of the Cross: Led by Parish Groups

6:00pm – Notre Dame – Mass


Diocese of Portsmouth
Bishop Philip Egan
Eighth Bishop of Portsmouth

Dean and Parish Priest:
Canon Christopher Rutledge (Day off Tuesday)

Assistant Priest:
Fr Inna Reddy Gade (Day off Friday)

Priest in Retirement:
Canon Gerard Hetherington KCHS

Deacon:
Rev Mark Leightley

Churches

St Joseph & St Mary
La Couperderie, St Peter Port [Map]

Notre Dame Du Rosaire
Burnt Lane, St Peter Port [Map]

Our Lady Star of the Sea, Delancey (OLSS)
Rue des Monts, St Sampsons [Map]

St Anne & St Mary Magdalen
Braye Road, Alderney [Map]

Parish Office

Ampthill House, Cordier Hill, St Peter Port, Guernsey GY1 1JH
Telephone Number: 01481 720196
Office hours: 9.30am—1.30pm weekdays.
Email: office@catholic.org.gg
Secretary: Mrs Yvonne Priaulx
Assistant Secretary: Mrs Elaine McKay

Safeguarding Officer

Bridget Cowens:
(01481) 701398 : 07781 467591

Youth Ministry Coordinator

Tom Saddington
Tel: 07781 129310
Email: youth@catholic.org.gg

 

Personal data held by the Parish and the Diocese of Portsmouth is processed in accordance with the Diocese’s Privacy Notice which can be obtained from www.portsmouthdiocese.org.uk/gdpr or a paper copy may be obtained from the Parish Office (contact details above).

© Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth 2023 | Registration number: England Registered Charity No. 1199568 Jersey Registered Charity No. 457 and Guernsey Registered Charity No.CH263 | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Anti-financial crime policy.

Click to play

Vespers and Benediction on the 5th Sunday of Lent (Passiontide)

Sunday 17th March 2024

Recordings of Mass and other services:

Confession Dates/Times
Confession Dates/Times

There will be no formal Lent Reconciliation Service this year. Canon Chris and Father Inna will be available at the following times next week to hear confessions. Please do try to come early to avoid a last minute rush during Holy Week. More confession times will be advertised for Holy Week.

Tuesday 19th March – St. Josephs – 7:00pm-7:30pm – Confessions & Exposition
Wednesday 20th March – St. Josephs – 7:00pm-8:00pm – Confessions & Exposition (Holy Hour)
Friday 22nd March – St. Josephs – Confessions after Stations of the Cross
Saturday 23rd March – St. Josephs – 10:30am-11:30am – Confessions & Exposition
Saturday  23rd March – OLSS – 5:15pm-5:50pm – Confessions
Sunday 24th March – OLSS – 8:45am-9:00am – Confessions
Sunday 24th March – St. Josephs – Confessions after 10:30am Mass
Sunday 24th March – Notre Dame – 5:30pm-5:50pm – Confessions

St Apollines Mass - Monday 18th March - 10:00am
St Apollines Mass – Monday 18th March – 10:00am

For this week only the Mass will be held at the earlier time of 10:00am to enable Canon Chris and Father Inna to fly to Jersey at lunchtime to assist with confessions. They will return on the first flight on Tuesday morning.

The Holy Spirit Prayer Group Meetings
The Holy Spirit Prayer Group Meetings

HOLY SPIRIT PRAYER GROUP

The Holy Spirit Prayer Group meet Monday 18th March at 7:30pm in the St Magloire Parish Room, St Joseph’s.

More info please call Frank on 07781 108394.

LIFE IN THE SPIRIT SEMINARS

This is a series of 7 sessions on Monday evenings in St Joseph’s Parish Room starting on April 15th. If you missed the Diocesan online Life in the Spirit Seminars last year, this is a chance to attend in person, and if you have attended these seminars in the past it is always beneficial to do them again as a renewal of our faith and of our relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Laudato Si Group - 18th March - 7:00pm - St Yves Parish Room
Laudato Si Group – 18th March – 7:00pm – St Yves Parish Room

Laudato Si Group meet on Monday 18th March at 7:00pm in St Yves Parish Room.

Sts Padre Pio & Philomena Prayer Group - 21st March - 7:30pm
Sts Padre Pio & Philomena Prayer Group – 21st March – 7:30pm

Sts Padre Pio & Philomena Prayer Group meet on Thursday 21st March at 7:30pm at Jenny & Bill’s home.

Phone 255163 or 07781 425779.

Pastoral Letter - Bishop Philip
Pastoral Letter – Bishop Philip

The Pastoral Letter from Bishop Philip will be read at all Sunday Masses this weekend. Copies are available in the churches or can be viewed on the Diocesan Website or obtained from the Parish Office.

Access to St Josephs Church until 6th April
Access to St Josephs Church until 6th April

Please note the entire junction of the Grange, Doyle Road and Vauvert is now shut until 6th April. Access to St Joseph’s is via Vauvert against the one way system. Either travel through Trinity Square, George Street and then into Allez Street and turn right into Vauvert or travel up the Grange, turn left into Havilland Street and then right onto Allez Street and follow one way into Vauvert. Please take care when exiting the church car parks as the road is one way only towards Victoria Road.

Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday

Next Sunday palms will be available in our 3 churches for blessing; please pick one up on the way in. You are also most welcome to bring greenery from home if you so wish.

The Holy Spirit Prayer Group - 11th March - 7:30pm - St Magloire Parish Room, St Joseph’s
The Holy Spirit Prayer Group – 11th March – 7:30pm – St Magloire Parish Room, St Joseph’s

The Holy Spirit Prayer Group meet Monday 11th March at 7:30pm in the St Magloire Parish Room, St Joseph’s.

For more info please call Frank on 07781 108394.

Date for the Diary

On Monday evenings after Easter the Holy Spirit Prayer Group will be facilitating the ‘Life in the Spirit Seminars’ – a series of 7 sessions to bring about a renewal of our faith and a greater awareness of the Holy Spirit and His gifts. More details to follow.

Coffee Morning - 13th March - 9:30am-11:30am - St Joseph’s Parish Room
Coffee Morning – 13th March – 9:30am-11:30am – St Joseph’s Parish Room

St Joseph’s Parish Room at will be open for coffee/tea, cake and a chat on Wednesday 13th March and on every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month.

Drop in any time between 9:30am-11:30am.

This is a chance to enjoy a cup of coffee, meet up with others and keep warm in this cold weather! Everyone is welcome!

Divine Will Prayer Group Meetings
Divine Will Prayer Group Meetings

Divine Will Prayer Group meet Tuesday 12th March at 8:00pm at Maud’s home and Wednesday 13th March at 10:45am in St Yves Parish Room, St Joseph’s.

Mothers Prayers - 15th March - 10:30am
Mothers Prayers – 15th March – 10:30am

Mothers Prayers meet Friday 15th March at 11:00am (Tea/Coffee from 10:30am) at Christine’s home.

Tel: 259995 / E-mail: christineguernsey2014@gmail.com / www.mothersprayers.org

AED/Defibrillator Training
AED/Defibrillator Training

Arrangements are in hand to relocate the AED/defibrillator from its current location alongside the organ in St Joseph’s to a cabinet in the car park near the sacristy door. This will mean that the AED will be accessible 24/7 regardless of whether the church is open. Mindful that having an AED is only part of the solution should someone’s heart stop, training is being offered to any parishioners wanting to learn how to use it. The training will be provided by the Cardiac Action Group and will be held in the Parish Rooms on Saturday 6th and 20tj April starting at 11.00am. 18 places are available for each session and will be offered in a first come basis. We hope that somebody from each of the Parish Groups who use the Parish Rooms will attend, as well as people from each of the Masses. Please email Gerri Cale (gerri.cale@gmail.com) to register for one of the two sessions, specifying if you have a preference for date.

Le Platon Lottery Results - Feb
Le Platon Lottery Results – Feb

Le Platon 100 Club February Results

1st – 45 – £100

2nd – 5 – £50

3rd – 17 – £25

Life Changing Ministry Breakfast Talk - 16th March - 8:30am - Les Cotils
Life Changing Ministry Breakfast Talk – 16th March – 8:30am – Les Cotils

A Missionary Priest “To the Ends of the Earth” on the 16th March at 8:30am – Breakfast at Les Cotils £8.00.

The speaker is Rt Rev Nick Drayson, formerly Bishop of Argentina and now rector of Castel Church.

Please reserve your place – Tel: 07781 435420 / E-mail: revjanleb@gmail.com

CAFOD Big Lent Walk
CAFOD Big Lent Walk

During Lent, Notre Dame du Rosaire Catholic Primary school are helping support our global neighbours who live in poverty by once again taking part in the CAFOD Big Lent Walk. As a school, we’re raising money by aiming to walk 40,952 miles during Lent. This distance represents us walking from Guernsey, around the world visiting the 27 amazing countries our pupils and families come from and finishing back in Guernsey. Every mile we walk will represent 4 miles on the map. To achieve this, we are encouraging the children and staff to walk as much as they can during Lent and to record their walks and the distances travelled which we will then add to our whole school total.

This roughly equates to 40 miles per child during lent and within the first week, we have walked around the British Isles, been to Portugal, Madeira and are halfway to Venezuela! Our Laudato Si pupil group have spoken on Radio Guernsey about our efforts and the recording can be found here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0h93977 and is 1 hour and 40 minutes into the programme – 1:40:34

Can you help us by also walking 40 miles in 40 days?

Caution
Caution

Parishioners who park their cars on the yellow line or the pavement on Sunday’s outside St. Joseph’s Church: please do not park there. You are breaking the law as well as preventing the house owners opposite from exiting their properties. A number of years ago a similar situation arose and the police were called. We do not wish this to happen again . Thank you. Please note overflow parking at Vauvert School this weekend.

Receiving Holy Communion
Receiving Holy Communion

The Clergy have noticed that there is a tendency for some people to walk off with Holy Communion; this is absolutely not allowed. Please make a sign of Reverence before you receive Holy Communion with a bow or Genuflection. You will receive Holy Communion in your normal way either on the tongue or in the hand; if you are receiving in the hand please consume in front of the Priest or Minister – do not step to one side or walk off with our Blessed Lord. When back in your seat please kneel for your thanksgiving prayers. We are receiving the greatest gift The Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ.

The Live Simply Tree
The Live Simply Tree

The Live Simply Tree is located beside the confessional box at St. Joseph and on the noticeboards at Notre Dame and Our Lady Star of the Sea.

Please write out your pledge on the sticky note provided before placing it on the tree.

We as a Parish are working towards the CAFOD Live Simply Award!

‘CAFOD Live Simply: Living in Solidarity with the poor’

Laudato Si
Laudato Si

If you are concerned about the problem of plastic use you may be interested in taking part in “The Big Plastic Count” that is taking place nationally from the 11th – 17th March. For more information go to help@thebigplasticcount.com and measure and record your own plastic use and “throwaway” over a week; it’s an island, national and worldwide problem.

Guernsey Welfare
Guernsey Welfare

Are you giving up something for Lent? Would you consider giving something to Guernsey Welfare’s food bank in place of the item you are going without? We would love to receive any of the following: Sugar, Crisps (6 multipack), Jam, Coffee, Marmite or Pasta Sauce or any other food staple you would like to give. Please place items in the tubs provided in our churches. Many thanks from the Guernsey Welfare team.

Bamenda Update
Bamenda Update

Bamenda update on the well for Ntenefor Parish in Bamenda from Liz Dene. As we start Lent 2024, I wanted to give an update on the progress of the well which our Parish is funding from our 2023 Lenten almsgiving. The Bamenda Committee is still waiting on the geological survey report to confirm the proposed site for the well is suitable and to determine how deep to drill to reach the water table. As soon as the report has been received, assuming all is satisfactory, work can start without further delay. Whilst disappointing that the work has yet to start, this part of the year is best for drilling wells in Bamenda. The Committee has also agreed to allocate up to £5,000 to ensure the full costs, including a solar powered pump to draw the water are met.

Rotas - Eucharistic Ministers & Readers - St Josephs
Rotas – Eucharistic Ministers & Readers – St Josephs

Eucharistic Ministers & Readers (St Josephs) rotas for the period 25th February – 14th April 2024 are now available for collection just inside the Sacristy.

Please wait until the end of Mass before collecting the rota.

LENT - Bishop Philip
LENT – Bishop Philip

During the season of Lent, the Church invites us by God’s grace to undertake three works that, we pray, will lead to our spiritual renewal, preparing us to celebrate Easter. I’d like to invite you to send in anything you are doing so that others too might consider them: something modest and easily do-able. The only condition is that it must fall clearly under one of the categories below. We’ll add to the list below as the weeks go on, thus building up a resource for future years.
Please email your proposals to Deacon Craig: executiveassistant@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk

1. Works of (daily) prayer: Attending Mass; saying part of the Rosary; making the Stations of the Cross; prayerfully reading the Gospel of the day; reading a daily meditation (online or from a book); reading a spiritual book (lives of the saints, prayer, aspect of faith); saying Morning Prayer or another part of the Divine Office.

2. Works of fasting: giving up tea, coffee, chocolate or alcohol; giving up a favourite biscuit, fruit, food or sugar in a drink; not snacking between meals; fasting on Fridays; cutting back using the computer, social media or watching TV.

3. Works of almsgiving and charity: assisting a parish charitable activity; visiting someone who is sick or elderly; volunteering when an appeal is made; saving money from a work of fasting and donating it to a good charitable cause; supporting CAFOD and Caritas; a work of ‘advocacy’ campaigning for a just cause (e.g. writing to an MP); random acts of kindness at school, work or in the home; giving up idle conversation.

Lent
Lent

ASH WEDNESDAY 14TH FEBRUARY
A day of Fasting and Abstinence Distribution of ashes at all Masses

7:30am & 6:00pm – St. Joseph’s
11:00am – Our Lady Star of the Sea

EXPOSITION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT
Will take place for 15 minutes before all the weekday Masses of Lent

STATIONS OF THE CROSS
Fridays at 6:00pm in St Joseph’s Church. Led each week by a different Parish Group.

Laudato Si
Laudato Si

The Laudato Si group have registered for our Parish for the CAFOD Live Simply Award and they need everyone’s help to achieve this. The award is gained by completing several targets which involve living simply (e.g. more time in prayer and with God), living sustainably and living in solidarity with the poor. The Lihou pilgrimage and the Big Lent Walk are just two examples of how we have already achieved some of these targets together.

This Lent we would like you all to make a personal pledge to live more sustainably. This could be to walk to work instead or using the car or taking unused items to a charity shop. Paper and pens will be provided in the porch of each church for you to write your pledge on before placing it on the tree which will be on display. We would also like the Parish as a whole to say the CAFOD Live Simply prayer, in Mass, in school and at home. Living simply, sustainably and in solidarity with the poor is truly our faith in action.

‘Live simply, so that others may simply live’

LIVE SIMPLY PRAYER
Compassionate and loving God,
you created the world for us all to share,
a world of beauty and plenty.
Create in us a desire to live simply,
so that our lives may reflect your
generosity.
Creator God,
You gave us responsibility for the earth,
a world of riches and delight.
Create in us a desire to live sustainably,
so that those who follow after us
may enjoy the fruits of your creation.
God of peace and justice,
You give us the capacity to change,
to bring about a world that mirrors your
wisdom.
Create in us a desire to act in solidarity,
so that the pillars of injustice crumble
and those now crushed are set free.
Amen.

Mass
Mass

In recent years, a false idea has arisen that envisages the Mass as something we do, rather than what God is doing. In fact, in the Sacrifice of the Mass, Jesus offers Himself to the Father through the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit associates us with Christ’s prayer and offering. This is why the Mass is not ours; it is God’s work. In my Pastoral Letter dated 10 March 2013, I would like to invite everyone to review their attitude towards the Mass, to celebrate Mass authentically, to focus at Mass on Christ, not on ourselves as priests or people. It is important, of course, that we do our part, that we abide diligently by the rubrics, that we participate actively with due reverence, and that in our parishes, schools and communities, we foster the full variety and nobility of the Roman Rite, in its liturgical and musical styles, although always with the best examples. In this regard, many of our communities are now international, and so I wish to ask each parish and school to ensure, as Vatican II called for, that everyone knows the Latin prayers and the Latin chants of the Mass, at least those given in the Missal. This is important in itself and for the young, but also as a work of evangelisation: that any visitor will know they have reached the universal ‘Church of the Ages’. Bishop Philip

WINGS 50th Anniversary Year!
WINGS 50th Anniversary Year!

WINGS, World In Need Group Scheme, was set up in 1974 as a sub-committee of the Deanery Pastoral Council. The aims in the WINGS constitution were to raise awareness of the ‘problems and needs of the Third World (as it was designated at the time), and our responsibilities towards it, to raise funds to alleviate injustice and suffering and to liaise with other Christian organisations to that end’. High ideals indeed!
Founder members were Frank Murphy, our first chairman, Angela Le Page, secretary, Bernard Gill, treasurer, Ian Le Page, Martin Gill, Vivienne Counihan (Thomson), Margaret Edmondson, Ann O’Mahoney, Don Hearne, Lilian Hamilton, Nigel Massey and Moira Murphy and Fr Bernard Fisher and Fr Martin Laker. Later stalwarts include Anne and Bryan Mauger, who kept WINGS going in the 90s, Helen Curran (Foxen) and Margaret Langlois.
On a personal note, a motivating factor in founding WINGS was as a memorial to Mary Gill, Bernard’s daughter, my sister and a pupil at Notre Dame, who had died that year, aged 11, from leukaemia. She was greatly distressed by the suffering due to a famine in Ethiopia and counted herself lucky to be so well cared for.
Our main partner was CAFOD, the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development. CAFOD had a scheme whereby groups in Catholic parishes could choose a project such as the digging of a well in a village, providing sewing machines to create cottage industries, or books for schools etc. We were provided with a description and the cost of the project then raised funds by means of a monthly second collection from the Catholic churches. WINGS also managed the biannual CAFOD Family Fast Days and Christian Aid Week, providing door to door collectors in the St Peter Port area.
When Portsmouth Catholic Diocese was twinned with Bamenda, Cameroon in the same year, WINGS took on the request of Bishop
Worlock to raise £1,000 toward the building of a church and community centre in Bamenda. An appeal was made at the end of Masses by WINGS members. The Catholic community in Guernsey responded with huge generosity and over £1200 was donated in a month. Bear in mind that today £1200 would have a value of around £12,000. Besides funding projects in the developing countries, WINGS members also gave talks in the Catholic schools, held film nights, produced a news sheet describing the projects funded by parishioners donations, researched the provision of Fair Trade products like coffee and liaised with the other parish groups such as UCM, Knights of St Columba, Legion of Mary, Friday Club, the Co Workers of Mother Teresa and ICYC, the Catholic Youth club.
Times changed and membership changed as did the frequency of collections. The small projects were no longer provided by CAFOD but WINGS continues to support the CAFOD emergency appeals, unfortunately still necessary to this day. Currently WINGS sends yearly donations to the work of the Salesians for the street children of Liberia (Fr Charles Chauvel), the Holy Family Children’s Home in Bethlehem (Canon Hetherington) . Wayaya (Marian and Tony Falla) and Friends of Katete (Peter and Margaret Keeling) have also received WINGS donations over the years. Both the Bamenda appeal and CAFOD Family Fast Days became independent of WINGS.
Today WINGS receives 3 second collections a year raising approximately £1800 a year. However, when Emergency Appeals are made the average of £600 rises to the £1000s. Over 50 years it is hard to put a figure on the contribution made by the Catholics of Guernsey through WINGS to the ‘alleviation of suffering’, especially allowing for the huge change in the value of money but it is well over £100,000 not allowing for inflation. So well done to our Catholic Community whose heart is always in the right place when appealing for those less fortunate than we are.
Thank you for your prayers and generosity.
Angela Le Page

Lenten Talks - 7:00pm – 8:00pm - St Joseph's Church
Lenten Talks – 7:00pm – 8:00pm – St Joseph’s Church

February 15th        Deacon Mark Leightley
‘Sin, The Elephant in The Room’

February 20th         Rev Jan Le Billon
‘The Amazing Grace of God’s gift of Salvation, Transformation, and Renewal through the Lord Jesus Christ.’

March 7th                      Sir Richard Collas
‘The Why and How of Caring for our Neighbour in Guernsey’.

March 21st                  The Rt Rev Peter Doyle Emeritus Bishop of Northampton
‘Our Faith’
This last evening only will commence with Mass at 6pm prior to the talk at 7pm followed by refreshments in the parish room at 8pm.

Mass - St Apolline Chapel
Mass – St Apolline Chapel

Mass will be celebrated at St Apolline Chapel at 11:00am on Monday’s during Lent – La Grande Rue, St Saviour, GY8 0DS. Parking in the road.

Diocesan Event
Diocesan Event

The Diocesan Dialogue with Cultural Sector Team is hosting a Symposium on medical and social ethics entitled ‘What it means to be Human’ on Saturday 16th March at The Arc, Winchester. Tickets are priced at £20 for the day, including sandwiches and refreshments and can be purchased at  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/what-does-it-mean-to-be-humanmedical-ethics-and-social-care-today-tickets-773097012977?aff=oddtdtcreator