This email has arrived from our CAFOD representative

Chris

~~~

Following my email of 6 August I have today sent another email to all Parish Priests.

Since that first email the situation in Pakistan has continued to get worse. In what has been described as a "slow motion tsunami" by the UN, the people of Pakistan are facing a disaster like few the world has ever seen. The devastating floods that now stretch for more than 600 miles have killed at least 1,600 people and left up to 20 million in need of emergency help. Your prayers are urgently needed.

People have lost homes, crops and livestock, and are now at risk from deadly water-borne diseases such as cholera. Because the need is so urgent and the scale of the crisis so great, if they have not done so already, we are asking parishes to consider holding a special collection on the weekend of 28/29 August for the CAFOD Pakistan Floods appeal.

Many parishes have already held collections, for which many thanks, and many of you have been influential in ensuring the funds have come to us swiftly. However, with funds coming in every day, I have decided to send this same email to all parishes.  I hope you will excuse me! CAFOD has already committed £750,000 but our partners have indicated that they will need over £2.5M to meet the needs they have already identified!

To help your collection run more smoothly:
1. Order gift aid envelopes for your parish collection by calling 020 7095 5682 or email communityfundraising@cafod.org.uk
2. If time is short, download a gift aid declaration form at http://www.cafod.org.uk/worship
3. Print off this reply coupon, to send with your donation, at http://www.cafod.org.uk/worship
The links to these are both in the first section of the page where you will also find a link to a bidding prayer and a PowerPoint presentation.

Our partners have so far reached 23,000 people - but so many more need our help now and to recover in the long term. With your support, our partners can provide:

* Emergency kits including plastic sheeting, blankets, water purification tablets and soap
* Temporary latrines to improve sanitation and prevent disease from spreading
* Life-saving medicines and emergency health care

Colette Fearon, our head of Asia programmes says: "We are very concerned by reports of cholera, because we know it can spread quickly in cramped conditions. Our partners have experience of providing relief to people in disasters, so we are confident that we can get help to those that need it most and help them recover in the coming months and years."

We know that you will be planning second collections to support other causes in early autumn, as well as supporting us on Harvest Fast Day. But we hope that you will understand the people of Pakistan need our help urgently. Because it is vital for us to continue our long-term development work around the world, we are not asking you to divert your Harvest collection to Pakistan.

We greatly appreciate your continued support and ask you to keep those affected by this disaster in your prayers. Below is a bidding prayer for the people of Pakistan to use in your parish:

We pray for the people of Pakistan who have been bereaved or lost their homes and possessions in the recent floods: that they may know that they are not forgotten and may find hope of rebuilding their lives.
Lord, in your mercy....

Download this and an individual prayer for the people of Pakistan at http://www.cafod.org.uk/worship

Find out more about our response at http://www.cafod.org.uk

CAFOD is raising money for the DEC Pakistan Floods appeal - 13 aid agencies working together at times of disasters and emergencies.

If you have any questions, please visit the website, or call me on the number below.

Many thanks,

Frank Sudlow
CAFOD Diocesan Office
St Gregory's Catholic Primary School
Grange Road
NORTHAMPTON
NN3 2AX
Tel: 01604 785 254
website: www.cafod.org.uk
"The efforts of aid agencies is not sufficient, nor is government assistance.  The world economic and financial systems must be so adapted as to see that developing countries receive social justice" - Charles Grant, Bishop of Northampton, speaking at Vatican II

The Parish Calendar is a way to see all the fixtures and events in the Parish's year. I update it from the Bulletin or when someone tells me about an event, so please do let me know if something needs to be in there.

But if you have frequent updates, why not do it yourself? I can help you to share the calendar and give you permission to insert events etc ... It's reasonably simple to learn how and I should be happy to provide a bit of coaching. You would just use the programme that you use to access the Internet and there you.

Chris

The Sanctuary looks wonderful with the palms.

Chris

Here is a copy of the paper in the back of the Church, Walking Humbly with our God. Please read and comment to Canon Michael.

Chris

WALKING HUMBLY WITH OUR GOD


Over the past few weeks, as part of the “Walking Humbly with Our God” programme, a series of conversations has taken place in which parishioners were asked to think about the strengths and weaknesses of the parish.

Thank you to all those who gave their time and thought to this process.


The following is a summary of the common themes that emerged:


Strengths


Blessing of weekday Mass
Good liturgy
Good music: musicians & choir
Thriving Family Mass.
Lots of Altar Servers.
Good parish administration.
Good co-operation among
parish organisations/groups. .
Good social activities.

Weaknesses

Poor take-up of the Sacrament of Confession
No provision for parish teenage youth.
Weekend parish – many only attend Mass on Sunday and Holy Days.
No Catholic school in the parish.
Because we have managed without a priest in the past, there is the worry that we might be left without a resident parish priest.

Further feedback would be welcome. If you wish to add any further comments, please put them in writing and hand them to Canon Michael.

Today is Ash Wednesday. If you wish to find a little Bible study for each day in Lent, why not go to the Daily Reflections page. Here there are links to the Bible Alive reflections (from Alive Publishing) which you could read, together with the reading from the Bible.

Chris

The next Parish meeting will be next Wednesday, after the 7:30pm Mass. Here is the agenda; feel free to come and help run your parish.

Chris

PCC Agenda 27.01.10

Thanks to Phil Campion and the Baptist congregation for starting this week of prayer at the Biggleswade Baptist Church. Tomorrow we will be at the Methodist Church.

God bless

Chris

A happy and holy New Year to everyone in the Parish.

I plan to talk to all the people who have a mention in the website and make sure that I have the information right.

Sounds like a New Year resolution ...

Chris

There's a new person responsible for ensuring that all the Parish's fixtures, fittings and activities comply with Health and Safety rules: me.

I'll be checking around the fabric of the buildings and generally looking at activities with a critical eye, but please help me out by keeping your own eyes open for potential risks to anyone using the buildings or facilities of the Parish.

You can contact me using the link at the bottom of each page of this website.

Chris

The next meeting is tomorrow, Wednesday 11 November; do come and make your contribution to running the Parish. The Minutes of the last meeting are on the Parish Meetings page.

Chris