Dear Friends,
The Christmas season has come to an end and the Church turns from white to green as we begin the series of Sundays in Ordinary Time, today being the second Sunday. This year we shall be listening to St Mark’s Gospel at the Sunday Masses. Mark has his own way of revealing the Lord. His Gospel has no great literary style and the Jesus he describes is rugged and uncompromising; very human yet somehow escaping the grasp of his disciples and his family. Over the coming Sunday we will follow along the often unforeseen paths that he chose and also the solitary way which led to Calvary and his death on a cross. There was revealed his true personality and the meaning of his coming among us. ‘In truth this man was a son of God’, the centurion exclaimed.
During this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity we hold in our prayers our brothers and sisters from other churches. I am getting to know the ministers of all three areas in our parish as well as some of their congregations. Years of contact has resulted in an ease of relationship between us and this is a great blessing. Today there will be a UnitedService in Sacred Heart church at 4 pm when members of the choir at St Nicholas will lead Vespers. Please come and join in. There will tea and cakes afterwards.
Last Friday I celebrated a simple Cambodian style Mass at Aylsham when we prayed for our twinned parish and also for the group of parishioners – Carol and David Shippey and Bob and Katie Maidment – who will be leaving today for 3 weeks in Cambodia. Please keep them in your prayers.
Father Rajat writes: ‘Please give our Christmas and New year good wishes to Fr.James and all our friends’.
Last Sunday I met with the group of young people from the parish who have begun their preparation for Confirmation which will take place in June. Today during the Mass at North Walsham they will be formally inscribed as candidates.
God bless you all,
Father James
St John of the Cross, Aylsham, invites the parish to a Quiz & Puddings Evening at the Parish Hall, North Walsham on Saturday 7th February at 7.00pm. Tickets – £6 will be on sale after Mass from 11th February. Please bring drinks with you. This is the final push for the Roof Fund. Poster on church notice boards.
The Senior Citizens’ Group meets on Monday 19th January: in the moring there will be a Computer Workshop: in the afternoon a Demonstration of Teresa’s Amazing Sewing Machine. All are welcome.
Please continue to keep Marianne in your prayers as she is still very unwell.
The Bible Study Group meets on Friday 23rd at 2.30pm.
Another ecumenical event: an evening of light music at Aylsham Methodist Church entitled “Pompey to Paradise”, with Cedric Brown (clarinet & saxophone), is on Saturday 31st January at 7pm. Entrance is free; charity donations taken on the night. Please see the poster at St John of the Cross for details.
The new diocesan Year Books have been delayed but should arrive soon. We are also waiting for the delivery of the parish diaries. The parish directories are already available and are free!
Today is annual World Peace Day. Organisations like Pax Christi help us to be aware of issues that threaten peace in our world: poverty, indebtedness and conflict. This year the focus is on slavery which Pope Francis describes as ‘an open wound on the body of the human family’. There is a retiring collection to support Pax Christi.
We pray for those whose anniversaries occur during this week including: Henry Raymond Newsham, Grace Lydia Edith Wood, Annunziata (Joyce) Cockrill, Dorothy Elsie Pearce and Gregory Noble.
May they rest in peace.
If you have any items for the newsletter please let us have them by Tuesday.
