Nuntius

Newsletter Sunday June 14th, 2020

13 June 202013 June 2020 Nuntius

The Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ (Year A)

One bread, one body, one Lord of all

Readings: Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-6 , Psalm 147, 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, John 6: 51-58

SERVICES FOR WEEK 14th June – 21st June 2020

Sun 14 June THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST
Parish Mass – available to engage with via website at any time

Rufina Roque RIP (Bernarte)
8.30 a.m. Maureen & David Watkins (Frake)
Mon 15 June 8.30 a.m. Alfred & Blanche Anderson RIP (Anderson)
10.00 – 11.00 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Private Prayer
Tues 16 June 8.30 a.m. Fr Francis Hartley RIP (SVP)
Wed 17 June 8.30 a.m. Alvira & Donald Almeida (Frake)
10.00 – 11.00 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Private Prayer
Thur 18 June 8.30 a.m Margaret Connolly (Eida/Connolly)
Fri 19 June 8.30 a.m. Sacred Heart of Jesus Anne Young (Wheatley)
10.00 – 11.00 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & Private Prayer
Sun 21 June 12th SUNDAY in ORDINARY TIME
Parish Mass – available to engage with via website at any time
William Dawson-Asaam RIP (Asaam)
8.30 a.m. Meade Family (Sullivan)

Please pray for the souls of :
Fr Francis Hartley Funeral on 18th June at 10.00
Fr Edmund Hartley
Terry Orford
Sharon Ryan-Young Funeral on 29th June at 11.45
Please pray for those who are suffering from Corona virus and for those who care for them

Prayer of St. Alphonsus – (to be used when making spiritual communion)
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in this Most Holy Sacrament of the altar.
I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come spiritually into my soul so that. I may unite myself wholly to You now and forever. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.

FINANCES – from the Diocesan and Parish finance teams.
Many thanks to all who are delivering weekly offerings .
Direct Bank Payments to RCAS St John Fisher Church, Sort code 51 70 14, Account 01831763
Please ensure you put your name on the transaction code so that we can thank you later.

LINKS AND CONTACTS.
Our Diocese of Southwark: http://www.rcsouthwark.co.uk Lots of information and further links.
Bexley Council Helpline: 020 3045 5398. The helpline is open from 8am to 6pm.

Dear Parishioners,
At last, we have been given permission to open our church, but not for public services.
St. John Fisher will be open for prayer before the Blessed Sacrament between 10.00 and 11.00 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, starting this Monday. Strict instructions have been imposed:

• Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament will commence before the doors open and conclude after they are locked. There will be no Benediction.
• Doors will remain open to ensure good ventilation and to avoid touching of handles etc.
• Anyone who is unwell or who is isolating should not attend.
• Anyone under 16 must be with an adult!
• A limited number of people will be able to enter the church and “take a pew” with social distancing applied except for members of the same household or in a Johnstone Bubble.
• If there are no vacant spaces you will be asked to wait while Fr Doug encourages someone to leave!
• Hands will need to be cleansed on entry. We have a hand dispenser available for those who do not have their own.
• Votive candles can be lit by taking a light from ones already lit. No matches or lighters will be made available from the church.
• While face coverings can be reassuring, masks will not be a requirement.
• Given that the virus only lasts on surfaces for a limited time, different seating areas in the church will be used each day.
• There will be no toilet facilities available.
• Two stewards are to be on duty each time the church is open to ensure this safe practice.

We should be very grateful to the teams of stewards who have volunteered to staff the church during these opening times. One will be in the porch to give instructions and one will be in the church to supervise. They will act on a rota. Without these volunteers stepping forward the church would not have been able to open, and indeed many churches are not able to open.
There will also be teams of cleaners who will take turns to cleanse specific areas of the church like grab rails, handles, and so on a regular basis.

OUR SUNDAY PARISH MASS will be available on the website in the (now) normal way.

PRAYER INTENTIONS
We cannot use our parish prayer intentions book because the virus can be passed from one to another via its surface so I will place at the foot of the sanctuary a basket and anyone who wishes can bring in or send in prayer intentions which those in church will pray for in a general way and which I will offer up in our Sunday Mass. None will be read, let alone read out loud.

God Bless Fr Doug

Please print off this newsletter and post it through the door of any parishioner you know without electronic access and make sure everyone feels okay and feels connected.

Newsletter Sunday June 7th, 2020

6 June 20206 June 2020 Nuntius

The Most Holy Trinity (Year A)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Readings: Exodus 34:4-6,8-9 , Daniel 3:52-56, 1 Corinthians 13:11-13, John 3: 16-18

SERVICES FOR WEEK 7th June – 14th June 2020

Sun 7 June THE MOST HOLY TRINITY
Parish Mass – available to engage with via website at any time of day
Kwame Osei-Kissi RIP (Asaam).

8.30 a.m. Private Intention (Sullivan)
Mon 8 June    8.30 a.m. Fr Francis Hartley RIP (Connolly)
Tues 9 June    8.30 a.m. St. Columba Kathleen Bowman RIP (Bowman)
Wed 10 June    8.30 a.m. Les Truman RIP (Truman)
Thur 11 June    8.30 p.m. St. Barnabas Maureen Fitzpatrick (Wheatley)
Fri 12 June   8.30 p.m. Eileen & Michael Murphy RIP (Sheehan)
Sun 14 June CORPUS CHRISTI
Parish Mass – available to engage with via website at any time of day
Rufina Roque RIP (Bernarte)
8.30 a.m. Maureen & David Watkins (Frake)
Holy Hour between 5.30 and 6.30 each evening.

Please pray for the souls of :
Fr Francis Hartley
Fr Edmund Hartley
Kathleen Bowman Funeral Fri 10 June 11.00

Please pray for those who are suffering from Corona virus and for those who care for them

Prayer of St. Alphonsus – (to be used when making spiritual communion)
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in this Most Holy Sacrament of the altar.
I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come spiritually into my soul so that. I may unite myself wholly to You now and forever. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.

LINKS AND CONTACTS.
Our Diocese of Southwark: http://www.rcsouthwark.co.uk Lots of information and further links.
Bexley Council Helpline: 020 3045 5398. The helpline is open from 8am to 6pm.

Please print off this newsletter and post it through the door of any parishioner you know without electronic access and make sure everyone feels okay and feels connected.

Dear Parishioners,
We continue to pray for Fr Francis Hartley, Parish Priest of St John Fisher 2001 – 2013 who died last week. No details of his funeral have been made known to us yet.

We received notification on Friday evening of the steps that we will need to take in order to get our church open. Not all churches will be able to meet the requirements. Only those who can will be allowed to open. The aim is to open for private prayer ONLY. No services are to occur.

We have not been told when this can happen, merely to be ready for it.
In St. John Fisher the proposal is to open for prayer before the blessed sacrament between 10.00 and 11.00 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

• Doors will remain open to ensure good ventilation and to avoid touching of handles etc.
• A limited number of people would be able to enter the church and “take a pew” with social distancing applied except for members of the same household.
• Hands will need to be cleansed on entry and exit.
• Everyone will leave the church by the exit through the hall so as not to pass others.
• While face coverings can be reassuring, masks will not be a requirement.
• Given that the virus only lasts on surfaces for a limited time, different seating areas in the church will be used each day. Nevertheless the church will have to be cleansed regularly.
• There will be no toilet facilities available.
• Two stewards are to be on duty each time the church is open to ensure safe practice.

SO, we need to assemble teams of stewards who (after training) will staff the church during these opening times. One will be in the porch to give instructions and one will be in the church to supervise. They will act on a rota. Without volunteers stepping forward the church cannot open. Anyone willing to take a turn at this should contact me by email or by dropping a note through my door. Please supply contact details and which of the days you could (from time to time) cover.

ALSO, we need teams of cleaners who will take turns to cleanse specific areas of the church like grab rails, handles, and so on a regular basis. Again, anyone willing to take a turn at doing this should contact me by email or by dropping a note through my door. Please supply contact details and which of the three days you could (from time to time) cover.

If there are not sufficient volunteers the church cannot re-open. Please step forward!

God Bless Fr Doug

KATHLEEN BOWMAN RIP. Several parishioners may remember Kathleen, a sister of the late John Bowman and aunt/godmother of Tim. Kathleen died peacefully, in her care home in Bletchley, at 3 PM on Sat 30th May. She was 96. Kathleen’s funeral is scheduled for 11 AM Friday 12th June at Eltham Cemetery at Falconwood. If any parishioner would particularly like to attend, please can they contact Tim on 01322-554823.

Newsletter Sunday May 31st, 2020

30 May 202030 May 2020 Nuntius

Pentecost

Receive the Holy Spirit

Readings: Acts 2:1-11, , Psalm 103, 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13, John 20: 19-23

SERVICES FOR WEEK 31st May – 7th June 2020

Sun 31 May PENTECOST
Parish Mass – available to engage with via website at any time of day
Jim Henry RIP (Mary Lee)

8.30 a.m. Lily Bull RIP (Bull)

Mon 1 June 8.30 a.m. Mary our Mother Kit & Hugh O’Reilly RIP (Sheehan)

Tues 2 June 8.30 a.m. Peter & Sue Murphy (Anderson)

Wed 3 June 8.30 a.m. St. Charles Lwanga Rita Maynard RIP (Sullivan)

Thur 4 June 8.30 p.m. Christ our High Priest Norma Brooker (Frake)

Fri 5 June 8.30 p.m. St Boniface John Bowman RIP (Bowman)

Sun 7 June THE MOST HOLY TRINITY
Parish Mass – available to engage with via website at any time of day
Kwame Osei-Kissi RIP (Asaam)
8.30 a.m. Private Intention (Sullivan)
Holy Hour between 5.30 and 6.30 each evening.

Please pray for the souls of :
Christine White Funeral 4th June 10.00
Eileen Weald Funeral 4th June 12.30
John Harrington
Fr Francis Hartley
Fr Edmund Hartley

Please pray for those who are suffering from Corona virus and for those who care for them

FINANCES – from the Diocesan and Parish finance teams.
Many thanks to all who are delivering weekly offerings .
Direct Bank Payments to RCAS St John Fisher Church, Sort code 51 70 14, Account 01831763
Please ensure you put your name on the transaction code so that we can thank you later.

LINKS AND CONTACTS.
Our Diocese of Southwark: http://www.rcsouthwark.co.uk Lots of information and further links.
Bexley Council Helpline: 020 3045 5398. The helpline is open from 8am to 6pm.
Southwark Spirituality Commission reflections Click on this link http://eepurl.com/dcNmsv

Dear Parishioners,
Very sadly I have to inform you that Fr Francis Hartley died on Thursday morning. Tragically his brother, Fr Edmund Hartley died on Tuesday morning! The third brother, Fr John Hartley remains in residential care but is needless to say, very shaken. Let us keep him in our prayers as we pray for the souls of Frs Francis and Edmund. Details of their funerals are not available at this time. We will in any case have a memorial service for Fr Francis in Church when we are open again.
Fr Francis was Parish Priest here in St John Fisher from 2001 till 2013
Before that he was at Our Lady Help of Christians in Blackheath. I had the privilege of living with him in the presbytery there for a while in 1992 when I was appointed Chaplain to the newly opened Christ the King Sixth Form College. He was a most gracious host and I was inspired by his dedication to his ministry, particularly his parish visiting. May he rest In peace.
Read the tribute below from Carol Anderson, Chair of our Parish Council.

• If you haven’t found the parish mass, then on the website: http://www.stjohnfisherbexley.org go to the Sunday Mass button and click on there.
• Also on the website is the ‘photo’ of many of us enjoying coffee after Sunday Mass. It is virtually (!) real. If you want to join us, send your selfie to Peter at contact@stjohnfisherbexley.org
• If you are a Parish Reader and would like to exercise your ministry, and you are in a position to be able to record the readings and send them to Peter Murphy, then please get in touch and we will produce a rota. You should email: contact@stjohnfisherbexley.org
• The parish office is open on a limited basis. Please feel free to contact me by email or by the mobile number overleaf or by using the parish office letter box.
• If you want a mass to be offered for one of your intentions then use the normal process, writing the details on an envelope with the mass offering. There is availability for masses from now on.
• If you are on my email list you will have received this newsletter in that way, and you also receive my mid-week “Ramblings”. If you would like to be on my list just email me at douglasbull@rcaos.org.uk

God Bless Fr Doug
FR FRANCIS
Fr Francis took his role as priest, administering the sacraments and visiting the sick, very seriously. He was a great parish visitor going out every day of the week. He promoted marriage and family life and was highly supportive of anyone seeking his help in these matters. He was also a first rate musician and often played the organ in the church. His favourite hymn was ‘All my Hope on God is Founded’. Fr Francis was a humble and faith-full gentleman who will be greatly missed.
Carol Anderson, Chair of Saint John Fisher parish Council

THE PILGRIM – Diocesan Newspaper
You may be familiar with the diocesan newspaper. Take a look at the current issue which is attached alongside this newsletter. Check out the picture of our church on the front page and the article on page 6, (as well as the rest of the content!)

CATHOLIC CORONAVIRUS APPEALS
With the lockdown many people are hard hit financially at this time. Charities are also being hit with the loss of fundraising events and their income from investments being reduced. But some may find that by staying at home they are not spending and have money to spare. After making sure that our contributions to the parish are being made or reserved, there are a number of Catholic charities to whom one might wish to donate.
CAFOD’s coronavirus appeal is on its website to provide funds to the poorest people in the world.
MISSIO’s website contains details of our Pope’s Emergency Fund to help the poor communities.
john.rayer@uwclub.net parish CAFOD rep

Please print off this newsletter and post it through the door of any parishioner you know without electronic access and make sure everyone feels okay and feels connected. To make it easier use the screenshots below.