PARISH NEWS

12th July, 2020 FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (A)

OUR LADY QUEEN OF PEACE

Parish Priest: Father David Manson

The Presbytery, The Avenue, Braintree, CM7 3HY 01376 326779 braintree@dioceseofbrentwood.org / www.olqp.co.uk

Office Hours: Tues/Wed 9am-5pm Thurs 9am-2pm

OUR CHURCH IS RE-OPENING!

This is obviously great news and I want to start by thanking those dedicated parishioners who have made this possible. The plan is that the Church will be open for private prayer this coming Sunday 12th from 11am to 1pm and on Tuesday 14th at the same times. Next weekend 19th and 20th we aim to have public Masses as usual. Before going further, can I just remind us of the letter sent by our Archbishops a few weeks ago in which they pointed out that we are returning to Mass in very changed circumstances. There are 2 key issues which we will probably find may take some getting used to. The first is that we will have to clean and sanitize the Church after every Mass and time of prayer. This is obviously to safeguard against infection. Without a full team of volunteers, we will be restricted in what we can make available. Please see the appeal inside this newsletter. A Big Thank You to those who have already offered their help. The 2nd difference is that social distancing of 2 metres (and this is still the norm) means that we can only have 30 people in the congregation at each Mass. My own wish is that we should restore our previous number of Masses for weekends and work out how many weekday Masses we can have, given the cleaning requirements. I should emphasise at this point that the obligation to attend Sunday Mass remains in abeyance. Also, we are investigating live-streaming Sunday Mass from our Church.

So the big question is: how do we work out which 30 people attend which Mass. A number of options are being proposed by our bishops and it is a case of working out which is best for us here in Braintree. The first option is first come, first served. Personally, I would not favour this as I would hate that anyone should be turned away from Mass, but would be glad for views on this. The 2nd option is some sort of booking arrangement through the Parish Office. This booking could be made by phone and online. A number of parishes are adopting a ticketing service, but I believe it is essential that we should not disadvantage parishioners who do not have access to the internet, hence the suggestion of telephoning as well. A 3rd option is that parishioners are assigned places alphabetically from the Parish Register which would mean that people would be offered places maybe every 3 to 4 weeks. I would really appreciate feedback from you as to which option is preferred. In these changed times, let us work patiently together to see what works for us. In the meantime, next weekend 18/19 July, I propose Mass for Saturday 6pm, Sunday 9am and 11.30am (later time because of cleaning). If you wish to attend, please ring 01376 326779 Monday to Thursday next week (up to Midday Thursday) and if leaving a voicemail please let us have your name and contact phone number. Thank you for your support. God bless. Fr David

Do you know anyone who needs support; physically, emotionally or spiritually? Please contact Fr David on 01376 326779 or email: braintree@dioceseofbrentwood.org.

SICK PARISHIONERS: Please pray for all our parishioners in this uncertain time. We remember especially: Gwen Rushton, Elvira Kitteridge, Kathy McBrierty, Mary Davis, Catherine Hughes, Cecilia Omoyinbo, Val Harding, Kathleen Haigh, Mary McGrath, Mary Rooney, Megan Delaney, Isaac Barry, Sandra Gilbert, Peter Beard, Bernard Boylan, Chris Brodie, Barbara Mansell, Janet Cash, Mary Delaney, Josie Pullum, Frances Weaver, Rachel Stokes, Bob Bothello, Brenda Sewell and Maria Wray.

ANNIVERSARIES: Josef Jarczuk, John Rees, Jean Dyson, Angela Chandler, Esther Harknet, Francis Janca, Anne-Marie Waldrop, Irene Poulter and Christopher Hill. May they all rest in peace. OFFERINGS: If anyone would like to donate to the parish, then please email the Parish Office, to obtain the bank details. Thank you.

REQUEST FOR STEWARDS AND CLEANERS

If anyone is willing and able to help with the stewarding or the cleaning of the Church, can they please call the Presbytery and speak to either Fr David or Clare

on 01376 326779.

Our cleaning team are meeting at the Church on Saturday 11th July at 10.30am. Gloves and aprons will be provided, but if you would prefer to wear your own

masks; that’s not a problem.

FIRST HOLY COMMUNION UPDATE Dear First Holy Communion candidates, We hope that you are all keeping safe and well. We have greatly missed sharing our planned sessions and Masses with you. At present, we are still unable to meet in order to continue with our First Holy Communion programme. However, we ARE able to celebrate Mass each Sunday by tuning in via YouTube or Instagram LIVE to Fr Dominic's Mass from the Brentwood Youth Service (links below). https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBuTWplUUonmBuJVlRpEzPw/featured https://www.instagram.com/brentwoodcys/?hl=en We would therefore like to ask all First Holy Communion Parents if they could ensure their child has access to a laptop/phone at 10.30 am each Sunday morning, so that they along with the whole family can celebrate a virtual Mass together, that would be truly wonderful. We would also like to see and read about what each child particularly enjoyed from each Sunday's Mass. This could be in the form of a short paragraph, possibly with a picture that highlighted for example, if it was a special Saints Day and what that meant to them or something the child particularly enjoyed e.g. a favourite hymn, the Homily or a bidding prayer. This would be a little project each child could undertake and then when we can meet again, Fr David will be able to look through each child's book/folder. We hope that we will be able to meet again soon, but in the meantime, please take good care of yourselves. You are all in our prayers. Fr David & the FHC Catechists

MARRIAGE MATTERS Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Isaiah 55:10-11 Rom 8:18-23 Matthew 13:1-23 Listen to the person behind the words

The stony ground is when we are too engrossed in the telly, reading or working on the computer to listen to our partner. The thorny ground is

where we disengage with such but not wanting real involvement, suggest a cuppa as a diversion. We are called to be fertile ground by real listening –

hold hands, look in each other’s eyes.

JOB VACANCY: Public Affairs Manager

Catholic Education Service

Do you support the Church’s provision of high-quality education for children across the country? Are you interested in supporting teachers, schools and colleges to achieve this mission? If so, we are seeking to appoint a Public Affairs Manager. The CES represents and promotes the national education policy of the Bishops in relation to the 2,300 Catholic schools, colleges and universities which the Church is responsible for across England and Wales. The CES is looking for an enthusiastic individual to join its friendly public affairs team to work with MPs, Peers, MSs and other decision makers to promote and secure Catholic education in England and Wales. The successful applicant will be sympathetic to the teachings of the Catholic Church and supportive of Church schools. The role is based in the office of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, 39 Eccleston Square, London SW1V 1BX, a short walk from Victoria Station in Central London, subject to post Covid-19 restrictions. Full job description is available here: https://www.catholiceducation.org.uk/about-us/job-vacancy-public-affairs-manager Salary: c£35,000, subject to experience Closing date for applications: 22nd July 2020 Interviews will be held on 29th July 2020 by video conferencing. For further information and/or a Job Description, Contact: HR@cbcew.org.uk Applicants must confirm their right to work in the UK and forward a full CV and covering letter illustrating their skills and motivation for this role to: HR@cbcew.org.uk

LAUGH OUT LOUD

There is a wonderful fish and chip shop down on the seafront on the east coast. Monks run it and being a good Catholic I figure I ought to support such a worthy endeavour. The reputation is that the place serves the best fish and chips in the world, so I go there to buy my supper. And by gosh, they are the best fish and chips in the world! So good, in fact, that I have to go back to the kitchen and thank the chefs. And there they are, labouring away in their robes over a hot stove. “Excuse me sir” I say, “are you the fish friar ?“ “No” answered the Monk. straight-faced. “I'm the 'chip monk”.

MASS TIMES AND INTENTIONS

This week, Fr David will be offering the following Mass Intentions:

St Francis Primary School Headteacher: Vicky Jackson

Gilchrist Way Braintree, CM7 2SY

01376 320440 www.stfrancisbraintree.co.uk

St John Payne Secondary School Headteacher: Tom Coen

Patching Hall Lane Chelmsford, CM1 4BS

01245 256030 www.sjp.essex.sch.uk

Saturday 11th July ST BENEDICT

Annie Wigfall RIP

(Maher)

Sunday 12th July FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY

TIME (A) (Sea Sunday)

People of the Parish

Monday 13th July Annie Wigfall RIP

(Pauline, Jo & Kathy)

Tuesday 14th July Ints Pauline Fernandino

(Nolan)

Wednesday 15th July Ints Franciscan Sisters

Thursday 16th July Ints Michael Newman

(Norton)

Friday 17th July Ints Maureen

(Nolan)

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (A)

Saturday 18th July - Vigil Mass

6.00pm People of the Parish

Sunday 19th July

9.00am

11.30am

Leo Kenny RIP

(Carmoody) Special Intentions