Parish of St Peter & The Good Shepherd

Bearsted & Harrietsham A Member of Bearsted Area Churches Together

Newsletter St Peter’s Church, Button Lane, Bearsted, Maidstone, ME15 8NJ

Church of The Good Shepherd, Rectory Lane (off East Street), Harrietsham, ME17 1HS Parish Priest: Father Geoffrey Pointer: 01622 736100, email: bearsted@rcaos.org.uk Parish Deacon: Reverend Cyril Durbin: 01622 630055 St Peter’s Hall Bookings: 07919 084730 Catholic Schools in our local area: St Francis Primary, Queen’s Road, Maidstone ME16 0LB (Telephone: 771540) The Holy Family Primary, Bicknor Road, Park Wood, Maidstone ME15 9PS (Telephone: 756778) St Simon Stock Catholic Secondary, Oakwood Park, Maidstone ME16 0JP (Telephone: 754551)

(Year A) ✠ SAINTS PETER and PAUL ✠ 28th JUNE 2020

FAITH in FOCUS, Wanted:- Fearless Christians Over the years the Catholic Church has laid itself bare to criticism. Sometimes this criticism is underserved, but sadly at other times it is. At certain times in history the Church has been guilty of making mistakes, and doubtless it will continue to make mistakes in the future because we are all human. There are those who complain that the Church is out of step with an increasingly secular world. There are even those who point to diminishing Mass attendances and predict that the Church is living on borrowed time. The bottom line however is drawn in today’s gospel. Jesus turns to Peter and says, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.” Whether Jesus’ idea of ‘Church’ is our idea of ‘Church’ is debateable, but one thing is for sure, Jesus intended to leave behind a group of followers initially led by Peter, united in their belief of Jesus and God until the end of time. Because Peter recognized that God was acting through Jesus, he was entrusted with the job of leading the rest of us. The Church today is a testimony to Peter’s faith, it exists because Peter and others like him trusted and believed in God. It exists because Peter and people like Peter acted out their faith despite hostilities and persecution. Fortunately today’s Christians don’t get chucked to the lions any more, but we face different sorts of problems instead. Today we face lethargy, conflicting secular values, and the complexities of scientific debate. The Church cannot be silenced. Christians are still needed to challenge injustice and greed. Fearless Christians like Peter and Paul are still needed to carry the baton. Chapel Bell

FR GEOFFREY WRITES Finally the government has given the green light for us to open our churches for private prayer. Our ‘risk assessment’ was accepted, so from this week, starting at St Peter’s, we will open for just an hour on Tuesday and Friday. (At the moment Good Shepherd will remain closed.) As from 4th July the go-ahead has also been given for the resumption of Masses with a congregation, and we plan to do this at St Peter’s later in the month. Thank you to all those who have volunteered to prepare the church and to act as ushers when the church is open. Archbishop John has pointed out that the obligation to attend Sunday Mass remains suspended. Given the social distancing requirement, the numbers of those attending Mass will be limited. Parishioners therefore need to reflect carefully on how and when they might be able to attend Mass. Indeed, the vulnerable and those ‘shielding’ are advised not to attend at all. We cannot return immediately to our customary practices. This next step is not, in any sense, a moment when we are going ‘back to normal.’ And so, consider the possibility of attending Mass on a weekday. Instinctively we want our churches open, it’s so wrong to keep them closed, but it would be soul-destroying to turn parishioners away from Mass ‘because there was no room at the inn’! So, Mass from St Peter’s will continue to be live-streamed for those unable to get to Mass or for those who are nervous about leaving home and being with others in an enclosed space.

Parish Website and YouTube:

www.catholic-bearsted.org.uk

DIARY for WEEK BEGINNING 28th JUNE 2020 (All services listed below are live streamed on our website and YouTube channel)

SAINTS PETER and PAUL

Sun 28th Sunday 10.30am ✠ Mass online: Pro Populo

Mon 29th Feria 10.00am ✠ Mass online: The welfare of Patrick and Elizabeth

Judson

Tue 30th Feria 10.00am ✠ Mass online: Gilbert Monckton RIP

St PETER’S OPEN 11.00am Adoration, until midday

Wed 1st July Feria 10.00am ✠ Mass online: Joan Christina Brown RIP (FM)

Thu 2nd Feria 10.00am ✠ Mass online: Ernie Carter RIP

Fri 3rd St Thomas 10.00am ✠ Mass online: Ernie Thompson RIP

St PETER’S OPEN 11.00am Adoration, until midday

Sat 4th St Elizabeth of Portugal

10.00am ✠ Mass online: Celebrant’s Intention

FOURTEENTH SUNDAY in ORDINARY TIME (A)

Sun 5th Sunday 10.30am ✠ Mass online: Pro Populo

SPIRITUAL COMMUNION During ‘lockdown’ Prayer of St Alphonsus My Jesus, I believe that you are present in this Holy Sacrament of the altar. I love you above all things and I passionately desire to receive you into my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come spiritually into my soul so that I may unite myself wholly to you now and forever. Amen

PLEASE PRAY… With the Holy Father for July: Our families: We pray that today's families may be

accompanied with love, respect and guidance. For the starving children in Yemen, suffering in the civil war there and deprived of aid

because of the effects of the corona virus. For all the sick and for all who are unwell at home or in our care homes; for those who

have died recently, especially Dick Morris; for all those whose anniversaries occur about now; and for all our relatives and friends and those who have asked for prayers, especially for Theresa Maughan. And for Catherine Grogan and Thomas Ferguson getting married in the parish soon.

Anniversaries (St Peter’s Chapel memorial): ✠ Bridget Ruffle, Alice Sinott, John Younger, Lord Gilbert Monckton, Edward Gibson, Gertrude Grimes, Dame Alma Harvey, Charles Ryan, Jeremiah Horgan, Maurice Walsh, Roger Murray, Heather Harrington, Margaret Smith, Agnes O’Brien, Don Armstrong, Leonard Stewart Day, James Sinott, Phillip Ranner,

Raymond Blake and Giovanna Bartoni. ✠

ATTENDANCE and COLLECTION: Masses on YouTube continue to attract a pleasing following. Last Sunday’s Mass had 262 live viewers, and was eventually watched by 1,064 ‘on demand’. Like so many of us, the church is deprived of its income during these weeks; however, weekly standing orders paid direct into our bank now amount to £300.00. If anyone would like to consider making a donation online or setting up such an arrangement, please see below for details of how to do this, but only if you can afford it: your needs come first. Sincere thanks to those who regularly drop their offering envelopes into the presbytery.

STANDING ORDER / BANK TRANSFER If you would like to donate to the parish by BACS bank transfer or standing order the details are: Account name: RCAS ST PETERS CHURCH Bank: NatWest Account number: 03138925 Sort code: 51-70-55 IBAN (for international transfers): GB22 NWBK 5170 5503 1389 25 Please include a hint in the transfer “reference” so it’s easy to know what your donation is for (e.g. Mass offering, weekly collection). The diocese has also set up a JustGiving page which may be helpful: www.justgiving.com/campaign/parishsupport.

AROUND the DIOCESE and BEYOND

KEEP KITKAT FAIRTRADE Nestlé have announced KitKats will no longer be Fairtrade. From

October they will stop buying from cocoa and sugar farmers in Cote d’Ivoire, Fiji and Malawi on

Fairtrade terms. That means ripping away around £2 million of annual Fairtrade Premium

payments, in the middle of a huge health and economic crisis. Farmers will be getting less for their

hard work and have less control over how they spend their money. Sign the online partition at

https://www.change.org/p/ulf-mark-schneider-nestle-global-ceo-keep-kitkat-fairtrade. Some online

petitions will suggest a donation. There is no requirement to do this for your signature to count.

CAMPAIGN FOR MORE TREES The government has revealed its new England Tree Strategy –

but sadly, it’s not the strategy we were all hoping for. Instead of setting an ambitious target to bring

back our lost trees, the draft strategy fails to set any tree target for England. At best the plans

would increase woodland cover from 10% to just 12% by 2050. Compare that to an EU average of

38%. The good news is that the government is consulting on this draft strategy before it’s finalized.

And that means that we all still have a chance to demand a stronger target. We need to put as

much public pressure on the government as possible. Friends Of The Earth have created a

template submission to the consultation, which you can personalize to have extra impact. Take a

couple of minutes to have your say. You can find the template at

https://act.friendsoftheearth.uk/target/call-more-ambitious-england-tree-strategy.

BITESIZE To see a man fearless in dangers. untainted with lusts, happy in adversity, composed in a tumult,

and laughing at all those things which are generally either coveted or feared, all men must

acknowledge that this can be from nothing else but a beam of divinity that influences a mortal

body. Seneca

Roman dramatist, philosopher, & politician (5 BC - 65 AD)