NEWSLETTER

EASTER SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION

Sunday 4 April 2021

Please contact the parish to receive the newsletter by email each week.

Message from Canon Kristian

Dear brothers and sisters

Christ is risen.  He is risen indeed!

It has been a delight to have been able to celebrate the Sacred Paschal Triduum  this year with a good cross-section of the parish community.  Although the ceremonies have had to have been modified somewhat due to Covid restrictions, they have still been deeply meaningful celebrations and powerful expresses of the Easter Mysteries – the passion, death and  resurrection of Christ – and our sharing in these through our baptism.  In the same way as at Christmas, the importance of the celebration of the Resurrection of Easter Day is extended for a full eight days, known as the Easter Octave, and concludes next Sunday.  It would be good to mark these days well in our homes and families.

It was also a great joy to welcome many of our Polish parishioners to our two  churches on Holy Saturday morning for the blessing of the traditional Easter Baskets of bread, cake, sausage, salt and decorated eggs – the latter often decorated by the children – for their Easter breakfasts.  It is a beautiful custom and one which we should do what we can to support.

Hopefully, many of you will have received your copies of the Easter “Walk with me” and “Day by Day” booklets through your letter boxes by now.  Some are waiting at the church for some of those who have booked places at the weekend Masses.  There are one or two spare booklets and children’s calendars on the table in the hall at St James.

Monika Manser has provided us with an leaflet to aid contemplative imaginative prayer on this Sunday’s Gospel of the Resurrection.  There are also Updates from our Parish CAFOD Group and from the Diocesan Catholic Children’s Society.  Please note that there will not be a Zoom Coffee Morning this week.

Thanks to all of those who have send me cards and gifts for Easter. They are really appreciated.  I also want to thank Rosie, our parish secretary, who have done a tremendous job over the last few weeks trying to ensure that those who asked for places at the Holy Week Services and Easter Sunday Masses were able to get to as many as possible.  It was not an easy task but, as always, it was one Rosie managed to do with both diligence and a sense of humour!

Now that Covid restrictions are beginning to ease, I hope that you will be able to meet up with a few of your family and friends again and I look forward to welcoming many of you back to church.

I pray that the Easter Season will bring many blessings to you and your loved ones, as well as to our country and to the wider world.

I keep you all in my prayers daily.

Canon Kristian

Happy Easter!

At the top of the Newsletter you will see the Easter Greeting which has been used from the earliest times of the Church, especially by our brothers and sisters of the Churches of the East, whether Catholic and Orthodox. To the greeting: “Christ is risen”, the response: “He is risen indeed” is given.  It is a beautiful custom which would be good for us to use more widely here, amongst the Churches and Christians of the West.  The greeting underscores the importance of the Solemnity which we are celebrating and the centrality of Christ’s Resurrection to our worldview, to everything we are and to everything we believe as Christians.

Easter Sunday is followed by the Easter Octave, which prolongs the celebration of the Sunday for eight days.  The Easter Season itself lasts for 50 days and ends with the Solemnity of Pentecost on 23 May.

During this time we pray in particular for new members of the Church across the world who received the Sacrament of Baptism over Easter and, on the Fourth Sunday, for vocations to the Priesthood and to the Consecrated Life.

Coming to Church – “Hands/Face/Space”                                              

When coming to church for services, please observe the social distancing rules, wear a face covering (unless you are exempt) and sanitise your hands frequently. Please also maintain an appropriate distance from others at all times, both inside the church and outside in the carpark.

If you would like to come to Mass at the weekends, please contact the Parish Office to book a place, either by telephone on weekdays between 10.00am-1.00pm, or by email. There is no need to book a place at a weekday Mass but, on arrival at church, please give your details to one of the stewards.

The Pope’s Prayer Intention for April

During April, the Holy Father asks us all to have fundamental rights as a part of our prayer.  In particular, he asks us to pray for those who risk their lives while fighting for fundamental rights under dictatorships, authoritarian regimes and even in democracies in crisis.  See also www.thepopevideo.org/

Children’s Society Newsletter

An update from the Catholic Children’s Society (Plymouth) is available to download and read by clicking HERE, giving information about what the Society has been doing over the last few months and what they have planned. The Society is looking to have a Parish Volunteer in each of the parishes of the Diocese to help promote its work with vulnerable children and families and to help organise fund-raising activities.  Contact vicki.dunstone@prcdtr.org.uk or call 01364 645420.

CAFOD Lent Challenge – Walk for Water

Our parish team of dedicated walkers has been concluding the CAFOD “Walk for Water” challenge and has clocked up an impressive 4 million steps.   As you read last week, our target of raising £1000 had already been reached and further donations have been coming in this week both through the Just Giving page and via the SumUp Contactless Facility in church.  It will be exciting to see what the final total will be as our contribution to help provide access to clean water for our sisters and brothers in Afar, Ethiopia, who are still deprived of this fundamental human right.

It is still possible to make a donation by visiting the Just Giving page set up for our Parish Team and at church.  The final total raised and number of steps done will be in the final Newsletter for this series from the Parish CAFOD Group next weekend

In their Newsletter for Easter Sunday, as it is always encouraging to get some feedback about how our previous donations have been used, we are offered an update on some of the people and causes which have benefitted as a result of earlier campaigns.

Sacrament of Confirmation

Bishop Mark will be coming to our parish on Sunday 11 July to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation.  If there is any adult parishioner who did not receive the Sacrament when they were younger, perhaps now is the time to complete your Christian initiation and be confirmed!  Even if you are unsure whether you want to do this, do please have a word with Canon Kristian.

Discernment Weekend for Men aged 30-55

The Beda College in Rome is running a discernment weekend for men between the ages of 30 and 55 from Friday 3 September until Sunday 5 September 2021.  It takes place at St Beuno’s Spirituality Centre in North Wales.  The weekend is for men who are not already in touch with the Diocesan Vocations Director, Fr Ralph Candy, and is a first step for those who may be exploring the possibility of a priestly vocation in later life. Information and registration forms can be found by clicking on this link.

“A Precious Place of God’s Grace” – The Next Step

In January Bishop Mark issued A Precious Place of God’s Grace to help us reflect on the changes that will need to happen in the pastoral structures of our diocese over the next five years.  When circumstances permit, there will be opportunities for us to do this together as a parish community.

In the meantime, the Bishop has invited the internationally renowned speaker, Michael Dopp, to present two online formation sessions on Saturday 1 May, 11.00am – 12noon and 1.00pm – 2.00pm, for our clergy and laypeople together, on the missionary themes in the document, to help us explore how to carry out this mission concretely. Register to take part via the following link.

Important Notice for Parishioners from the EU

All EU citizens living in the UK are required by the Government to apply through its Settlement Scheme to continue living, working and accessing services here. The deadline for applications is 30 June 2021.  Details and links can be found at www.gov.uk/eusettledstatus.  Please bring this to the attention of your friends, family members and fellow parishioners.  The Catholic Church in England and Wales stands in solidarity with all European citizens who have made their homes here.  You are a much valued part of our parishes, schools and communities and we hope that you will continue to be so in the years ahead.

Holy Week Services and Events

 Saturday 3 April – Holy Saturday

  • Święconka (Blessing of the Easter Baskets) from 11am-12.30pm at both St James and St Boniface
  • The Easter Vigil at 9.00pm

Sunday 4 April – Easter Sunday of the Resurrection

  • Holy Mass at 10.00am Pro populo
  • Holy Mass at 11.30am (St Boniface)

Tuesday 6 April – Easter Tuesday

  • Holy Mass at 10.00am

Wednesday 7 April – Easter Wednesday

  • Holy Mass at 12noon (St Boniface)
  • Funeral Service of Marguerite Shergold RIP at 1.45pm at East Devon Crematorium, Whimple

Thursday 8 April – Easter Thursday

  • Coffee Morning on Zoom at 11.00am
  • Holy Mass at 10.00am

Friday 9 April – Easter Friday

  • Holy Mass at 12noon

Saturday 10 April – Easter Saturday

  • Holy Mass at 6.00pm (Vigil Mass)

Sunday 11 April – Second Sunday of Easter

  • Holy Mass at 10.00am
  • Holy Mass at 11.30am (St Boniface)