NEWSLETTER
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
Sunday 15th February, 2026
Please contact the parish to receive the newsletter by email each week.
Message from Canon Kristian
Dear brothers and sisters
With this Sunday we are coming to the end of this short period of Ordinary Time. The Scripture readings invite us to grow in wisdom, a wisdom that is a gift of the Holy Spirit and that goes beyond the external observance of rules and obligations, including religious laws. This search for deeper knowing leads us to strive to understand what stands behind these norms and is focussed on the interior movements and motivations of the heart. This is a perfect point of departure for our preparation to enter into the Holy Season of Lent on Ash Wednesday. The marking of the cross on our foreheads on top of that invisible, but indelible, cross which was traced on our foreheads at baptism, claiming us for Christ, is an external sign of our inward desire to undergo a process of repentance and conversion of the heart, so that we can grow in wisdom and the ways of God in fidelity to our Christian calling and mission. Such an interior journey of conversion necessarily comes to fruition in real changes in our attitudes, choices, words and actions. As Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, there are Masses in Tiverton at 9.00am and 7.00pm, and Mass in Cullompton at 12noon. Gathering at Mass on that day not only provides the opportunity for us as individuals to receive the ashes, but it also expresses from the outset of the Season, that repentance is not only a personal response to the grace of God, but it is also an inherently communal journey we undertake together as a community. We come before the Lord, opening our hearts and laying our community life before Him in complete honesty, expressing sorrow for our infidelities and counter-witness to the Gospel, and asking for the grace to be of one heart and one mind in God.
“Walk with me” booklets for Lent will be available for everyone who would like one, free of charge, from Ash Wednesday onwards. The theme for this year’s short daily meditations is very appropriately “Prepare to be transformed”. This little booklet provides us with a daily reminder for these next 40 days to set aside a time of prayer and reflection, even if it can only be brief. A few deliberate and focussed minutes are all that is needed to make space for the transforming grace of God in our lives!
Today, in Westminster Cathedral, Archbishop Richard Moth will be installed as the 12th Archbishop of Westminster. Bishop Nicholas will be present, representing our diocese and conveying our prayers of support to Archbishop Richard. In the minds of most people both inside and outside the Church, the Archbishop of Westminster represents in some way the whole Catholic community in England and Wales, and so it is a position which brings with it great responsibility, visibility and accountability. We pray that Archbishop Richard will feel the on-going prayerful support of the Catholic community as he undertakes this important and demanding role.
Along with the Newsletter this weekend, I attach:
the weekly guide to a prayerful reading of the Sunday Gospel, provided by Monika Manser
the latest edition of the Parish Laudato Si’ Group Newsletter with details of the monthly challenge for February
the updated poster for a Parish Lent Campaign for CHAT, containing a list of the items we will be collecting for the Foodbank.
the lateness Newsletter from our parish school, St John’s.
May this Holy Season of Lent be a time of great blessing for our community as we prepare to celebrate Christ’s victory over sin and death at Easter!
Let us accompany each other with our prayers.
Canon Kristian
Canon Kristian Paver
Parish Priest
Parish of St Boniface and St James Mid Devon
40 Old Road Tiverton EX16 4HJ
It is with great joy that we will welcome Terry Starkey into full communion with the Catholic Church during the 11.30am Mass this Sunday. Terry has been a familiar figure at Mass with his wife, Elizabeth, for many years, and actively supports the parish community in a number of different ways. Please keep Terry in your prayers as he prepares for this important occasion.
Ash Wednesday
This coming Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Holy Season of Lent. The imposition of the ashes will take place at the 9.00am and 7.00pm Masses in St Andrew’s, Tiverton, and at the 12noon Mass in St Boniface, Cullompton. Ash Wednesday is also a Day of Fasting and Abstinence.
Diocesan Newsletter for February
Here is the link to the Diocese of Plymouth Newsletter for February: https://email.workwithgusto.co.uk/t/t-0BE37BCB3841CCDF2540EF23F30FEDED.
Products for Dignity – Household Cleaning Products for CHAT
As one of the themes of Lent is that of cleansing and purification, the Friends of St James and St Boniface thought that it would be appropriate that we should focus our Lenten support for CHAT on asking parishioners to bring offerings of household cleaning products – washing up liquid and scourers, kitchen/bathroom/toilet cleaner, cleaning cloths and dusters, washing powder or capsules and laundry softener. The Foodbank has a great need of these things, which are essential to enable individuals and families to clean their accommodation and their clothes, both external acts which recognise and enhance the dignity of every person. The cleaning Products for Dignity collection will start on Ash Wednesday and last the full 40 days of Lent. Please leave donations at the back of church.
Cullompton School Pastors
Cullompton School Pastor Trustees warmly invite you to the Cullompton School Pastors AGM, which will be held at Cullompton Baptist Church at 7.00pm on Monday 23 February. You are very welcome to meet the trustees, school pastors and prayer pastors, and to hear more about the work that is done. There will also be time for conversation and refreshments, with tea, coffee, biscuits and cake provided. Coming to the AGM does not commit you to anything, but it does give you the chance to hear about something you could be involved in as there are several different types of role that use different skills. If you can’t make the AGM but would like to know more, then do please talk to Siobhan Gilroy (chair) or Teresa Cummings (school pastor).
Lent Talks on Zoom
Once again this year, Fr Mark Skelton, the parish priest in Newquay, is opening up his parish Lent Talks based on the parables of Jesus on Zoom to anyone across the diocese who would like to take part. The Meeting ID is 895 7188 9251 and the Password is 125755. The talks are as follows: Wednesday 25 February, 7.00pm, Revd Richard Silk – The Parable of the Sower; Monday 2 March, 7.00pm, Dame Karen Foong – The Parable of the Rich Fool; Thursday 12 March, 7.00pm, Fr Mark Skelton – The Parable of the Good Shepherd; Thursday 19 March, 7.00pm, Sr Bernadette Reis – The Parable of the Prodigal Son; Thursday 2 March, 7.00pm, Mr Simon Giarchi – The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats.
Seussical
The musical based on the Cat in the Hat is being performed in the New Hall in Tiverton by the Tiverton Junior Operatic Company this week – Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30 pm with a Matinee performance on Saturday at 2.30pm. Tickets can be purchased at the door or from Summer Glow Tiverton. Several of the young people from the parish will be performing.
Parish Palestinian Supper
A Palestinian-themed Supper and Social Evening will be held on Tuesday 3 March from 7.00pm. Tickets will be on sale from this weekend. Meanwhile volunteers will be needed to help with selling tickets and the evening, setting up tables, help in the Kitchen perhaps even preparing food. If you would like to help contact: Monika Manser, Sally Chapman, Bridget Tosh, Barbara Hodgeson or Mary Ryan.
Inspire 2026
Diocesan Youth Events would like to welcome young people aged 13-25 to Inspire 2026 which will take place at Buckfast Abbey on Saturday 14 March, 11.00am-6.00pm. Inspire is a festival of musicians, speakers and workshops encouraging young people to explore how Christ is rooted in their lives. Details on the bands, speakers and workshop will be released over the coming week. Tickets are £30 per person, and Under 18’s must be accompanied by an adult. For further information contact Saskia or Ruby: youth@prcdtr.org.uk or to book go to Inspire 2026 Parish Booking Form – Fill in form.
Parish Pilgrimage
Following the success of the Holy Year Parish Pilgrimage to the Shrine of St Boniface in Crediton, the Parish Laudato Si’ Group are in the process of arranging another Pilgrimage of Hope on Saturday 13 June. This year, it will start at the Shrine of St Boniface, Crediton, and end with Holy Mass at 6.00pm at the Church of St James and St John, Tiverton. More details will be issued in the coming months.
200 Club
Congratulations to Pauline Pym who won the £30 prize and to Dave Perry who won the £20 prize in the February draw. If you would like to join this on-going fund raiser for as little as £1 a month, please speak to Simon Coombs or Sheelagh Bourdon at St Andrew’s or Siobhan Gilroy at St Boniface.
Parish Quiz Night
The Parish Quiz Night takes place this coming Friday, 20 February, gathering at 7.00pm in St Andrew’s Hall, Tiverton. Many parishioners have signed up for teams, so it looks like it’s going to be both a competitive and fun evening!
Masses and Events this week
Sunday 24 May – Seventh Sunday of Easter
- Holy Mass without a congregation at 10.00am