12th of January 2020

Clothing:
We will advise you in the coming weeks when the next collection will be.

Sunday Morning Coffee:
Bacon Barms with tea and coffee will continue throughout January 2020. Our young families have come together to cover the rota and we are very grateful to them for this and for the initiative of Bacon Barms – very welcome at this time of the year! Please support them.

Foodbank:
We continue to collect for St Cuthbert’s SVP who help those struggling in their area, particularly the homeless and those living in bedsits. This cold and wet weather makes the donations of tins of soup and rice pudding particularly welcome.

St. Peter’s School:
On behalf of those living in temporary accommodation in Blackpool we would to thank the children at school for their very generous collection of tinned food and toiletries which has enabled us to help those in quite desperate circumstances beyond our normal catchment area of South Shore. A tremendous effort, well done!

Unwanted Present Sale:
Have you received any presents recently that you really have no use for? If ‘yes’ then please consider donating them to our ‘Unwanted Present Sale‘ on Saturday 1 February from 10:30am in the Hall. Items can be left in plastic containers at the back of church over the next two weekends. And please do come along on the day enjoy a brew and a toasted teacake and grab yourself a bargain. Free entry but refreshments £1. All proceeds to church funds

Pope Francis
has declared the third Sunday of Ordinary Time the Sunday of the Word of God. We are delighted to tell you that here at St. Joseph’s, for the first time, Fr. David will be commissioning our readers at all the Masses of January 25th/26th. In addition, the Bishops Conference has instituted this year as a Year of the Word ‘The God who speaks’. So, on the same Sunday, you are invited to bring your Bible or New Testament or Book of the Bible with you to Mass for a blessing. All readers are invited to a short meeting in the Hall this Friday at 7.00 pm.

Appeal — Aid To The Church In Need (ACN):
Next weekend Paul Larkin of Aid to the Church in Need will be making an appeal at all the Masses. ACN supports Christians around the world facing persecution, injustice and difficulty. especially in countries like Iraq and Nigeria. Our prayers are needed, but also our financial assistance. Please be as generous as you can with both.

Repository:
Copies of the Lancaster Diocesan Directory 2020 are now on sale. £3.50 each.

Calling All Young People:
up to the age of 18 to meditate on the Stations of the Cross in the New Year. We are looking to produce a set of Stations of the Cross for our Parish Hall. And we are hoping that you can help us by painting one or more of the fourteen Stations so that we can frame and hang them in the Hall before Holy Week. The paintings may also be used to produce a Stations of the Cross booklet. The paintings should be A4 size. So that Stations are not duplicated please identify on the sheet at the back of church which Station(s) you are prepared to paint. Completed artwork should be left in the Sacristy by the end of February with your name and age attached. We are all excited to see how you will be inspired – thank you.

“I am the Bread of Life …this is the bread which comes down from heaven, “ John 6
First Holy Communion:
We are delighted to announce that the list for young people who desire to make their First Holy Communion in 2020 is open. Children in Year 3 at St Peters will receive a letter through school. Other candidates are invited to collect a form from one of the catechists after Mass.‘ Completed forms should be returned either to St Peters School or to a catechist by Wednesday 29th January. Our catechists are Stacey Wormleighton and Cordelia O’Neill.

The Hall:
The new arrangements for the Hall are now in place. Thank you for your patience whilst all this has been sorted. — Parish groups and individual parishioners wishing to make a booking should contact the Parish Office (open Wed and Fri mornings),

• A Health and Safety notice including responsibilities for Users has now been posted on the notice board in the Hall porch area. Please can Group leaders collect a copy from the Sacristy. Private parishioner reservations will receive a copy when booking the Hall.
• Any identified maintenance issues should be recorded on the sheet provided.
• Any accidents/near misses should be recorded in the accident book provided.

Hospital:
If you, or someone you know, is going into Blackpool Victoria Hospital please inform the RC Chaplain on 01253 956299 giving the name as known by the hospital and the ward. Should the Chaplain be required urgently please ask the ward staff to contact the on-call RC Chaplain.

More On Safeguarding:
We all have a role to play in safeguarding the young or adults that maybe at risk. It is for this reason that The Catholic Safeguarding Commission have worked with EduCare to bring you an e-learning package that will raise awareness throughout the Catholic Community of England and Wales. The e-learning programme is available to all members of the Catholic Community free of charge. By providing an opportunity to access this free on line training at a time that suits will help individuals . familiarise themselves with safe guarding matters, helping to create a nurturing and safer environment. The Child Exploitation & Online Safety programme will be of particular interest to parents or indeed grandparents, who will be keen to understand how children and young people use technology and better understand the associated risks. Each programme is modular and divided into its sizeable format, to access this training email elearningsafguardinglrcd.org.uk to register your interest. Your e mail should contain your name e mail address the name of your parish and your role e.g. Parent volunteer etc. On receipt of your email the safeguarding administrator will register your email address with EduCare. Then you will receive a welcome email from EduCare where you will set your own password. Then you will have instant access to the training programmes.

St. Joseph’s Care:
Here to help when you most need it! Helpline open each day from 9am until 7pm Tel: 07840 112 265. Thank you for your continued generosity via the after-Mass collections which are enabling us to support local needs as well as reach out into the wider community and provide help to those who find themselves in desperate circumstances. If you would like to volunteer and help out from time to time please complete the volunteer form at the back of church.

Taking An Active Part In The Parish:
Remember your talent is God’s gift to you and what you do with it is your gift to God. Please consider in what way you might be able to help the parish, practically, administratively or spiritually. Just drop your details in the Suggestion Box and someone will get in touch with you.

St Joseph’s Facebook Page:
We now have over 300 people regularly following us on Facebook which is allowing us to reach out to those in the wider community and fulfil our parish commitment to evangelisation. In the last couple of months we have been able to help a number of people who have sought assistance through this medium.