Dear Parishioners,

First, please do remember that next Sunday, 1st July, we celebrate Weld Day when we commemorate John and Mary Weld’s gift of land on which St Michael & St John’s parish complex and sports field now stand. In return, Thomas asked only that parishioners remember him and his wife in their prayers.

This we do annually as we celebrate Weld Day on the first Sunday of July with a Mass celebrated outside in the school garden. This will be the only Sunday Mass (replacing the Clitheroe 9.30 and Sabden 11 o’clock Masses) and will begin at 10.30am. (The Saturday evening  5pm Mass in Clitheroe and the 6.30pm Mass in Dunsop will not be affected)

This year we shall again congratulate the children who made their First Holy Communions in our three churches as they are presented with their certificates and work books.

Afterwards we shall celebrate the foundation of the parish with a parish picnic. A complimentary glass of wine, strawberries and cream and ice-cream will be provided. Parishioners and families need only bring their own picnic box and rug. Some may wish to bring a camp chair or stool.

Hopefully the sun will shine and members of our three communities will enjoy a wonderful summer’s celebration.

In response to enquiries, I remind you that to comply with the new Data Protection Law (GDPR) we shall no longer publish in the newsletter the names of parishioners who are sick. Mass may still be requested for a sick person, Mass cards will be signed and their names will be included in the list of Mass intentions but without reference to illness or other indisposition.

As I mentioned recently, we shall begin in September a new RCIA programme open to any who wish to follow a refresher course in the faith, or learn more about Catholicism, or may have considered becoming a Catholic. For more details please don’t hesitate to have a word with me, and if you know of someone who may be interested then please do encourage them to come along.

The next Parish Forum is on Wednesday 11^th July (tea served at 7.15, meeting begins at 7.30pm). For new parishioners I should explain that this is our Parish Council which meets every six weeks or so and is open to all parishioners, each of whom have a right to speak and to vote. Items for the agenda may be submitted in writing after Mass the Sunday before or posted through the Presbytery letterbox by Monday evening at the latest. Have you attended?

Fr John

Day for Life

Day for Life is the day in the Church’s year dedicated to raising awareness about the meaning and value of human life at every stage and in every condition. The theme for this year is human trafficking and Pope Francis appeals to Catholics in England and Wales to open their eyes and hear the cry of human trafficking victims.

Pope Francis has written: “Our defence of the innocent unborn, for example, needs to be clear, firm and passionate, for at stake is the dignity of a human life, which is always sacred… Equally sacred, however, are the lives of the poor, those already born, the destitute, the abandoned and the underprivileged, the vulnerable infirm and elderly exposed to covert euthanasia, the victims of human trafficking, new forms of slavery, and every form of rejection.

In the last 12 months there have been two major East Lancashire Police operations where coordinated action across six towns led to the arrest of fourteen men and one woman operating a sex trafficking ring based in Blackburn. Its tentacles reached Clitheroe. Human trafficking is a major issue in the UK and in Lancashire we have instances not only of sexual exploitation but also enforced Labour, domestic slavery, forced marriage and enforced criminality. Today’s collection is taken in support of Church supported life activities. There are materials and on-line resources from Day for Life http://www.dayforlife.org/

Caritas Salford Anti-Trafficking, the Santa Marta Group and the Medaille Trust is launching an exercise which is part of an ongoing diocesan strategy to raise awareness on human trafficking in Greater Manchester and Lancashire. Through prayer and greater awareness Catholics can play an important part in helping the Police end this horrific crime. For more information go to:

Catholic Church http://santamartagroup.com/

Anglican Church  https://www.theclewerinitiative.org/

Salvation Army https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/modern-slavery

Please make sure you do not leave church today without taking one of our cards and that you know what to do when you see something that doesn’t look right and probably isn’t.

Together we can end modern slavery.

REFUGEE DAY SATURDAY 23rd JUNE 2018

In his traditional New Year’s Day address, before around 40,000 people who had converged on St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis highlighted the plight of refugees and asylum seekers, describing them as the world’s “weakest and most needy.”

The Pope had chosen the plight of migrants and refugees as the theme for the Church’s World Day of Peace, celebrated annually on January 1, and in his address said:

“For this peace, to which everyone has a right, many of them (the refugees) are willing to risk their lives in a journey, which is often long and dangerous; they are willing to face strain and suffering.”

Refugees’ journeys to safety are sometimes pictured on the news, but so often seem distanced from us – not something that affects us and our community – but not so. This is the testimony of an asylum seeker from the middle east who is living with his wife and young children in Clitheroe, written as homework (“Write 80 words about something you did recently”) for the English class he is attending, and reproduced here with his permission:

 “At 11 o’clock, in the middle of the night, we were in Turkey. We were going to Greece. We are 150 persons going in a small boat in the middle of the sea. The engine was broken. Everyone was scared and cried. I decided to call the police and called them to rescue the boat. After 3 hours they answered they were coming. We nearly died”.

Around 150 refugees and asylum seekers will be visiting the Ribble Valley on Saturday 23rd June. We can’t solve the problems of the world, but we can at least make them welcome for a day.

The day begins on the St. Michael and St. John’s School Field at around 10.30 a.m. when our guests arrive, with a BBQ provided by the Mosque at midday. Then, at around 1pm, the visitors will be heading over to Stonyhurst College, where there will be activities laid on by the College, a refugee v College football match, a walk, ending the afternoon with the now traditional cream tea. Please come along on Saturday morning to say “Hello”. If you would like to join the “Share the Journey” walk organised by parish CAFOD reps (https://cafod.org.uk/Campaign/Share-the-Journey), or come to Stonyhurst College, please let us know. You will need to arrange your own transport.

We are still looking for volunteers on the day. In particular we need First Aiders and people to help at Stonyhurst College. If you can help, leave your details on the form at the back of Church, or contact Tom Clay on 07962136749.

Please pray for the success of the day.

http://smragan.com/category/uncategorized/page/3/ Tom & Kathryn Clay

Dear Parishioners,

On behalf of the Parish and the Right to life charity, I thank all the bakers in our three communities who responded so magnificently to the requests for cakes – for the tea party that followed the Healing Mass on Sunday, and to refresh the sponsored walkers who offered their blisters on Monday to raise money in support of Right to Life. Thank you all – our housebound particularly enjoy their gettogether over tea after their special Mass.

I’m in the process of planning the next Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults  programme which will begin in September. The RCIA is an introduction to the beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church and is open to any who may wish to deepen their knowledge of the Church, to any who are already determined to join the church, to others who may wish to dip their toes in the water to feel the temperature and any who may have slipped from practice but are considering resuming it again.

This year I’m taking a completely new approach based on a series of professionally produced DVD presentations, each of which will be followed by a question and answer session.

Already four people have approached me, so no one should fear that they may be alone! Please take a little time to pray and consider looking among family and friends to ask whether any is interested and then encourage them to come along. There is no obligation – its more of a come and see exercise.

When I have an idea of how many are interested then we shall decide on which night of the week we shall meet. So, please spread the word around and I may be contacted by email, telephone or briefly after Masses. (I do miss not having the time to chat with people, particularly after the Clitheroe weekend Masses but pressure to accommodate both Dunsop and Sabden dictates otherwise)

Following discussions with the respective Headteachers and the Parish Forum the schedule of Holy Day Masses will change on Friday 29^th of this month, the Feast of St Peter and St Paul. The new Mass schedule is: 9.15am in Sabden, 10.30am in Clitheroe and 6pm in Dunsop Bridge. This will enable Thorneyholme pupils to attend the 10.30am Mass in St Michael and St John’s.

Finally, First Holy Communions will made this Saturday at 11am in St Michael and St John’s and 6.30pm at St Hubert’s followed by Sabden on Sunday at the 11am Sunday Mass. Please pray for all the children and their families on their special day.

Fr John

Dear Parishioners, 

On the day we welcome many of our infirm parishioners to mass and a tea party, I offer a few                thoughts from Pope Francis…

Fr John

“It does me so much good to read when Joseph and Mary took the Baby Jesus – the Baby was 40 days old – to the Temple; and they found two grandparents there [Simeon and Anna], and these grandparents were the wisdom of the people; they praised God that this wisdom could go forward with this Baby. It was grandparents who received Jesus in the Temple, not the priest: he came later. It was the grandparents; read this in Luke’s Gospel, it’s very beautiful!

Dear grandfathers and grandmothers, thank you for the example you give of love, of dedication and of wisdom. Continue to witness these values with courage!

The Church looks at elderly people with affection, gratitude and great esteem. They are an essential part of the Christian community and of society. In particular, they represent the roots and memory of a people. You are an important presence, because your experience constitutes a precious treasure, indispensable to look to the future with hope and responsibility. Your maturity and wisdom, accumulated over the years, can help the young, supporting them on their path of growth and of openness to the future, in the search for their way.

Many elderly generously use their time and the talents God has given them, to open themselves to help and support others. I am thinking of all those who make themselves available in the parishes for truly valuable service: some dedicate themselves to the adornment of the Lord’s house; others are catechists, animators of the liturgy and witnesses of charity. And what to say of their role in the family realm? How many grandparents take care of their grandchildren, transmitting with simplicity to the littlest the experience of life, the spiritual and cultural values of a community and of a people!

In a world such as the present, in which often only strength and appearance are valued, you have the mission to witness the values that truly count and that remain for ever. Precisely as persons of the so-called third age, you – or better “we” because I am also part of it – are called to work for the development of the culture of life, witnessing that at every stage of its existence life is a gift of God and has its beauty and importance, even if marked by frailty.”

Dear Parishioners,

This parish has an excellent record in defending human rights and life: anti-trafficking, refugees, CAFOD and other Aid Agencies, locally caring for the elderly and others in need, fighting attempts to introduce Euthanasia and defending the rights and lives of the unborn.

The following is taken from “Truth Must Speak To Power,” Lord Alton’s Speech at a rally commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Abortion Act  which came into effect on the 27th of April 1968.

“Since then, 8,894,355 abortions have been carried out, and at least that number of unborn children have lost their lives. I say ‘at least’, because of course some single abortions will have been carried out on twins, or triplets, or other multiple pregnancies.

8,894,355. That is a monstrous figure.

To put that in context, the Second World War, the worst and most bloody conflict ever visited upon this country, claimed 450,290 British lives. Abortion has caused more human destruction in the UK than Nazi Germany, and in all the conflicts and tragedies of our history, only the Black Death has extinguished a greater proportion of our nation. The number is three times the population of Wales – it represents a life lost every 3 minutes; 20 every single hour.

And upon whom is this everyday violence visited? No-one less than the most innocent, and most vulnerable members of our society: children in the womb. Whilst the abortion lobby who support and wish to extend this practice and the related abortion industry who benefit from it deny this, it is a stark moral reality.

As a matter of biological fact, it is simply undeniable that from conception, from the time that a human sperm fertilises a human ovum, a new human being begins to exist. As with every member of every mammalian species.

What abortion involves then is not a mere removal of ‘potential life’, or a ‘blob of cells’. It is the wilful killing of the smallest and most helpless member of the human family in the very place she should be safest: her mother’s womb.”

Please continue the work and support the Right to Life Sponsored Walk on Bank Holiday Monday, 28^th May.

Fr John