PARISH NEWS ARTICLES

The Knit and Natter group have recently produced 13 Angel blankets which will be donated to the local Neonatal Unit. These handmade blankets have been especially made to honour and cradle the tiniest of lives, those born too soon or have passed away before or shortly after birth. These blankets provide safety, warmth, dignity and comfort during a profoundly tender moment - This is an ongoing Reaching Out Project

The Pilgrimage of Hope is a national walking pilgrimage for England and Wales with four main Ways converging at the Cathedral of St. Barnabas, Nottingham, on Saturday, September 13th, the eve of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. It is an initiative of the Hearts in Search of God project. The Ways start at the Catholic cathedrals in Cardiff, Leeds, Norwich and London and will bless our nations with a Sign of the Cross. The routes use established hiking routes and are off road as much as possible. A small group of 'perpetual pilgrims' will walk the full distance of each Way, with up to 20 day pilgrims joining for day stages. It is now possible for pilgrims to register for day stages. For details see this link: https://www.pilgrimways.org.uk/become-a-pilgrim-for-a-day

St. David’s (Cardiff) Deanery is running a training session devoted to children’s liturgy on Saturday, June 28th from 10am to 12noon at St. Philip Evans Church Hall. It offers those already involved in running groups an opportunity to share experiences and resources as well as providing valuable help and support for anyone thinking of setting up a new group.  Further details can be found on the Archdiocese’s website https://rcadc.org/childrens-liturgyworking-together-to-make-it-a-success/

The Archdiocese is establishing a Volunteer Support Team to provide practical and emotional assistance to parishes during times of crisis or difficulty. We are seeking empathetic individuals with strong listening skills who can help create a compassionate and supportive environment for priests and parish communities in need. Interested in finding out more? Call the safeguarding team on 029 2037 9480 or email safeguarding@rcadc.org

If anyone has concerns over the welfare of any children or vulnerable adults within our community, please contact Jill Gildersleve, in confidence, on 07813 322179 or gildersleve@ntlworld.com Thank you.

Thank you to everyone who supported our Centenary Tea Dance last Sunday. It was a true and wonderful collaborative celebration of our ‘two church’ community. Thank you to all the hard-working helpers and providers of the delicious cakes and sandwiches and of course to our fabulous Mary. Special mention for John ‘the Jive’ Gallagher.  A great time was had by all.

The Church teaches that life is to be nurtured from conception to natural death. In England and Wales, the Day for Life is celebrated on the third Sunday of June each year. This year it falls on June 15th , next Sunday. A retiring collection will take place to support the Bishops of England and Wales’ Day for Life Fund. More details here: https://www.cbcew.org.uk/day-for-life-fund/ This year’s theme is Hope does not Disappoint: Finding meaning in Suffering. It is inspired by Romans 5:5-6. St. Paul invites us to see that Christian hope is not just naïve optimism but, rather, an unshakeable trust in the power and presence of God who is with us always. This hope can endure the darkness of human suffering and even see beyond it. Suffering touches every person at some point in their lives. It is often associated with illness, grief, and loss. It is not only caused by physical pain but includes emotional suffering as well as ‘soul pain’, such as depression and despair. Christians are not immune to this mystery and we often struggle to know how best to respond to it, and where we can find hope.

Clothes donations for the SVP The Parish St. Vincent De Paul (SVP) Conference undertakes a monthly collection of clothing for the SVP Charity Shop. Clean, good quality clothing, books and toys are very welcome. Donations may be left outside the confessionals at the rear of St. Teilo’s this weekend. The clothes will be removed early on Monday morning, so please ensure that donations are brought to the Church by the end of the evening Mass this weekend or kept at home until the Second Sunday of July when we will have another collection  – Thank you from the parish SVP.

Madeleine and Rhod wish to thank everyone who contributed to making the celebration of their 50 years of marriage so very memorable. Thank you to Canon John for a very special Mass, to John Steele and the other musicians for providing beautiful music and to the many altar servers. Also thank you to Gail and the team for the beautiful floral displays. Very special thanks must go to the Refreshments Team for organising a beautiful cake and fizz upstairs after Mass. It was great to see the many parishioners who came up to the Hall and to see them mingling with our family and other friends. We were thrilled with it all. Thank you!

Thank you to everyone who has generously donated to the Missio and Mill Hill Missionaries through your Red Box or directly, this first half of the year. If your Red Box has not yet been collected or you wish to have it emptied, please contact Peter Jones on 07594693054. The Summer edition of the Mission Today magazine is available at the back of the church. At St. Teilo’s there are still a number of Red Boxes unclaimed. If you are missing your box, please take a look. For further information about Missio and Mill Hill Missionaries and how to donate, please visit https://missio.org.uk/redbox/

During Lent, the Parish Lenten sessions focussed on the theme of the Jubilee Year - “We Dare to Hope”. For those who weren’t able to take part in these sessions, the ‘We Dare To Hope’ booklets, developed by the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and with a forward by Archbishop Mark, are available for all parishioners to take home and keep as a prayer and reflection aid. The booklet is on the theme of Christian Hope. The relationship between the virtue of hope, our lives and the source of all hope, Jesus, is explored. Wisdom from the saints is offered for the spiritual growth of readers. Quoting St. Claude de la Colombière the book reflects: “My God, I believe most firmly that You watch over all who hope in You, and that we can want for nothing when we rely upon You in all things”. The booklets are provided to the parish for free.

Mary Prendergast writes: " Heartfelt thanks to all who organised the ‘Coffee Morning’ with its delicious cake to mark my ‘Milestone Birthday’ in the Parish Hall. Thanks also to Gail and the team for their amazing floral displays and to the altar servers. His Holiness Pope Francis was in place of honour on the altar too! Thanks to Fr. John who oversaw it all. I was overwhelmed and overawed by it all. God bless each and every one of you ."

The Parish Pastoral Council is looking for a volunteer to take the Minutes of the Parish Pastoral Council. The current secretary of the Parish Council has changed jobs and is not able to combine minute taking with the other roles he undertakes. If you are able to help, please contact the Parish Pastoral Council Chair, Leigh Jenkins, by emailing lunebleue@sky.com

Canon John would like to encourage anyone who is willing and able to volunteer to act as welcomers and stewards at the Funeral Masses and Funeral Services that take place at St. Teilo’s to let him know. We have recently lost a number of key volunteers, so would welcome anyone who is willing and able to do so to email Canon at whitchurch@rcadc.org

The Easter bunny raffle raised over £215 for the parish. Thank you to everybody who bought tickets and the parishioners at Our Lady of Lourdes who kindly added to the raffle by providing Easter eggs. The winners were: Bunny 1 – Ffion 586-590 Bunny 2 – Sonia 606-610 Bunny 3 – Fiona 251-255 Bunny 4 – Anne Thomas 626-630  Easter Eggs: Danielle 401-405, Shirley 236-240, Mike Burns 36-40 and Joan Spencer 646-650

Charlie, Dom and James would like to say a big thank you to all the parishioners of St. Teilo’s with Our Lady of Lourdes for their generous donations for the HCPT group. The photo below shows them in Lourdes:

In 2024 St Teilo's with Our Lady of Lourdes raised £2,570.12 through our Red Boxes and donations, either online, by cheque or sent to the offices of the Missio and the Mill Hill Missionaries. Thank You!. Our missionary community here at our parish is part of a worldwide network of people supporting missionaries overseas through prayer and financial assistance. Your support of Missionary Priests, like Fr Glenn (see poster at back of church) working with a rural community in Tompong, Cambodia, enables people to come together to celebrate the Eucharist and to work together to improve the lives of the whole community. Visit https://missio.org.uk/ to find out more. Please look out for our promoters who will be collecting your red box over the next few weeks. Thank you again. Peter Jones, Parish Secretary for Missio-Mill Hill.

This year, Pope Francis proclaimed 2025 as the Jubilee Year of Hope, with the theme of “hope does not disappoint” and a call to Catholics worldwide to become “Pilgrims of Hope.” The Jubilee Year officially started on Christmas Eve at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and will continue until the Feast of the Epiphany in 2026. On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis invited pilgrims to the Vatican to walk through the Holy Door at St. Peter’s and the other Holy Doors throughout Rome and the world. In the Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia the Holy Doors are at St. David’s Cathedral, Cardiff, St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Swansea, the statue of Our Lady of Penrhys, the Shrine of Our Lady of the Taper, Cardigan, the Shrine of Divine Mercy at Sacred Heart, Morriston, the Churches of St. Francis Xavier, Hereford, St. Francis Xavier and St. David Lewis, Usk, Our Lady and St. Illtyd, Llantwit Major, the Welsh Martyrs, Aberystwyth, the chapel of St. Non’s Retreat Centre in St. David’s; and the Abbey Churches of St. Michael and All Angels, Belmont and Our Lady and St. Samson, Caldey Island.  On a visit to the Holy Door(s) you are invited to undertake a pious act including participating devoutly in Holy Mass or at a celebration of the Word of God; the Liturgy of the Hours (Office of Readings, Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer); the Stations of the Cross or the Rosary along with the other requirements for an Indulgence - https://rcadc.org/jubilee-home/the-jubilee-indulgence/ Preparations for the 2025 Year of Jubilee began in Advent 2023, which marked the start of a year of prayer. The Bishops’ Conference have produced resources for the preparatory year of prayer, focusing on the Our Father, as well as resources about Jubilee in the Catholic Church. View the resources from the Catholic Bishops Conference here View the resources from our own Archdiocese here Jubilee Year Calendar (Cardiff-Menevia)

Many thanks for the very generous response to the appeal in the newsletter two weeks ago for hats and gloves for the people who use the night shelter. They were very well received by the recipients. More are always welcome. In addition, it has become clear that many of those at the shelter are in need of other items including sleeping bags, haversacks, boxer shorts, socks and jackets. If you are able to help by donating any of these items, please drop them at the back of the Church.