PARISH NEWS ARTICLES

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.

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 welcome. Donations may be left outside the confessionals at the rear of St. Teilo’s this weekend, April 13th , and on the weekend of the Second Sunday of each month. Please ensure that donations are brought to the Church only on the specified Sundays, as we do not want the Church to become cluttered during the week. Thank you from the parish SVP.

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.

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 collection amounted to the very generous amount of £1,564.04. In addition, Charlie, Dom and James would like to thank Mgr. Reardon and all the parishioners for their warm welcome and encouragement.

Apologies to all those who make use of the Hearing Loop at St. Teilo’s. The current loop has degraded in at least five places. The degradation is so bad that we have followed the professional recommendation and are replacing the whole cable around  the Church. Sadly, this means that the Hearing Loop will not be operational until the work is complete.

Charlie, James and Dom will be appealing at each Mass this weekend for your kind and generous donations for HCPT Group 102, a charity group with which they are volunteering. HCPT is a registered charity offering life-changing pilgrimage holidays to Lourdes in the south of France, for disabled and disadvantaged people from around the UK and further afield. For HCPT Group 102 to continue helping children and adults in need, we rely on kind donations from our generous supporters. So we ask you to dig deep into your pockets today please and to be very generous with your donations as we can assure you, they are going to a fantastic cause. At St. Teilo’s you will be able to donate by card via the Electronic Device at the back of the church. Alternatively you can donate by credit or debit card by selecting the HCPT option here - https://donate.mydona.com/stteilo-our-lady-of-lourdes

The Cleaning of St. Teilo's takes place every Monday and Tuesday. The cleaning team would like to encourage new people to help with as much or as little time as they can offer. The team would appreciate any support. If you are able to help, please come to the back of the Church at the following times: Monday, February 3rd between 8:30am-9:30am Tuesday, February 4th between 10:30am-11:30am Monday, February 10th between 8:30am-9:30am Tuesday, February 11th between 10:30am-11:30am Monday, February 17th between 8:30am-9:30am Tuesday, February 18th between 10:30am-11:30am Monday, February 24th between 8:30am-9:30am Tuesday, February 25th between 10:30am-11:30am

We are calling young people from Year 8 or above. Is Jesus calling you to deepen your relationship with Him? Would you like to grow in your faith and receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit? If so, the Sacrament of Confirmation is for you. If you have been baptised and received your first holy communion, please complete an enrolment form at the back of the Church and email it to whitchurch@rcadc.org or give it to Canon John by Sunday, February 16th. Confirmation sessions will take place every Thursday evening. Parents of those planning to be confirmed are asked to attend the Parent Information session on Sunday, February 23rd at 11am at St Teilo’s parish hall.

A number of welcomers have personal reasons why they are unable to welcome at Mass on Sundays at St. Teilo’s. Please could we invite parishioners to volunteer to take on this role. Welcomers welcome the congregation, hand out Mass Books and the newsletter and keep a count of attendees. If you feel you are able to help, please tell one of the existing welcomers or email whitchurch@rcadc.org

Pope Francis invites Catholics to let our faith inform our service as the troubles in the world increase. If you work in the Armed Forces, the Police or in Security in general you are invited to attend a Jubilee Mass taking place at St. Joseph’s Co-Cathedral, Convent Street, Swansea on Saturday February 8th at 11:00am . The Mass will be celebrated by Rt. Rev. Tom Burns, Bishop Emeritus of Menevia and former Bishop of the Forces. If you are a veteran or retired  police officer and would like to support those in service with your prayers, you are also most welcome to attend.

Churches Together in Whitchurch arranged to celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity including the concluding service of the week today at 4.30pm at Ararat Baptist Church, Whitchurch with  Archbishop Mark O’Toole as the Guest Preacher.

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) are holding its annual White Flower Collection this weekend. Please be as generous as you can to help the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, to defend unborn babies and their mothers. The success of the White Flower Collection is founded on the compassion and generosity of faithful churchgoers in parishes across the United Kingdom. SPUC is grateful for the unapologetic defence of unborn babies and vulnerable people that the teaching of the Catholic Church provides. At St. Teilo’s you are able to make a donation using your credit/debit card at the Electronic Donation Station.