Newsletter 6th January 2002

Mass Intentions

Sunday 6th	The Epiphany of the Lord 9.30 am Jimmy Stanley 6.30 pm Margaret Nolan
Monday 7th	St Raymund of Penyafort 9.15 amHarry and Darren Johnson
Tuesday 8th	9.15 am Ronald and Mary Hall
Wednesday 9th	Requiem 12 midday Ronald Gerrard
Thursday 10th	9.15 am Special Intention
Friday 11th	9.15 am Eucharistic Service
Saturday 12th	St Aelred of Rievaulx, Abbott 9.15 am Kathleen Austen
Sunday 13th	The Baptism of the Lord 9.30 am Marion Whittaker 6.30 pm Kenneth Derbyshire

Sacrament of Reconciliation
Sacred Heart Church Saturday12 noon - 12.30 pm

Friday Devotions - none during this time

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Notices

Leigh Deanery Day
Over the next five weeks, through the newsletter, David Levien will be reporting back on he meeting held in December at Holy Family Church, Boothstown. This week he introduces the day to us.
Many of us feel uncertain, afraid, deeply unhappy, as we face a future with fewer priests. We have not experienced such a situation before and it is developing with frightening speed.
Archbishop Kelly in his Pastoral letter for LAMP Instead of reacting to a developing situation, we are trying to plan for the future. But to be able to do that, priests and people need to reflect together on a number of crucial questions which formed the basis of discussion during the day and will be subject to further debate and consultation in the weeks and months ahead. The Agenda for the day itself was made up of five interrelated segments :
*Questions of Parish and Priest - setting the Agenda
*What is the Church for ?
*Our Parishes yesterday, today and tomorrow
*What is the Parish ? Church, Eucharist and Ministry
*Announcing the Future - finding a way forward ?
Questions of Parish and Priest
a) What is a parish ? What is its mission ? What makes it viable ?
b) What is the priesthood ? What is the relationship between priest and people ? What do we mean by shortage ?
Key Questions Asked
Should we still be aiming to maintain the separate identity of each parish, or thinking of amalgamation or closure of some parishes ?
How do we make sensible short term decisions whilst also looking to the future ?
How can we more effectively deploy the priests and other resources we have ?
How do we recognise and respond to the sadness and hurt that people feel when they face these changes ?
How are our congregations changing ?
What are the different understandings of church amongst priests, church-going parishioners, young people and others ?
How do we consult parishioners about the future ?
What is the place of the Eucharist in the life of a Catholic community ?
Is there a tension between the number of Masses and the quality of the Eucharistic celebration ?
What effect is the situation having on the morale of priests ?
What will it do to priests if the rest of their ministry is spent clustering and closing parishes ?
Next week we will examine the question of ' What is the Church for ?'

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