Parish Newsletter, week beginning Sunday, 12th July 2015.

Fifeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

This week:

CHURCH HEATING AND WINDOWS FUND TO DATE

With heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported and continues to suppor tthe heating fund. With authorisation from the Archdiocese and with the available funds we have raised we are now in the position to begin the work. This will commence in the week of the 20th of July. The church will remain closed during the week while the work is carried out. It is anticipated that this will take about 4 to 5 weeks. The Saturday 6.00 pm and Sunday Masses will be celebrated as usual. Church Cleaners - if at all possible please can you come on Saturday morning to dust the pews on the weeks when you are due to clean. Thank you.

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Tell us about yourself and how you would want to help and get involved in parish life by means of this simple, easy to fill in form. All information provided will be kept confidential and will not be commuinicated to any third party. Please return these to the parish office.

We were blessed with good weather to celebrate this event outside. Many thanks to everyone who helped on the day and to everyone who came along toenjoy the occasion. £839.84 was raised.

We will be taking a break for summer and will resume again in September. My sincere thanks to all the co-ordinators for their commitment and generosity.

Copies of the Holy Father's Encyclical Letter on "Care for our Common Home", "Laudato Si", are available from the Piety Shop at £4.95 each.

Please pick up a leaflet about the "Assisted Dying Bill" at the back of the church with information on how to get yoir opposition across. The House of Commons will debate the Bill on the 11th of September. The time to act is now.

Care Not Killing website

If you can and can play on one Saturday a month at the 6.00 pm Mass please contact Fr. John.

Asyou may be aware, Tim Charles will very soon be moving away from Bicester. I would sincerely like to thank Tim for all his services as an organist over so many years. Surely we will miss him. May God bless and protect him. Saturday, the 18th of July will be his farewell appearance

Located in the former Lady Chapel this will be open for thirty minutes before and thirty minutes after each Friday Mass and at every weekend Mass. A variety cards, rosary beads, prayer cards, and a newly arrived stock of CTS books, etc are available. You may also leave your Mass offering envelopes

We politely request that parishioners only take their own newspspers, that is those that have been marked with their name. If you would like to place a regular order for a Catholic newspwper, please contact the parish office

If you are a parishioner who currently comes into contact with children or vulnerable adults as part of your voluntary work in the parish , for example with the youth group, children's liturgy, sacramental programme catechists, baby and toddler group or as an Extraodinary Minister taking Holy Communion to the sick and housebound, etc.,and have not been DBS (CRB) checked, please contact our safeguarding reprasentative, Elizabeth Green, right, as soon as possible. E-mail.

This affects children who are currently in Year 2 in primary school. Classes of preparation will take place on five Saturdays from the 21st of March - details on this website or from the back of the church or the parish office. The final session will be on Saturday, 4th July. The children will then make their first Confession at 7.00 pm on Wednesday, 8th July at the Church of the Immaculate Conception.

First Reconciliation application form (PDF file will open in a new window)

We are always in need of skilled tradespeople to help with the maintenance and upkeep of the church. If you are a skilled tradesperson who can volunteer to do work and save costs for your church, please add your details to the list on the notice board in the church porch. Thank you.

If you would like to dedicate a hymn book in memory of a deceased loved one, please contact the parish office. Each dedication costs £ 6.00 and the hymn books remain in the church.

Exciting news! Registration to join the Archdiocese of Birmingham pilgrimage to the World Youth Day in Krakòw in 2016 is now open

The Parish of the Immaculate Conception has been honoured to be named at the venue for the 2015 Annual Missio Mass. This will be celebrated at 11.00 am on Sunday, 12th July. Mgr. James Cronin, the National Director of Missio will be the principal celebrant at this Mass. Local secretaries from other parishes in the diocese will be joining us for thie Mass which is followed by a presentation of the work of Missio in different parts of the world.If any former promoters or any parishioners can help with refreshments, please contact the parish office. Please could all mission box holders empty or return their boxes to the parish office or to the welcomers. Please remember to include your name when delivering your donation. Empty boxes can be found at the back of the church if required. If you are aware of a friend or neighbour who may have a box that has not been emptied for a while, please encourage them to bring it to the parish office. The summer issue of "Mission Today" is now available in the church porch. More about Missio and the work that they do on their website

May winners: £100 - 40 - Kathleen Cashman, £ 50 - 29 - Conlon family, £ 25 - 16 - Eileen Penhallow.

We are very fortunate that, to date we have had a small number of dedicated men and women who regularly clean our church for us, some come after work, others are retired. However, we will be in desperate need of more cleaners to help clean the church in 2015. Currently teams clean once every 7 weeks for about 2-3 hours. Cleaning provides a good work out and is free, save money on expensive gym subscriptions! Please contact the parish office if you can help or need more details.

PRAY FOR THE SICK

Your prayers are requested for the following who are sick: M Wallace, M Smyth, G Marchant, C Whitehead, B Hunt, B Shepard, P Harris, F J Smith, G Newton, P Davies, C Busby, M Smith, E Browne, E Cotter, J Hurst, L Lambert, F Ostrowski, S Clarke, P Lunney, J Fowler, J James, B & D Weaver, P Dean, N Southey, E Stonell, A McCambridge, J Calver, P Selwood, J James, J O’Rourke, C Burns, M Lewandowski, M May, A Davies, N Cahill, Mrs Curzon, J Calnan, A Kustra, C Brown, C Morgan, E Hawkins, M Starrett, E Batchelor, M Bokhari, K Cashman, R Admans, Sr. Mary Humbert, C B Corpus, M Delos Saintos, M J Murray, B & I Cook., G O’Byrne, Amal Blakeley, Paul Mears.

Heavenly Father, source of all healing, visit and heal your servants from all physical and spiritual ailments, through the grace of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen

CYCLE OF PRAYER

During Ordinary Time (summer) up to September, we are asked to pray for these intentions: a deeper understanding between Christians and Jews, those who suffer persecution, oppression and denial of human rights, Europe, human life, seafarers.

JULY

Tuesday, 28th ~ Monthly lunch. If you have not already tried one of our monthly lunches, please come along and try one. Exceptional value at £4.00.

SEPTEMBER

Sunday, 20th September ~ International Mass and shared lunch.

NOVEMBER

Friday, 13th ~ Saints' Day, dress up in your favourate saints costume.

DECEMBER

Saturday, 5th ~ Christmas fayre.

The John Paul II Centre now has its own website here

SUNDAY COFFEE Come along for a coffee and meet new and old fellow parishioners after 9.00 am and 11.00 am Masses this weekend and every Sunday in the in the main hall downstairs of The John Paul II Centre. Come along...all welcome!

Saturday 8.00 pm 105
Sunday 9.00 am 163
Sunday 11.00 am 244
Total 592 devout Christian souls

Have you thought of including the parish in your last will? In the past Parishes were left with legacies. If you would like to leave a legacy to the parish, please contact Fr. John. The large statue of the Immaculate Conception that adorns the front of the church, Bicester's first piece of public Sculpture was paid for by a legacy left to the parish. May the donor rest in peace.

The votive lights in Our Lady's Chapel are now £1 each. Those in front of the statues of the Sacred Heart and St. Joseph are now 50p. For health and safety reasons, we request that only those candles provided by the parish are used. Thank you for your co-operation.

An appeal for unwanted rosaries has been made by the Catenians. These are sent to third world countries and the Pacific islands. If you do have any please give them to the welcomers at the Sunday Masses, any member of the Catenians or the parish office.

Traidcraft is a Christian response to poverty, established in 1979 to fight poverty through trade. By buying these products you can help craft workers and farmers across Africa, Asia and Latin America to build a better future for themselves, for their families and for their communities. As well as goods on the stall you can order additional items through the catalogue, or buy online at Tradecraft For further information, please contact Ann Poole. Please also visit the Traidcraft pages on this website.

"My children, our love is not just to be words or mere talk, but something real and active." 1 John 3: 18.

Fr. John would like to meet all parents requesting the Sacrament of Baptism for their children. An application form is available for download here or can be collected from the Parish Office. Please e-mail Fr. John or the Parish Office to arrange an appointment.

If you are planning to get married either within The Parish of the Immaculate Conception or elsewhere, please use one of the forms below to make contact with the Parish Office. Thank you.

Sacrament of Matrimony application form (PDF file will open in a new window)

'Out of parish' Sacrament of Matrimony application form (PDF file will open in a new window)

BATTHULA CARE TRUST

This is a charity started by Rev. Fr. John Batthula to raise funds to help poor families in India. The funds are used for a wide range of activities such as building homes for a Leper colony, purchasing books and educational equipment for impoverished schools, helping the aged and much more. More on their website.

PRINTED BULLETIN NOTICES

Please note that the deadline for notices to be included in the weekly bulletin is 3.00 pm of the Thursday of each week.

MISSION BOXES/APF

Thank you to all the red box holders. Please remember to regularly empty your boxes and deliver the contents to the Parish Office or to the welcomers at the Sunday Masses. Please remember to include your name when making your donation. Empty boxes can be found in the church porch. More about the work of the APF here. Please also see the item about the annual Missio Mass above.

MASS INTENTIONS

Please use the Mass offering envelopes at the back of the church. These can be posted through the door of the presbytery or given to the welcomers. Please be sure to give plenty of notice if specific dates are required.

Meets every Thursday between 8.00 and 9.30 pm to reflect on the forhcoming Sunday readings. For further information, please contact Nick or Clare StJohn or the parish office.

The parish office is located on the first floor of The John Paul II Centre. If the main doors are closed, then please press the buzzer located near the doors and wait for a member of staff to respond. When you exit the building please ensure that the door is fully closed. Office hours are 9.00 am to 3.00 pm, Monday to Friday. The telephone number is 01869 253 277.

Meets every Thursday from 9.15 am to 10.45 am in the Presentation Convent during term-time. Come along or Contact the parish office. More details

Do you have any old photographs of parish life, the church (Priory Road or The Causeway), St. Mary’s School, etc. that could go into a parish archive? If so, please could you deliver these to the parish office marked with your name. These will be scanned and returned to you. Thank you. A selection of older photographs can be seen here

This website has been set up by a parishioner. Please take a look on therosary3.com which takes you to a quiet place within; away from the noise and din of life, and all its distractions into the presence of God.