Parish Newsletter, week beginning Sunday, 17th May 2015.

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord.

This week:

CHURCH HEATING AND WINDOWS FUND TO DATE

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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.

I would like to invite all the First Holy Communon children and their families to participate in the the 11.00 am Mass on Sunday, 7th June. All children should wear their First Holy Communion outfits and will lead the Blessed Sacrament in procession to Garth Park. These annual processions were once a regular feature in the Bicester calendar as can be seen on the Parish Archives page on this website and were well attended by Catholics from Bicester and beyond.

On Saturday, 27th June at 12.00 pm. More details about this in the coming weeks.

Will those ministers who were not commissioned at the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday, please attend the 9.00 am Mass this Sunday, the 17th of May, to be commissioned. Thank you

Will be held from 9.00 am onwards on Saturday, 6th June. Please contact Pat Garforth or the parish office if you have any items you would like to donate prior to delivering

The joint parish and school Fete will take place on Saturday, 13th June at St. Mary's School. Can you help on the day or with donations? Please add your name to the list in the church porch if you can help. At the moment thera are plans for a cafe,bar and live music, but more stalls are needed.

On this occasion this will be held in the old chapel of the Presentation Convent between 10.00 and 11.45 am on Friday, 29th May. Everyone is welcome, £2.00 entry includes drink and cake. Please enter through the garden gate.

Bishop Robert will be celebrating the 11.00 am Mass for us on Sunday, 14th June. During this Mass Nick StJohn and other candidates in training for the peranent diaconate will receive the Ministry of Acolyte. Let us keep them in our prayers.

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, etc are available. You may also leave your Mass offering envelopes.

A big thank you to all parishioners who contributed money to the Lourdes pilgrimage. Charlotte Riley is happy to take any prayer petitions and to leave them in the appropriate box at the Grotto. Please delover any petitions in an envelope marked "Lourdes petition" to the parish office by Thursday, 21st of May

Thank you to everyone who supportedv the recent ukulele evening. A most enjoyable time was had by all and the amazing sum of £735.90 was raised towards parish funds. Many thanks to Oonagh and helpers for organising this event.

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.

Wednesday, 27th May at 11.00 am. Dr. Alan Finister will speak on "Evidence for the Resurrection".All most welcome. Pleasse contact the parish office for fuerter details.

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.

The three parish committees will meet at the following times and dates:

• Pastoral Committee - 7.30 pm on Monday, 18th May
• Social and Fundraising Committee - 7.15 pm on Monday, 1st Ju

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)

Will be running a number of Marathons this year, including the London Marathon in April in memory of the late Thomas Laurie who died last year.  He will and also be running from John O'Groats to Lands End from 4th May to 14th June, a total of 1,050 miles over 42 days, a Marathon a day. He will achieve all this dressed as Forrest Gump, you may have spotted him already as an altar server!   A celebration in June will be held to mark his return. Ewan is fundraising for  four Charities including  Helen & Douglas House and ROSY.  If you would like to sponsor his efforts please complete the form on the notice board at the back of church

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.

Many thanks to all those who organised, prepared, helped and attended the most receint monthly lunch. £515.50 was raised towards parish funds. The next lunch will be at 12.00 on Tuesday, 26th May

The second collection last weekend will be for the victims of the Nepal earthquake raised £658.44. Thank you to everyone who contributed.

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 12.00 on Sunday, 12th July. More details nearer to the time. More about Missio and the work that they do on their website from where the following extract is taken:

"Since 1922, Missio has been the Catholic Church's official charity for overseas mission. We bring the hope of the Gospel where there is turmoil, poverty and uncertainty in the world, and where the Church is new, young or poor. Missio empowers local people to form and sustain communities of faith and we train and nurture future leaders so that the vital work of the Church in the world can take place.

Renewals for the next twelve months are due from 1st April with the first draw in the new financial year taking place on Sunday, 26th April. The annual fee is £60 per annum payable in full by cheque or monthly standing order. In the coming year there will be three prizes each month - £100, £50 and £25 with a bonus draw of a further £100 in December - and members of the Catenian Association will be present at each Mass on the first three weekends of April to accept renewed or new subscriptions. If you currently pay by Standing Order no further action is necessary. Please support this major Parish fund raiser if you possibly can and make it a real 100 Club in 2015/16. Thank you.

April 100 Club winners: £100 - 46 - Patrick Fitzgibbon, £50 - 63 - Elizabeth Green, £25 - 57- John Hanna.

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, H Starrett , 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, N Southey, P Dean, 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, C Brown, C Morgan, E Hawkins, M Starrett, E Batchelor, M Bokhari, K Cashman, R Admans, Sr. Mary Humbert, C B Corpus, A Kustra, M Delos Saintos., M J Murray, I Cook., G O’Byrne. Amal Blakeley .

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

MAY

Monday, 18th MaY- 6.45 pm Youth Group Meeting.

Saturday, 23rd May - 7.30 pm. Fr. John's Indian Cusine Evening. Tickets now available. It is another occasion which provides an opportunity for us to come together as a family. I look forward to your support. Let us repeat the success that this event was last year.All funds raised will go towards the heating fund. Adults £15, children, £5, family (2 adults and up th 3 children) £35. Raffle prizes gratefully received. Please deliver to Fr. John or the parish office.

Tuesday, 26th May- 12.00 onwards. Monthly lunch. If you have not tried one yet, why not? Two courses for a very modest £4.00. These are proving very popular, especially with diners from outside the Catholic community.

JUNE

Saturday, 13th June - Summer Fete at St. Mary's School. Please sign up on the notice in the church porch if you can help.

Sunday, 21st June - 12.30pm Father's Day Celebration.

JULY

Sunday, 5th July - The Summer Family Festival and presentation of Confirmation and First Holy Communion certificates.

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 135
Sunday 9.00 am 190
Sunday 11.00 am 580
Total: 905 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.

The piety stall will now be available once a month in the porch after 9.00 am & 11.00 am Mass. Volunteers are requested to help run the stall after 6.00 pm Mass on Saturday evenings and 11.00 am mass on Sundays. More volunteers are urgently needed to help run the stall. Please contact the parish office if you can help.

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.

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 require

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.