NEWSLETTER FOR SUNDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2025

Monday, 29th September: St. Michael & All Angels
9:15am, St. Begh’s please check if happening
James & Maureen Scowcroft
10:00am, Quay Street please check if happening
Holy Souls

Tuesday, 30th September: St. Jerome
NO MASS

Wednesday, 1st October: St. Therese of the Child Jesus
7:00pm, St. Begh’s please check if happening
David & Kerry-Jane Coward

Thursday, 2nd October: The Holy Guardian Angels
10:30am, Quay Street
James Curwen

Friday, 3rd October: Feria
9:15am, St. Begh’s
Vincent McQuilliam
10:00am, Quay Street
Annie & Lenny Canavan

Saturday, 4th October: St. Francis of Assisi
10:15am, Quay Street
Holy Souls & All Saints
Vigil Mass for Sunday
4:45pm, St. Begh’s
Ron Eberhard
James Rodgers
Alf Nixon
Special Intention (for a child)
Doreen Denwood

TWENTY SEVENTH SUNDAY
8:30am, Quay Street
Clare Brannon
10:00am, St. Begh’s
Jean Hughes
Fr. Edwin Cownley
Romana Sidol
Bailey Kiddle
Neville Family Intention

SEVEN DAY LAMPS will be lit this week for the following intentions:
Sacred Heart: (1) Isabella, John & Gerard McCraken (2) Brian Woodend
Our Lady: (1) Marie, Family & Friends (2) Margaret McCarten & Lesley Sanczuk (3) Josephine Todd
St. Therese: Doreen Denwood
St. Joseph: In Thanksgiving (AH)
Our Lady of Sorrows: (1) Lizzie, Tommy & Brian Davidson (2) Harry & Derry Hanlon
Our Lady at Quay Street: (1) Annie & Lenny Canavan (2) No Intention

PLEASE REMEMBER IN YOUR PRAYERS: Fr. John Baron, who has died recently, Patricia Hiddleston, Tom Hodgson, Isabella McCraken, Ronald Eberhard, Gertrude McWilliams, Ethel Farrelly, Leontine McLean, Anne Campbell, Pat Hayes, John Boyle, and all those whose anniversary occurs this week. May they all rest in God’s peace.

PARISH SAFEGUARDING REPRESENTATIVE: Maud Smith, the parish secretary; call on 01946 692342

WEEKLY COLLECTIONS: We received £909.13 last week in the baskets and through the letterbox.

WELCOME: This weekend the Prior of Belmont, Fr. Alex Kenyon, will be speaking at all Masses. Fr. Alex was parish priest of St. Begh’s in the 1990’s.

PASTORAL LETTER: Bishop Paul has sent a letter to all the parishes of West Cumbria to be read out at all Masses this weekend.

MILL HILL/APF: Time to empty the red boxes. New boxholders from the appeal in August, please keep your box until the December collection. (Michael Doyle hon sec & treasurer)

FR RICHARD: Due to personal circumstances and his mother’s deteriorating health Fr. Richard has resigned from parish duties and moved away from Whitehaven. He is very sorry for not being able to say goodbye in a more orderly fashion, but it all became too much for him. He sends his love to all our parishioners and sincere thanks for what proved to be such a rewarding parish placement. The ten years seem to have gone in the blink of an eye. Please keep him in your prayers at this difficult time. Thank you.

CAFOD: Please donate to our Family Fast Day parish collection to share God’s abundant gifts with our global neighbours as they find lasting solutions to poverty and climate challenges. Your generosity offers “signs of hope” in this Jubilee Year, helping build more water tanks in communities like Waré’s in Ethiopia where women have to walk for hours to get water. Use the CAFOD envelope in church, donate online at cafod.org.uk/envelope or call 0303 303 3030. You can also text CAFOD to 70560 to donate £10.

LAUGHTER LINE: Why was the cheese always the life and soul of the party? Because it had gouda vibes!

FROM THE BISHOP OF LANCASTER
TO BE READ AT ALL SUNDAY MASSES IN THE PARISHES OF WEST CUMBRIA ON THE WEEKEND OF 27th 28th SEPTEMBER 2025.
My dear people,
We live in times of rapid and serious change, both on the world stage and at local level. You have been aware for some time that changes are needed across our parishes in West Cumbria in order for them to be better able to serve the church’s mission.
Change is not always welcome. I know many of you look to the Church and Holy Mass as a time and place where you can find some peace from all the other matters of life that trouble us. When change comes to the door of the church it can be rather unwelcome.
I am asking parishes to begin offering parishioners to consider how we can adjust for the future. Prayer remains key, but a chance to talk and share ideas helps too. We can wait for change to hit us and we have no choice, or we can try to have a degree of control and plan how to adjust.
Your Dean, Father Johnston has written to alert me parishes cannot continue as they are. Soon a process of formal consultation will have to begin, but first I have invited the clergy to invite me to visit and speak in parishes at Sunday Masses. It is not compulsory! But I very much want this to be an exercise of listening (above all, to the Lord) before any detailed decisions are made. I have already received some invitations, and look forward to my time with you.

Feedback:

		Chaplain Yvonne Myers (Guest)	28/09/2025 21:42
In consideration of the letter from Bishop Swarbrick, I would find it helpful to know what adjustments might be necessary to serve the Church's mission? I immediately jump to the conclusion that this is about not having enough priests to cover Masses and Sacraments. However perhaps this is a narrow view point. Could it be that there are large chunks of your time as priests that are taken up by duties that could be delegated to lay people? Do priests in your diocese already have a solution that they feel would work? After all, they know their role and responsibilities better than anyone, so are probably best skilled in knowing the solutions. I believe there are already Deacons leading Eucharistic Services in some parishes. Perhaps lay Eucharistic Ministers and Ministers of the Word could be upskilled to facilitate this and other Sacraments when and if necessary. The opportunity to Serve may inspire them to Vocation. As Chaplain for the NHS Mental Health Service, I can empathise with some of the difficulties of being spread thin. I cover Copeland and Allerdale and when on call, all of North Cumbria. However, I am sure that my experiences are much smaller than the ones that the Bishop is implying to. In prayer I am reaffirmed in my priorities. I work with due diligence, work as productively as I can to save the Trust time and money, while also seeking to provide effective Spiritual and Religious help. What are the priorities for the Church? "At its heart is a shared mission: to proclaim the Gospel, celebrate the sacraments, and serve others with love." What do the people of our faith community need? How can we meet these needs while retaining standards and meaningful experience of our faith? This year, I chose to say no to leading Worship for an event because I knew I had to prioritise my patients for whom I am uniquely qualified and experienced to help. Other people were able to facilitate that Worship and so I delegated it. I have been helping to deliver training on Culture with a doctor in the Trust, but when asked to facilitate a second workshop in person in Newcastle I chose to delegate to a colleague in the North East (it gives her a chance to develop her skills, is more cost effective for the NHS Trust and frees up about 8 hours so that I can use that time on the priorities of my post in West Cumbria). So, I would say that as a diocese it is good to think about priorities of the Church's mission. Share the load so that as Priests you can work to their strengths - some Priests are great at outreach, others better spiritual reflection etc - and delegate occasionally.