Our Lady of Good Counsel

& Guardian Angels Parish

54 Harvey Street,
Elton, Bury BL8 2RD
Tel: 0161 764 1630

Email: olgcga@b nternet.com

Parish website:
www.guardianangels-parish.org
Parish Twier: @olgcga
Diocesan website:
www.salforddiocese.org.uk

Newsleer for the weekends - 4th/5th July 2015

Fourteenth Sunday of the Year (Year of St. MarkYear B)
PLEASE REMEMBER
IN PRAYER
OUR SICK:
Bro. Nicholas Hutchinson,
David Lindley, Elaine Hardman,
Michael Dewsnap, Phyllis Daly,
Maurice Berry, Margaret Reilly,
Sean Reilly, John Cullen, Joan
Hearle, Phillip Bailey, Alan
Radcliffe, Mary Hanson, Joyce
Greenhalgh, Maddie Clayton,
Paddy Harrison, Larry Hindes,
Lillian Graves, Alex Riley,
Michael Naughton, Sean, Diana,
Myra Moran, Jean Preston, Phil
Bailey, Ted Whiley
LATELY DECEASED:
Angela Quale
Michele McPhee
Mary Wilson
Josie Eames
ANNIVERSARIES:
Clare Booth
To include someone on the prayer list
please give their name to Fr. Paul, put
it through the letterbox of the Parish
Office, call the Office on: 0161 764
1630 or e-mail to
olgcga@btinternet.com

THIS WEEKENDS
SCRIPTURES
TODAYS READINGS
First Reading: Ezekiel 2:2-5
God sends Ezekiel to prophecy
among the rebellious Israelites.
Psalm 123: Our eyes are on
the Lord, till he show us his
mercy
Second Reading: 2 Cor 12:7
10 I am content with weakness
for the sake of Christ.
Gospel: Mar k 6:1-6 Jesus was
amazed at their lack of faith.

NEXT WEEKENDS
SCRIPTURES (Year B)
First Reading: Amos 7:12-15
Psalm 85
Second Reading: Eph 1:3-14
Gospel: Mar k 6: 7-13

'CIRCLE OF PRAYER'
St Theresa of Lisieux
Deanery
For the week beginning Sunday
5th July 2015 we pray for all at
Nazareth House, Prestwich.

SERVICES THIS WEEK

Saturday 4th June: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
7.00 pm: Mass
Sunday 5th June: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
8.45 am: Mass
10.30 am: Mass
Monday 6th June: St Maria Goretti
9.15 noon: Eucharistic Service
Tuesday 7th June:
7.00 pm: Eucharistic Service
Wednesday 8th July:
9.15 am: Mass
Thursday 9th July:
9.15 am: Mass
Friday 10th July:
9.15 am: Eucharistic Service
Saturday 11th July: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
3.00 pm Wedding Service for Rebecca Baxter & Paul
Lowe
7.00 pm: Mass
Sunday 12th July: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
8.45 am: Mass
10.30 am: Mass
12.15 pm: Celebration of the Sacrament of Baptism
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Saturday 4th July: at 6.00 pm
Saturday 11th July: No Confessions
The Rosary (for the sick and peace)
7.00 pm every Monday

Preparing the Way Consultation 2015

Please use the White Mass Intention
envelopes for Mass intentions which
you will find in the porches. Thank
you.
When adding the name of someone
sick please ensure that you have their
permission (or the permission of their
family). The list is updated each week.
and because of space the names of the
sick will be removed from the list after
four weeks. You can ask for them to
be added again.

As promised in the recent Pastoral Letter from

Bishop John, the diocesan consultation is now ready and
will remain open for several weeks. It can be accessed at
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Salford2015 where
responses can be entered directly onto the electronic
form. This is the best way to complete the questionnaire,
since the system will also do the analysis of responses.
For those of you who do not have access to the
internet, paper copies of the questionnaire can be collected from the back of church.
You can bring back your completed forms back
to the Parish if you wish and we will send them off
together. The deadline for responses is Friday 7th
August 2015. Please take part in the consultation.

You are now able to access the weekly parish newsletter from our twitter feed @olgcga

14th Sunday of Ordinary Time

5th July 2015
If you wish to contribute to the View from the Pew,
please contact the Parish Office. These are anonymous
comments from parishioners.
If last Sunday hadnt been the feast of Ss Peter and Paul we
would have heard a Gospel reading about two people that Jesus had
never met, Jairus and a woman with the incurable illness, who came to
him in faith and received the healing they sought.
Today Jesus own hometown neighbours lack faith, so Jesus is
unable to perform mighty deeds. God is always reaching out to us, but
we must also be willing to respond to Gods invitation.
How is God reaching out to you in todays reading?
Question for the Week
How did I respond the last time someone challenged my perspectives
and prejudices? Might Jesus be calling on me, by my own prophetic
vocation, to do the same?
The new Eucharistic Ministers & new Readers Rotas
are now available to collect from the
Welcome & Information Centre.
To receive our Parish Newsletter by e-mail each weekend, simply
e-mail the Parish Office on:
olgcga@btinternet.com with the tag line newsletter and we will
add you to the list. Follow us on Twitter also @olgcga for reminders
and updates on parish events.
Follow the Department for Evangelisation: @SalfordDFE
WEEKLY OFFERINGS
The Offertory Collection for:
For the weekend 27th /28th June was:
Envelopes: 807.53 Loose collection: 315.65
Total: 1123.18
Thank you for your generosity.
If you wish to join the Gift Aid scheme please see Fr Paul at the back of
Church after Mass. It only takes a couple of seconds!
MINIBUS DRIVERS
If you cannot fulfil your rota duty, please arrange a swap with another
team. Thanks.
This weeks team: Steve & Mary Sawley
Next weeks team: Michael Harrington and Janet Turner
Spaces on the Minibus: We cur r ently have some spaces on
the minibus for the 10.30 am Mass minibus run. If you or someone you
know would benefit from this fantastic service please call the Office.
Having got some new volunteer drivers, we are now in need of a
few more non-drivers who would like to team up with drivers in helping the people we collect to get into the minibus. If you would be interested in doing this please contact the Parish Office.
Please contact the Parish Office if you would like to volunteer or for
more information.

A big thank you to all our agents, and to everyone taking part in the 10
Week draw. The second draw will take place this Sunday in Parish Centre Tea and Coffee after the 10.30. Come and join us.
Week Seven (28th June)
50.00
No: 273 Bill Igoe
Agent:
Sharon Beech
25.00
No: 206 Kay Weston
Agent:
Tania Hindle

PARISH DIARY
Sunday 5th July
10.30 am MassRite of Welcome & Presentation for Baptism
After 10.30 am MassBaptism Preparation Meeting (1) in
the Walsingham Room
Tuesday 7th July
Tuesday Club: Lunch & Bingo
7.00 pm UCM: Come rain or shine Strawberries and Cream at
Joan Hs
Thursday 9th July
8.00 pm Meeting No 3Proclaim 15 at Guardian Angels
Parish Centrefor our cluster of 3 parishes
Saturday 11th July
Proclaim 15National Evangelisation Conference in Birmingham.
3.00 pm: Wedding Service of Rebecca Baxter and Paul Lowe
Tuesday 14th July
Tuesday Club: Music & Dance
UCM : Talk by Sue on HCPT
Thursday 16th July
End of Year Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes School
Friday 17th July
End of Year Mass at Guardian Angels School
Sunday 19th July
Final Draw of the 10 Week Draw and Parish Bar-b-que after
the 10.30 am Mass
Friday 24th July
Wedding of Damian McKenna & Carolyn Edgington
Friday 7th August
Wedding of Sophie Baxter & James Harvey-Hamilton
Monday 31st August (Bank Holiday)
Parish Outing to Cartmel Racessee page 3 for full details.

CHURCHES TOGETHER IN BURY

Churches together in Bury is an ecumenical group to
which all the Churches in Bury are affiliated. There are lots
of good things that the churches can achieve together, which
are not possible working individually. However, sometimes
the meetings are very poorly attended because of people having various commitments.
In order to ensure that each Church is represented by
at least one person at each meeting of Churches together in
Bury, we have been asked to nominate two representatives
from each church. There are six meetings a year.
If you would be interested in representing our parish
on Churches together in Bury, please let me know as soon as
possible. It is important that we are represented, so please
think about this opportunity for involvement in the parish and
in the wider community.
Many thanks. Fr Paul.
Thank you to everyone who signed the Petition to keep
the Catholic Chapel at North Manchester General Hospital last weekend. Our signatur es wher e e-mailed to the
chaplaincy team. Apparently there were over 6000 signatures
received including many from the local Muslim community.
The proposal has been dropped!

The Clusterers
Thursday 9th July
Longridge Fell (not the easiest!)
Leader Jeff Smith: 764 7269
Start time: 9.30 am Guardian Angels Car Park

Awaken Your
Catholic Faith
Sometimes important
things get away from us
things like faith.
Is this you? Too busy?
Not been to church in a while? Children asking questions
about faith that youre not sure how to answer? Looking for
an opportunity to explore your faith? Were you baptized and
then not confirmed or didn't make your first communion? Do
you know people who are in this position?
Awakening Faith will be just right for you. This is a
six week programme which includes topics such as
Spirituality Can I Accept Gods Mercy? Can the Mass
Make My Life Meaningful? and The Church and Me. You
can learn and ask questionsall in a friendly and confidential
setting with other parishioners.
Please tell other people about this six week
programmethey will all be made most welcome.
If you would be interested in attending or would like
more information about it, please call the Parish Office on
0161 764 1630 or e-mail us on: olgcga@btinternet.com.
If you would like to join us, please complete the form below and return to the Parish Office, and we will be in
touch with you.

Thinking of
becoming a
Catholic?
Seeking Christ is a programme aimed at people who want to look at the Catholic
church, who have either been baptised in another Christian
tradition or never been baptised.
Initially there are eight sessions in the programme to
help welcome and engage those who are thinking of possibly
becoming a Catholic. There is of course no obligation after
completing the eight week programme, but if people decide
they would then like to move forward to becoming a catholic
we can then help them to move forward.
If you know of people who might be interested in this
programme please let them know about it. If they want any
further information they can contact the Parish Office on
0161 764 1630 or by e-mail on olgcga@btinternet.com
If you would like to join us, please complete the form below and return to the Parish Office, and we will be in
touch with you.
I am interested in attending Awakening Faith or
Seeking Christ
Name: ..
Address: ..

Planning on getting married in 2016

at Guardian Angels?
Please remember that all couples are required to
give at least 6 months notice (by Diocesan Law) in order to
marry in the Church. So, if you are planning on getting married in 2016
and have not yet made contact with us and booked in your wedding,
please do so as soon as possible.
Please telephone the office (0161 764 1630) to make an appointment for an initial meeting with Fr Paul, so that the availability of the
Church can be checked and details can be put in the Parish Diary.

MONDAY 31st
AUGUST
2015
Our Social Events Group are looking into the possibilities of
organising A Day at the Races on the August Bank Holiday Monday
(31st August).
To establish whether this is going to run we need an indication of
people who would like to go, so that within a week or so we can buy the
admission tickets in advance (which are cheaper than paying on the day)
and also get a firm booking for a coach.
We estimate that it could be around the 20.00 per person mark
(including admission & coach), but obviously this might go up or down
a little bit according to the numbers interested. Children under the age of
16 get into the racecourse for free (as long as they are accompanied by
an adult of course! - so they would only have to pay for the coach).
If you would like to book a place on this Parish outing, please put
you name on the list at the back of church, and then we can decide if the
day out will go ahead. Please sign up this weekend or next weekend. As
soon as we have an indication of the interest we will publish the full
details.

A very big thank you to Peter Sherlock

For many years, well over 30 years, Peter Sherlock has been our
Covenants and then Gift Aid co-ordinator in the Parish. A couple of
weekends ago Peter told me that he felt that it was time for him to hang
up the ledgers and hand it on to someone else.
It is a task that requires meticulous recording of each weekly
offering envelope for the purpose of completing the returns for the tax
office each year. I am so grateful to Peter for all the work he has done
over these past 30+ years (aided a little by Sheila and latterly by Rachel).
I am also grateful to Mike McKenna who has very kindly agreed
to step into Peters shoes and take on the role of being our parish Gift
Aid co-ordinator.
In order to ensure a smooth hand-over, in the next couple of
weeks we will be writing to everyone who is signed up for Gift-Aid to
double check all the details, because we are always conscious that people do move house, and dont always let us know. We will put on the
newsletter when we are sending them out so that you can look out for
itIf you dont receive a letter from us in the next week or so, it probably means that we have the incorrect address on record. If you have
moved house in the past 10 years and not notified us for Gift aid purposes, please e-mail us or telephone the Parish Office.
Once more, a very big thank you to Peter for all that he has done
in this area of our parish life and administration. When I publicly
thanked him last Saturday at the 7.00 pm Mass, Peters reply was well,
Ive always said I do it for usthe Parish.

..
E-mail: ....
Tel: No: ...
PLEASE RETURN TO THE PARISH OFFICE
(or e-mail the office on olgcga@btinternet.com)

Because John Cullen isnt playing at the 7.00pm or 8.45 am

Mass due to illness, each week people are reminded of him, and so a lot
of people ask us how hes doing.
We are pleased to say that John has been transferred from hospital and is now in a special rehabilitation unit in Rochdale, where he is
experiencing great care and regaining some movement that had left him
due to the neurological problem he has had. I know that everyone sends
him their best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Having your child baptised at Guardian

Angels.
If you are planning on having your child baptised,
please pick up a leaflet from the Welcome and
Information Centre, which outlines our baptism
preparation programme.
Please note that the first thing that parents have to do is contact the
Parish Office (telephone on 0161 764 1630 or call in) to book onto
the First Meeting, held on the first Sunday of each month. Please do
not just turn up for the meeting without first booking in through the
Parish Office. This means that our Baptism Preparation Team have a
workable number of people each month.
Launch of a special fundThe Parish Minibus
At the quiz night last Friday evening we launched a special fund.
Aware of the age of our parish minibus, and of how much it is used in
the parish, we felt that it would now be a good time to start building up a
fund in order to have some money set aside for when we will have to
replace the minibus. The minibus is a great asset, bringing some of our
older parishioners to Mass (who wouldnt get here without it), enabling
our two schools to take the pupils on trips that would be too expensive
because of the cost of coach hire, different parish groups using it, and of
course being a very visible sign of the presence of the parish in our area.
This coming week it is booked out every single daydoing more than
one job some days!
So the Quiz night opened the fundwith 700 in the kitty!
Since last weekend we have also received a further donation of 200
Therefore the running total in the fund currently is: 900.00
ITEMS FOR THE NEWSLETTER
Please submit all items for inclusion in the newsletter to the Parish
Office no later than Wednesday evening.
Either pop them through the Office letter-box or e-mail them in. Anything received after Wednesday evening cant be guaranteed to make it
into the next weekends newsletter.
Two new DVDs available from the Dept for Evangelisation (on the
table at the back of Church): 10.99 each
Fr Denis McBride: The Passion Narrative in the Gospels
David Wells: Evangelii Gaudium and the vision of Pope Francis for the
Church.
Flowers on the Sanctuary.
If you would like to have the flowers on the sanctuary in memory
of someone or something special just let Fr Paul or Sharon know and
they will arrange it, or you can simply put all the details on an envelope,
and put the donation in the envelope and pop it through the office
letterbox.
Laudato Si a week last Thursday Pope F rancis first
encyclical was published. The full version is available
on lineand has now been published as a booklet. In
the meantime, we have printed off a summary of the
encyclical which will give you a flavour of the encyclical, which are available from the porches.
We have copies of the booklet on order now from our
suppliersthey are going to be distributed to us on
Monday, so we will definitely have them for next
weekend. The cost is 4.95 a copy.

Singing and Music in the Liturgy

Many thanks to those who responded to the request to get involved in the singing and music at Mass. We have had a few people
who have come forward. If you have been meaning to let us know that
you are interested, please e-mail us or see Fr Paul after Mass at the back
of church.
Dont forget we have Tea and Coffee in the Parish Centre
after the 10.30 am Mass each Sundaycome and join us!

Proclaim 15 the National Catholic

Evangelisation conference is now only a
week away (after over 2 years of preparation!), taking place next SaturdayJuly
11th in Birmingham. The 40 delegates
from our diocese are travelling together
to the Conference. We have our final meeting of the three
meetings this Thursday here at Guardian angels (in the Parish
Centre). Do come and join us.
We had another very good meeting last Tuesday at St
Josephs, Ramsbottom.

Meeting 3: Jesus is alivego and tell my brothers

Thursday 9th July at Guardian Angels, Bury.
The meeting begins at 8.00 pm

During this final week leading up to the

Conference could you please say the following
prayer each day.
Loving Father,
you so loved the world that you sent us your only Son,
that we might believe in him and have eternal life.
May we encounter Jesus Christ anew this day
and live the Good News with joy.
Through the power of your Holy Spirit,
help us to go out to the whole world and proclaim
our faith with confidence.
Give us the courage to witness to the Joy of the Gospel
by our words and actions.
Help our parish to become more welcoming and missionary,
so that you may be known and loved by all people.
We make this prayer through Our Lord Jesus Christ Your
Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever,
Amen.
Our Lady, Star of the New Evangelisation, Pray for us.
Blessed John Henry Newman, Pray for us.
St Thrse of Lisieux, Pray for us.

Jesus: A Pilgrimage
Fr James Martin, SJ brings the Gospels to life in Jesus:
A Pilgrimage, providing an experience of J esus through
Scripture, prayer and travel. Combining insights of historical
Jesus studies with profound spiritual insights about the Christ
of faith, he recreates the world of first-century Galilee and
Judea to usher us into Jesus's life and times and show readers
how Jesus speaks to us today.
Fr Martin brings together the most up-to-date Scripture
scholarship, wise spiritual reflections, and light-hearted stories about travelling through the Holy Land with a fellow Jesuit, visiting important sites in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.
This is an excellent book by Fr James Martin SJ. After the
summer holidays we are planning to set up a scripture study
group, using this book as the text, because it covers the whole
of Jesus life and ministry.
The book is a little expensive (we can get copies at
18.99 a copy (its only available in hardback at the moment) but you might be able to pick it up cheaper on internet book
sites, and you can certainly get it for a kindle or ipad a lot
cheaper (I think I paid less than 5.00 for it for my ipad).
We will set up the group in Septemberthis is just to
give you a little notice about itand we will be exploring the
content of each chapter and looking at the different scriptural
passages.
We will have an order form for the book on next
weeks newsletter for those who want us to get hold of a copy
of it for youand we will give you more details over the next
few weeks.