Get in touch
029 20 623 444
The third reading is likely to be on 25th April, although there has been mention of the reading being delayed. The Bishops of England and Wales have sent a pastoral message on the issue, copies are available at the entrances to the church. Additionally, Lord David Alton of Liverpool and Baroness Jane Campbell write: “Our nation stands at a crucial juncture regarding how we value human life, particularly the lives of people in the most vulnerable situations. If this significant proposal to introduce assisted suicide becomes law, thousands of individuals will be placed at risk in the coming years. Mounting evidence from the small number of places around the world that have legalised assisted suicide shows that these laws are incremental, the safeguards do not work, and that the changed law can have devastating consequences. It is therefore imperative that the Assisted Suicide Bill is defeated at Third Reading.” ‘Not Dead Yet UK’ a network of disabled people who oppose legalising assisted suicide, have sent out post cards for you to mail to your MP. The post card presents evidence-based reasons to oppose assisted suicide, urging MPs to oppose the Bill at the Third Reading. Please take a postcard, fill in the necessary details and post it off to your MP. THANK YOU. As has been said, purely in terms of economics, and to re-iterate the point, with a much lower than needed fertility rate in the UK, which in the longer term (20 to 30 years) will create a smaller revenue for HMRC with a smaller work force, the longevity of life which so many presently enjoy and the subsequent increasing medical costs with a tighter hold and additional expenses on the public purse, should this Bill succeed, then, just as has happened with the 1968 Abortion Act and the ‘safeguards’ the same will happen with this Bill. The safeguards of the 1968 Abortion Act stipulated: “a pregnancy is terminated by a registered medical practitioner if two registered medical practitioners are of the opinion, formed in good faith….” (Abortion Act 1967 1967 CHAPTER 87 Paragraph 1:1 See:- Abortion Act 1967 ) a quick browse of the internet for the ‘morning after pill’ readily demonstrates that 2 medical practitioners ‘of good faith’ are no longer required; one therefore, has to ask, what will the ‘Assisted Dying Bill’ bring in 50 years’ time with ever tighter Government purse string and a significantly smaller tax contributing population? This Bill needs to be opposed for the common good of society at large and greater funding for palliative care through which pain can be very much managed in these Isles.
CAFOD Myanmar Earthquake Appeal : Your donations will provide essentials like water, food, solar lights, and mosquito nets. Please give to CAFOD’s Myanmar Earthquake Appeal in church or you can donate online at cafod.org.uk/myanmar or by calling 0303 303 3030 . You can also text EARTHQUAKE to 70450 to donate £10.
EASTER OFFERING A reminder also that the collection at the Easter Vigil and on Easter Sunday is your personal offering to Fr. Ian. The Easter Offering, along with the Christmas Day Offering, are the major source of personal income for the whole year for the diocesan priest in Arundel and Brighton, so we ask you to be as generous as you can. ‘Easter Offering’ envelopes are available at the church entrances and given the varied manner of financial transactions, the ‘Easter Offering’ envelopes are possibly the least ambiguous manner of offering. Many thanks. PLEASE NOTE that if you usually contribute by some kind of internal bank transfer, BACS / standing order etc. but you wish to make a personal offering, then you will have to stipulate to your bank that any such offering to Fr. Ian should be annotated accordingly; if offerings are not annotated as such, then they will go into the general parish funds, rather than to Fr. Ian! Church flowers for Easter:- This weekend there is a second collection for Easter flowers to decorate the church, should you like to make a contribution. Many thanks.
HOLY WEEK LITURGIES There is a yellow A5 flyer available with the details as well as here in the newsletter; they are as follows: Palm Sunday: ( Saturday/ Sunday 13th April) Masses start from the hall with our palm procession. Maundy Thursday (17 th April) Mass of the Last Supper 7.30pm with ‘watching’ at the altar of repose until midnight. Good Friday (18 th April) Liturgy of the Passion : 3pm with veneration of the Cross Stations of the Cross: 7 pm Holy Saturday (19 th April) 10am Polish Blessing of baskets (in church, in English) Easter Vigil Mass 8.30 pm Easter Sunday (20 th April) Dawn Mass 8am , Mass of Easter Day 10am Readers and Special Ministers of Holy Communion:- Would those who assist in these ministries please ‘sign up’ to assist with the different Holy Week Liturgies, please. Lists for each day are in the sacristy. A number of readers are required for the Passion Narrative on Palm Sunday and Good Friday and also for the individual readings for the Easter Vigil. Many thanks. Washing of feet ‘mandatum’ at Mass of the Lord’s Supper; Would you volunteer for this, please? If so, speak to Fr. Ian. Thank you.
A poster is now available outlining Mass Times and Services for this extra special times. View the poster here
Could we have an ‘all hands on deck spring clean’ of the church next Saturday, 12th April at 2pm , please? If you can wield a broom, brash, duster, dust pan or spray polish, your help would be appreciated. Many thanks.
HOLY HOUR :- This Thursday from 7 until 8 with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. All are welcome.
GOOD FRIDAY COLLECTION:- We take the opportunity to remind you that on Good Friday there is a collection for the Holy Places in the Holy Land; this collection helps the missionary work of the Franciscans, supporting the upkeep of the holy sites, for which they are responsible as well as the schools, hospitals and other endeavours. EASTER OFFERING A reminder also that the collection at the Easter Vigil and on Easter Sunday is your personal offering to Fr. Ian. PLEASE NOTE that if you usually contribute by some kind of internal bank transfer, BACS / standing order etc. but you wish to make a personal offering, then you will have to stipulate to your bank that any such offering to Fr. Ian should be annotated accordingly; if offerings are not annotated as such, then they will go into the general parish funds, rather than to Fr. Ian! The Easter Offering, along with the Christmas Day Offering, are the major source of personal income for the whole year for the diocesan priest in Arundel and Brighton, so we ask you to be as generous as you can. ‘Easter Offering’ envelopes will be available at the church entrances and given the varied manner of financial transactions, the ‘Easter Offering’ envelopes are possibly the least ambiguous manner of offering. Many thanks.
“Missio” Red Boxes: Those bits of small change which you put into the box, when combined with all the others, makes a real difference to the life of the Church in poorer parts of the world; your simple financial support in this way, makes you a missionary, even if you never set foot outside your home. So, thank you for the support you give you give to Missio. If would like one in your home to support the work of the Missions, please text Louis McCulloch on 07770 802830.” If, for some reason, you have a Red Box in your home but it’s not used (perhaps you’ve ‘inherited it’) do bring it along to the church sacristy, putting some contact details on it so that Louise can update the records. Many thanks
From RIGHT TO LIFE: Assisted Dying Bill: The Committee of MPs responsible for scrutinising Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide Bill completed its final session. The Bill’s sponsor, Kim Leadbeater, promised meaningful scrutiny at Committee Stage and claimed her Bill would have the “strictest safeguards anywhere in the world”. Unfortunately, proceedings at Committee Stage have shown these promises to have been hollow. Well over 300 amendments that sought to strengthen safeguards in the Bill and that would have protected vulnerable groups were rejected by Kim Leadbeater and other Bill supporters. This included rejecting amendments that would have: Explicitly protected people with Down’s syndrome, autism and learning difficulties under the Bill. Prevented doctors from raising assisted suicide with patients unprompted, including children under the age of 18. Prohibited assisted suicide in cases where a person has been encouraged or manipulated into a request or where a request has been made under “undue influence”, putting the victims of domestic abuse at risk. These are just some examples of the over 300 amendments that Leadbeater and other Bill supporters rejected. This decision to reject these amendments, which would have strengthened safeguards in the Bill and protected vulnerable groups, was an intentional choice, revealing a deliberate preference for a loose Bill, allowing for future expansion - something I am sure you are aware has happened with similar laws overseas. The Times printed a very strong editorial that highlights the serious problems with the Bill. It calls on MPs to “kill this bill”. TAKE ACTION It’s vital that MPs are aware of these serious problems with how Kim Leadbeater and her allies have conducted Committee Stage of the Bill and the rejection of over 300 amendments. It’s also really important that they know that you, as a constituent, are very concerned about this and that they must vote against the Bill at Third Reading. Right to Life have launched an easy-to-use tool that makes it simple to email your local MP on this new important development. Even if you have already emailed your MP asking them to oppose this Bill, it’s really important that you email them again with this new information, which we need to get in front of MPs now. Please take action and click the button below to contact your MP now . It only takes 30 seconds. ----------------------------------- Previous News : Assisted Dying Bill:- Media reports suggest that the Cross Party Select Committee for the ‘Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill’ have extensively consulted with apparent witnesses or experts who favour assisted dying, having little consultation with any who might oppose the Bill. According to Alithea Williams, from SPUC, amongst the experts, an American doctor, and advocate of assisted suicide, “suggested that being a “burden” was enough reason to die. One doctor even said that it should be a "felony" for loved ones to “interfere with a patient’s right to make this choice”.” (see:-Pro-life advocates in UK say assisted suicide Bill ‘protections’ already being lowered | Crux ) When the Bill was tabled for a vote in Nov 2024, paragraph 12 of the Bill made very clear that a High Court Judge was to ensure that in each situation due diligence and the Law was to be followed and that the Law be adhered to; see section 12 (5) to (11) of the Bill at: Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. Reports suggest that this judicial element, scrutiny by a High Court Judge could be lost. Many of the assurances which were initially given that the UK Law on ‘assisted dying’ would be the strictest in the world are fast eroding, which should be cause for grave concern – particularly with a view to 50 or 60 years hence and your great, great grandchildren who will be making decisions about anyone who is presently 10 to 25 years of age. If such a Bill becomes Law at this time, there is little hope for anyone in the not so distant future. To counter this culture of death and to promote a gospel of life, please support the petition from SPUC at YES to our hospices, NO to assisted suicide – SPUC (it is what it states) asking the Government to do more to support the hospice movement and the work done by everyone involved in palliative care. Again, to encourage you to write to your MP at the House of Commons, asking them to oppose the Assisted Dying Bill and to support funding etc for the hospice movement. The MP for Dorking and Horley is Chris Coughlan (Lib Dem)