Please Note
There will be no 7.00am Mass on Thursdays at the Sacred Heart Church during September.

Parish Pilgrimage - ‘In the Steps of St Paul’
Please note that if, for any reason, you have to cancel your place on the Parish Pilgrimage, you must notify the Parish Office as well as sending written notification to Maranatha Tours.
Coach to/from Fareham/Heathrow – An Executive Coach (with WC/drinks etc.) has now been booked for the outward and return journeys from Fareham and Heathrow Airport. Collection points will be at the Sacred Heart Church in Fareham and Our Lady of Walsingham Church, Portchester – times will be advised nearer the departure date. The cost for the return journey will be £18.50 per person. Please fill in the attached tear-off slip and return it to the Parish Office with your payment by Friday 24th September. Please note that cheques for the coach journey should be made out to the parish (PRCDTR Fareham Sacred Heart) and not to Maranatha Tours.

Name

Tel. no

Collection point – please tick as required:
Fareham (Sacred Heart)
Portchester

Amount enclosed

Are You New?
Are you new to this parish? If you have recently moved to this area, please fill in one of the 'Are you new?' forms to be found at the entrance to the church and return this to Father Chris or to the Parish Office. Alternatively complete our online form.

THE UNION
Thought for the Week
The antidote to the shock impact of any isolated passage from the Gospels is to familiarise ourselves more and more with the fuller reading and study of Scripture. Today’s extract from Luke’s Gospel could fill us with dismay. It is true that God, the Supreme Being, has to be chosen in the end above any and all good things in this world. It is true that Jesus, God’s human Envoy on earth, could do no other than uphold the supremacy of His Father’s Absolute Being. In fact, all our martyrs have done exactly this.

But notice how Jesus’ own disciples – who heard and must have been scandalised by these words – reacted to this extreme teaching. They protested, they tried to defend a softer line, a middle course, “a good old compromise.” In their case the death of Jesus intervened. It was for them a severe shock. They were laden with guilt and shame. Then He rose from the dead and won over their hearts. The further Gift of the Spirit at Pentecost steeled them for the relatively short span of life they had left. In most cases they chose willingly to pay the supreme price of love.

What about us? We have in our three-churched Parish, daily access to the Blessed Sacrament, in which we have the riches of Jesus’ death and resurrection and the Gift of the Spirit. We have, too, in prayer a wonderful meeting of God and His creature. It remains a human effort aided by God. Faithfully and doggedly practised, it is a source of self-knowledge with its eventual acquaintance with the Divine. St. Augustine says, “May I know myself in order to know You.” For all of us there comes – will come – the fleeting glimpse of a Sacred Face and the sound of a voice that opens tombs.

Father Charles Aylward

Vernon Nance RIP
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Vernon Nance who died recently. Please also remember Olga and all Vernon’s family and friends in your prayers.

Sister Frances
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Sr. Frances who died recently. She and Sr. Pat were the first LSU Sisters to come to Fareham in 1982 to work alongside the people in this Parish. She had not been well for some months and ‘retired’ again to London for nursing care. The Requiem Mass will be in Bexley Heath on Tuesday 7th September at 10.45am and Sr. Frances will be buried alongside Sr. Pat.

Dance for Joy
Come and discover the Joy of Circle Dancing with Joan Smith on Sunday 19th September from 10.30am to 4.00pm at Park Place Pastoral Centre. Contact 01329 833043 for bookings. The cost is £15.00.

CAFOD – Sudan Emergency Appeal
“Dear Father Whelan,
Thank you very much for your recent donation of £1212.00 to support the emergency work of CAFOD and our partner agencies in Sudan. Thanks to donations like yours, CAFOD has been able to send a team of senior staff to help co-ordinate a programme of aid to some of the two million people affected by the conflict in Darfur…………Your donation is helping women like Mariam who was forced to flee her home after fighting broke out in her village. After a two month journey on foot, she found shelter in neighbouring Chad at a camp run by CAFOD’s partner agency, Secadev, but she has lost all contact with her husband and son. CAFOD and our partner Norwegian Church Aid are leading a response to help people like Mariam. I thank you on behalf of CAFOD for caring about the current emergency in Sudan. Please continue to pray for all who are touched by this crisis. Steve Sheath, Head of Supporter Services”

Christian Ecology Link
Rainbow Pilgrimage in Coventry – 9th October 2004. The Ark procession to the Anglican Cathedral for a Service for Operation Noah – mini bus £25.00 per person. Contact John Vivian or Esme Percival if you wish to go.

Volunteer Translators Wanted
Sultan Ward in Gosport War Memorial Hospital is mainly a GP led ward with some elderly service beds and provides hospital care for a wide range of patients from the Gosport area. They occasionally have patients whose first language is not English and who would greatly benefit from the help of a translator. If you can speak a foreign language and would like to help, please contact SSN Yong Pease or HCSW Mary Carter-White at Sultan Ward on 023 9252 4611 or by letter to Sultan Ward, Gosport War Memorial Hospital, Gosport, Hants.

Home Visiting Computer Volunteer
The Royal National Institute for the Blind are looking for people with a keen interest in and understanding of computers and a patient approach, to provide blind and partially sighted people with assistance in setting up new computers in their own homes. If you are also able to fix hardware and software faults and work with Access technology, it would be a great asset. Training through a volunteer handbook and all out of pocket expenses will be given. If interested, please telephone 023 9258 8347 or 023 9258 3836.

Worth School
Worth is a distinctive Benedictine Boarding and Day School, welcoming 11-18 year old boys. Entry is at age 11, age 13 and Sixth Form. The school offers a strong and caring community with exceptional pastoral care. An Open Morning or Evening at Worth allows families to experience the school in action on a typical day. To book a visit or to obtain a prospectus, contact Julia Mailey-Smith, Worth School, Turners Hill, West Sussex. RH10 4SD or telephone 01342 710200.

5th September 2004 23rd Sunday of the Year The Year of St Luke

The Sacrament of Baptism
Those who ask for the Sacrament of Baptism for their child are invited to take part in a short course of preparation. These courses take place on a regular basis and Godparents are very welcome to attend. To book a place for the next available meeting, contact Jayne or Philip O’Riordan on 01329 515991. Please arrange the date of the baptism of your child with Father Chris.

The Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
If you are able to help with Adoration in Fareham please contact Lily Peach on 077 678 98885, or to help with Adoration at Portchester, please contact Veronica Reeves on 023 9237 2864 or Rose Andrews on 023 9238 8494.

First Holy Communion Programme
Parents of those children of First Holy Communion age (born before the 31st August 1997) who wish for their children to prepare for this sacrament next year are invited to a meeting on Wednesday 15th September at St Jude’s School at 7.30pm. This will be an information meeting for parents where the programme will be discussed. If you wish your child to take part in the First Holy Communion Programme please complete one of the forms to be found at the entrance to the church and return this to Father Chris or the Parish Office.

SVP
Members of the Sacred Heart Fareham SVP Conference are reminded that the next meeting of the Society will be held in the church hall on 6th September 2004 at 7.45pm.

Used Postage Stamps
Please bring your used postage stamps to church and leave in the tin provided; these are sent to the Scout Association to raise funds for the Trust that provides holiday homes for handicapped scouts (boys and girls).

House Group
The House Group will meet on Wednesday 8th September (7.45pm for 8.00pm) at 101 The Avenue, Fareham. All are welcome. Telephone 01329 847533.

Parish Pastoral Council
Our Pastoral Council meets on Wednesday of this week at 7.30pm at Our Lady of Walsingham Church.

Women of Hope
The next Meeting will be on Monday 27th September from 7.15pm at the Kings Centre.

Hall Bookings
The Richeldis Room, the Sacred Heart Hall and the St Philip Howard Hall are used regularly by parish groups but may also be booked for meetings or celebrations. Please contact one of the following people for more details and/or to make a booking:

Richeldis Room - Annette Woolley
01329 310091

St Philip Howard Hall - Ann Doherty
01329 313361

Sacred Heart Hall - Pauline Jackson
01329 236275

Finance
Thank you for your generosity in giving.
Offertory Collection - £1555.45

Forthcoming Collections
12th September - Racial Justice

Interested in Becoming a Catholic?
A series of meetings and talks takes place each year for those interested in becoming a member of our Church. If you would like to know more, please contact Father Chris, or complete the online form

Fr Chris Whelan