Father Paul Townsend

Service of Celebration
To mark Pentecost, Churches Together in Fareham and Churches Together in Portchester have organised a Service of Celebration on Saturday the 2nd of June in the Millennium Square and Podium in Fareham precinct. This event will begin at 11.00am and end at 1.30pm and will feature contributions from Fareham Christians in Music, Morris dancers, Christian bikers and Roly Bain, the well known Christian clown, as well as an act of worship. All are most welcome.

Question Time
Churches Together in Fareham has organised a meeting in Holy Trinity Church in West Street, Fareham, from 7.30 to 9.30pm on Sunday the 3rd of June. Local candidates for election to parliament will be present to answer your questions. All are most welcome to attend this meeting. If you have a question that you would like to be put to the candidates, please send it to the Holy Trinity Parish Office, West Street, Fareham PO16 0EL by Monday the 28th of May. If you have any queries, please call Joy Ellis on 01329 235568.

Five A Side Football
The St Martin de Porres Group is organising a five-a-side football tournament to raise money for a health centre in Bafut. Full details have not yet been arranged but if you would like to enter a team, please call Richard Murphy on 07867 518868.

Friday Cubs
The Friday Cubs have some vacancies in their pack for boys and girls aged between eight and ten and a half. During the summer, the pack enjoys mainly outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, wide games and sports. In the winter, the Cubs spend time in the St Philip Howard Hall working towards badges which can be earned. If you would like to join the Friday Cubs who meet between 6.00 and 7.30pm, please call Sheila Evenden on 01329 846473 or Theresa Hughes on 01329 317162.

Confirmation
Please remember in your prayers all the young people from our community who are to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation on Friday the 1st of June in the St Philip Howard Church at 7.30pm. Bishop Crispian will confer this Sacrament.
James Baker
Rikkie Close
David Cupper
Michael Gainey
Joy Gallaugher
Rebecca Hartridge
Samantha Henderson
Matthew Henderson
Christopher Leggat
Matthew Leon
Sarah Lock
Anthony Mussell
Sean Neagus
Paul O'Byrne
Laura O'Riordan
Adam Poxton England
Edward Pratt
Tom Swinburne
Ashleigh Taylor
Niall Tuttiett
Kathryn Wagg
Elyse Wakelin
Chantelle Wilde
Michael Wilkie
Luke Wright
Eleanor Wrightson

Gifts for Confirmation and First Communion
The Well in West Street in Fareham stocks a large selection of Christian books, resources and gifts as well as Confirmation and First Communion items including veils, missals, rosaries and cards.

Calligraphy and Prayer
Sister Evelyn fsma will lead a course in calligraphy and prayer from Tuesday the 24th to Friday the 27th of July at Park Place Pastoral Centre. To make a booking, please call 01329 833043.

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

THE UNION

Thought for the Week
A few weeks ago, Pope John Paul visited Athens. He was subjected to a good "telling off" by the Archbishop of the Orthodox Church. In a very moving address, the Pope then apologised for all the things that the Catholics had done against the Orthodox in past centuries. The Pope and Archbishop Christodoulous then embraced in a powerful sign of peace and mutual commitment. This was a very historic moment because, I believe, it marked another important stage in the work of Christian Unity.

Pope John Paul has worked hard and generously to promote reconciliation, dialogue and unity between Christians and non-Christians alike. His visit to the mosque in Damascus was as moving as it was significant in our developing relationship with the Muslim community. He sets us all an example as he models his ecumenical projects on the prayer and work of Jesus himself.

Today's Gospel offers us the prayer of Jesus on which the Pope has based so much of his work with other traditions and faiths. Jesus prays for those who would believe in him on the word of the disciples. He is praying that they may all be united with the same intimacy that Jesus knows with his Father.

In response to Jesus' prayer and following the lead of the Holy Father, each of us must do all we can to promote good relations with other Christian traditions with vigour and enthusiasm. It may be in our personal relationships with people of other faiths, it may be by supporting local ecumenical initiatives like the one in Fareham next Saturday or it may be in our openness to dialogue with and respect for other non-Catholic believers. Whatever the shape that ecumenism takes in our lives we can be certain that we are responding to the Lord's prayer that "they may be one as we are one".

The Provision of Sunday Masses
For a little while now there have been discussions about how we might best reduce the number of Sunday Masses in Fareham and Portchester. This is because we must prepare for the time when there will be only one resident priest here. The problem is made a little more urgent by the possibility of Father Chris and I needing to provide Sunday Masses in other parishes in the area. One thing is clear, before too long, we shall need to reduce our Masses from six to four. I am well aware that this will cause hardship and inconvenience, but priests are getting older and fewer. If you have particular ideas about how we could reduce our total number of Masses by two, I would be very grateful to hear about it. Please send me your observations and suggestions in writing.

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
Please note that as Monday is a Bank Holiday, there will be no Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in Fareham or Portchester tomorrow.

Ordination
Deacon Mark Hogan is to be ordained to the priesthood at St John's Cathedral in Portsmouth on Saturday the 21st of July at 11.30am. There will be a reception afterwards at St Edmund's School. Two coaches have been booked to take parishioners to Portsmouth for this ordination. The cost of a seat on the coach will be £4.50. Pick up points will be 10.00am from the St Philip Howard car park and 10.15am from outside the Sacred Heart Church. Departure from St Edmund's School will be approximately 3.00 o'clock. If you would like to book a seat on the coach, please contact the parish office for a booking form.

Children's Liturgy of the Word
Please note that there will be no Children's Liturgy in the St Philip Howard Church on the 10th and 17th of June because of the First Communion Masses.

Congratulations
Congratulations and all good wishes to Pat and Jim Hart who celebrate their Ruby Wedding Anniversary this weekend.

BBQ - A Date for Your Diary
All members of the parish and their families are welcome to the BBQ to be held on St Jude's School field on Saturday the 23rd of June. There will be a licensed bar, disco and karaoke. Cooking starts at 6.30pm; "heat" will be provided but you must bring your own "eats". Tickets cost 75p for a single and £2.00 for a family. To obtain a ticket, please call Graham Stanton on 01329 284057.

Job Vacancy
St Jude's Catholic Primary School in Bishopsfield Road urgently requires a relief midday supervisor. The hours are 5.42 per week and the pay is £25.78. For more information, please apply to the headteacher, Mrs Christine McGrew, on 01329 235131.

27 May 2001
7th Sunday of Easter
The Year of St Luke

Jubilee Plaques
One of the ways in which our parish has chosen to commemorate the Great Jubilee Year was the installation of a plaque outside each of our three churches. The plaque outside St Philip Howard Church is dedicated to the memory of the late George Alexander and was donated by his brother, Charles; the plaque outside the Sacred Heart Church is dedicated to the memory of the late Jane and Jack Pretty and was donated by Sheelagh and Jack Pickard and the plaque outside the Church of Our Lady of Walsingham, dedicated to Christ the King through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, was kindly donated by the Dela Dingco Family. The plaque at Our Lady of Walsingham will be blessed after the 10.00am Mass today. The other plaques at the Sacred Heart Church and St Philip Howard Church will be blessed after Mass on the Feast of Pentecost.

A Message from the Parish Pastoral Council
"At our recent Spring Formation Meeting it was felt that communication in our parish offered room for development. To this end, it was decided to establish a small Communication Group, hopefully by July this year.
Are you

• good with people?
• a team worker?
• a good communicator?

Do you have

• word processing skills?
• typing skills?
• access to a computer?
• good organisational skills?

If so, this is your chance to help to develop communications in the parish by becoming part of this team. Depending on the response, we may have to adopt a selection process to ensure we have a workable group, but if you would like to nominate yourself or someone else (with their consent) please contact the parish office for a nomination form. The closing date for nominations is Sunday the 3rd of June 2001."

Sung Latin Mass
There will be a sung Latin Mass at St Peter's in Jewry Street in Winchester on Sunday the 10th of June at 11.30am. For more details, please call Denis on 288638.

UCM Annual Pilgrimage to Walsingham
Our parish Union of Catholic Mothers has some places left on the coach to the Annual Pilgrimage to Walsingham. This will take place on Tuesday the 3rd of July. The coach will leave Fareham at 4.00am and the fare is £21.50. If you are interested in booking a seat, please call Yvonne Byrne on 01329 311911.

Open Air Mass
All are warmly invited to an open air Mass for our whole community on Saturday the 23rd of June at 2.00pm on St Jude's School playing field. This will be an opportunity to celebrate with our First Holy Communion children who will lead a procession and then enjoy a picnic, BBQ and fun activities afterwards. Please note the change of time for this Mass.

Joseph Drzystek RIP
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Joseph Drzystek who was killed on his motor bike several weeks ago. The Funeral Service for the late Mr Drzystek will take place at Portchester Crematorium on Monday the 4th of June at 11.00am.

Finance and Special Collections
Thank you for your generosity in giving last Sunday.
Fareham £1,729.05
Portchester £333.90

World Communications
A special collection will be taken after all Masses today, Sunday the 27th of May, for World Communications. The theme this year is "Preach from the Housetops". We are asked by the Church to pray for Christians in the media, to reflect on how we can use the media to promote Christian values and to contribute financially to the Church's activities in this field.

Pentecost
At Pentecost (Sunday the 3rd of June), a collection will be taken at the end of each Mass for the work of our parish Society of St Vincent de Paul.

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 Paul, or complete the online form