The Sick: The Diocese, on advice and under Data Protection Regulations (May 2018), asks us not to name individuals, but to pray for them as a group within the Parish Body as those in particular need.
Recently Dead: Fr Stephen Wright OSB, Barry Roberts Anniversaries: Arthur French, Peter Walker, Anthony Shepherd, Gertrude Preston, Edith Mary Grotrian, John Godwin
HOME COMMUNIONS If you require Holy Communion at home, please contact John Ridge: [email protected], Fr Kentigern or Fr Bernard either by e-mail or leave a telephone message by 8.00pm on Friday evening stating whether you require a weekly visit or a one-off call. Someone will then be in contact to arrange a suitable day and time to visit.
EASY FUNDRAISER Do you regularly shop online? Did you know you could support your church at the same time? For more information speak to Tracey in the Parish Office and see information leaflets in the Hall.
SACRAMENTAL CELEBRATIONS Please pray for God’s Blessing on: Hamish & Hattie Roberts – making their First Communion at Easter Pip Saggers and Slade Broadwith – being baptised on Easter Saturday Megan and Ilana Broadwith – being Received into Full Communion on Easter Saturday Tommy Glaister, Ryan Kambli and Oscar Evans – being Confirmed at Ampleforth Abbey on 4 May
CELEBRATION OF DIVINE MERCY There will be a Divine Mercy service on the Feast of the Divine Mercy (Sunday 27th April) including Adoration, Recitation of the Chaplet and opportunity for Confession. 2.45 pm start at Our Lady and St Benedict's. Please direct any enquiries to Jennie Black on [email protected].
PARISH PICNIC Sunday 11 May from 12.00pm at the Marian Garden, Ampleforth Abbey. See posters for details. ALL WELCOME
WORLD COMMUNITY OF CHRISTIAN MEDITATION Meets each week: Mondays at 2pm - 3pm in St Ben’s Hall: contact Mary Sturges Thursdays at 8pm - 8 45pm on Zoom: contact David and Sue Walsh Should you wish to join either group contact Mary Sturges 01439788563.
CHRISTIAN MEN OF THE VALLEY Meet each Monday at 8.00pm to share faith, friendship and interests.
FABRIC PROJECTS Works have cost £35000. All contributions to these costs will be gratefully received.
CAFOD Donate to CAFOD’s Israeli-Palestinian Crisis Appeal at cafod.org.uk/ipc or call 0303 303 3030. or to the Sudan Crisis Appeal: cafod.org.uk/SudanAppeal or call: 0808 58 588 85.
VOLUNTEER DRIVERS As part of the experiment in providing more time for Fr Kentigern to develop his Leadership of the Parish, Fr Bernard will be taking on some of the visiting of the housebound in Gilling. The next opportunity is 25 April. (Afternoon)
YORK DEANERY APPEAL Eucharistic Ministers-are there any Ministers of the Eucharist who could visit York Hospital on a weekly basis to help support the two who are presently bringing Communion to Catholic patients? Training and support will be available and a DBS check will be necessary of course. Please contact Sue Ellis on 07748108253.
METHODIST ASYLUM PROJECT - MIDDLESBROUGH Thank you to all who contributed to the March delivery. NO delivery in APRIL but Donations of Summer clothes can be left in cottage after May 19th for delivery on the last Wednesday May 28th.
COXWOLD ARTS FESTIVAL OF PALESTINIAN FILMS 2025 We are showing the best of films coming out of Palestine. These are very troubling times, and these films show a glimpse into the life loves and challenges of Palestinians and indeed their neighbours. 7 for 7.30 Coxwold Village Hall – with a bar. COMING SOON – Wajib and The Teacher WAJIB: 2017. For some light relief I highly recommend this delightful film. After years abroad in Italy, Shadi returns to his native Nazareth. But this is no spectacular homecoming. He's back somewhat begrudgingly to honour his "wajib" (or duty) to hand out invitations to his sister's wedding with his father. The simmering tension between the two — who are often stuck in a car, more often than not in traffic — builds, exposing the sometimes-comic chasms that exist between men who live in different worlds but share an unshakable bond. THE TEACHER The film takes its cue from a real prisoners’ swap that took place in 2011, when Israel freed more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for one soldier who had been kidnapped by Palestinian militants. In “The Teacher,” a Palestinian school teacher played by Saleh Bakri struggles to reconcile his commitment to political resistance with his emotional support for one of his students. There is also a subplot involving his romantic relationship with a British volunteer worker, played by Imogen Poots (“The Father”). The film, which is produced by Sawswan Asfari and Farah Nabusi, has been well-received on the festival circuit after premiering at the Toronto Film Festival in 2023. Donations only to support ABCD Bethlehem’s work with disabled kids in Gaza and the West Bank – RSVP Anthony 07711 423649
MIDDLESBROUGH FOODBANK Thank you to all who contributed so generously to the Easter Appeal NEXT DELIVERY -TUES. ??? May with the DEADLINE for donations ……12 NOON -MON.
AMPLEFORTH LOURDES PILGRIMAGE There's spaces available for assisted pilgrims on the Ampleforth Lourdes Pilgrimage from 11th to 18th July. We're specifically looking for pilgrims who are able to walk a little (or a lot) unaided, however all applications from assisted pilgrims will be considered. Many assisted pilgrims live completely independently, but are only able to join our joyous week in Lourdes because of the additional support we can provide through our clinical team and volunteers, young and old. The pilgrimage fundraises throughout the year to ensure that anyone can apply to join our pilgrimage as an assisted pilgrimage regardless of personal circumstances. If you are interested in joining us, or know someone else who may be, please speak to Emma Craig or Gavin Williams after mass on Sunday, email Gavin at [email protected] or visit www.ampleforthlourdes.org.uk
ASSISTED DYING DEBATE Please see the additional pages giving details of the meeting between Robert Toone, Philippa Armstrong and our MP Kevin Hollinrake. They encourage all to write to Mr Hollinrake and arrange to meet him. The following link will assist with this. https://righttolife.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Meet-your-MP-briefing-doc.pdf We are hoping to run another forum on end-of-life care and the realities of the Bill on May 1st. (see above) but we will need to wait to hear back from Kevin for confirmation.
THE CHURCH OF ST HILDA AND THE CHURCH OF OUR LADY AND ST BENEDICT Rev James & Fr Kentigern invite you to join them for COMMUNITY PRAYERS 10.00am Monday 28 April – Our Lady & St Benedict Monday 12 May – St Hilda Monday 26 May – Our Lady & St Benedict Monday 9 June – St Hilda Monday 23 June – Our Lady & St Benedict Monday 7 July – St Hilda Monday 21 July – Our Lady & St Benedict Followed by refreshments and fellowship
THE ALPHA EXPERIENCE In October 2025 we will be offering the opportunity to join the Alpha Experience. At present we ask you prayers as we discern the right people to lead this. We also ask that you pray about and discern who might be invited to take part in this experience. Who do you know with questions about faith or who is seeking meaning for their lives?
MISSION APPEAL 2025 On the weekend of 7/8 June we will be receiving an IHM Sister delivering a Mission Appeal at each Mass. Watch out for more details. Might anyone be willing to offer overnight accommodation etc for that weekend?
MUSICAL EVENING We are planning an evening of musical entertainment to raise funds for our friends in Youth 2000. Watch out for more details.
OTHER EVENTS See posters on noticeboards for details of other events in the Community and wider Church.
When Kevin met Robert and Philippa…… …on Friday April 11th. he listened carefully to the case presented against the Assisted Suicide legislation, persuading them both of his desire to do right by his constituents, despite being a major supporter of the Bill. On the other hand, it seemed that he did not appreciate the implications of passing the bill and also of the detail of the committee stage, including the fact that amendments to protect vulnerable groups (e.g. people with anorexia, autism, Downs syndrome, under 18’s) had been rejected by the committee. He was grateful and eager to learn more regarding the specifics of the bill and the real impact it will have on both patients and medics in light of the experience of other countries, in particular Canada. He accepted that given the shortage of time for real discussion a further encounter was necessary, and he agreed in principle to attend another forum devoted to the subject on, if possible, Thursday 1st May at Malton Rugby Club where our concerns and his position might be aired. Robert spoke of his own work with Youth 2000, sharing concerns we all have as parents in regard to the increasing mental health crisis and the support or lack of it available in society. Kevin was shown a video testimony featuring a 30-year-old recovering from long-term anorexia nervosa expressing how thankful she was that ‘assisted dying’ had not been available to her at her lowest ebb! Robert detailed the lack of safeguards in the bill, the removal of the requirement for a high court judge and the specific implications this will now entail. Under the post-committee Bill, the reviewing panel of social worker; psychiatrist and lawyer would take on an inquisitorial role to ensure all statutory requirements had been met but the panel does not have the powers of a high court judge to summon and compel witnesses or insist on timely production of evidence. None of the panel will be known to the patient and so be able to detect behaviour which might reveal signs or out of character behaviour indicating whether the person has been coerced. Robert referenced the British Geriatric Society’s position statement against the Bill, the drop in world rankings of palliative care in all other jurisdictions where Assisted Dying is legal except Switzerland where it is financially entirely separate from the state health service. Philippa asked why if this bill was being introduced for the “benefit of the patient”, it should stipulate an oral cocktail medication which could take anything up to 137 hours to work and was likely to be very unpleasant as the body fought to expel the toxins. It would be the only medical intervention allowable on the NHS that had not had to pass stringent clinical trials. Intravenous euthanasia, Philippa pointed out, would be more merciful but those in support of assisted dying seem to have anticipated the ‘slippery slope’ hoping that the bill in its current form would be more palatable to an uninformed public, and suggesting to this public that less responsibility would lie on the shoulders of the doctors. Lethal injection leads to a spiralling of applicants for assisted suicide as the experience of Canada demonstrates where now nearly 5% of all deaths are as a result of euthanasia. On the contrary, the bill seeks falsely to diminish the role of the doctor’s responsibility for the ultimate outcome at the expense of the patient. The consultation, support, advice and prescription renders the doctor as responsible as she would be were she to press the intravenous syringe. This very fact undoes 4000 years of the practice of Hippocratic medicine in which the most important rule is to “first do no harm” and indeed undermines the founding principles of the National Health Service. Philippa pointed out that her therapy as a pain management consultant was far more holistic, focusing on improving the psychological and social well-being of a patient as well as the physical. She gave Kevin testimony from one of her patients whom she had visited the night before as part of his routine care. 18 months ago, he was given 3 months to live. Utterly devastated by his diagnosis at the time and in a complete state of internal anguish and fear - refusing to be on a cancer ward to receive treatment or in the company of medical personnel - he did the only thing he could and listened to the pain consultant, trusting her to give him the options available to him. He is adamant that had he been offered Assisted Suicide as an option then, he would have taken it. She could have done nothing to stop him but by virtue of the effective physical pain relief provided, he has instead been given the space and time to address his fears. He and his sister and son have reconciled, he has found faith and support from his local church and he attends the hospice every fortnight to give hope to those in the throes of the same anguish having just received their diagnosis. He is at peace and says he is ready to go when the time comes. Philippa explained to Kevin the difficulty of assessing prognosis for any condition beyond weeks to months. She explained to him that the term terminal illness includes all illness that cannot be cured and can lead to death if left unmanaged or untreated- this includes any progressive long term condition including diabetes, heart failure, kidney or liver disease or any psychiatric condition including anorexia nervosa. Kevin, report Robert and Philippa, did not appear to be well acquainted with important details of the Bill, including why or how the mechanics of the process would take place, the lack of protection it provides for the vulnerable or how its introduction as legislation would worsen the protection offered by the status quo with coroner’s oversight limited or the possibility of an inquest into potential coercion or unlawful killing. He also did not appear to appreciate that that the provisions of the Bill could be extended via legal challenges without the necessity of recourse to Parliament. He appeared to assume that all detail could be addressed after the bill had been passed and said that he was voting for it according to principle only. Robert attempted to explain why that would not be the case and that this was an extremely high-risk strategy. He once again recommended to Kevin the book The Reality of Assisted Dying by Prof Ilora Finlay, (past president of the BMA and Royal Society of Medicine, and palliative care consultant) and Prof Julian Hughes, (one-time professor of philosophy and old-age psychiatry, and Deputy Chair of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, U.K.). Kevin was presented with a copy of the book. Robert and Philippa left convinced that busy politicians are not giving this bill the scrutiny it needs and deserves. Kevin does not appear to hold well-informed strong views on the rights and wrongs of the specifics of this bill and appears merely to be voting according to what he thinks is right and the majority of his constituents want - an error we can all individually prove to him is a misconception and a mistake. Robert and Philippa emphasise that no matter how little we think we know on the subject our views clearly matter and count. And they count now! Return the card - write - request to meet Kevin - discuss with friends and encourage them to do the same. Kevin wants to listen and wants to do the right thing. Please read the briefing document herewith as it helpfully summarises the key points to make. https://righttolife.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Meet-your-MP-briefing-doc.pdf
We are hoping to run another forum on end-of-life care and the realities of the Bill on May 1st. (see above) but we will need to wait to hear back from Kevin for confirmation.