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: Peter Allen, Helen Goodman, Sheila Pacitto Anniversaries: Hilda Nicholson, Bill Teasdale, Mary Fox, Fiona Gray
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.
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. The Monday group will break for the summer after 28 July and will reconvene on 8 September
CHRISTIAN MEN OF THE VALLEY Meet each Monday at 8.00pm to share faith, friendship and interests.
FABRIC PROJECTS Works have cost £35000. To date, we have received £1292.67 in fabric donations. All contributions to these costs will be gratefully received.
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 15 August
Tombola As part of the Bring and Share BBQ festivities on Sunday 14 September there will be a Bottle Tombola. All donations will be gratefully received. There is a box at the back of church to receive them.
OUR LADY & ST BENEDICT'S PARISH & SCHOOL BRING & SHARE BARBECUE Sunday 14th September 12:00pm Join us after the Scarecrow Trail for a BBQ filled with Fun & Community Spirit! Bring & Share (meat/veggie/salad/ dessert) Bring your own bottle Lucky dip - 50p Bottle tombola
St Benedict's Primary School, Back Lane, Ampleforth
Scouts 1st Helmsley Scout Group SCARECROW TRAIL 2025 STRAW, SMILES AND SKILLS FOR LIFE 10am to 4pm 13th and 14th September 2025 Ampleforth Village ENTRY FORMS CAN BE PURCHASED FROM HEARTS FROM END OF JULY OR FIND THE QR CODE IN THE PARISH BULLETIN OR SCOUT POSTERS
YOUTH 2000 Youth 2000 are coming back to Ampleforth this year from Friday 22nd - Monday 25th August for our Summer Festival 2025! We are so excited and are hoping to welcome almost 600 young people this year! THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO’VE OFFERED ACCOMODATION FOR PRIESTS. Youth 2000 also needs cakes for the cafeteria at the Youth 2000 festival. This normally generates a good income which goes towards subsiding places for people that wouldn’t otherwise be able to attend the festival. The cakes are needed over the weekend of 22nd August. All the ingredients need to be written down. The container won’t be returned so needs to be something that bakers don’t mind parting with. Youth 2000 are extremely grateful for the continued generosity of Our Lady and St Benedict’s Parish. Speak to Amanda or email her on [email protected] if you have any questions.
PARKING Could I encourage as many as possible on Saturday Evening or Sunday Morning to use the parking available off St Hilda’s Walk – below the allotments or in the Doctor’s Surgery. This will help to prevent the congestion building up on West End during the weekend.
With August coming upon us soon, please be aware that the life of the Parish will become a little less busy. 4 – 10 August Fr Kentigern and Fr Bernard will be participating in the Monastic Community Retreat. There will be no Services except for the Weekend. 11 – 13 August Fr Kentigern and Fr Bernard will be in Chapter. Again, no Services on 12th. 14 – 29 August Fr Kentigern will be away on his annual vacation. Fr Bernard will cover Mass etc. (Transport assistance may be required.) Thank you to the generous parishioners who have agreed to drive Fr Kentigern to York Station on 14 August and pick him up from Malton Station on 29 August. The Parish Office will generally be closed for much, if not all, of this time too.
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 4 August – St Hilda Monday 18 August – Our Lady & St Benedict Monday 1 September – St Hilda Monday 15 September – Our Lady & St Benedict Monday 29 September – St Hilda
Followed by refreshments and fellowship
MIDDLESBROUGH FOODBANK Dear MFB Supporters, Thank you all so much, as always, for your support!
NEXT DELIVERY: TUES. 12 AUG.’25 DEADLINE FOR DONATIONS: 12 noon MON.11th AUG.’25
Families will be feeling the pressure by this date as children will still be at home for another 3 weeks, so please continue to give generously, especially cereals, long-life milk, long-life fruit juice, cordials and biscuits, treats and snacks. Donations should be left at the back of Our Lady and St Benedict’s Church as always. PS. MFB GIFT AID forms are now available at the back of church for individual donations of cash and cheques. If you are able to, please could you hand them into the office along with your donation or give them to us directly?
JUSTICE AND PEACE We are encouraged to continue to campaign against the atrocities being committed in the Middle East and to pray for and work for peace. Please read the Global Justice Now campaign invitation to write to HMG and act as your conscience directs. (To be found on the J&P board in the Hall.)
LIFE ISSUES SPUC encourage us to continue to campaign against the recent legislation on Abortion and Assisted Dying. Please see the postcards in the porch about the JOIN THE FIGHTBACK campaign.
CHILDREN’S LITURGY OF THE WORD The Children’s Liturgy of the Word will be taking a break during August and will recommence on Sunday 7 September. However, activity and colouring sheets will be available at the back of the church and the Hall will be open for families to use. If there is anyone interested in joining the team as helper or leader please speak to either Amanda or Lucinda.
MISSIO The latest Impact Reports are available in the porch for regular supporters. Please pick yours up if you haven’t yet.
On the weekend on 27 / 28 September we will be visited by a Mission Priest giving an Appeal. Would anyone be willing to offer hospitality for the night?
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.
INSPIRATION DAY FOR MINISTERS Please see details of this important event in September, to be found at the back of the church along with a sign up sheet. I would encourage as many as possible to attend, especially if you require commissioning / recommissioning.
Pilgrimage to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady
The Lady Chapel, Osmotherley
Sunday August 17 2025 Rosary from 2.30pm, Mass from 3pm
REMEMBER THERE IS A LONG CLIMB UP A STEEP AND ROUGH TRACK.
IT IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO BRING A SEAT!
The current Leadership Team comprises: Fr Kentigern David Walsh Robert Toone Amanda Toone
We have sadly had to say goodbye to Philippa Armstrong, whose commitments have meant that she must step down. We are so grateful for her contributions and her courage in leading the campaign against the “Assisted Dying” Bill. We now seek to discern some new members to join the Team.
All the Team are happy to hear and respond to your questions, concerns and suggestions. COME AND TALK.
RECENT EVENTS: 27 May: Fr Kentigern met with coach Diahne to reflect on his Ministry, its joys and challenges. 26 June: The Leadership team met to share updates and questions/suggestions raised by parishioners. 9 July: The whole Leadership team met with coach Diahne. We were encouraged in our planning to launch ALPHA in the autumn.
Stay Curious - Try Alpha enjoy a complimentary meals we come together to share thoughts and foster community. everyone is welcome! Gilling Village Hall every Wednesday from 24th September to 3rd December at 7pm
COMING UP: 5 August: The Leadership Team (without Fr Kentigern) will meet with coach Diahne.
Fr Kentigern is hoping to arrange an Open Meeting early in September so that interested parishioners can meet, hear from and ask questions of our coach Diahne Goodwin in Boston USA.
As Palestinians in Gaza face perhaps the cruellest, most horrific days of this genocide, the UK government’s response has once again been utterly contemptible. Yesterday, foreign secretary David Lammy brought MPs to the chamber to announce little more than some further stern words for Israel and a smattering of aid for Palestinians. His office had earlier announced that, alongside 31 other countries, it was “prepared to take further action” to achieve a ceasefire. Yet we know that the government’s apparent concern for Palestinians is hollow, duplicitous. The UK continues to arm Israel, continues to trade with it as normal, and continues to call this genocidal state an ‘ally’. This was a cynical attempt to give the impression of action. No more. In the meantime, Israeli soldiers have continued to fire on hungry Palestinians queueing for food, killing hundreds of people since the end of May. These are not sporadic attacks, nor could they possibly be accidental. They are consistent. The fire is heavy. We’ve recorded a video message for the government today, explaining how the government’s response so far leaves it deeply complicit in Israel’s genocide. We must continue to organise and build pressure for a full arms embargo and immediate sanctions on Israel’s economy. Can you help us share the video and keep pressure on the government? A British doctor working in Gaza has suggested that IDF soldiers are deliberately shooting Palestinian children in different body parts depending on the day of the week. One day he sees a spike in abdominal wounds, the next neck wounds, another day head wounds. Interviewed on the BBC, he said “it’s almost as if a game is being played”. Israel last week confirmed that it is moving ahead with plans to forcibly displace the entire population of Gaza into the southern tip of the territory – and trap them there unless they migrate out of Palestine. These moves to depopulate Gaza are the clearest of war crimes. One former Israeli prime minister has likened Israel’s plan to building a “concentration camp”. If the UK isn’t taking action now, when will it? There are days, weeks even, when it is understandable that we get numbed by this horror. But then there are moments when the sheer depravity of this hits you in the gut. I cannot put into words how furious I am, how distraught I am by all this. We all are. But we cannot, we must not, let them get away with this. There are days, weeks even, when it is understandable that we get numbed by this horror. But then there are moments when the sheer depravity of this hits you in the gut. I cannot put into words how furious I am, how distraught I am by all this. We all are. But we cannot, we must not, let them get away with this. It doesn’t feel like enough, nothing does, but – if you haven't already – I hope you will join me in writing to the government to make sure they know fully how we see them. To make clear what we have demanded of them. What we will continue to demand. We must keep the pressure on our government for a full arms embargo and immediate sanctions on Israel’s economy. And we must all find ways to do more, whatever we can. It’s clear that our leaders want us to just accept what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank – for us to feel powerless and resigned, somehow, to the crushing of a people; to the genocide that our government is supporting with UK-made arms. We cannot let that happen. We all get our energy from different places, and it can take time, or come unexpectedly. But we must continue to look for it, to feel the horror of what is happening, and let it drive us. Don’t become numb. Keep going. Thank you, Tim Bierley Palestine Campaigner, Global Justice Now