Notes from Canon Bennie
I had a great break, thank God. I spent all of my time in County Cork after travelling to see friends in the Dublin & Leinster area.
May God reward you who give God and His Church of your time.
Praise indeed! From our Local Authority.
Bishop Peter, a few years back, asked us to question ourselves….. what impression do our Churches give to outsiders who do not worship in any Church ?
A few weeks ago there was a By-election in Biggleswade. In recent years our Church has been used as a Polling Station. During this By-Election the Returning Officer had occasion to visit as part of her duty. She was fulsome in her praise of us. Compared to many such Election Day venues we stood out for our facilities (clean toilets, kitchen etc. Enthusiastically we have been booked for the Local Elections next May!). So well done folk who help in any way to give a very, very positive response to Bishop Peter’s query.
[Extracted from the 12 Aug 18 newsletter by Chris]
A Lovely Request
A REALLY Lovely Request came my way this week!
The request was in the form of a Question “Why do we not have any of the tickets that are out at Shefford for the Summer Fete?” I was, I need hardly say, overjoyed. So, this weekend there are plenty of our Tickets. Here are some Details of our Summer Fete.
Each year we have 2 big fundraisers in Shefford: Our Church is a Grade 2* Listed Building. It is perhaps the nicest Church in the Diocese – indeed one of the nicest Catholic Churches in the whole Country!
But these Lovely Listed Buildings need constant high maintenance. In recent years we have had to pay out £200 thousand (yes! – not me pressing a wrong key!) for compliance and necessary Repair. Now we are being hit with a new list of NECESSARY repairs which will set us back another £50 thousand (yes, my fingers are not touching the wrong keys!).
So thank you folk who have come forward to ask this Question. It has, I assure you, warmed my heart. Well done.
Confirmations
We had a lovely Ceremony during the week. Both our and the St Francis’ Parish united wonderfully for the Evening…… thank you Will and the Servers & your Parents who arranged to get ye to Shefford, Nick and the Singers.
A great Big Thank You to all involved in the Formation of the 21 Candidates – especially Liz Carey-Sheill, Deacon Peter Hyde, Eddie O’Callaghan and Neil Spencer. Thank you too to those who did Sessions, particularly Deacon John and Sue Armstrong.
And a huge “gratias” also to our Social Committee for taking on the task which would have been done normally by our Union of Catholic Mothers (they were in Swanwick for the UCM annual National Conference – this year it was the turn of OUR Diocese to lead the National Annual Event, which very much involved Bishop Peter and our own Diocesan President – who happens to be a Parishioner at Shefford. And – bless them – the Shefford Ladies went to support their local Lady as she ensured the National Committee and various Diocesan Committees got a welcome at Swanwick for their AGM!
So thank you Social Committee – it was a huge relief to Liz when ye selflessly answered her call to help in the Catering for the Confirmed and for their Parents, for their Sponsors and for their Guests.
Bishop Peter was effusive in his compliments to me as he left the Evening. Deo Gratias.
May God reward everybody who can give of their valuable time to evangelise our Young.
Canon Bennie
From Canon Bennie
“He who sings prays twice” said St Augustine. Certainly, our Music here was outstanding for both Good Friday and Holy Saturday. The latter lasted well over 2 hours. Normally I would notice when a Liturgy ‘drags’ (and just goes on for too long). When I hopped on my scooter (to get back to Shefford) I was sure the clock on my bike had lost its brains…… I just could not believe it lasted for so long and yet I had never noticed. Thank you all our Musicians. AD MULTOS ANNOS.
Both of our Parishes – at Shefford and here – thoroughly enjoyed joining each other. Obviously, it would have been much lovelier if we had the usual complete Masses and Liturgies in each Parish. But, as with many areas in the Dioceses, nowadays, Parishes are increasingly having to share a priest. Thank you very, very much to those of you who came across for Holy Thursday to St Francis. And thank ye too for the great welcome that you gave folk from St Francis at the Holy Saturday Liturgy. Our Servers – just like the Musicians – made a huge contribution to the “feel great” factor that was present during and after both Thursday and Saturday.
And – finally – thank you…. each and every person for the very generous Easter Collection. ***
Easter!
I thank everyone who made our Holy Week and Easter Liturgies. Musicians, Servers, Extraordinary Ministers, Readers, Commentaries, Flowers, Cleaners, all enhance our Liturgies. I thank God for you and for the time that you are able to give to Him and His Church. These lovely occasions never just happen, as if almost, by accident. May God reward you all for the time that you devote to Him.
It was so pleasing to see the wonderful turnout for our Liturgies. Shefford Church, on Holy Thursday, was like a wedding ceremony – bride’s family on the one side of the Church and the groom’s clan on the other side. The turnout was so pleasing and amazing. Again – well done everybody.
AD MULTOS ANNOS.
From Father Bennie
This Monday our own Course begins. It will run for 5 Mondays. It is based on Our Lady and how she carried out God’s will and how she can help us do just this.
Looking ahead, we will all be affected by the Parish having to share me with Shefford – especially in Holy Week. I am hoping that parishioners at both St Francis and here can share my services during Holy Week.
I hope to do the Holy Thursday Mass at Shefford (8.00pm) plus Watching until Midnight. Then I hope to do the Easter Vigil here at St Peter’s (8.00pm Saturday). Good Friday is easy because Deacon Peter Hyde can lead the Afternoon Liturgy (3pm) at Shefford while I am leading here at St Peter’s (3.00pm).
From Father Bennie
We had an excellent start to Lent with a full Church for the Ash Wednesday Mass. Deo Gratias. Well done everyone who was able to make it………. on a cold and miserable evening.
Looking ahead, we will all be affected by the Parish having to share me with Shefford – especially in Holy Week. I am hoping that parishioners at both St Francis and here can share my services during Holy Week.
I hope to do the Holy Thursday Mass at Shefford (8.00pm) plus Watching until Midnight. Then I hope to do the Easter Vigil here at St Peter’s (8.00pm Saturday). Good Friday is easy because Deacon Peter Hyde can lead the Afternoon Liturgy (3pm) at Shefford while I am leading here at St Peter’s (3.00pm).
This year the annual Lenten Course is on the role that Our Lady plays in the life of the Catholic. It runs on Monday evenings. Coming along will not only enlighten you but also it will help you meet other people and to discuss with them your Faith.
And do not forget that Ecumenically there are Lenten Meetings. Going along to these ecumenical events would be a great way of sharing with your fellow Christians.
Fr. Bennie
From Father Bennie
Since you became a Parish without a resident priest many things have had to change. I thank all of you for your patience.
An especial thank you who regularly used the 8.00am as your weekly Mass. Also thank you for accepting the change of timing for our main Family Mass from 10.30 to 11a.m.
Fr. Bennie
From Father Bennie
A great “thank you” to you all who have given us your Details. Thank you too to those who enabled the Operation.
You are now on our Parish Register. This is very important for us. And it is vital for you too to be on our Books – that we know you exist and who you are! It is so important for your Children – for the Sacraments (First Holy Communion and Confirmation). Furthermore, it can be a tremendous help for our Catholic Schools and their Admission requirements.
While many people in St Peter’s are well established and here for years, many do come and go within a few years. The Census helps to keep our Parish Register up to date.
If you have not yet filled in a Form please pick one up. Fill it out. And let us have it.
Many, many thanks INDEED.
Fr. Bennie
Letter from Father Bennie
During the week of Prayer for Christian Unity we ask God to bless us all who believe in Him and we also plead that He will enable us all to spread the great news of His Kingdom.
Please do sacrifice some of your valuable time to attend a Service in your Local Village Church during this very special week each year (18th to 25th January).
Fr. Bennie
Letter from Father Bennie
Now that you no longer have a Resident Priest it is obvious that I will need much help so that essential routine tasks and jobs are carried out. I thank especially Alban Macdonald who has filled in so many gaps in my first week.
Hopefully more of you will be able to give God some of your time in helping the Mission of our Parish
Fr. Bennie
Letter from Father Richard
I cannot thank God enough for the wonderful afternoon that was my retirement party. I will begin by thanking Carolyn Blake and Ian Bond who co-organised the event. A lot of work went into the invitations, and who to send them to, and the general management of the event.
Ian and his wife Marilyn gave the venue for free. Marilyn was that lady at the party dressed in blue, who seemed to be organising things.
I did say that I would be paying for the catering, but in the event Ian and Marilyn bore the main cost as a gift. Thank you Marilyn and Ian.
Carolyn, thank you for sticking with it, getting the invitations printed etc. What an afternoon! The stars were all of you who came. How wonderful you are.
You have no idea how grateful my family were. My sisters, brothers-in-law – my nephews and nieces and great nephews and nieces thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It was lovely to see so many people from previous parishes there, including 4 people from Kettering whom I hadn’t seen for 30 years. Quel surprise!
Thank you again.
Fr. Richard
Letter from Father Richard
At the time of writing, I am trying to find a supply priest for this coming weekend. For a number of weeks now, I have been unwell with infections in my teeth or now, an infection in my sinuses. I am on a course of antibiotics again, but feel really drained and unwell. I think too I have an underlying anxiety about my future. Although I stated to the Bishop that I intended to retire about October time (in February), as yet I have no certainty about future accommodation. I do have a meeting about this on this coming Monday. Please pray for a successful outcome.
Just as the future is uncertain for me, so it is uncertain for you. All I want to do is hand over St. Peter’s in good working order to you parishioners and your new Parish Priest Canon Noonan.
To this end could you please be aware of tidiness. Crayons and clipboards are given out to parents for use by their children. Could parents please make sure all the crayons their children use are gathered up and not left on the floor. There are always some to be cleared up after Sunday Masses but last Sunday was particularly bad. The best assumption to make is that this is a household without servants. This also applies to those who use the kitchen. Just lately, people are leaving used cups on the side of the draining board. There are loads of tea towels.
Cupboards
I am in the process of tidying up the cupboards in the Meeting Room. Please bear with me during this process. I have also been attacking kitchen cupboards and drawers.
I hope to see you next week on the 17th September at Shortmead House.
At the moment, I am uncertain about weekday Masses.
OREMUS PRO INVICEM
Fr. Richard
Parish Census
Please would one member of each family complete the survey at this link. We promise to keep your information safe and private.
Chris
webmaster and IT bod . . .
CHANGE by Father Richard
Changes are coming. From the end of October Canon Noonan will become Parish Priest of Shefford and Biggleswade. Father John Danford will become Parish Priest of Leighton of Buzzard and Flitwick. There will be ‘ordinarily’ one Mass on Sunday in Shefford and Flitwick and two Sunday Masses here in Biggleswade. The two Sunday Masses for Biggleswade will be 6:30 pm Saturday and 11.00 am Sunday. To continue to maintain and enhance the fabric of the Parish is vital if the Parish Community is to survive, and survive as a living witness of God’s presence among the people of Biggleswade. Programs of Baptism Preparation, R.C.I.A. and Holy Communion and Confirmation will be worked on between the Parish Priest and the Deacons.
So far maintenance and improvements to the property has been a shared responsibility between me, the Parish Priest, Alban Macdonald, Chris Barker (The Finance Committee), various voluntary gardeners, Michael Brett, Alison and Harry Grundy, Alban Macdonald etc . . .
Lots of people have helped along the way. Carolyn Blake, Rosario DiMarco, the people of the cleaning rota, Flower Ladies, Pat Smyth, John Lang etc.
Sue Lang has been a vital help in setting up the Office.
Maria Leer and Jackie Hardy are kingpins in the catechetical programme.
Maria Bullock, who has been cleaning here for 20 years, both in the house and the church deserves a special thank you for her tremendous help and constancy throughout the years. Maria is our only paid employee; her service to the priest and people have gone far beyond what could be paid for.
Thought has to be given as to how to continue both improving and maintaining the material ’plant’.
Suggestions will be invited at a later date. Please think about providing a present and a future for our community of faith.
Father Richard
Parish Council Meeting on Wednesday 2 September at 7:30 p.m.
Chris
Minutes PCC 15.07.15
PCC Agenda 02.09.15
Parish Council Meeting on Wednesday next week
Chris
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting held on 14 January 2015
Father Richard's Anniversary Mass
Here are a few photos from the event. Let me know if you want the image file for any other use.
Chris




Parish Meeting on Wednesday 15 October 2014
Chris
PCC Minutes AGM 07 05 14
Parish Council Agenda 15 October 2014
Thank you from Claredon St. Night Shelter
Celebrating the Feast of Saint Benedict
11th July is the Feast of Saint Benedict
and another opportunity for getting together after the 9.30am Mass.
Father Richard cut the cake, which was decorated with a medieval image of Saint Benedict - quite a remarkable achievement by Gunns Bakery.
Do visit the Meeting Room when you are next in church, as there is an exhibition of text and images related to the life and works of the saint.
Minutes of the Parish Meeting on 19 March 2014
The minutes of the last meeting, kindly put together by Babs, are below.
Chris
PCC Minutes 19 Mar 14
Father Richard's Induction
Here are some photos of the occasion, by Carolyn and Peter.
Chris





Survey
St Peter's Welcoming Survey
God bless
Chris
Confirmation photos
Parish Meeting tomorrow
Chris
PCC Minutes 250913
Mass times over Christmas 2013
Christmas Eve:
Children’s Mass – 5 p.m.
Carol Service – 11:30 p.m.
Midnight Mass – midnight
Christmas Day:
8:30 a.m.
10 a.m.
Boxing Day:
11 a.m.
Chris
Fr. Richard's 1st Anniversary Mass and Celebration at St. Peter's.


















Meeting of the Parish Council on Wednesday 25 September 2013
All are welcome to attend to help with running the Parish and Church.
Chris
PCC Minutes 17 Jul 13
PCC Agenda 25 Sep 13
Information leaflet – from Father Richard
Chris
Minutes of Parish Council Meeting 2 May 13
Chris
PCC Minutes 02.05.13
Parish Council Meeting on Thursday
Chris
PCC Minutes 31.01.13
PCC Agenda 02.05.13
Pope uses Twitter - Biggleswade Chronicle Village News
Pastoral Area council meeting will be here on Tuesday 15th January.
Quiz night Friday 8th February tickets on sale NOW, with a choice of Fish, Chicken or veggie option. An ideal opportunity to meet old and make new friends of the Parish.
New Year Message-His Holiness The Pope
POPE BENEDICT XVI
FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE
WORLD DAY OF PEACE
the rest can be found at Pope's New Year Message
Pope Benedict's Christmas Homily
![]() | SOLEMNITY OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI Saint Peter's Basilica Monday, 24 December 2012 [Video] Spoken in Italian Dear Brothers and Sisters!Again and again the beauty of this Gospel touches our hearts: a beauty that is the splendour of truth. Again and again it astonishes us that God makes himself a child so that we may love him, so that we may dare to love him, and as a child trustingly lets himself be taken into our arms. It is as if God were saying: I know that my glory frightens you, and that you are trying to assert yourself in the face of my grandeur. So now I am coming to you as a child, so that you can accept me and love me. I am also repeatedly struck by the Gospel writer’s almost casual remark that there was no room for them at the inn. Inevitably the question arises, what would happen if Mary and Joseph were to knock at my door. Would there be room for them? And then it occurs to us that Saint John takes up this seemingly chance comment about the lack of room at the inn, which drove the Holy Family into the stable; he explores it more deeply and arrives at the heart of the matter when he writes: “he came to his own home, and his own people received him not” (Jn 1:11). The great moral question of our attitude towards the homeless, towards refugees and migrants, takes on a deeper dimension: do we really have room for God when he seeks to enter under our roof? Do we have time and space for him? Do we not actually turn away God himself? We begin to do so when we have no time for God. The faster we can move, the more efficient our time-saving appliances become, the less time we have. And God? The question of God never seems urgent. Our time is already completely full. But matters go deeper still. Does God actually have a place in our thinking? Our process of thinking is structured in such a way that he simply ought not to exist. Even if he seems to knock at the door of our thinking, he has to be explained away. If thinking is to be taken seriously, it must be structured in such a way that the “God hypothesis” becomes superfluous. There is no room for him. Not even in our feelings and desires is there any room for him. We want ourselves. We want what we can seize hold of, we want happiness that is within our reach, we want our plans and purposes to succeed. We are so “full” of ourselves that there is no room left for God. And that means there is no room for others either, for children, for the poor, for the stranger. By reflecting on that one simple saying about the lack of room at the inn, we have come to see how much we need to listen to Saint Paul’s exhortation: “Be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Rom 12:2). Paul speaks of renewal, the opening up of our intellect (nous), of the whole way we view the world and ourselves. The conversion that we need must truly reach into the depths of our relationship with reality. Let us ask the Lord that we may become vigilant for his presence, that we may hear how softly yet insistently he knocks at the door of our being and willing. Let us ask that we may make room for him within ourselves, that we may recognize him also in those through whom he speaks to us: children, the suffering, the abandoned, those who are excluded and the poor of this world. There is another verse from the Christmas story on which I should like to reflect with you – the angels’ hymn of praise, which they sing out following the announcement of the new-born Saviour: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased.” God is glorious. God is pure light, the radiance of truth and love. He is good. He is true goodness, goodness par excellence. The angels surrounding him begin by simply proclaiming the joy of seeing God’s glory. Their song radiates the joy that fills them. In their words, it is as if we were hearing the sounds of heaven. There is no question of attempting to understand the meaning of it all, but simply the overflowing happiness of seeing the pure splendour of God’s truth and love. We want to let this joy reach out and touch us: truth exists, pure goodness exists, pure light exists. God is good, and he is the supreme power above all powers. All this should simply make us joyful tonight, together with the angels and the shepherds. Linked to God’s glory on high is peace on earth among men. Where God is not glorified, where he is forgotten or even denied, there is no peace either. Nowadays, though, widespread currents of thought assert the exact opposite: they say that religions, especially monotheism, are the cause of the violence and the wars in the world. If there is to be peace, humanity must first be liberated from them. Monotheism, belief in one God, is said to be arrogance, a cause of intolerance, because by its nature, with its claim to possess the sole truth, it seeks to impose itself on everyone. Now it is true that in the course of history, monotheism has served as a pretext for intolerance and violence. It is true that religion can become corrupted and hence opposed to its deepest essence, when people think they have to take God’s cause into their own hands, making God into their private property. We must be on the lookout for these distortions of the sacred. While there is no denying a certain misuse of religion in history, yet it is not true that denial of God would lead to peace. If God’s light is extinguished, man’s divine dignity is also extinguished. Then the human creature would cease to be God’s image, to which we must pay honour in every person, in the weak, in the stranger, in the poor. Then we would no longer all be brothers and sisters, children of the one Father, who belong to one another on account of that one Father. The kind of arrogant violence that then arises, the way man then despises and tramples upon man: we saw this in all its cruelty in the last century. Only if God’s light shines over man and within him, only if every single person is desired, known and loved by God is his dignity inviolable, however wretched his situation may be. On this Holy Night, God himself became man; as Isaiah prophesied, the child born here is “Emmanuel”, God with us (Is 7:14). And down the centuries, while there has been misuse of religion, it is also true that forces of reconciliation and goodness have constantly sprung up from faith in the God who became man. Into the darkness of sin and violence, this faith has shone a bright ray of peace and goodness, which continues to shine. So Christ is our peace, and he proclaimed peace to those far away and to those near at hand (cf. Eph 2:14, 17). How could we now do other than pray to him: Yes, Lord, proclaim peace today to us too, whether we are far away or near at hand. Grant also to us today that swords may be turned into ploughshares (Is 2:4), that instead of weapons for warfare, practical aid may be given to the suffering. Enlighten those who think they have to practise violence in your name, so that they may see the senselessness of violence and learn to recognize your true face. Help us to become people “with whom you are pleased” – people according to your image and thus people of peace. Once the angels departed, the shepherds said to one another: Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened for us (cf. Lk 2:15). The shepherds went with haste to Bethlehem, the Evangelist tells us (cf. 2:16). A holy curiosity impelled them to see this child in a manger, who the angel had said was the Saviour, Christ the Lord. The great joy of which the angel spoke had touched their hearts and given them wings. Let us go over to Bethlehem, says the Church’s liturgy to us today. Trans-eamus is what the Latin Bible says: let us go “across”, daring to step beyond, to make the “transition” by which we step outside our habits of thought and habits of life, across the purely material world into the real one, across to the God who in his turn has come across to us. Let us ask the Lord to grant that we may overcome our limits, our world, to help us to encounter him, especially at the moment when he places himself into our hands and into our heart in the Holy Eucharist. Let us go over to Bethlehem: as we say these words to one another, along with the shepherds, we should not only think of the great “crossing over” to the living God, but also of the actual town of Bethlehem and all those places where the Lord lived, ministered and suffered. Let us pray at this time for the people who live and suffer there today. Let us pray that there may be peace in that land. Let us pray that Israelis and Palestinians may be able to live their lives in the peace of the one God and in freedom. Let us also pray for the countries of the region, for Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and their neighbours: that there may be peace there, that Christians in those lands where our faith was born may be able to continue living there, that Christians and Muslims may build up their countries side by side in God’s peace. The shepherds made haste. Holy curiosity and holy joy impelled them. In our case, it is probably not very often that we make haste for the things of God. God does not feature among the things that require haste. The things of God can wait, we think and we say. And yet he is the most important thing, ultimately the one truly important thing. Why should we not also be moved by curiosity to see more closely and to know what God has said to us? At this hour, let us ask him to touch our hearts with the holy curiosity and the holy joy of the shepherds, and thus let us go over joyfully to Bethlehem, to the Lord who today once more comes to meet us. Amen. © Copyright 2012 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana |
Biggleswade Chronicle Village News
Notices in Biggleswade Chronicle Village News
-Grand Draw ticket stubs need returning on 25th November
Christmas Bazaar
The Christmas Bazaar is almost upon us and the Social Committee have worked hard but they could do with a hand. To begin with they need stuff to sell and raise money:
• Good quality "preloved" items.
• Cakes, bottles and other luxury consumables.
• Items that you would like someone to give you.
The Committee also needs help with setting up, manning the stalls and taking it all down. Please contact Claire on 222572 to volunteer for part (or all) of this endeavour.
And don't forget to come and enjoy the Bazaar on the day. There will be delicious snacks, including jacket potatoes with lovely fillings that you won't want to miss!
God bless
Chris
Christmas Bazaar
Biggleswade Chronicle Village News
Biggleswade Chronicle Village News
Last Sunday’s gospel Mark 12:28-34 tells us about a scribe who puts this question to Jesus “What is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied in two parts the first part that one must love the Lord our God with all your heart and strength, the second part to love thy neighbour as yourself. This is a well known commandment that we all believe in and practise every day to the best of our ability. When writing this each week I look at what scriptures have written over the past 2000 years together with homilies written by modern day people to try to arrive at a meaning for that week’s gospel. Sometimes the actual meaning is so profound it goes straight over my head! And is only fully appreciated by the very educated catechists amongst us. Today we have a connection between the gospel and the Year of Faith (Oct 2012 to Nov 2013). This gospel reminds us that faith has to be put into action. It is difficult, but by dedicating time to learn more about our faith, loving God through the prayer and the sacraments we can then put this into practise by loving our neighbour as ourselves; this is a part of what the Year of Faith is about.
November 11th Sunday-Remembrance Day, please note Mass will start at 9.45 am and not 10am. This is to enable Fr.Richard to reach the Cenotaph in the
November 14th Wednedsday 7.30 pm Social Club meeting, All welcome.
November 17th Saturday 10.30-11.30 Coffee Morning to meet new Parish priest Fr. Richard Moroney and chat with friends
Biggleswade Chronicle Village News
Biggleswade Chronicle Village News
Biggleswade Chronicle Village News
Apostleship of the Sea
Biggleswade Chronicle Church Notices
Biggleswade Chronicle Village News
Last Sunday celebrated the feast of Corpus Christi. The festival of Corpus Christi celebrates the Eucharist as the body of Christ. The name 'Corpus Christi' is Latin for 'the body of Christ'. This jubilant festival is celebrated to proclaim the truth of the transubstantiation of bread and wine into the actual body and blood of Christ during Mass. 1.The human person cannot live without the experience of divine love and human love. The human person cannot live without the experience of divine intimacy and human intimacy. The human person cannot live without communion. Man becomes fully realized in communion because he is created for communion by a God who is the most perfect communion (1.From the Vatican website).
Website Update
Chris
Biggleswade Chronicle
Sunday,it is celebrated a week after Pentecost Sunday also known as
Holy Trinity Sunday and is one of the central mysteries of our faith.
We can never fully understand the mystery of the Trinity, but we can
sum it up in the following formula: God is three Persons in one. The
three Persons of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—are all equally God,
and They cannot be divided. We do believe in one God, just as we say
in the Creed, but He is three persons.
Saturday 9th June St Peters Market Stall, scrumptious home-made cakes
for sale.
Saturday 16th June Carmel in Bedfordshire - Visit to
Monastery of Discalced Carmelite Nuns in Ware, Hertfordshire. To
celebrate Mass, lunch and a talk by the Nuns, car share; 9.30am start.
Friday 22nd June, 7.30pm Royal Race Night- Fun night with Wine
Tasting, Ladies Fancy Hat & Gents Waistcoat competitions.
Further details see church porch or email stpetersbiggleswade@gmail.com.
Biggleswade Chronicle Village News
Father Raphael
Chris

Improving the Website
God bless
Chris
Help needed with Christmas Bazaar
I am sure that you have noticed the sheets of paper spread about the Church, asking for help with the Christmas Bazaar, but perhaps you feel that you wanted more details before volunteering to help.
Let me give you some dates and times, and then perhaps, you can allocate some of your time.
On the evening of Wednesday, 23rd November, at 7pm, people will be in the “Basilica” (the long hut beside the car park), to sort out donations.
On Thursday, l 1st December, after the 9.30am Mass, we will move the chairs and kneelers, and bring in the big tables, and that evening at about 7pm, we will be filling the tables.
On Friday 2nd December, Mass will be celebrated in the Sanctuary behind the folding doors. After Mass is finished, we will continue to sort, separate and prepare for the next day as well as decorating everything, while the Market Square lights are being switched on.
On Saturday, 3rd December, about 9am, we will tie the Bazaar notices to the railings nearby, prepare the potatoes and other food in the clubroom and wait for the fresh cakes to be brought in.
At 11am our local MP, Alistair Burt, will open the Bazaar, which is when we will need help behind the stalls.
At the end of it all, some unsold items will be put back in the “Basilica” prior to recycling. The floor has to be swept, the money counted, and all the furniture replaced ready for the 6.30pm Mass. We would be very grateful if you would talk to us about helping, even If it is something you have never done before!
Chris
Farewell Fr Tad
I hope that you enjoy reading them, but let me know if the format is difficult, or if the documents won't open on your computer.
God bless
Chris
Brief history of Russia – Fr Tad
Fr Tad's memories
You will find a Census card on your seat together with a pen/pencil; would one representative of each household please complete the card and hand it to an usher as you leave the Church after Mass.
The Census is collecting basic information including name, address, telephone and email. Please be assured that the Census information will be used for Church-related activities only. This includes mailings in the parish and Together in Faith, a parish and diocesan fundraising campaign.
Chris
Chris
But if you have frequent updates, why not do it yourself? I can help you to share the calendar and give you permission to insert events etc ... It's reasonably simple to learn how and I should be happy to provide a bit of coaching. You would just use the programme that you use to access the Internet and there you.
Chris
Chris
WALKING HUMBLY WITH OUR GOD
Over the past few weeks, as part of the “Walking Humbly with Our God” programme, a series of conversations has taken place in which parishioners were asked to think about the strengths and weaknesses of the parish.
Thank you to all those who gave their time and thought to this process.
The following is a summary of the common themes that emerged:
Strengths
Blessing of weekday Mass
Good liturgy
Good music: musicians & choir
Thriving Family Mass.
Lots of Altar Servers.
Good parish administration.
Good co-operation among
parish organisations/groups. .
Good social activities.
Weaknesses
Poor take-up of the Sacrament of Confession
No provision for parish teenage youth.
Weekend parish – many only attend Mass on Sunday and Holy Days.
No Catholic school in the parish.
Because we have managed without a priest in the past, there is the worry that we might be left without a resident parish priest.
Further feedback would be welcome. If you wish to add any further comments, please put them in writing and hand them to Canon Michael.
Chris
PCC Agenda 27.01.10

I'll be checking around the fabric of the buildings and generally looking at activities with a critical eye, but please help me out by keeping your own eyes open for potential risks to anyone using the buildings or facilities of the Parish.
You can contact me using the link at the bottom of each page of this website.
Chris
Chris
Chris

The next meeting will be on Wednesday 13 May 2009 at 8pm, after the 7.30pm Mass.
Chris
Happy Easter, everyone.
Chris
The Minutes, kindly typed up by Babs Gurney, are available on the Parish Meetings page.
Chris
Chris
Chris
PCC Minutes - 25.06.08
Chris
Chris
I’ll attach the minutes of the last meeting when I receive them.
Chris