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This weekend, Archbishop Cushley has written a pastoral letter to all the parishes in our Archdiocese, regarding the way forward during the current Coronavirus pandemic. Archbishop Leo writes: "It is true that Mass online is a virtual assembly of the People of God; but it is a real assembly nonetheless, of real people raising their minds and hearts to God, in union with the whole Church, and doing their best in the circumstances to keep Sunday, the Lord's Day, holy." The full letter can be downloaded by clicking on this link.
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GOOD NEWS! Masses will resume at St Joseph’s from Wednesday 15th July. Weekday Masses will resume as normal Monday—Saturday at 9:30am. We have worked tirelessly to ensure social distancing and hygiene measures are in place. This includes a one way system and partial unavailability of some seats in the church. Current regulations stipulate that only a limited number of parishioners can be in attendance at any one time. Taking into account the 2 metre social distancing rules, St Joseph’s can accommodate between 30 and 40 parishioners at any one service. To accommodate these regulations, we will have 3 Sunday Masses; a Saturday vigil at 6pm, in addition to our usual services on Sundays at 8.30am and 11am. As there are limited places available, parishioners need to book in advance for weekend masses. We will do our best to accommodate your first choice but this may not always be possible. Members of the Parish Council will be phoning all parishioners before Wednesday to take bookings for this weekend’s masses. If you want to make a booking, you will be required to give your name, address, contact number as well as informing us how many people from your household will be attending your selected mass. The Parish Council will book a place on your behalf. If you do not hear back from the Parish Council your booking has been successful. We will only phone you back if there is a problem with your booking. Alternatively, you can contact the parish house on 0131 443 3777 on Friday afternoons between 3pm—6pm to make a booking. If you make a booking, but then find you want to change your selection or can no longer attend your selected service, please get in touch so we can allocate your place to another parishioner. We also need more parishioners to take a turn to clean the church after all our services or to help with passkeeping duties. If you are willing and able, please contact a member of the Parish Council. This is important — if we don’t have enough volunteers we can’t keep St Joseph’s open in the long term. Watch the video below to get an idea of some of the things you can expect when you return to St Joseph's. Since the start of the current pandemic, I have been attending a weekly Vepsers meeting on Zoom. One of the members of this prayer group sent the following message to the rest of us during the week, and I felt it would be helpful to share. He has given me permission to share this reflection with our parish community. I believe the wonderful weather in April and May helped us endure the Lockdown quite well. I don’t know how you are feeling now that Lockdown is finally easing. We are overjoyed to see our grandchildren! But the inch-by-inch minor reductions of restrictions has not been easy. I am still very deeply frustrated at the continual closure of our churches, with no prospect of meeting anytime soon; and, for me, it is very hard to accept this ban on singing and playing wind instruments. My frustration levels are not good!
Perhaps I should be more aware of what the house churches in Iran have long experienced --they are not allowed to meet in churches--so their persecuted faith has found a way to grow rapidly from fellowship on line, inspiring digital services (especially at Easter and Pentecost), and on-line discipleship courses. 70 new house churches have been planted in Iran in the last 6 months! So maybe I need to stand back and see with a biblical perspective how this whole stressful “time of trial and testing” is viewed in our scriptures, and how God might be using it.... “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness... Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for, when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”(James ch. 1 v. 2 and 12) “Do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which has come to you, as though some strange thing had happened to you.” (1 Peter ch. 4. v. 12). Eugene Peterson expresses this verse in “The Message” as “Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner”. “Times of Testing” feel “strange”, but the bible tells us they are normal and necessary. They are how we grow in grace. They are how God equips and prepares us to do great things in His kingdom. God never afflicts us, but, most assuredly, He tests us. And His tests measure us, reveal us, strengthen our faith, and cause us to grow spiritually. Even though, on the outside, it looks as if things are falling apart around us, on the inside, where God is making a new life, perhaps I need to learn that not a day goes by without His unfolding grace. If I could see the blessing that’s awaiting me on the other side of this trial, I might stop lamenting my losses and start to rejoice! In this Pandemic, we have certainly learned that life is fragile and that we are not in control of it, however much our society is obsessed with risk assessments and minimising dangers. But have we come to know the Lord in a richer deeper way? Perhaps I should not be looking at what is missing in my life, nor asking “Why did you let this happen, Lord?”, but “What do you want me to learn from this experience?” God is at work in our lives, whether we know it or not. He takes no pleasure in making life hard for us; He does not delight in our sufferings; but He does delight in our spiritual growth. Every challenge we face in life may not seem benign; but in God’s overarching plan, it may be equipping us for the future. “God who began the good work in you will keep on helping you to grow in His grace until His task within you is finished.” (Philippians Ch. 1. v.6) May our loving Lord lift you out of any tendency towards depression and give you many blessings from His wise heart. In the video below, staff at Mary's Meals explain how they continue to help some of the poorest children in the world during the current coronavirus pandemic. At St Joseph's, we have supported Mary's Meals for over 15 years and have raised thousands of pounds. We also sponsor a school in Limbe, Malawi. Good news! The church will be re-opening for individual private prayer from Tuesday 23rd June. Confession will also be available. We have worked tirelessly to ensure social distancing and hygiene measures are in place. This includes a one way system and partial unavailability of some seats in the church. Passkeepers will be on hand to guide people to their seats, as well as ensuring everyone is wearing face masks and using hand sanitiser.  We've produced a short video introduction to explain some of the measures which are in place. https://youtu.be/gFHbNjbeDDo
If you have any questions or concerns about coming back to church, get in touch with Fr Emmanuel or any member of the Parish Council. It is hoped that the Government will give the green light for re-opening of churches very soon, and the Archdiocese has provided some guidelines for when that does happen. Initially, churches will be open for private prayer only. At St Joseph's, we will have the church open on Sundays between 12pm and 4pm for Eucharistic adoration. There will be strict hygiene and social distancing measures in place. Please follow all instructions for entering and exiting the church.   Special Collection: Day for Life.
The Day for Life special collection is coming up on 31st May, the Feast of the Visitation. The theme this year is “Choose Life” During the corona virus crisis calls from mothers to be are still being received so your donations will be well used by the Archdiocesan Pro-Life Office to help local mothers and children with their pregnancies. You can donate online: https://donor.secure-operations.com/detailed/donate?charity_id=1086319&type=2&hidden_amount=&amount=&reference=LIFE Or cheques can be sent to Pro-Life Office, Archdiocesan Offices, 100 Strathearn Road, Edinburgh, EH9 1BB. Please make cheques payable to Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh Thank you for your support at this time!  "2020 occasions the fifth anniversary of Laudato Si’, which was signed on 24 May 2015. Pope Francis’ encyclical on care for our common home, Laudato Si’, is an inspiration during moments of difficulty. It encourages us to reflect on the values we share and create a more just and sustainable future. Pope Francis has asked us to mark this anniversary with a moment of prayer. In communion with many other events taking place around the world, we will be hosting an online service of prayer and reflection on Sunday 24th March at 11.30am. We will then pray together the common prayer for Laudato Si at 12pm, at the same time as other Catholics from across the globe. The service will be hosted on Zoom. If you would be interested in attending the service, provide your email address below. You will be sent an invitation to the event which you can use to access the service. You can use your laptop, tablet or mobile phone. If you have any technical questions, get in touch and we can help direct you."  The funeral of Emma Watson will be live streamed from Mortonhall crematorium on Wednesday 13th May at 10am.
All are welcome to follow and pay their respects by following this link: www.obitus.com. To access the ceremony, use the username mortonhall9646 and password 647031. Emma was well known around Broomhouse and in the Parish and will be greatly missed by all her family and friends. May she rest in peace and rise again in glory. Amen. Mass is celebrated every day in the oratory of the parish house. We would like to encourage parishioners to get in touch if they have any particular mass intentions to be offered.
The easiest way to do this is to phone the parish house on 0131 443 3777. |