Lenten Sacrifice is when we decide to give up something we love eating or doing. When we give up those things, we can save a few coins that we then give to the less privileged. In the community, many people find it challenging to get standard well-being kinds of stuff like clothing to keep themselves warm and even food to eat. We are encouraged to give alms and support the less privileged during Lent. Our Lenten sacrifices will help us save some coins, and we must give these out to support others. What is little for you is many for someone; nothing to you is something to a brother or sister, and what is old is new for the other.
God first demonstrated giving by giving unto us His only begotten Son so that we will receive salvation. We must support others not only when we feel comfortable but whenever the opportunity arises because through giving, we receive the blessings of God.
Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” Every child of God must be able to give freely to support others because giving is a virtue.
It is the will of God that we give, and whenever we give, we become more prosperous. “Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.” (Proverbs 11:25). During this lent, let us make our Lenten Sacrifices a blessing to others because whenever we bless others, we bless ourselves.
Fr. Josiah
Other News
The funeral services of the late Wayne Campbell is on Tuesday 12th March at 11:00 am and that of the late Simone Gomez is on Wednesday 13th March at 1:30 pm, here in St. Anselm.
There is Sunday School after Mass
Fr. Matthew and Family are extending an invitation to us for his Leaving Party, drop by and say farewell to Fr. Matthew, Catherine and Edmund this Friday 8th March at Hayes Working Men’s Club. Time is 7pm.
Please take note that the new parish whattsapp number has changed to 07452709238 (It’s whattapp only, no texts)
The Torfaen Male Voice Choir, The Internationally acclaimed Welsh Male Voice Choir Present an Evening of Amazing Male Voice Music on this Saturday 9th March at 7pm here in St. Anselm. Early Bird Ticket is £3 Standard Ticket is £4 and On The Door Ticket is £5. Tickets and more information at stanselm.matthewcashmore.com/
It is essential to note the importance of prayer in the spiritual life of every Christian. When we are in Lent, Prayer becomes even more crucial because our focus is always on God.
Lent is a period where we focus on prayer, penance, fasting, and almsgiving. Most of the time, when we hear about Lent, all that may come to mind is fasting, and we tend to forget about the other things that come with Lent to make this holy period blissful. Prayer is an integral part of Lent and is essential in our Christian journey.
We pray during Lent to ask for God’s unmatched mercy and love. When we pray, we establish a relationship with God, allowing us to tell Him who he is to us, praise Him, present our humble request to Him, and express our appreciation. When we fail to pray, our relationship with God breaks down.
Our relationship with God, i.e. the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is that of speaking to him and listening. When we pray during Lent, we meditate on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that led to man’s salvation; this helps us connect and cement our relationship with God.
It is worth noting that prayer is the lifeblood of every Christian and must be the foundation of our spiritual life. Martin Luther wrote this clearly: “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” Let us not belittle the importance of prayer because it is our way of communicating with our maker and opening ourselves up for his response. Let us not worry too much, rather, we must speak to the Lord in prayer because “the fervent prayer of the righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16b)
Fr. Josiah
Other News
The Torfaen Male Voice Choir, The Internationally acclaimed Welsh Male Voice Choir Present an Evening of Amazing Male Voice Music on Saturday 9th March at 7pm here in St. Anselm. Early Bird Ticket is £3 Standard Ticket is £4 and On The Door Ticket is £5. Tickets and more information at stanselm.matthewcashmore.com/
The funeral services of Lisa Welch is on Friday 23rd February, Late Wayne Campbell is on Tuesday 12th March at 11:00am and that of the Late Simone Gomez will take place on 13th March at 1:30pm, here in St. Anselm.
We need more people to read in church, so if you are interested please sign up on the sheet at the entrance or speak to Susan.
We are encouraging those who would like to be volunteers of the Boys’ Brigade to please speak to Fr. Josiah. Ladies and gentlemen are welcome.
Lent is about to start all too soon and will begin with Ash Wednesday. We will collect all the palms blessed and distributed on Palm Sunday last year. Fr. Matthew and I will collect all the palms and make ashes out of them for Ash Wednesday, which occurs this 14th of February. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of our Lenten period, leading to Easter or Day of Resurrection. Lent is a period where we exhibit repentance and show signs of remorse.
The essential things that help us experience Lent’s holy nature and not like any other period are fasting, prayer, giving, and penance. During Lent, our focus must always be on God; therefore, whatever we do must be jeered towards things that will enhance our relationship with God. Lent is a period where we seek the face of God and, most importantly, his mercies. Pope Francis once said, “God never tires of forgiving us: we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy”. We must always know that humans are frail; we always make mistakes, which is when we seek God’s mercy through penance.
During Ash Wednesday, the imposition of the ashes on our forehead reminds us of what God said to Adam in Genesis 3:19b: “… for out of it you were taken; for you are dust,” and to dust you shall return.” This is a time of grief; we must not be happy with our misdoings but grieve over them and get the opportunity to reflect on our errors, pray, and repent from them.
It is our prayer that we make this lent a very blissful one, humble ourselves and seek the face of God.
Fr. Josiah
Other News
We are encouraging all those who would like to read in church to please sign up on the sheet at the entrance or speak to Susan.
We are encouraging those who would like to be volunteers of the Boys’ Brigade to please speak to Fr. Josiah. Ladies and gentlemen are welcome.
We will be making the Ash for Ash Wednesday immediately after Mass so we will collect the palms after Mass today.
We are very low on food at the foodbank, all are welcome to donate.
Palm Sunday has always struck me as a delightful and fun day. I can so easily get caught up in the expectation and the joy of the people of Jerusalem as Jesus enters the city.
I can see and hear the children as they run to meet him. This great teacher, this man who is God, Jesus who has given us so many signs and such wonderful love.
The noise, the smells, the hands held high waving palm branches crying out ‘Hosanna in the highest!’
But in the midst of that joy there is a deep darkness. It is harder for us to experience fully the joy of the people of Jerusalem because know the story, we know what comes next.
We know the agony that awaits Jesus and his disciples.
We know the darkness of the garden at Gethsemane (where we will join the Disciples in their Watch on Maundy Thursday).
We know the pain of the arrest and His condemnation. His struggle to carry the cross, His falls, the reversal of the joy of the crowds to jeers, hatred and spittle.
Palm Sunday marks the start of that journey of darkness.
It also, and this is the vital part of the story, marks the start of the journey towards the light.
We KNOW that Jesus will come again, that He will rise three days later, that He will save us all – and in that joy we share a large part.
This week, accept and see the darkness… then let the light destroy it utterly.
Orders of service for each of the Holy Week services (including Palm Sunday) will be uploaded and available for download from the Holy Week Service page.
Other News
On Palm Sunday children are invited to come and help build the Easter Garden in the Lady Chapel. It’ll be a hands-on activity where we re-create the garden of gethsemane, calvary and the tomb. The garden will form the centre piece of the altar of repose over Easter.
During Holy Week there will be a Priest available for confessions for an hour before each mass. Make your way to the statue of Jesus and the Priest will hear your confession or will help you make your first confession.
Don’t be late for mass this week! We start at 10am outside church and bless the palms, before processing to the altar.
Susan and Fr. Josiah are advancing plans for a new Sunday afternoon children’s service and club – 4pm to 6pm on the last Sunday of each month. The first service will be on the 30th April. If you’d like to be involved, please speak to Fr. Josiah.
It is not just the remains of winter colds and flue that will attack you this time of year, but so to does the devil.
It sounds dramatic doesn’t it. But the devil seeks to disturb us, he seeks to knock us off our path so that he can direct us towards his evil ends.
During lent we reach for spiritual disciplines that keep him at bay. We pray more, we go to church more and received the sacrament at the altar more often.
More people pray for us, we turn to face God more regularly and the devil can’t stand this and so he ups his attacks.
But, if you know that’s what he’s up to you can defend against it.
How? It’s very simple. Say the Our Father. It’s the most powerful prayer of exorcism there is – why? Because it’s the prayer Jesus taught us and as we pray it we pull on a piece of string that goes all the way back to the disciples as Jesus taught them how to pray. It connects us to Christians throughout all time and history.
This lent up your prayers, up your dedication to Jesus, up your reading of the bible and in doing so – punch the devil in the nose! Send him straight back to hell where he belongs.
Alpha Afternoon Tea – THIS Sunday (5th) we will be hosting an Afternoon Tea for all those who have been taking part in our Alpha Course. We will be exploring how the Holy Spirit works in our lives and it will be a great opportunity to meet some of the people who taking part in Alpha here at St. Anselm’s. It would be great if you could come along, learn a little about the Holy Spirit, meet some new people and maybe even help me prepare the Afternoon Tea! 3pm-6pm followed by a Spirit led Evening Prayer. Helpers from 1:30pm to make sandwiches etc.
During Lent there will be a Priest available for confessions for an hour before each mass. Make your way to the statue of Jesus and the Priest will hear your confession or will help you make your first confession.
Can you bring in any spare plastic bags you have for foodbank please?
Last Wednesday we reminded ourselves of Genesis 3:19 that we are dust and to dust we will return this moves us to take a pause for reflection and meditation. Ash Wednesday sets the stage for this period of lent. During this period, we are reminded of our frailness in our Christian journey, and it takes Jesus Christ to move us into a position of strength, hope and perfection.
Our activities during this Lent must be one of meditation and sober reflection of how we have lived our lives and what we can do to improve the assembly of God. We should be willing to deny ourselves of things that are not beneficial, acknowledging our weaknesses in order to gain strength in Christ and always avail ourselves for the things of God. We are always reminded that God’s grace is sufficient for us, and His power will be made perfect in weakness.
I remember when we were kids one of the things we were asked to do in Lent was to cultivate the habit of giving. We were given small boxes to drop some coins so that after lent it can be given to the less privileged in the society. Giving and sharing the little we have is one of the key virtues of this season. Are we giving our time, our money, our skill, food to support the food bank, volunteering etc? Every kind of giving is all to the glory of God when it is coming from a good heart.
Alpha Afternoon Tea – next Sunday (5th) we will be hosting an Afternoon Tea for all those who have been taking part in our Alpha Course. We will be exploring how the Holy Spirit works in our lives and it will be a great opportunity to meet some of the people who taking part in Alpha here at St. Anselm’s. It would be great if you could come along, learn a little about the Holy Spirit, meet some new people and maybe even help me prepare the Afternoon Tea! 3pm-6pm followed by a Spirit led Evening Prayer.
During Lent there will be a Priest available for confessions for an hour before each mass. Make your way to the statue of Jesus and the Priest will hear your confession or will help you make your first confession.
Can you bring in any spare plastic bags you have for foodbank please?
Our new coffee bike is now in place alongside our new cafe area. We’ll be advertising shortly for somebody to come and run the cafe on our behalf for a set daily fee – if you know of anyone who may be interested please speak to Fr. Matthew.
As we enter Holy Week our Lent Course – Holy Habits – focuses on daily prayer and scripture. Perhaps the most difficult habit we have discussed to date.
Each habit we’ve talked about so far has an external prompt that helps us to focus on God. Our physical posture in the liturgy is driven by the liturgy itself and the action of others around us. The practice of Pilgrimage contains an element of adventure that helps us along and gratitude is the reaction of God’s work around us.
But the daily reading of scripture and our daily prayers require something far harder to prompt us into doing them.
Discipline.
There are very few external prompts to open our bible or say our prayers.
As Priests I think we’re fortunate to be required to say our offices each day – and are often prompted to do so by the public services we offer and the calling of the church bell at various times of day.
But if you’re not publicly accountable to carry out these tasks what keeps you focused on them?
Discipline.
The only way to start to read more scripture and to pray with regularity is to simply do it – and the more you do it – the more it will become a habit.
The more of a habit it becomes the easier it will get and the easier it gets the more scripture and the Holy Spirit will be able to work within you.
As we end Lent and move into Holy Week dig out your bibles and place them next to your bed. Pray when you wake, read scripture before you sleep.
Wake with God on your lips and sleep with Him in your heart.
As we start Holy Week together there are lots of changes to the usual schedule. Please do have a read and make sure you make time to come to the various important elements of Holy Week (not least Confession!)
Edmund will be the boat boy at the Chrism Mass with +Jonathan on Tuesday. You’re all warmly invited to attend this special service.
Flowers – we really need some volunteers to make the altar of repose for the watch on Thursday night in the Lady Chapel and to dress the nave altar for the Vigil Mass on Saturday evening. I’d really appreciate any offers of help for this – or goodness knows what you’ll get if I do it!
There is a Walk of Witness on Good Friday with our brothers and sisters in neighbouring parishes – we meet at 11am outside the Roman Catholic church in Botwell.
Thank you to everyone (especially our online congregation) for the very generous donation of food and money to buy food for the foodbank over the last week. We’re back up to full strength and stand ready to help where we can.
During Lent we are raising money for the Additional Curates Society. You can collect a box from church and bring the box in after Easter, or you can give online via https://additionalcurates.co.uk/support-us/
Each week I’ll be sending you the story of a Priest who was supported by the Society and what it means to the parishes involved. Here’s the final one:
“When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other.”
Ecclesiastes 7:14
It was with enormous trepidation that we entered into lockdown last March and I was forced to undertake what only 48 hours before had been unthinkable: to close the church to public worship indefinitely. Yet, even in those fearful and uncertain early days, the words of the Preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes gave me hope. For so long we in the West have felt unnaturally secure in the world – masters of science and technology, in full control of nature and all within it. We had made ourselves into gods, even to the extent of accruing to ourselves the power of life and death. Yet now, suddenly, we were at the mercy of an unseen enemy with no cure and an exponentially rising death rate. The true powerlessness of man had been exposed, and in that I could see an opportunity to speak truth and comfort into this situation. How many times in the history of salvation has God humbled the pride of man, not out of spite, but out of love, in order to remind us that it is in him we find the source of life, hope and salvation? Jesus challenges us, asking, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” Mark 8:36.
These thoughts characterised my own Christian response to the pandemic and how I sought to communicate that to others in my care. Immediately, along with thousands of churches across the country, we began livestreaming Mass online in order that, although tragically cut off from the sacraments, our people were still able to hear the word of God preached and gain a much-needed wider perspective on the events we were all living through. As the days and weeks progressed, our proficiency in this area increased, as we acquired better cameras and sound equipment, and the introduction of online singing improved the experience of worship.
In addition to online worship, our youth worker, Jordan, produced a series of interactive videos encouraging young people to take part in seasonal craft activities, and along with Fr Edward produced educational videos for use in school once the children had begun to go back. These included a tour of the church, explaining its various contents and features and how they relate to the worshipping life of the community. We also produced a video dedicated to explaining the Mass, its various parts and what they mean. These were accompanied by quiz sheets to help the children remember what they had learnt, and it’s our hope that this approach has kept them familiar with the building over was has been a long absence. We’ll see how much they remember when confirmation classes start in September!
Christmas 2020 was a particular high-point in the past year. Realising we couldn’t have our usual family Christingle Service in church, we had an outdoor family Carol Service in the churchyard, which brought over 150 people together at a time of great uncertainty and disappointment and brought the good news of Jesus’s birth to many in the parish who would otherwise not have heard it, since no other church in the town was open at all. Afterwards I was overwhelmed with the number of people who so clearly appreciated what we’d done, and the video we put together of the event quickly received several thousand views across the local area.
It has been hugely encouraging to see new people continue to join the church family over the course of these past difficult months. Since the beginning of lockdown last March we have eight new members of the congregation, with three confirmations in May and more to follow in November. It is astonishing to think that only now are they beginning to see what a ‘normal’ Mass looks like, with the resumption of singing and refreshments after Mass, allowing them to develop personal relationships with other members of the congregation. It was also important for me, personally, as a priest, to get back to the basics of what I was ordained to do. I must admit that the sense of purpose with which we began the pandemic, to which I alluded to above, began to give way somewhat to a sense of drift and lack of purpose, particularly with further restrictions imposed in January 2021. But to be able to sit down with confirmation candidates, none of whom had been to church before they started coming to St John’s, and teaching them about God, the relationship he wants to have with us, and the reconciliation we can have with him through faith in Jesus Christ in the family of the Church was a tonic to my soul. It was a great pleasure and a very happy occasion when Bishop Glyn visited the parish to conduct those confirmations on a glorious Sunday in May. It not only encouraged me, but gave a great lift to everyone, and renewed our determination to continue the work of the gospel unimpeded once the time comes fully.
I am sure that the small things God has done here in Mexborough against such a difficult backdrop were only possible because of our determination as a parish to cultivate an atmosphere of calm and perspective, reminding ourselves of our Easter faith, and taking sensible precautions that created a safe environment while avoiding creating panic – something which has sadly happened in all too many parishes, which as a result are now finding it difficult to transition to normality.
Nonetheless, we are looking forward to the future, particularly as we prepare to welcome our new Children and Families Worker, who will be instrumental in helping us to reach out to new people, relaunch some of the activities that were suspended, and discover new ways to reach those we have sometimes struggled to connect with. We are immensely grateful to ACS for their continued support for St John’s at a time of financial strain, and we ask for the prayers of all who read this that our parish may grow in number and in spirit as we go forward in faith.
It is very easy to fall into the habit of being cross with the world. Of being cynical. Of not seeing what God puts in front of you each and every day.
The Christian practice of gratitude is something that has existed in our relationship with God right back to our earliest covenants.
Our offering of thanksgiving and praise has been at the heart of our relationship with God right the way back to Abraham and the earliest Israelites.
We still see it today in our liturgy – our Eucharist always starts with a greeting ‘the Lord be with you’ and with a declaration of praise and thanks:
‘Let us give thanks to the Lord’.
The Priest continues,
‘It is right to give thanks and praise always and everywhere’.
This is not something that is reserved to the altar – it is something that we all do ‘always and everywhere’.
Or rather – should do. It’s one of the easiest things to forget however and very quickly we fall into the trap of the world around us by being cynical and closed to the gifts of God.
To start practicing gratitude is to be open to those gifts and opportunities in front of you. To be able to discern those gifts enables you to make best use of them.
Start your day by crossing yourself and saying the Our Father, then thank God for the gift of another day here on earth, another day to share His love in the world, another day to care for those in need, another day to love your friends and family.
Thank you God for our family at St. Anselm, the friendships, the support and the love.
Our Lent Course – Holy Habits – continues on Thursday (7th). This week you’ll be hearing about the Holy Habit of Daily Prayer & Scripture from Fr. Sam. You can take part in person on Thursday mornings after mass or online on Thursday evenings at 7:30pm. More details on the website – stanselm.matthewcashmore.com/lent
Lent is a very good time to make your first confession. If you’ve not come to confession before, or if you’re worried about how it works please speak to Fr. Matthew.
Please note there are several changes to the office and mass times this week to reflect the start of the Easter holidays.
We are very short of tinned meat, soup & tinned vegetables for the foodbank and I’d really appreciate any donations you can bring this Sunday.
It’s Palm Sunday next week, the start of Holy Week and our journey towards Easter Sunday. Please make an extra effort to be in church and receive your palm cross.
During Lent we are raising money for the Additional Curates Society. You can collect a box from church and bring the box in after Easter, or you can give online via https://additionalcurates.co.uk/support-us/
Each week I’ll be sending you the story of a Priest who was supported by the Society and what it means to the parishes involved. Here’s the third:
The support of the Additional Curates’ Society for an Assistant Curate in All Saints’, Monks Road, Lincoln has been a tremendous boost to the whole Church here- as well as the Vicar! All Saints is a fine Edwardian Church, close to the city centre but in its second most deprived area. Streets of terraced houses, multiple occupancy, ethnically very diverse, high levels of living on benefits and amidst it all and not atypically a beleaguered Anglo-Catholic Church. Since the departure of the last resident Vicar for just All Saints in 1993 the Church has been variously amalgamated with another parish, grouped into a federation which was then dissolved and then in a three year vacancy. After 1993 it did have Resolutions A & B in place- until one Vicar and his wife by their votes made up a majority to rescind them. After that only the valiant determination of the churchwardens and other key laity meant it was able to maintain a traditionalist stance over priestly ministry. But it was all far from easy and took its toll. Attendance at the Sung Mass often struggled to reach double figures. It could have been closed or handed over to the HTB Resource Church. To its great credit however the Diocese of Lincoln took the decision that to honour the Women Bishops Settlement of 2014, it was only right that the Cathedral City should have one traditionalist parish and that the church best suited was All Saints. The former Vicarage the previous incumbent had declined to live in was re-purchased and a Society Priest put in as Vicar!
A Vicar notwithstanding, a “Populous Parish” of over 7,000 with a massive work of rebuilding and mission before him, an Assistant Curate was more than a blessing. In 2020 Fr Ross Copley came to the parish to be ordained as soon as was allowed. An ACS grant to assist him and his work was a wonderful gift. We would have struggled financially without it! Despite Covid-19, and in some ways because of it, Fr Ross has been invaluable to me and the whole church community. Fr Ross will describe some of this work himself.
Beginning ministry was always going to be an adjustment, even from the cloisters of St Stephen’s House, moving into parish life was going to something very different. The pandemic supercharged this adjustment in ways I’d never imagined including a three-month delay to my ordination to the diaconate, a reduced liturgical role and opportunities to visit and meet with parishioners both in-and-out of church. Despite this, I have been keen to be involved in a variety of parochial projects and missional/pastoral opportunities.
In November I joined the Chaplaincy Team of Bishop Grosseteste University and although having being very infrequently on-campus, I have been able to connect with students and staff through various online sessions and be there as a reassuring face and support. I have really enjoyed seeing the chaplaincy side of ministry and its opportunities to be alongside others and to meet them where they are, especially as so few in a university setting would describe themselves as Christians.
Zoom has become a ubiquitous activity in a pandemic year – to this end, I planned and delivered, alongside Fr Paul and Fr Peter Green, a Lent course focussing on the role of St Joseph in scripture and by tradition. Having an online Lent course meant there was three times as much engagement from the faithful than an in-person session had been in previous years.
Given the absence of young people in our worshipping community, I’ve worked to establish a new young adults’ group Frassati & Goretti, undertaking a virtual trek of the Camino de Santiago to raise funds for its activities, securing £400 of sponsorship. There will be a monthly event from October and will aim to give an opportunity for discussion and discipleship, as well as grow the parish presence amongst students at both universities.
Since June 2021 the parish has partnered with another local church to support ten families from our local school with a bi-weekly food parcel and children’s craft pack. Serve thy neighbour has been particularly wonderful because it has allowed me walk the parish, chat with the families and to get to know the children, who are always excited to tell us about their week. Every pack is accompanied with a reminder of the next delivery, and more importantly a gentle nudge that Fr Paul and I are available for a chat, should they ever need to. This type of engagement was one of the key reasons I was so excited to be serving my Title at All Saints, as a parish of significant deprivation, I have been reminded of the work of the ritualist Fathers who not only worked to alleviate poverty and desperation, but also bring the faith and be amongst those in the community.
Finally, I was asked by the Diocesan Director of Ordinands to be a Young Vocations advocate and have been meeting online with the Ministry Team at Church House to discuss and learn how we could be growing lay and ordained vocations. This has been a real help in getting to know a diocese which was new to me and to make connections for good collegial relationships.
My first year in curacy has been a very mixed bag in terms of experience. We have very few opportunities for pastoral offices, so I have been glad to get some experience by covering other parishes, especially baptisms. I hope this has highlighted the foundations which we as a congregation have been developing this past year, and that my participation has in some way been a confidence boost to the church community. I am so privileged to serve the parish of All Saints and I am thankful for the support that the ACS has given, which has enabled me to flourish in my first year of ministry.
