News Update – 10th May 2012

So much has happened at the Barrow Foodbank since the open evening way back at the beginning of March.

• The warehouse is now cleaned and decorated with an initial batch of shelving installed and ready to be filled with food.
• They’ve met with church representatives who are now armed with a pack to set up collection points in their churches.
• Thanks to your generosity, we’ve so far collected over 400kg of food!

Look for the supermarket drives soon. If you’d like to help with a supermarket drive please email Ann at volunteer@barrow.foodbank.org.uk or call 07920 808944

Our two parishes are registered as Foodbank voucher distributors. We need to find a few people who will be authorised signatories for the vouchers when the Foodbank is fully opened – probably the end of May.

The Need for a Foodbank

Today in Barrow there are families struggling to put food on the table. Barrow is the most deprived district of Cumbria and one of the 10% most deprived in the country.

Barrow Foodbank (part of a national organisation) is being set up by the local churches to provide emergency food and support to local people in crisis. It will be based at the Baptist Church on Abbey Road, and there will be various ways in which parishioners can become involved.

Making Donations

In the meantime, can we please ask you to help by donating non-perishable food. There is a cupboard at the back of St Columba’s church and another in the Sacristy at Sacred Heart where your non-perishable food donations can be left for collection by the Food Bank people.

Whatever you can give will be most gratefully received.

The Foodbank needs to build up its stock before it can begin to distribute food on a regular basis. It would be grateful for donations of the following food:

To help us prepare ourselves for weekend Mass, the bell will now sound 2 minutes early.
This will allow us time to settle into our place of prayer.

We should take time to become still and quieten ourselves from the cares of the day, sharing with God the joys, graces and blessings of the past week, and thank God for them. Perhaps there are less joyous things that we could talk over with God too.

We ask God to make us aware of his loving presence with us HERE and NOW.
We get ready to meet Jesus in the Mass.
We remember GOD IS WITH US
We Talk in our own words to Jesus or maybe finish this time with an OUR FATHER

There will be a preparation meeting at Sacred Heart on Sunday 29th April starting with 11am Mass.

The next meeting at St. Columba’s will be on Thursday 3^rd May at 6:30pm in the Social Area.

The next meetings of the Parish Pastoral Councils will take place as folows:

St. Columba’s:   Was held on Monday, 23^rd April at 7:00pm in the presbytery.
Sacred  Heart:  Monday,  28th May at 7:00pm in the Social Area

If you have anything that you want to be discussed at the meeting, please let the chairman or secretary know.  Please be prepared to come along to take part in the discussion.

Please remember, any parishioner is welcome to come to the PPC meeting as an observer.  You will be able to take part in the discussions and see what goes on

The HMRC GIFT AID SCHEME provides a  28% increase in giving at NO Extra Cost to the donor, so why not increase your donations to the Church at no extra cost to yourself?
If you, your spouse or your partner pays tax you can do this by joining the GIFT AID SCHEME.

Contact  the Gift Aid Organisers (Barry Kendall at Sacred Heart  or Andrew Holden at Saint Columba’s) for information and details.   Have a look at the Newsletter for their contact details.

There is more information on this scheme on our “Supporting the Parish” page

Please note that more Masses are requested for the two parishes than can be said there.
If particular dates are requested, we try to get them as near as possible.

Sometimes, Masses that can’t be fitted in to our parish diary can be said in neighbouring parishes.

Please bear this in mind if you are planning to have a Mass offered and talk to Fr Bernard about your wishes.

When Parishioners are admitted to hospital they should make sure that they tell the hospital staff that they are Catholic, and express their wish that this information be passed to the Catholic Chaplain. Those responsible for children or those who are unconscious when admitted should do likewise.

Unless you do this, the Catholic Chaplaincy Team will not know that you are there and may pass you by when they are visiting the wards.

Hospital staff need you to tell them this so that your information can be passed on.
Otherwise, the Data Protection Act and Patient Confidentiality rules will prevent the information from being passed on to the Chaplaincy Team.