SATURDAY FEBRUARY 1st
09:30 Mass with prayer for healing and anointing with the holy oil.
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 2nd
10:30 ALL-AGE MASS for the FEAST OF CANDLEMASS.
Mass begins with a procession as we celebrate the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple.
100 Club and Rubatano collected.
15:30 EVENSONG & BENEDICTION
MONDAY FEBRUARY 3rd
18:30 MONDAY CLUB meets in the Hall. Details below.
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 4th
19:15 Deanery Synod at S. James’ Longton.
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 5th
10:00 Baby and Toddler Group Meet in the hall.
19:30 P.C.C. meet after mass.
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 7th
11:30 Mass followed by shared lunch.
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 9th
10:30 SUNG MASS
100 CLUB called
MONDAY FEBRUARY 10th
18:30 MONDAY CLUB meets in the Hall. Details below.
General Synod begins in London.
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 12th
10:00 Baby and Toddler Group Meet in the hall.
12:00 Clergy meeting and mass.
19:00 Mass in the Peggy Jones’ Room
Dollys Lane Allotment AGM in the church
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 13th
General Synod concludes
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 14th
11:30 Mass followed by shared lunch.
MONDAY FEBRUARY 17th
18:30 MONDAY CLUB meets in the Hall. Details below.
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 19nd
10:00 Baby and Toddler Group Meet in the hall.
19:30 Singing Group meet after mass.
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 21st
12:00 Mass followed by shared lunch.
MONDAY FEBRUARY 24th
18:30 MONDAY CLUB meets in the Hall. Details below.
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 26th
09:00 ASH WEDNESDAY – MASS & ASHING
10:00 Baby and Toddler Group Meet in the hall.
19:00 SOLEMN MASS & IMPOSITION OF ASHES
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 27th
07:00 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Rosary
07:30 Morning Prayer
08:00 MASS.
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 28th
11:00 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Rosary
12:00 Mass followed by shared lunch.
Presentation of Jesus in the temple prepared him for ministry
By Betsy Wiederkehr Huss
Feb. 2 is the date our Church calendar marks as the feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. It occurs 40 days after the celebration of Christmas, a time period that was significant in the life of a faithful Jewish couple, such as Mary and Joseph.
The Law of Moses states that a woman who had given birth to a male child was unclean for seven days. The boy could then be circumcised on the eighth day. For the mother of the boy, 33 additional days were required for the process of purification.
As stated in Leviticus 12:4, “She shall not touch anything sacred nor enter the sanctuary till the days of her purification are fulfilled.” (If a girl was born, the mother was excluded from the sanctuary for 80 days.)
After the days of purification, a woman was required to bring to the priest a yearling lamb for a holocaust offering and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. The priest would offer these sacrifices before the Lord as atonement for her and then she would be clean again. If she could not afford a lamb, she was to offer turtle-doves or pigeons for both sacrifices.
Mary offered two turtle-doves or two pigeons (Luke 2:24) presumably because she and Joseph could not afford the lamb. Mary provided one bird for the burnt offering in thanksgiving for the birth of her son Jesus. The other bird was Mary’s sin offering. Although she herself was without sin, Mary was obedient to the Law and made the offering.
It is also written that the first-born male was to be consecrated to the Lord (Exodus 13:2, 12, 13). While parents were not required to take their child to the Temple in Jerusalem for this consecration, Mary and Joseph did so anyway. The Temple becomes the backdrop for two encounters that reveal the identity and mission of Jesus.
The first encounter is with Simeon (Luke 2:25-35), a “righteous and devout” man who had the “Holy Spirit upon him.” Simeon’s devotion and prompting by the Spirit undoubtedly placed him at the Temple at the time that Mary and Joseph arrived with baby Jesus.
Aware that he would not die before he saw the Messiah of God, Simeon recognized Jesus as God’s salvation and proclaimed him “a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for [God’s] people Israel.”
Imagine the overwhelming surprise for these new parents as they pondered the words of this faithful old man. Then, imagine the further surprise upon encountering an elderly widowed woman, Anna, who had devoted herself to the service of God (Luke 2:36-38).
Legend has it that she had previously taught Mary in the Temple area. This woman, known for her constant presence at the Temple and a life of prayer and fasting, praised and thanked God for Jesus. But she didn’t stop there; she “spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.” Simeon and Anna helped to prepare Mary and Joseph for the ministry of their son Jesus; they also help to prepare us for the Messiah and Redeemer of the world as he comes into the temple of our hearts and homes.
This year, the feast falls on the first Sunday of the month. We will celebrate it by starting in the church porch with a procession. Lighted candles remind us that Jesus is “the light to lighten the Gentiles”.
26th – Ash Wednesday & Lent
Lent may originally have followed Epiphany, just as Jesus’ sojourn in the wilderness followed immediately on his baptism, but it soon became firmly attached to Easter, as the principal occasion for baptism and for the reconciliation of those who had been excluded from the Church’s fellowship for apostasy or serious faults. This history explains the characteristic notes of Lent – self-examination, penitence, self-denial, study, and preparation for Easter, to which alms-giving has traditionally been added.
Now is the healing time decreed
for sins of heart and word and deed,
when we in humble fear record
the wrong that we have done the Lord.
(Latin, before 12th century)
As the candidates for baptism were instructed in Christian faith, and as penitents prepared themselves, through fasting and penance, to be readmitted to communion, the whole Christian community was invited to join them in the process of study and repentance, the extension of which over forty days would remind them of the forty days that Jesus spent in the wilderness, being tested by Satan.
Ashes are an ancient sign of penitence; from the middle ages it became the custom to begin Lent by being marked in ash with the sign of the cross. The calculation of the forty days has varied considerably in Christian history. It is now usual in the West to count them continuously to the end of Holy Week (not including Sundays), so beginning Lent on the sixth Wednesday before Easter, Ash Wednesday. Liturgical dress is the simplest possible. Churches are kept bare of flowers and decoration. Gloria in excelsis is not used. The Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetareor Refreshment Sunday) was allowed as a day of relief from the rigour of Lent, and the Feast of the Annunciation almost always falls in Lent; these breaks from austerity are the background to the modern observance of Mothering Sunday on the Fourth Sunday of Lent.
As Holy Week approaches, the atmosphere of the season darkens; the readings begin to anticipate the story of Christ’s suffering and death, and the reading of the Passion Narrative gave to the Fifth Sunday its name of Passion Sunday. There are many devotional exercises which may be used in Lent and Holy Week outside the set liturgy. The Stations of the Cross, made popular in the West by the Franciscans after they were granted custody of the Christian sites in the Holy Land, are the best known.
Some interesting events and information…
THE MONDAY CLUB
This is being organised by Stacey Emery and Yvonne Heath-Wilson. It includes a TUCK SHOP, HOT DOGS, GAMES, AND CHRISTIAN TEACHING. It starts at 6:30 pm, and concludes at 7.45pm after prayers. The age range starts from seven years old, and all are welcome to join in. (We already have a couple of adults from the Baby and Toddler Group who are interested in lending support.)
WALSINGHAM 2020
Father John Stather and compatriots are organising a pilgrimage to The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham for Friday 3rd July – Sunday 5th July 2020. The plan is to reduce costs by hiring two minibuses instead of using a large and expensive coach. This will also provide for added flexibility on our journey to and from the shrine and during our time at Walsingham.
If you are interested in joining me (Father Brian) on this spiritual (shrine) and social (pub) pilgrimage then please give me your name and a £10 deposit and I will pass this on to Father John. Alternatively, you can contact him or Christopher Barnett on http://www.gandtparish.co.uk
Mary Snape has been involved in the organisation of the pilgrimage for many years and will give, I am sure, her much-needed support. Please speak to her about the importance of Walsingham as a place of prayer, healing, and renewal.
Our Lady of Walsingham, pray for us and for all who make pilgrimage to your holy shrine.
HALL HIRE
We have a very versatile and welcoming hall, together with kitchen, side room, toys, crocks, and the means for making a cup of tea or dispense drinks of one sort or another. The venue has been used for a number of children’s parties, wedding breakfasts, and other events.
See Father Brian to discuss availability and the cost of hiring all or part of the building.
Holy Trinity Sneyd 