Our Lady of Good Counsel

& Guardian Angels Parish

54 Harvey Street,
Elton, Bury BL8 2RD
Tel: 0161 764 1630

Email: olgcga@b nternet.com

Parish website:
www.guardianangels-parish.org
Parish Twier: @olgcga
Diocesan website:
www.salforddiocese.org.uk

Newsleer for the weekend - 15th/16th August 2015

The Assump
on of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Year of St. MarkYear B)
PLEASE REMEMBER
IN PRAYER

THIS WEEKENDS
SCRIPTURES

OUR SICK:
Bro. Nicholas Hutchinson,
David Lindley, Elaine Hardman,
Michael Dewsnap, Phyllis Daly,
Maurice Berry, Margaret Reilly,
Sean Reilly, John Cullen, Joan
Hearle, Phillip Bailey, Alan
Radcliffe, Mary Hanson, Maddie
Clayton, Paddy Harrison, Larry
Hindes, Lillian Graves, Alex
Riley, Michael Naughton, Phil
Bailey, Ted Whiley, Bill McPhee,
Joe Barrett, Patsy Frazer, Irenia
Tluczek, Steven McGuiness,
Barbara Kendal, Tom Divinney,
John Durcan, James Cassidy, Ann
Marie Cassidy.

TODAYS READINGS
First Reading: R ev 11:19a. A
woman adorned with the sun and
crowned with stars
Psalm 45 Response: On your
right stands the queen in
garments of gold.
Second Reading: 1 Cor 15:54b57. Christ is the first-fruits of
those who have fallen asleep
Gospel Reading: Luke 1:3956.John leaps in his mothers
womb in the presence of the Lord
in the womb of Mary

LATELY DECEASED:
Alice Evans
David Lashford
Josef Haliniak

First Reading: Joshua 24:1-2a,

15-17, 18b
Psalm 34
Second Reading: Ephesians
5:21-32
Gospel: John 6:60-69

ANNIVERSARIES:
May OKeefe
Julie McDermott
Ethel Gradwell
Darren
To include someone on the
prayer list please give their name to
Fr. Paul, put it through the letterbox
of the Parish Office, call the Office on:
0161 764 1630 or e-mail to
olgcga@btinternet.com
Please use the White Mass
Intention envelopes for Mass
intentions which you will
find in the porches.
Thank you.
When adding the
name of someone sick
please ensure that you
have their permission (or the
permission of their family). The list is
updated each week. and because of
space the names of the sick will be
removed from the list after four weeks.
You can ask for them to be added
again.

NEXT WEEKENDS
SCRIPTURES (Year B)

'CIRCLE OF PRAYER'
St Theresa of Lisieux
Deanery
For the week beginning Sunday
16th August 2015 we pray for
the people of the Parish of Our
Lady of the Assumption,
Langley and St John Fishers,
Boarshaw, and their Parish Priest
Canon Tadgh Mullins.
All ministers please remember
to find a replacement to fill in
for your duties if you are going
away on holidaythank you.
Fr Paul.

You are now able to access the

weekly parish newsletter from
our twitter feed @olgcga

SERVICES THIS WEEK

Saturday 15th August: The Assumption of the
Blessed Virgin Mary
7.00 pm: Mass
Sunday 16th August: The Assumption of the Blessed
Virgin Mary
8.45 am: Mass
10.30 am: Mass
12.15 pm: Celebration of the Sacrament of Baptism
Monday 17th August:
9.15 noon: Eucharistic Service
Tuesday 18th August:
10.00 am: Funeral Mass for Alice Evans
Wednesday 19th August: St John Eudes
9.15 am: Mass
Thursday 20th August: St Bernard
9.15 am: Mass
Friday 21st August: St Pius X
9.15 am: Eucharistic Service
Saturday 22nd August: 21st Sunday of the Year
7.00 pm: Mass
Sunday 23rd August: 21st Sunday of the Year
8.45 am: Mass
10.30 am: Mass (with Baptism during Mass)
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Saturday 15th August: at 6.00 pm
Saturday 22nd August: at 6.00 pm
The Rosary (for the sick and peace)
7.00 pm every Monday
The new Eucharistic Ministers, Readers &
Welcomers Rotas ar e now available to collect fr om
the Welcome & Information Centre.
ITEMS FOR THE NEWSLETTER
Please submit all items for inclusion in the newsletter to
the Parish Office no later than Wednesday evening.
Either pop them through the Office letter-box or e-mail
them in. Anything received after Wednesday evening
cant be guaranteed to make it into the next weekends
newsletter.
Flowers on the Sanctuary.
If you would like to have the
flowers on the sanctuary in memory of
someone or something special just let Fr
Paul or Sharon know and they will
arrange it, or you can simply put all the
details on an envelope, and put the
donation in the envelope and pop it
through the office letterbox.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

16th August 2015
If you wish to contribute to the View from the Pew,
please contact the Parish Office. These are anonymous

comments from parishioners.

Upon Marys approach, John leaped in Elizabeths womb. Mary herself was carrying the growing Jesus
in her own womb. Because of our baptism, we hold within
ourselves Gods greatest gift, and in Gods good timeif
we hear Gods word and keep itwe too will be blessed
with resurrection. Listening to Gods word today, let us
give thanks for these good gifts of the Lord.
Question for the Week: W ith whom (and how soon) can I share the
first-fruits of the Kingdoms harvest of love by serving in selfsacrificing love?
MINIBUS DRIVERS
If you cannot fulfil your rota duty, please arrange a swap with another
team. Thanks.
This weeks team: George Ponka & Janet Turner
Next weeks team: Steve & Mary Sawley
Spaces on the Minibus: We cur r ently have some spaces on the minibus for the 10.30 am Mass minibus run. If you or someone you know
would benefit from this fantastic service please call the Office.
Having got some new volunteer drivers, we are now in need of a few
more non-drivers who would like to team up with drivers in helping
the people we collect to get into the minibus. If you would be interested
in doing this please contact the Parish Office.
Please contact the Parish Office if you would like to volunteer or for
more information.
WEEKLY OFFERINGS
The Offertory Collection for:
For the weekend 8th/9th August was:
Envelopes: 792.04 Loose collection: 308.64
Total: 1100.68
Thank you for your generosity.
If you wish to join the Gift Aid scheme please see Fr Paul at the back of
Church after Mass. It only takes a couple of seconds!

Are you coeliac?

We have special hosts for those who are coeliac. If you need a
special host, please come to the sacristy before Mass and ask the sacristan to put a coeliac host out for you. Please also let Fr Paul know that
you will be coming up for a coeliac host. We consecrate them on a different paten to the other hosts.
Launch of a special fundThe Parish Minibus
At the recent quiz night we launched a special fund. Aware of
the age of our parish minibus, and of how much it is used in the parish,
we felt that it would now be a good time to start building up a fund in
order to have some money set aside for when we will have to replace
the minibus. The minibus is a great asset, bringing some of our older
parishioners to Mass (who wouldnt get here without it), enabling our
two schools to take the pupils on trips that would be too expensive because of the cost of coach hire, different parish groups using it, and of
course being a very visible sign of the presence of the parish in our area.
This week we have received donations of 200, 500 and 20 (a
big thank you to the doners!)
Therefore the running total in the fund currently is: 2420.00

PARISH DIARY
Tuesday 18th August
Tuesday Club: Lunch and Bingo
UCM: Please bring a funny story to the meeting.
Tuesday 25th August
Tuesday Club: Quiz or Games
Thursday 27th August
7.30 pm Baptism Preparation Meeting (2)in the Walsingham
Room
Saturday 29th August
1.00 pm Wedding: Aine Hoy & Stephen Delaney
Monday 31st August (Bank Holiday Monday)
Parish Outing to Cartmel & the Races.
Sunday 6th September
10.30 am Mass: Welcome and Presentation for Baptism
After 10.30 am Mass: Baptism Preparation Meeting (1)
Tuesday 8th September
7.30 pm Paul Vallelys talk at St Gabriels H SHow Pope
Francis will change Catholic Social thinking. (see page 4 for
full details)
Thursday 10th September
7.30 pm Bereavement Support Group Meeting
Thursday 17th September
7.30 pm Jeremy Duffs talk at St Gabriels H SPeter s
Preaching: The Gospel of St Mark (see page 4 for full details)
Friday 25th SeptemberSaturday 3rd October
Diocesan Pilgrimage to Malta & Rome in the footsteps of St
Paul.
To receive our Parish Newsletter by e-mail each weekend,
simply e-mail the Parish Office on:
olgcga@btinternet.com with the tag line newsletter and
we will add you to the list. Follow us on Twitter also
@olgcga for reminders and updates on parish events, & a
link to the newsletter each week. Follow the Department for
Evangelisation: @SalfordDFE

MONDAY 31st
AUGUST
2015
The trip to Cartmel is definitely on!
The list is now closed as the tickets have been booked and the
coach also. If you put your name down to go and have not yet
paid, please pay as soon as possible so the money gets back
into the account!
The cost per person is 20.00 (coach and admission).
If you have booked a place, please put the money in an envelope with your name on it, and Cartmel and drop it through
the letterbox of the Parish Office. Many thanks. Children
under the age of 16 get into the racecourse for free (as long as
they are accompanied by an adult of course! - so they would
only have to pay for the coach (10.00 per person).
Dont forget you can take your own food and drink in,
and you can take your own fold up chairs etc.

The Clusterers
Sunday 23rd August 2015
Witton Country Park. (hilly in places).
Leader: Jeff Smith 0161 764 7289
9.30 departure from the Parish Centre Car Park.

Dont forget we have Tea and Coffee in the

Parish Centre after the 10.30 am Mass each
Sundaycome and join us!

Awaken Your
Catholic Faith
Sometimes important things get
away from usthings like faith.
Is this you? Too busy? Not been
to church in a while? Children asking questions about faith
that youre not sure how to answer? Looking for an opportunity to explore your faith? Were you baptized and then not
confirmed or didn't make your first communion? Do you
know people who are in this position?
Awakening Faith will be just right for you. This is a
six week programme which includes topics such as
Spirituality Can I Accept Gods Mercy? Can the Mass
Make My Life Meaningful? and The Church and Me. You
can learn and ask questionsall in a friendly and confidential
setting with other parishioners.
Please tell other people about this six week
programmethey will all be made most welcome.
If you would be interested in attending or would like
more information about it, please call the Parish Office on
0161 764 1630 or e-mail us on: olgcga@btinternet.com.
If you would like to join us, please complete the form
below and return to the Parish Office, and we will be in
touch with you.

Thinking of
becoming a
Catholic?
Seeking Christ is a programme
aimed at people who want to look at the Catholic church,
who have either been baptised in another Christian tradition
or never been baptised.
Initially there are eight sessions in the programme to
help welcome and engage those who are thinking of possibly
becoming a Catholic. There is of course no obligation after
completing the eight week programme, but if people decide
they would then like to move forward to becoming a catholic
we can then help them to move forward.
If you know of people who might be interested in this
programme please let them know about it. If they want any
further information they can contact the Parish Office on
0161 764 1630 or by e-mail on olgcga@btinternet.com
If you would like to join us, please complete the form
below and return to the Parish Office, and we will be in

Planning on getting married in 2016

at Guardian Angels?
Please remember that all couples are required to
give at least 6 months notice (by Diocesan Law) in order to
marry in the Church. So, if you are planning on getting married in 2016
and have not yet made contact with us and booked in your wedding,
please do so as soon as possible.
Please telephone the office (0161 764 1630) to make an appointment for an initial meeting with Fr Paul, so that the availability of the
Church can be checked and details can be put in the Parish Diary.

Jesus: A Pilgrimage
Fr James Martin, SJ brings the Gospels to life
in Jesus: A Pilgrimage, providing an experience of
Jesus through Scripture, prayer and travel. Combining insights of historical Jesus studies with profound
spiritual insights about the Christ of faith, he recreates the world of first-century Galilee and Judea to
usher us into Jesus's life and times and show readers how Jesus speaks
to us today.
Fr Martin brings together the most up-to-date Scripture scholarship, wise spiritual reflections, and light-hearted stories about travelling
through the Holy Land with a fellow Jesuit, visiting important sites in
the life of Jesus of Nazareth.
The book is a little expensive (we can get copies at 18.99 a copy
(its only available in hardback at the moment) - but you might be able
to pick it up cheaper on internet book sites, and you can certainly get it
for a kindle or ipad or tablet a lot cheaper (I think I paid less than 5.00
for it for my ipad).
DATES FOR OUR MEETINGS:
Wednesday 9th Sept, Tuesday 15th Sept, Wednesday 23rd Sept,
Thursday 8th October, Thursday 15th Oct, Thursday 22nd Octall
beginning at 7.30 pm in the Parish Centre.
We have tried to use different evenings to enable as many people as
want to take part to be able to.
To help us to plan and prepare for the sessions, if you are planning on coming along, please let us know by completing the form below.
If you would like us to order a copy of the book for you, then you
can indicate that also on the form below. Please return to the Parish Office as soon as possible. Many thanks. Fr Paul.

------------------------------------------------

JESUS. A PILGRIMAGE SESSIONS

I am interested in attending Awakening Faith or

Seeking Christ

I am intending taking part in the Jesus. A Pilgrimage

Meetings after the summer holidays.

Name: ..
Address: ..

Please order a copy of the book: Jesus. A pilgrimage for

me

..

NAME: .

E-mail: ....

TEL NO:

Tel: No: ...

PLEASE RETURN TO THE PARISH OFFICE
(or e-mail the office on olgcga@btinternet.com)

THE INTRODUCTORY MEETING FOR

SEEKING CHRIST AND AWAKENING FAITH
WILL BE ON TUESDAY 22nd SEPTEMBER at
7.45 pm IN THE PARISH CENTRE.

E-MAIL:
Please return to the Parish Office as soon as possible to
enable us to plan the evenings (or e-mail us)
Many thanks, Fr Paul.

Having your child baptised at Guardian

Angels.
If you are planning on having your child baptised,
please pick up a leaflet from the Welcome and
Information Centre, which outlines our baptism
preparation programme.
Please note that the first thing that parents have to do is contact the
Parish Office (telephone on 0161 764 1630 or call in) to book onto
the First Meeting, held on the first Sunday of each month. Please do
not just turn up for the meeting without first booking in through the
Parish Office. This means that our Baptism Preparation Team have a
workable number of people each month.
MINIBUS PARISH OUTING TO WINDERMERE
Once again we hear that the Parish Minibus outing to Windermere was a great successdespite a few showers in the morning, the
weather for the rest of the day was very nice. A great time was had by
all! Many thanks again to Pat & Sue for organising the day out.
Private Members Bill on Assisted Suicide
On Friday 11 September 2015 the House of Commons is debating and voting on a Private Members Bill to legalise assisted suicide.
This will put the most vulnerable people in our society at risk.
The Assisted Dying (No. 2) Bill is a Private Members Bill
sponsored by Rob Marris MP. It would enable competent adults who
are terminally ill to choose to be provided with medically supervised
assistance to end their own life. That means it would licence doctors to
supply lethal drugs to terminally ill patients to enable them to commit
suicide.
Every persons life is equally worthy of respect and protection.
Even if someone loses sight of the dignity and value of their life
(whether through pain, suffering or loneliness) they remain valuable in
themselves and a member of the human family. They deserve care,
support and sometimes medical treatment for depression, not assistance
with suicide.
We do have a duty to do something. The United Kingdom was a
pioneer in the hospice movement and the development of palliative
care but most people do not have access to a hospice. There is need for
more resources to support improved palliative and end of life care.
Most hospitals focus on curing people and sometimes could do better
when it comes to care of the dying. Over 95% of pain can be controlled
with specialist help and as a last resort a person could at least be comfortably sedated.
What does the Church say about the value and dignity of dying
people?
In a message addressed to Catholics in Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, Pope Francis said, Even the weakest and most vulnerable, the sick, the old, the unborn and the poor, are masterpieces of
Gods creation, made in his own image, destined to live for ever, and
deserving of the utmost reverence and respect. The Church teaches
that life is a gift from God and supports high quality care for the dying
and protection for the weak and vulnerable.
The British Medical Association, and the Medical Royal Colleges are strongly opposed to legalising physicianassisted suicide. A key
principle of professional medical ethics, reflected in the criminal law, is
that doctors should never intentionally shorten life.
If you are concerned about how legalising assisted suicide will
put vulnerable people at risk, affect palliative care or encourage suicide
please contact our MP before the assisted Dying Bill is debated in
the House of Commons on 11 September 2015. If you have personal experiences to share with them please do. MPs listen to their own
constituents and will want to hear about your concerns.
For further information and a link to our MP, visit http://
www.catholicnews.org.uk/Home/Featured/Assisted-Dying-Bill/Q-A
At the back of Church there are some postcards which only need the
MPs name and your name and address to be added and of course a
stamp!

A Levels and GCSEs

Last Thursday and this coming Thursday are
quite stressful days for some of our younger parishioners!
If you received youre A Level results on
Thursday we hope that your results were what you
were hoping for, and that your future plans are falling
into place.
If you are anxiously waiting for your GCSE
results next Thursday, again we hope that your results
are what you are hoping for and reflect the work that
you put into the preparation for the exams.
So congratulations to our A Level students, and
keeping our fingers crossed for our GCSE students.
THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS
All our schools are closed for the summer holidays. I
hope that everyone has a good summer break, whether you
are at school or not!
As usual, in order to give us a chance to tidy up, plan
for after the summer and catch our breathe, the
Parish Office will now be closed on Wednesdays
until Wednesday 2nd September. The telephone
answering machine will be monitored, so please
do leave a message.
Two new DVDs available from the Dept for Evangelisation (please ask at the Office for a copy): 10.99 each
Fr Denis McBride: The Passion Narrative in the Gospels
David Wells: Evangelii Gaudium and the vision of Pope
Francis for the Church.
Two talks organised by
The Department for Evangelisation in September.

Tuesday 8th September:

Paul Vallely (author of Pope Francis: Untying the
knots) will be speaking about:
How Pope Francis will change Catholic Social thinking.
Thursday 17th September:
Rev Dr Jeremy Duff will be speaking about:
Peters Preaching: The Gospel of St Mark
(this is also the title of Jeremys new book, published in
June 2015)
Both talks will be at:
St Gabriels R.C. High School, Bridge Road,
Bury, BL9 0TZ
7.30 pm9.30 pm.
5.00 per person
(includes tea & coffee on arrival and at the interval)
The bookshop with both of the speakers new books will
be available (and they will sign them for you also!)

Please see the posters in the Porches for

full details.