MESSAGE FROM Fr. JOHN

My Dear Friends,            Over the last few months we have heard and indeed experienced some of the economic difficulties of our times. The Church is not immune from these difficulties; therefore we are having to be careful. No longer do we order office materials in bulk and have them delivered, they are collected from the local supermarket. The cost of gas has rocketed and the telephone provider has had the cheek to charge us an administration charge for cashing our cheques. What I as the parish priest am determined to do is not to cut down on heating the church because we must be comfortable in our worship. I am also aware that those who contribute regularly to the running of the Church in this place may also be finding things difficult. So we will make savings not cuts wherever possible. Amidst all this gloom we must remember that we are The people of God and that we are very well off compared to so many in the world, so we should be thankful and continue to remember the plight of others. When we, in the rich part of the world sneeze the poor part of the world gets a cold. It is of the utmost importance that we continue to support others with our charitable giving. Hopefully we will also continue to give where we can and continue to give thanks to Almighty God for the privileged lifestyle most of us enjoy here and to try to share a little with others. This is a continuous process and the next opportunity is at Harvest, when we can give a little of what we have so that the proceeds may be passed on to others in the world   Your Friend and Parish Priest Fr John