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Parish News for the
Catholic Parish of St John the Baptist, Andover
North West Hampshire Pastoral Area
St John the Baptist, Andover and St John Fisher, Whitchurch
Office: Alexandra Rd, Andover, SP10 3AD Tel: 01264 352829
Father Austin email: agurr@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk
Office email: stjtb@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk
Website: www.catholic-andover.org.uk
Parish Safeguarding Officer: Mrs Jackie Kelly: cp_stjohntb@btinternet.com
Office Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: 9.00am - 3.00pm. NB: CLOSED on Wed.
24th and 25th January 2015 - Third Sunday of Ordinary Time
Thought for the Week
My parents sometimes found it amusing, sometimes annoying, that I often had my nose in a book. I would be lying
on the floor propped up on my elbows with the book in front of me. They would say something to me and I would not
hear them, because I was so engrossed in what I was reading. Today you sometimes find the same thing with young
people who have their ears plugged into their iPhone or iPod and are often unaware of what is going on around them. In
a small way they too are engrossed in what they are doing. Engrossed means that you are swallowed up by something, to
such an extent that you are unaware of anything else. Today we hear St Paul tell us that we should not become
engrossed in the world, which is passing away (1 Cor. 7.31).
How those words ring true to us in our present time! Which of us could say that we had not, to some degree,
been taken over by the world in the good years of the past decade? We have woken with a jolt. Engrossed also makes
us think grossness, pandering to the appetites and endangering our spiritual health. Again, looking at our age, we may
wonder whether our pursuit of comfort and wealth has left us swallowed up in material things. We forgot about spiritual
things. Our spiritual life was out of balance.
We should take heart from the other readings with their message of repentance and conversion. If you repent
then you acknowledge with sorrow the wrongs that you have done. If you enter upon the way of conversion, then you
seek, with the help of God’s grace, to turn your life around. Repentance and conversion are the way to new life. In the
first reading (Jonah 3.1-5,10) Jonah preaches to Nineveh and the people are stung into repentance. What we do not hear
in our reading is that Jonah tried to run away from his mission. He did not believe it would work; the people, he said,
would never listen to him. In fact, they did listen, a reminder that sometimes the most surprising hearts open up to God.
In the gospel (Mark 1.14-20) Jesus begins his public ministry. Notice that he while he calls people to repentance,
he also inspires them with a vision of what might be. Our Lord gives us a perfect balance between the negative and the
positive. On the negative side there are things that we must not do. Repentance means to turn away from old sinful
habits, to acknowledge selfishness and to seek to live generously, peacefully and compassionately. It is a change of life.
But then there is the positive side as well. For Jesus also tells those who hear him that the Kingdom of God is at
hand. As he unfolds what he means by the Kingdom it will be a vision of many hands and hearts joined to lift up the
humble, to overturn poverty, to heal the wounded, to bring faith to those in despair. The Kingdom of God is, he says,
close at hand.
Those who respond to Christ are in fact stepping into the Kingdom, making it a reality. Where is the Kingdom?
It is in the lives of each one of us, where we work with others and where we all work with God, to make the world a more
loving place. It can take many forms. Speaking words of hope rather than cynicism. Overcoming our own reticence or
timidity to speak for the vulnerable. Being hospitable. Forgiving others and asking forgiveness for ourselves. Taking
responsibility for our fragile world, being good stewards of its resources. In these and many ways we find to our surprise
and joy that we are not alone, but that we are part of a great company across the world, inspired by Christ to live the
Kingdom of God.
Fr Terry Tastard
Diocesan Prayer Intentions: 25th January - 31st January
These are arranged so that in the course of a year we pray for each parish of our Diocese and the Catholic organisations
within it. Sunday: Local Covenants of Churches. Monday: Diocesan Schools Department.
Tuesday: Community of St Brigid, West End. Wednesday: Staff and Students in Higher Education.
Thursday: Salesian Cooperators of Don Bosco. Friday: Parish of St John Bosco, Woodley.
Saturday: Salesians in the Diocese.
Next weekend there is Special Collection for the Catholic Education Service. The CES negotiates, on behalf of all
bishops, with Government and other national bodies on legal, administrative, and religious education matters in
order to: promote Catholic interests in education; safeguard Catholic interests in education; and contribute to
Christian perspectives within educational debate at national level.
PARISH SOCIAL CLUB
Come and join us for an interesting and entertaining evening on Thursday 12th February when we will have
Tony Strafford, the Beefeater, giving a talk on “Bishops Sex And Money”.
Tony will be telling entertaining stories of life in the Tower of London many years ago. Last year we had a really
good turn out to listen to this very amusing and informative speaker - hopefully this will happen again, as sadly
numbers are dropping away.
The evening starts at 7.30pm and will cost £3.
Please support us and if anyone has any thoughts on future events, please get in contact with me.
Many thanks Lorna Boyne
Bishop Challoner Catholic Secondary School are approaching the 40th Anniversary of their opening in September, and
plan to commemorate and celebrate it in a variety of ways. One of the events will be to have an 40th Anniversary School
Reunion on the 19th September so if you have any old photographs, programmes of events, original or early uniform
items, Bishop Challoner would be grateful if you would either donate or loan them. The school will carefully copy all
loaned photographs etc and return to you. Please send any items via Bishop Challoner school office.
Called to Serve?
If you’d like to know more about becoming an altar server, Jeremy will be available after Mass this weekend to chat
to. Alternatively you can get in touch by letter care of the parish office, by email: servers_stjohntb@btinternet.com, or
on the phone on (01264) 332773. Or just come along to practice one Friday evening for the chance to try with no commitment. So if you have been or waiting for a call to service, wondering what to do but don’t know how to start or would
just like to know a bit more about what we do at Mass then this is you opportunity to do so.
UNITY CHRISTIAN THEATRE
We begin a new musical production 'Peter's Rock' on Sunday 25th January
at St John the Baptist Church Hall at 3.00pm with a read through of the script and listen to the music.
Performances will be on Saturday May 2nd Sunday May 3rd at The Lights.
This is an invitation to all singers, actors and people who enjoy backstage help!
We are an inclusive group and we rehearse music on Sundays from 4.00pm - 6.00pm
and actors by arrangement mid-week.
All profit donated to charity.
Catenian’s Wednesday Walk . . . .
Come and join us on Wednesday 28th January – for our walk followed by lunch! We will meet at the car park of the
Station Inn, Andover (change of venue) at 11.00am where we will end up for lunch at the end of our walk. Everyone is
welcome to come along to get some fresh air, some exercise with good company and a well deserved lunch at the end!
Contact Paul Smyth 710456
CAFOD NEWS - CAFOD Portsmouth Supporters’ Meeting
CAFOD Portsmouth will be holding a meeting for all supporters on Saturday 31st January from 10.00am until 1.30pm at
St Bede’s RC Primary School (Popley Way, Basingstoke, RG24 9DX ). Booking essential. Please ring 01252 329385 or
email: portsmouth@cafod.org.uk by 26th January 2015.
A Day with Mary
at St John’s Catholic Cathedral, Portsmouth on Saturday 7th February 2015.
A day of instruction, devotion and intercession based on the message given at Fatima in 1917.
8.45 am Video presentation in the Cathedral Hall on the Message of Fatima 10.00 am Mass in Honour of Our Lady - Celebrant and preacher: The Rt Rev Philip Egan: Entry Procession of Our Lady. Angelus Crowning. Sung Litany; The Five Joyful
Mysteries 12.00 pm Lunch break (Please bring packed lunch) 1.00 pm Exposition and Procession of the Blessed Sacrament. The Luminous Mysteries Sermon on Our Lady by Canon Dominic Golding VG The Five Sorrowful Mysteries. Silent
Adoration. Meditations on the Passion 3.15 pm Tea break 3.45 pm Sermon on Our Lady by Fr John Lawrence Polis FI The
Five Glorious Mysteries. Act of Consecration. Benediction Enrolments in the Brown Scapular and Miraculous Medal Finish
5.00 pm During the day: Confession and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
We would like to be able to book a coach/minibus for the above event in Portsmouth. However, in order to do so, we
HAVE to know who would like to go on the trip - as we haven’t got long to organise it. Therefore, if you would like to go,
and know that you are able to go on the 7th February, please sign up on the list on the back of the porch or email your
intention to the Parish Office by SUNDAY 25th January. There will be a cost, obviously, which can only be calculated when
we know how many people would like to go! The day begins at 8.45am so we would have to leave Andover by 7.15am at
the very latest or leave by 8.15am to arrive in time for 10.00am Mass. To be decided! The day finishes at 5.00pm, so we
would not be back until at least 6.15/6.30pm depending on the traffic.
DIOCESE OF PORTSMOUTH PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND
from 22nd/23rd NOVEMBER – 2nd DECEMBER 2015
Spiritual Director Bishop Philip Egan
Assisted by Mgr Vincent Harvey and Fr James McAuley
£1,560.00 per person - Fully Inclusive - Limited Single Accommodation [Supplement £335]
Travel Insurance £75.00 per person
FOR FULL INFORMATION AND BOOKING FORM CONTACT PILGRIMAGE ORGANISER:
Deacon Iain email: blessings41@gmail.com
Telephone: 01534 725963 www.portsmouthdiocese.org.uk
In conjunction with Tangney Tours Ltd ATOL Protected & ABTA Bonded
ROME Trip October 2016
For those in Year 9 and above. If you would like more information on Rome, please contact Fr Mark on 01256323595
and for WYD2016, please contact Angie Carroll on 07713567161
FLAME 2 - Year 10 and above.
The biggest national youth gathering is taking place on the 7th March at Wembley arena. There will be fantastic guest
speakers and the day is promised to be EPIC. Cost, including round journey departing from Basingstoke, will be no more
than £15 per person (and may well be less due to a generous donation from the Catenians). Please email Mary Lee as
soon as possible on: Mary.Lee@bcs.hants.sch.uk
www.youthstorm.org.uk our website is back on track!
Evangelisation Strategy Teams: A message from Bishop Philip
Bishop Philip writes: “As you know, the Church in our time is calling us to the work of new evangelisation. We are
Christ’s missionary disciples, and He has given us many charisms and talents for this work. Now we want to set up in
every Pastoral Area an Evangelisation Strategy Team, comprised of clergy and laity, to direct the work of mission at the
local, parish level. In your Pastoral Area, there will soon be a Holy Hour to pray for this initiative.
The Strategy Team is a new body to replace the Pastoral Council. It should represent all ages and types. It’s all about
vision! Its purpose is to sponsor mission-projects across the area. Teams will meet once a term.
To find out more, go to our diocesan website: www.portsmouthdiocese.org.uk/evangelisation-teams. There you will
find a video with more info, and details of what the commitment would be for team members.”
We pray for the mission of new evangelisation in our Pastoral Area. May each one of us
grow in deeper awareness of our missionary calling as disciples and lay apostles of Christ.
May our passion and desire to proclaim Christ to others increase.
There are information leaflets about the new Evangelisation Strategy Teams available from the
Church Porch this weekend.
HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY
Holocaust Memorial Day takes place on 27th January each year. It is a time for everyone
to pause to remember the millions of people who have been murdered or whose lives
have been changed beyond recognition during the Holocaust, Nazi Persecution and in
subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. On
Holocaust Memorial Day we can honour the survivors of these regimes and challenge
ourselves to use the lessons of their experience to inform our lives today. 27th January 2015 marks the seventieth
anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the largest Nazi death camp. 2015 will also be the 20th anniversary of the
Genocide in Srebrenica,
Bosnia. Therefore it is particularly appropriate that the theme for this major anniversary year focuses on memory.
The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2015 is ‘Keeping the Memory Alive’. Holocaust Memorial Day’s purpose is to
commemorate the Holocaust and subsequent genocides – to remember. Those who have no direct experience to
recall are asked, on Holocaust Memorial Day, to ‘remember’ those who were murdered and to honour the survivors.
‘Keeping the Memory Alive’ encourages us to consider how we in the UK commemorate the past, as well as looking
to the future of Holocaust memory.
For more information about Holocaust Memorial Day please visit www.hmd.org.uk
Keep in touch with the latest news! The Diocese of Portsmouth now issues a weekly e-news with photos, news, and
information from around the Diocese. Go to www.portsmouthdiocese.org.uk and add your email address to receive
these updates. Are you on Facebook? Like ‘Diocese of Portsmouth’ to get all the latest info as it happens. You can also
follow @BishopEgan and @PortsmouthRC on Twitter.
Mass Times and Intentions from 24th January - 6th February (YEAR B)
Reconciliations each Saturday in Andover from 5.15pm - 5.45pm, and in Whitchurch before Sunday Mass.
Congratulations to Theodore Bukhory who is to be baptised this weekend.
Sat. 24th
Andover
Mass
6.00pm Florencio Ruiz RIP
Reconciliations before Mass
Sunday 25th - Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Whitchurch Mass
9.00am For the People of the Parish
Farleigh School Mass 10.00am Andover
Mass
10.30am Sheila Barber RIP - Anniversary
Mon. 26th
Andover
Mass
10.00am Nora Finn RIP
Tue. 27th
Andover
Mass
10.00am Audrey Francis Birthday Blessings
Andover
Wed. 28th
Andover
7.00pm - 7.30pm Healing Prayers
SOW
10.00am -
Thur. 29th Whitchurch Mass
10.00am John McKay RIP and family
Fri. 30th
10.00am Nichola RIP - Anniversary
Andover
Mass
Whitchurch: The Rosary
will be said each
Thursday morning at 9.30am.
Many congratulations to Helen Weatherley and Richard Rees who are to be married this Saturday, 31st January.
We pray that they have a long and happy life together.
Sat. 31st
Andover
Mass
6.00pm Eddie Flood RIP - Anniversary
Sunday 1st February - Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Whitchurch Mass
9.00am For the People of the Parish
Farleigh School Mass 10.00am Andover
Mass
10.30am Mr and Mrs Flora Barry - In Thanksgving
Mon. 2nd
Andover
Mass
10.00am Arthur Drugan RIP - Anniversary
Tue. 3rd
Andover
Mass
10.00am Nora Finn RIP - Anniversary
Andover
Wed. 4th
Andover
7.00pm - 7.30pm Healing Prayers
SOW
Thur. 5th Whitchurch Mass
Fri. 6th
Andover
Mass
10.00am -
Andover: The Rosary
will be said each Saturday
morning at 10.00am and after
Mass or SOW on Fridays.
10.00am Richard Arnold-Jones RIP
10.00am Thomas Cullen RIP
Please pray for Eva Boshier, Patrick Pacini, Patricia Delahey, Daphne Channing, Debbie Smythe, Raiko Tyler, Kay Porter,
Audrey Stephenson, Jo Parker, Ian Johnson-Ferguson, Trisha Hillier, Esmé Coveney, Beatrice Bradley,
Fr Bob Ellwood SMM, Almuth Fisher, Maureen Bennett, Patrick Stewart, Frances Townend, Arthur and Sheila Cuffley,
Heinrich ’H’ Nita, Andrew Brown, Bill Hayes, Doreen Burke, Rita Lane, Mary and Alan Daws, Mary Lay,
Berrie Norton, Nan Mundy, Jean Charlwood, Barry Addison, Cyril and Betty Twist, Tony Jackson
Cera Carden, Stella Pellegrini, Diane Blease and all those in need of our prayers.
Please pray for the repose of the souls of Richard Arnold-Jones, Penny Mussert and Lena Pietrzak.
May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, rest in peace.
The next Baptism Preparation Course will be on February 27th and March 6th. Start time 7.30pm in the presbytery.
You can find registration forms in the porch and they are available to download from the Parish Website.
Please note that a course must be competed prior to arranging your baby’s baptism.
CAFOD Lent Soup Lunches begin on Monday 23rd February and will be held each Monday until 30th March.
Mass on those Mondays will be at 11.30am.
ANDOVER FOODBANK In your generosity, please could you add one of these items to your shopping list this week?
The foodbank is in need of Powdered Milk, Razors and Shaving Foam/Gel
The next Andover Foodbank Prayer Breakfast will be on Tuesday 3rd February in the Parish Hall from 8.30am. All are
welcome to come along and hear news from the Foodbank!