Parish News

St George's Fairtrade Stall

Thank you to everyone who supported the Fairtrade Stall on Sunday.

Goods to the value of £307 were sold (£212 morning Mass and £95 evening Mass).

The next stall will be held on the 15th December – Please note this is a change of date from 8th.

Very many thanks,

Frances & Dennis

Sustainable Christmas

With Christmas in mind, here are 2 suggestions from our Laudato Si group to make yours a more eco-friendly time of year:

CAFOD World Gifts

This is a range of virtual life changing gifts which can help transform the lives of people living in poverty. An excellent way of giving this Christmas:

See the link at:

worldgifts.cafod.org.uk

For suggestions for a sustainable Advent, with ways of worrying less and spending less, go to

https://www.yorkmethodist.org.uk/lib/sustainable-advent-guide-for-busy-people-2024-F893078.pdf

Parish Christmas/Epiphany Get Together

We are planning an event around Christmas/New year for the whole church. ... we don't quite know how it will take shape yet, but think cheeses, wine, a quiz and entertainment for the children will play a part!

We would like this to be a whole Church celebration.

If you would like to volunteer to help please let Maria Kato or Katy Iggulden know.

Restore - Providing Homes, Giving Hope

Father Joe Michael and Canon Jerry last night joined members of St George's Church, representing the SVP and Laudato Si, in supporting a charity dinner in aid of Restore York who provide homes for people who have suffered homelessness.

We learned that providing a roof is the tip of the iceberg for many homeless people.

The Restore team compassionately explores the root causes of each person's situation, enabling them to flourish - restoring lives and dignity.

The food was cooked and served by Yahala Mataam - a Social Enterprise Restaurant and Cookery School in York.

The mission of Yahala Mataam is to provide opportunity, build confidence and instill dignity in the lives of refugees, asylum seekers and those who are marginalised due to conflict through food projects.

St George's SVP is proud to have partnered with the Restore York Charity in 2024 and will continue to do so into 2025

Appeal for Your Help and Prayers Please

One of our parishioners, Jim Sunney, is desperately trying to help his family in Kent recover from a catastrophic fire at their home.

Please pray for comfort and a swift recovery for the family.

His sister has also set up a GoFundMe page to receive donations of financial help if you feel able:

https://gofund.me/b4236eca

Many thanks from Jim.

Benediction and Holy Hour at 5:30pm - Wednesday 13th November

Fr Jose Michael is holding a Holy Hour and Benediction 5:30pm to 6:30pm at Church to promote the intrinsic dignity of the human person and the culture of life in our country in the face of the assisted suicide legislation going before the UK Parliament.

Requiem Mass for Ann Richardson RIP

The Requiem Mass for Ann Richardson RIP will be held at St Aelred's RC Church on Tuesday 19th November at 12.00 noon.

May Ann's souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

Fairtrade Stall

Thank you to everyone who supported the Fairtrade Stall on Sunday.

Goods to the value of £165 were sold - £120 morning Mass and £45 Evening Mass.

The next stall will be on Sunday 24th November.

This is a Christmas ‘Special’ for the sale of Christmas Cards, Advent Calendars, baubles, stocking fillers, Christmas chocolate, etc, etc.

There will also bring a small stock of the usual coffee, chocolate, jams, etc. which won’t be on display so please ask if you would like these.

Many thanks,
Frances & Dennis

Holy Souls in the Month of November

As we anticipate the month of November, we are reminded to pray for all those Holy Souls that mean so much to each of us.

Names from the November Holy Souls List will be read out at each Mass in November and you can add the names of those you wish to be remembered by completing returning the Holy Souls envelopes now available at the back of Church.

Winter Clothes for Carecent York

Thank you again for your generous donations at Mass yesterday.

And thank you to Jim and Annette for transporting this week to Carecent York

Welcome Back Fr Jo Michael!

This Sunday we welcomed back Fr Jo Michael from his holiday in India to resume his Ministry at St George's. We wish him a long and happy Ministry at St George's.

We also thank Canon Jerry for looking after us since his retirement at the beginning of August.

May Canon Jerry now enjoy a very long and happy retirement in York.

God bless both Canon Jerry and Fr Jo Michael.

Fairtrade Stall

Another fantastic result yesterday for our ever popular Fairtrade Stall.

Goods to the value of £297 were sold - £210 morning Mass and £87 evening Mass.

This compares very favourably with previous months in 2024 and is our second highest total this year.

Thank you to everyone who has supported our Fairtrade stall this year.

The next stalls will be held on

1. Sunday 3rd November for the sale of Christmas Cards and Advent calendars as well as the usual goods This is week earlier than usual to avoid Remembrance Sunday

2. Sunday 24th November This is a Christmas Special for the sale of Christmas cards, Advent calendars as well as other Christmas items

Very many thanks,
Frances & Dennis

It was great to accompany Canon Jerry on his visit the York Mosque & Islamic Centre last Thursday, where he shared news of his retirement with Imam Ammar.

A lovely and very busy community lunch allowed us to share a meal together and it was great to connect again with Helping other People in Need Group Street Kitchen who do some great work in York feeding those in need every single week of the year.

In the week in which the UK's last coal-fired power station was due to close, we are reminded that as a Church we have a part to play in influencing the Fossil Fuel agenda.

https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/50683

FIRST HOLY COMMUNION 2025:

Our parish First Holy Communion programme is open for all children Year 4 and above and preparation for the special day will start in November 2024.

Dates and times of meetings and the date for the First Holy Communion Mass will be confirmed when Fr Jo Michael returns in mid-October.

If you would like to register your child on the programme please email Liz Goldstein: goldstein.liz63@gmail.com, who will send out a registration form for you to complete.

In the meantime all the catechists look forward to welcoming you and your children at Sunday Mass.

SVP Parish Outing 2024 - Thursday 19th September

Thank you to Ines and Pat for some great photos from yesterday's trip to Hutton Le Hole.

The food was excellent and the museum was extensive, relaxed and very informative.

I'm told the ice cream was also delicious!

Hannah Pugh RIP

Today we fondly remember Hannah Pugh who passed away recently.

Hannah was a very popular parishioner at St George's and made many friends.

She will be very sadly missed.

Here is a link to the order of service from her Requiem Mass:

https://stgeorgeschurch-york.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/H-Pugh-service-sheet-booklet.pdf

May Hannah's soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

Thank you to everyone who supported the Fairtrade stall on Sunday – goods to the value of £106 were sold - £49 after morning Mass and £57 after evening.

A good result during the holiday season.

Our next stall is on Sunday 8th Sept.

Many thanks,

Frances & Dennis

August Issue of The Voice

The August Issue of The Voice produced by the The Diocese of Middlesbrough is now available at the back of Church or you can read online at this link:

https://middlesbrough-diocese.org.uk/the-voice/

This month's issue contains a lovely photo and article from Canon Jerry's recent Jubilee Mass at St George's Church.

Olga Finnegan, RIP

We have just been made aware that the funeral service for Olga Finnegan, who passed away recently in Bridlington, will be held tomorrow, Thursday 18th July, at 3pm at York Crematorium.

Olga was a former parishioner of St George's and will be well known to many people in our Parish.

Another Successful Fairtrade Stall - Sunday 14th July

Thank you to everyone who supported the Fairtrade stall at Mass yesterday.

An excellent £187 worth of goods were sold - £110 at morning Mass and £77 at evening Mass.

The next stall is at both Masses on Sunday 11th August.

Michael Metcalfe RIP

Today we pray Michael Metcalfe who died recently at St Leonard's Hospice.

Canon Jerry led a very heartwarming tribute Mass at St George's today, to celebrate Michael's life with family and friends, organised by Michael's twin sister Jane.

Michael attended St George's Junior and Secondary School and served as an altar boy at St George’s Church. He worked for a time at York Carriage Works and was an engineer at heart who just loved to understand how things worked. He also had a fine collection of motor bikes.

May Michael’s soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Sometimes it does us all good to look at things from a different angle, or from a different perspective.

Here are a couple of photos of our Church, taken one Tuesday last week by a parishioner Citlali, that show St George's Church upon nature's beautiful canvas.

Faitrade Stall

Thank you to everyone who supported the Fairtrade stall on Sunday.

Goods the value of £183 were sold - £133 morning Mass and £50 at evening Mass.

Very many thanks,
Frances & Dennis

Canon Jerry Jubilee Mass - Sun 9th June - more photos

It really was a lovely celebration at morning Mass yesterday. Here are some photos courtesy of Ines and Lars.

Canon Jerry - 50th Anniversary of Ordination - 8th June 2024

Please join with us today to congratulate Canon Jerry on his Golden Jubilee as a priest!

First Holy Communion - Saturday 1st June

Our Lovely flower display in Church ready for the First Holy Communion Mass at 11a.m

Laudato Si Week 19th May to 26th May 2024

This week is Laudato Si week and marks the anniversary of Pope Francis' landmark encyclical on Care for Creation.

We can all play a part in caring for the environment and, at St George's, our Laudato Si Group has produced the attached newsletter for parishioners and followers.

You can download it from this link.

https://stgeorgeschurch-york.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LS-Newsletter-May-2024-Update.pdf

NEW SVP SHOP IN MELROSEGATE YORK

The St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) opened its first charity shop in York at the end of April.

The address is: 273 Melrosegate York YO10 3SN (formerly Alan Bott).

Parking is available round the back, accessible from Melrosegate.

Donations of quality, saleable items are very welcome.

Please support this important venture as the SVP does a lot of important work supporting those in need within St George’s Parish.

Also, if you are interested in volunteering, please call into the shop and introduce yourself to Kevin, the Manager.

SVP Mass of Anointing - Thursday 2nd May

Thank you to Canon Jerry, Canon Harney and Canon Ryan for a very prayerful, comforting and healing Mass yesterday morning.

And thank you to the SVP members for organising the get together afterwards for people to chat and build community.

Thank you to Lars and Seamus for some great photos to capture the event and to Normal Fowler and the choir for some lovely music.

Fairtrade Stall

Thank you to everyone for your generous support of the Fairtrade stall and people in developing countries.

£142 worth of goods were sold, £107 after morning Mass and £35 after evening Mass last Sunday.

The next stalls will be after both Masses on Sunday 19th May

Very many thanks,

Frances & Dennis

Laudato Si Update

It was a wonderful pre-morning Mass Meditation on the subject of Ecological Education yesterday for those who attended.

We are not posing any questions for written answers at Mass any more. Thank you to everybody who did respond. We have taken note of your answers.

However, the Holy Spirit is very evidently at work in our parish, demonstrated by the wonderful response to any requests that have been made eg bringing materials for recycling; clothes/shoes for Carecent; old computers and Smartphones for recycling to those who do not have any; and recently a mountain of 'spiritual' books donated for borrowing.

Thank you so much again for your wonderful generosity.

Laudato Si at St George's this Sunday 7th April

The next ‘ Laudato Si’Goal that we shall be considering on Sunday 7th April is Ecological Education.

This is a rather grand name for learning how to love God, to look after mind, body and soul and our Common Home, to understand our priorities and how they shape our interaction with the world.

In our families, parishes, schools and universities, our local community and our natural surroundings, ‘ecological education’ enables us to translate our learning into habits and behaviour that puts care of God’s creation above self interest.

There will be a short meditation on this topic in the Lady Chapel from 9.15 am before morning Mass next Sunday, led by a member of the Laudato Si group.

Please come and make use of this time of prayer for all of us gain insight into how we can work together for God’s creation.

Everyone is welcome, whether you’ve been involved with Laudato Si before or not.

April Catholic Voice

St George's is featured again in the April issue of The Catholic Voice.

A lovely photo of our Goan Community celebrating the feast of St Francis Xavier is on page 3.

Catholic Voice is produced by The Diocese of Middlesbrough and can be collected in newspaper format from the back of Church or can now be viewed online at:

https://middlesbrough-diocese.org.uk/the-voice/

Palm Sunday Procession

Some lovely photos by Lars from yesterday morning's Palm Sunday Mass & Procession.

There definitely seems to be a sense of anticipation for Holy Week this week.

Norman McNichol RIP

Today we paid tribute to long standing St George's parishioner, Norman McNichol, as Canon Jerry celebrated a Memorial Service with Norman's family and friends at St George's Church.

Norman was a regular attender at St George's and during the pandemic used to catch the bus, from Selby and back, in order to attend Sunday morning Mass at St George's.

May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

St George's Fairtrade Stall

Thank you to everyone for your generous support of the Fairtrade stall and people in developing countries.

A magnificent £308 worth of goods were sold, £244 after morning Mass and £64 after evening Mass last Sunday.

The next stalls will be after both Masses on Sunday 17th March. This is an Easter ‘Special’ for the sale of Easter eggs and chocolate, chocolate and small gifts suitable for Easter presents.

We may also have a small stock of coffees and jams/marmalades.

Very many thanks,
Frances & Dennis

Laudato Si – Adoption of Sustainable Lifestyes

This Sunday, 3rd March, the third Sunday in Lent, our Laudato Si group will resume the presentation of goals from Pope Francis’ Laudato Si Encyclical. Next Sunday we shall be looking at the “Adoption of Sustainable Lifestyles”, a very appropriate topic for Lent.

This goal encourages us to reflect on what it is to have enough, and to ensure that others, including future generations, will have enough. It encourages us to recognise the need to limit ourselves to a sufficient amount, rather than using the planet and its people as a means to our own comfort and convenience.

As we have done previously, before 10:30 Mass, at 9.15, we shall have a meditation on this week’s topic. We would like to welcome everybody to join this reflection.

2 printed questions relevant to this topic will be available on the benches in Church. We ask parishioners, if they wish, to take these home, to reflect on the questions, and to bring back the papers with their thoughts the following Sunday. There will be a box available near the entrance to Church to put these in.

We value your contributions as a way of going forward with Laudato Si in our parish. The conclusions from your contributions will be made available to the parish in our next Laudato Si newsletter

Fairtrade Stall

Many thanks to everyone who supported the Fairtrade Stall on Sunday.

Goods to the value of £235 were sold - £165 morning Mass and £70 evening Mass.

Again, apologies for not having the card reader available.

We will look to resolve this before the next stalls after both Masses on 10th and 17th March.

St Francis Xavier

The large and thriving Goan Community within St George’s Parish in York recently commemorated the Feast Day of St Francis Xavier with a special Mass celebrated by Canon Jerry.

This was a very special day for the Goan community as St Francis Xavier is the Patron Saint of Goa.

Here are some photos from the Mass.

You can read more about St Francis Xavier via this link:

https://stgeorgeschurch-york.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/St-Francis-Xavier-09.02.24.pdf

What a great day we celebrated yesterday with Bishop Terry.

Here are some photos taken by Lars Karlsson.

Bishop Terry Visits St George's Primary School and Church

The Children and staff at St George's School had a fantastic morning yesterday with the lovely Bishop Terry!

Bishop Terry is celebrating both Masses with us at Church this Sunday 4th Feb at the usual times of 10:30am and 6:30pm.

St George's Fairtrade Stall - Sunday 14th January

Thank you to everyone who supported our Fairtrade Stall at Mass on Sunday.

Goods to the value of £189 were sold - £149 in the morning and £40 in the evening.

Sincere apologies that the card reader wasn’t working and hope to have it back up and running for the next stall on February 11th

Very many thanks,

Frances & Dennis

Fantastic Response to Collection of Unwanted IT at Mass Yesterday!

Thank you to those who responded to our appeal yesterday for unwanted mobile phones and laptops for donation to the York-based charity IT Reuse www.itreuse.org.uk

All donations now safely delivered to the charity at their base in the York Community Furniture Store

If you have any further donations please message us or email us at admin@stgeorgeschurch-york.org.uk rather than bringing items to Mass.

Synodal Listening Sessions at St George's Church

For anyone who is interested in knowing more about the Synod, what Pope Francis challenges us to do and who wants to have a go at putting it into practice.

There are four sessions coming up - and you can attend one or all of them - don't worry if you can't make them all.

St George's Fairtrade Stall in 2023

Thank you to all parishioners who have supported the Fairtrade Stall at morning and evening Mass throughout 2023.

Mainly thanks to your support, the stall has just about doubled the amount of money it has raised in 2023 compared to 2022.

This is a great result and special thanks must go to Dennis and Frances for running the stall and to Canon Jerry for his support throughout.

The next stall is at morning and evening Mass on Sunday 14th January and a full list of dates for the Fairtrade Stall in 2024 will be published in January.

A full copy of St George's Fairtrade 2023 Report can be viewed via this link:

https://stgeorgeschurch-york.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Fairtrade-Stall-Report-2023-.pdf

Thank you to everyone who supported the Fairtrade stall last Sunday.

Goods to the value of £350 (£260 Morning Mass £90 Evening Mass) were sold supporting people in the developing world to provide schools, clinics, etc for their own communities.

The next stall will be held on 14th January after both Masses.

Many thanks,

Frances & Dennis

LAUDATO DEUM - POPE FRANCIS

You may have seen mention recently of Pope Francis' update on the Climate Crisis, timed to coincide with the UN COP28 Conference.

Our Laudato Si Group has produced a summary document (link below) which also contains a link to the full update.

Thank you to Citlali for kindly taking the time to produce this summary.

https://stgeorgeschurch-york.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/St-Georges-COP28-Laudato-Deum-COP28-Newsletter-CRM-UPDATED-8XII.pdf

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