RETURN OF CELEBRATION OF PUBLIC MASS You will have heard in the media that the government has now given the go-ahead for the celebration of Mass in Churches from the 4th of July. The guidelines from the Bishops’ Conference only arrived on Friday afternoon and they are quite complicated, so we cannot start celebrating Mass in any church until we have all the necessary systems in place. Only churches that are already able to open for private prayer will be able to host the celebration of Mass. Masses will, therefore, be starting, first of all at St Michael’s.
 
THERE IS STILL NO OBLIGATION FOR PEOPLE TO ATTEND MASS ON SUNDAYS. You can choose any day of the week and the Bishops fully encourage you to continue praying the Mass by watching it online. 

If you are in the extremely vulnerable category of shielding or have received specific personal instructions from the Government not to attend religious services then you must not attend. However, parishioners who are over 70 or have underlying health conditions may now volunteer as a steward or cleaner. It is a matter for the individual to make an informed decision as to whether they apply. No one should feel pressured into doing so.

THE CHURCHES OF SS PETER & PAUL AND ST BERNADETTE will eventually open but beforehand, both will need teams of stewards and cleaners. If you are able to volunteer, please use the new volunteer form on the website, or if you do not use the internet, give your contact details to Sr Lydwin.
  
SUNDAY EVENING PRAYER AND ADORATION is suspended for the moment while we work out the new structure of the weekly timetable. It will probably return to the original time of 5.00 pm.

OPENING OF ST MICHAEL’S FOR PRIVATE PRAYER This will continue for the moment on Sunday afternoons from 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm and Saturday mornings from 11.00 am to 1.00 pm. Please note this is only for private prayer. It is essential to wear a face-covering and it is important that if you or a member of your household or bubble are showing symptoms of Covid 19 that you do not come to church. If you do come to pray, please follow the guidance of the stewards, whose responsibility is to maintain the safety of all who are in the Church.

THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION can now be celebrated but there are strict guidelines if it takes place inside a church. So for the moment, Fr Mark will be available outside St Michael’s Church next Saturday from 11.00 am - 12.00 Midday. 

KEEPING IN TOUCH If you know of anyone from the parish who simply would appreciate a chat on the phone, ask them if they are happy for you to give their details to be put on the parish database so that someone can be in touch. Then fill in the form on the website or print off the special form which is also available on the website for them to fill in and send to the parish by post. We have very few contact details for parishioners of St Bernadette’s or SS Peter & Paul’s. 

SVP support - if you or anyone you know is in need of support particularly during this pandemic please contact Sr Lydwin or David Spinks at 07544960402. 

'Free School Meal' (FSM) Children  We are having a 'drive and drop' food/toiletries collection to support FSM families during the summer holidays. A car with its boot open will be parked outside St Michael's Church for one hour EVERY Tuesday 1-2, Thursday 10-11 and Saturday 10-11. All donations will be gratefully received by The Well (Wolverhampton Food Bank). Alternatively, much-needed supplies can still be taken to the Good Shepherd Ministry via 2, Richmond Rd WV3 9HY or Food Bank via The Vicarage 21A, St Jude's Rd WV6 0EB. There is a shortage of items in CAPITAL LETTERS: UHT milk and cereal; dried food eg PASTA, RICE, PASTA and RICE SACHETS and noodles; tinned food eg CUSTARD, VEGETABLES (POTATOES, CARROTS and PEAS), meat, fish, fruit, soup; tea, coffee, sugar, biscuits; JAM, MARMALADE and CHOCOLATE SPREAD; toiletries eg TOOTHBRUSHES, soap, toothpaste, shampoo and shower gel. For further information please phone 340479. This week 166kg of food/toiletries and £10 cash have been donated to The Well. Thank you!

THE LIFE CHARITY SHOP will be reopening early in July.  In the past parishioners have given wonderful support by donating clothes, books, bric-a-brac etc that they no longer need. We will be very grateful for your help now. We will tell you soon about arrangements for you to deliver your donations or have them collected from your home. For more information please ring Rosalie 01902 330553.

MASS INTENTIONS if you would like a Mass offered for someone, please ring Fr Mark on 10902 423005

FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS This is a difficult time for many people but if you are able to continue giving an offering, please consider paying directly into the parish account. Please follow the directions on our website.

West Midlands Police is seeking responses to its 'Black Community Survey'.

"Recent anti-racism demonstrations have highlighted issues within British Policing around ethnic minorities, in particular with the black community. One of the values within West Midlands Police is that we ‘Listen & Learn'. This helps us become better and improve the way we work and engage with our communities. This survey is targeted at the black community across the West Midlands region and we want your honest and open views, therefore answering these questions is your opportunity to shape the future of your local Police Force."

If you wish to contribute, click the button below.

The Archbishops of England have issued an important briefing about the celebration of Mass which will be able to begin soon. Please read the announcement by clicking the button below.

You will read that a church cannot open for Mass unless it has a strong team of stewards and cleaners.
​
We have begun a team at St Michael's but this was just for opening twice a week. If it is to open for more days of the week, we will need a bigger team. SS Peter & Paul and St Bernadette's will also need teams of stewards and cleaners who are under 70 before we are able to celebrate Mass in these churches.
​
​If you are able to volunteer, please let Fr Mark  know as soon as possible. Please note that none of our churches will be able to open for the celebration of Mass unless we can satisfy the requirements to keep them safe. 

If you have any questions about this, please contact David Spinks at [email protected]

The Knights of St Columba are raising money to help the John Foster Memorial Home Mangalamcombu, Southern India.
For more details, please click the button below:

One of the ways to raise funds is to buy a tube of smarties and then after you have eaten them fill them up with 20 pence pieces. When you have filled it please contact David Spinks at [email protected] and he will arrange colelction. 

FOR THOSE WHO ARE SICK: Paula Box, June Abbiss,  Peter Holmes, Alice Stevens, George Brown, Chris Starkey,  M  Mary, Thomas Mackin, Stephen Briggs, Hilary Elsden, Katherine Poole, Teresa Mitchell, Ann Bayley, Helen O’Brien-Coleman, Mary Abbiss, Peggy McHale, Patrick Quinn, Fred & Celia Norton, Jean Hollingshead, Margaret Stokes, Leah Nixon, Pat Pool, John Dolan, Liam Dolan, Marie Looker, Lorna Ciraulo, Pat Eades, Helen Porter, Mary Kirby, Sheila O’Toole, Tony McGinn, Brendan Bleakley.

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED RECENTLY: John Stanley, Dorothy Stephenson, Mary Lawley, Anne Patterson, Fr David Duggan, Kathleen Bowman, Alfonsina Lombardi, Tony Haden,  Ignatius Kelly, Margaret Vicino, Claire Hallett.  May they rest in peace.
 

From Sunday 21st June, St Michael’s will be open for Private Prayer before the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament every Sunday afternoon from 2.00pm till 4.00pm and every Saturday from 11.00am to 1.00pm.

There will be three stewards on duty for the duration of these times of prayer, please follow their instructions at all times to ensure the safety of everyone present. If there is a long queue outside the church, you may wish to wait in your car.

Please wear a face covering before you enter the church and refrain from touching anything while you are in the church.

Please follow the one-way system around the church at all times as indicated in the plan that you can find by clicking the button below:

Please note that there was a mistake on the printed version of the bulletin this week. It has now been corrected on line but if you had already printed it, there is a mistake for the time of Mass on Saturday.  The correct version now states that Mass is at 10.00am and the intention is for Mary Lawley RIP. Apologies for this.

As you may be aware, the Catholic Church is represented at various international organisations through the Holy See's Diplomatic Missions. Last month, world leaders and their representatives met together virtually for the 73rd World Health Assembly. As expected, the COVID-19 pandemic was discussed extensively.

His Excellency Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic, the Permanent Representative of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organisations in Geneva, delivered a statement outlining the global response of the Catholic Church to the pandemic. Quoting Pope Francis, he urged Member States to ensure that "the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters living in the cities and the peripheries of every part of the world" are not abandoned.

You can read the statement by clicking the button below.

LIVE STREAMING APPEAL Many thanks to everyone who has contributed so generously and so quickly! We have now raised an amazing sum of  £2825 (a combination of online donations and direct donations). We will give you the final cost of the project once the details have been finalised by the Finance Committee next Saturday.

OPENING OF CHURCHES FOR PRIVATE PRAYER Out of our three churches, St Michael's is large enough and has the best access, so we are focusing on opening this church first. Some alterations have to be made, however, on the Fire Doors and a company are coming in next week to deep clean the church. We also need to have a training session with our volunteers who will be stewards and cleaners. For all these reasons it will therefore not be able to open this week but we do hope to open next Sunday, 21st June for a couple of hours. There will be more information in next week’s bulletin.

DIAL FOR MASS Remember, it is possible for those who do not have the internet to listen to Mass on the Telephone. It is very simple, five minutes before Mass starts phone 0333 0164 757  then when asked for the room number, dial: 50078530 # and then when asked for the pin number, dial: 4441 # This will take you straight through to the phone in church and you will be able to listen to Mass. If it does not work on the first attempt, it may be that we have been held up this end so please try again.

JUNE DEVOTIONS TO THE SACRED HEART  On Sundays of June after Mass, we will be praying the Litany of the Sacred Heart. There will be a copy of this on the website, so if you don't have the Internet, please ask a friend to print off a copy for you. As this Sunday is the Feast of Corpus Christi, we will be praying this before the Exposed Blessed Sacrament.

YELLOW/ORANGE THEMED QUIZ prepared with the support of young parishioners now on the website: why not "phone a friend"  attending at another church for parish trivia help! Answers in 3 weeks. [email protected]
The answers to the previous quiz are now on the website. Ask a friend to print them off if you do not have access.

MARYVALE SACRED HEART NOVENA All are invited to join online for the Annual Novena to the Sacred Heart at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart at Maryvale Institute. There will be a Mass, Sermon and Novena live-streamed each evening at 8pm from Thursday 11 June to Friday 19 June 2020 (Feast of the Sacred Heart). Archbishop Bernard Longley will be celebrating Mass on Sunday 21 June at 11am (on the day the ‘physical’ Pilgrimage would have taken place). It will be live streamed from St Chad’s Cathedral. Full details, and how to access each event, are available on the Diocesan website: https://www.birminghamdiocese.org.uk/news/join-online-maryvale-sacred-heart-novena and Maryvale Institute website: https://www.maryvale.ac.uk/novena-2020.html

'FREE SCHOOL MEALS' (FSM) CHILDREN  We are having a 'drive and drop' food/toiletries collection to support FSM families during the summer holidays. A car with its boot open (weather permitting!) will be parked outside St Michael's Church for one hour EVERY Tuesday 1-2, Thursday 10-11 and Saturday 10-11 starting Tuesday 16th June.  All donations will be gratefully received by The Well (Wolverhampton Food Bank). Alternatively, much-needed supplies can still be taken to the Good Shepherd Ministry via 2, Richmond Rd WV3 9HY or Food Bank via The Vicarage 21A, St Jude's Rd WV6 0EB. Any of the following would be greatly appreciated: There is a shortage of items in CAPITAL LETTERS: UHT milk and cereal; dried food eg PASTA, RICE, PASTA and RICE SACHETS and noodles; tinned food eg CUSTARD, VEGETABLES (POTATOES, CARROTS and PEAS), meat, fish, fruit, soup; tea, coffee, sugar, biscuits; JAM, MARMALADE and CHOCOLATE SPREAD; toiletries eg TOOTHBRUSHES, soap, toothpaste, shampoo and shower gel. For further information please phone 340479. Thank you

MASS INTENTIONS if you would like a Mass offered for someone, please ring Fr Mark on 10902 423005

FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS This is a difficult time for many people but if you are able to continue giving an offering to the church, please consider paying directly into the parish account. Please follow the directions on our website.
​
FOR THOSE WHO ARE SICK: Paula Box, Dorothy Stephenson, June Abbiss,  Peter Holmes, Alice Stevens, George Brown, Chris Starkey, Ann Lewis, M  Mary, Thomas Mackin, Stephen Briggs, Hilary Elsden, Katherine Poole, Teresa Mitchell, Ann Bayley, Helen O’Brien-Coleman, Mary Abbiss, Peggy McHale, Patrick Quinn, Fred & Celia Norton, Jean Hollingshead, Margaret Stokes, Leah Nixon, Pat Pool, John Dolan, Liam Dolan, Marie Looker, Lorna Ciraulo, Pat Eades, Helen Porter, Mary Kirby, Sheila O’Toole, Tony McGinn, Brendan Bleakley.

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED RECENTLY: Dorothy Stephenson, Mary Lawley, Anne Patterson, Fr David Duggan, Kathleen Bowman, Alfonsina Lombardi, Tony Haden,  Ignatius Kelly, Margaret Vicino, Claire Hallett, Mike Huntbatch, Celia Saddler, Susie Andrews,  Noreen James. 
May they rest in peace.

Safeguarding Representatives:    Steve & Chris Callow (St Michael) 01902 340775 
                Maria Iafigliola (SS Peter and Paul) 07931406866
                Ann Shorthouse (St Bernadette) 01902 326334
These parishes are part of the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
Registered as a charity No. 234216. Archbishop of Birmingham + Bernard Longley

Contrary to the incorrect information given by the BBC this morning, churches are not permitted to open today. Permission is given for for churches to open from next Monday and this is only for private prayer. There are strict guidelines that have to be followed before a church is ready to be opened and the Archdiocese of Birmingham issued a 24 page Risk Assessment for us to complete in order to comply with these regulations. 

Out of our three churches, St Michael's is large enough and has the best access so we are focusing on opening this church first. Some alterations have to be made, however on the Fire Doors and a company are coming in next week to deep clean the church. We also need to have a training session with our volunteers who will be stewards and cleaners. 
For all these reasons it will therefore not be able to open this week but we do hope to open next Sunday, 21st June for a couple of hours. I will keep you posted.

In the mean time, please let anyone you know who does not have the internet that the Cardinal is celebrating Mass on Radio 4 tomorrow morning (Sunday 14th June) at 8.10 am. 

Wolverhampton City Council have issued a Press Release about the opening of Churches, Mosques and Temples all all places of worship across the city. Click the link below for the full text of the statement. 

​To open our church, even for an hour once a week, requires a fair amount of preparation and we need good teams of stewards and cleaners. These volunteers need to be under 70 and have no underlying health problems. We need to start small and then expand things as we begin to get used to all the necessary procedures. 

The plan therefore would be hopefully to open St Michael's for an hour (or possibly two hours) on a Saturday, perhaps, for private prayer in front of the Exposed Blessed Sacrament with access to light candles next to the statues of Our Lady and the Sacred Heart (these will not be in their normal chapels but in a specially designated area.)

In order to do this we will need to satisfy all the requirements laid down by the Archdiocese of Birmingham. If we do not satisfy these requirements, we will not be allowed to open. At present we do not have enough volunteers to be able to open. Please consider if you are able to volunteer, either to be a cleaner or a steward. You will be required to wear PPE which will be provided by the parish for you own safety. If you are able to volunteer, please let Fr Mark know as soon as possible, either by email or on 01902 423005. If you phone and I am not in, please leave your contact details.

I realise parishioners of SS Peter & Paul and St Bernadette's will be disappointed that their churches will not be opened yet but St Michael's has disabled access, plenty of space, and enough doors to enable a separate entrance and exit.  This is a beginning and, God willing, we will soon be able to expand this provision for private prayer and eventually the celebration of Mass and the other Sacraments.

You may remember at the beginning of lock down there was an ecumenical initiative to light a candle and pray at 7.00pm  on Sunday Evenings. This is indeed why here at Giffard House we moved Adoration and Vespers to 7.00pm in order to be praying at the same time as this initiative. If you click the button below you can see a short video produced by our Multi Academy Company, the St Francis and St Clare MAC. As you know, our Catholic Schools welcome children from all religions and none and it has been wonderful that so many have responded to the "Shine a Light" Initiative. The video shows a selection of photos that have been sent in.

The Government has now given the go-ahead for some churches to open if they can satisfy all the necessary safety requirements. The Archdiocese is sending out Risk Assessment Forms this week and once these are completed, the diocese will decide which churches will be able to open. If any of the churches in our parish are to open, this would only be for a short time each week and we will need a team of volunteers and cleaners. Please let Fr Mark know if you can help as soon as possible but please note that to volunteer you must be under 70 and have no underlying health problems.

As you already know, the only way we have been able to live-stream Masses has been to use Fr Mark's mobile phone. It is also clear that live-streaming will continue to be the forefront of the mission of the Church for many months to come. As a parish, therefore, we need a more permanent and secure way of bringing Mass to people's homes. To do this, we need to set up a 5G internet connection at the presbytery (there are no high-speed cable connections in our area of the city) and fix a permanent camera within the church. We have been given special permission by the Historic Churches Committee for this project to go ahead.

We realise that finances are difficult for everyone at the moment but if you know people who might be able to help, we have set up an online appeal to raise funds. For more details, click the appeal advertisement picture above or go to: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/rcwlvwest.

NOTE: When donating via JustGiving, the checkout will automatically add an additional amount to donate to their online giving platform. You can choose not to donate to JustGiving by using the drop-down menu and selecting "other". You can then set the amount to "£0.00" if you wish. The drop-down menu is highlighted by a red box below.

OPENING OF CHURCHES FOR PRIVATE PRAYER There is a possibility that one of our churches may be opened for private prayer very soon. This will involve much work behind the scenes in order to ensure that visitors will be safe. 
It would be very helpful if you could let Fr Mark know if you would like to come into the church to pray so that we can gauge how often the church needs to be opened. 
We also need volunteers who are not in any vulnerable group, to clean the church or act as stewards. If we do not have enough cleaners of stewards, we will not be able to open the church. Please let Fr Mark know if you are able to volunteer. 

DIAL FOR MASS We are trying a new system where you can just use your telephone to listen to Sunday Mass. It is important that only people who do not have the internet use this because we only have 50 spaces for callers. It is very simple, on Sunday Morning from 10.55 am onwards phone 0333 0164 757  then when asked for the room number, dial: 50078530 # and then when asked for the pin number, dial: 4441 # This will take you straight through to the phone in church and you will be able to listen to Mass. Let us know if it works!

JUNE DEVOTIONS TO THE SACRED HEART  On Sundays of June after Mass, we will be praying the Litany of the Sacred Heart. There will be a copy of this on the website, so if you don't have the Internet, please ask a friend to print off a copy for you. 

YELLOW/ORANGE THEMED QUIZ prepared with the support of young parishioners now on the website: why not "phone a friend"  attending at another church for parish trivia help! Answers in 3 weeks. [email protected]
The answers to the previous quiz are now on the website. Ask a friend to print them off if you do not have access.

MARYVALE SACRED HEART NOVENA All are invited to join online for the Annual Novena to the Sacred Heart at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart at Maryvale Institute. There will be a Mass, Sermon and Novena live-streamed each evening at 8pm from Thursday 11 June to Friday 19 June 2020 (Feast of the Sacred Heart). Archbishop Bernard Longley will be celebrating Mass on Sunday 21 June at 11am (on the day the ‘physical’ Pilgrimage would have taken place). It will be live streamed from St Chad’s Cathedral.
Full details, and how to access each event, are available on the Diocesan website: https://www.birminghamdiocese.org.uk/news/join-online-maryvale-sacred-heart-novena and Maryvale Institute website: https://www.maryvale.ac.uk/novena-2020.html

SUPPORTING THE HUNGRY: If you are unable to use online money donations to support eg Good Shepherd Ministry please consider dropping off items through your hour of exercise for the addresses below. Items listed in bold run out quickly, though all are welcomed.  These can be left at the Brothers (2, Richmond Road or at GS Ministry Waterloo Road premises) The Vicarage, 21A St Jude’s Rd WV6 0EB. Here is a list of suitable items needed: 
UHT milk;  Fruit juice;  Tinned meat; Tea/coffee; pasta sauce; Tinned vegetables and tomatoes;  Soup (inc Pot Noodles); Pasta; Rice; Lentils, beans and pulses; sugar; Tinned fruit; Biscuits;  Household items (soap, laundry detergent, laundry powder, washing up liquid) Toiletries (deodorant, toilet paper, shower gel, shaving gel, shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, hand wipes; Feminine hygiene products ):; Baby supplies – nappies, baby wipes and baby food.

UNITE AGAINST CORONAVIRUS As we cope with the virus in the UK, we think of our sisters and brothers in developing countries who are facing this pandemic with fragile health systems, some of which have almost no intensive care beds or ventilators. Food prices have risen, the poorest are losing their jobs with wholesale shutdowns. Furthermore,  inadequate healthcare, lack of access to washing facilities and limited ability to social-distance will  result in loss of life on an intolerable scale. Please will you sign the CAFOD petition to ask the government to work with other world leaders to help the most vulnerable people in our world to cope with this crisis? https://cafod.org.uk/Campaign/Latest-campaigns/Unite-against-coronavirus

MASS INTENTIONS if you would like a Mass offered for someone, please ring Fr Mark on 10902 423005

FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS This is a difficult time for many people but if you are able to continue giving an offering to the church, please consider paying directly into the parish account. Please follow the directions on our website.

FOR THOSE WHO ARE SICK: Paula Box, Dorothy Stephenson, June Abbiss,  Peter Holmes, Alice Stevens, George Brown, Chris Starkey, Ann Lewis, M  Mary, Thomas Mackin, Stephen Briggs, Hilary Elsden, Katherine Poole, Teresa Mitchell, Ann Bayley, Helen O’Brien-Coleman, Mary Abbiss, Peggy McHale, Patrick Quinn, Fred & Celia Norton, Jean Hollingshead, Margaret Stokes, Leah Nixon, Pat Pool, John Dolan, Liam Dolan, Marie Looker, Lorna Ciraulo, Pat Eades, Helen Porter, Mary Kirby, Sheila O’Toole, Tony McGinn, Brendan Bleakley.

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED RECENTLY: Dorothy Stephenson, Mary Lawley, Anne Patterson, Fr David Duggan, Kathleen Bowman, Alfonsina Lombardi, Tony Haden,  Ignatius Kelly, Margaret Vicino, Claire Hallett, Mike Huntbatch, Celia Saddler, Susie Andrews,  Noreen James.  
May they rest in peace.

Safeguarding Representatives: Steve & Chris Callow (St Michael) 01902 340775, 
Maria Iafigliola (SS Peter and Paul) 07931406866
Ann Shorthouse (St Bernadette) 01902 326334
These parishes are part of the Archdiocese of Birmingham. Registered as a charity 
No. 234216. Archbishop of Birmingham + Bernard Longley

“We stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in the USA as they challenge the evil of racism and the brutal killing of George Floyd. As the US Bishops made clear: “we cannot turn a blind eye to these atrocities and yet still try to profess to respect every human life. We serve a God of love, mercy, and justice.”

Systemic racism is embedded in our own society. The disproportionate harm suffered by BAME people throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted profound inequalities, marginalisation and injustice here in the UK. The peaceful Black Lives Matter protests taking place in our towns and cities this week reflect the understandable anger that so many people feel about this.

​As Catholics we recognise that racism is an evil which must be opposed; we all have a responsibility for actively promoting racial justice. Whenever we ignore racism or dismiss BAME people’s experience of it, we are complicit in violations of human dignity. We pray for God’s help to overcome racism in all its forms and that we might protect everyone who suffers its consequences. We are all made in God’s image.”

Bishop Declan Lang
Lead Bishop for International Affairs

Bishop Paul McAleenan
Lead Bishop for Racial Justice