WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
30th MARCH 2025: FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT (YEAR C)
To download the print edition, please click here.
MASSES THIS WEEK:
Saturday 29th March (4th Sunday of Lent – Vigil Mass): 6.30pm (Intention: The People of the Parish)
Sunday 30th March (Fourth Sunday of Lent): 9.30am (Intention: Ronald Marshall – B); 11.00am (Intention: Steven Moore – A)
No Masses Monday – Friday this week
Saturday 5th April (5th Sunday of Lent – Vigil Mass): 6.30pm (Intention: The People of the Parish)
Sunday 6th April (Fifth Sunday of Lent): 9.30am (Intention: Frances Marshall – A); 11.00am (Intention: Daniel Wilcock – A)
ADORATION & STATIONS OF THE CROSS: on Sundays in Lent 4.00pm-5.00pm, with simple Stations of the Cross from 4.45pm & Benediction at 5.00pm. Come & spend time with Our Lord and pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the Holy Land.
CONFESSIONS: Saturday 6.00pm-6.20pm. No confessions on Tuesday this week.
REST IN PEACE: Please pray for the family and the repose of the soul of Mrs Angela Carney, who died recently. Her funeral service will be at St Joseph’s on Thursday 10th April at 1.45pm.
BAPTISM: Prayers & congratulations to Tommy James Greaves, who was baptised on Saturday.
ONLINE SCRIPTURE GROUP: meets on Tuesday evenings. For info: pudseystjoseph@gmail.com
OFFERTORY RECEIVED LAST SUNDAY:
Envelopes: £257.30; loose plate: £275.21; bank transfers: £457.00; Donation (tithe): £380.00; Total: £1369.51. Sincere thanks for your generosity!
Ukraine appeal: £30.00. You can continue to give to CAFOD’s humanitarian aid for Ukraine by putting your offering in an envelope marked ‘Ukraine’.
CAFOD Lenten Fast Day total: £949.27.
* * * TO DONATE TO OUR PARISH ONLINE PLEASE CLICK HERE * * *
This weekend (29th/30th March) there will a second collection for our diocesan “Catholic Care” charity. The charity has two Community Markets in Bradford & Leeds to help those worst affected by the cost-of-living crisis, provides nutrition advice to children, has two “Stay and Play” groups, runs the Gianna Baby Bank & Family Support in Bradford, offers community counselling services as a quick response to those having mental health crises, provides support to those welcoming refugees from Syria and Ukraine, runs a new group for families with children with special educational needs, employs a support worker for the deaf community, runs various groups for older & isolated people, and provides social workers to work across 50 Catholic schools to help children & families in its Wellbeing Service. If you would like to Gift Aid your donation, or set up a standing order for Catholic Care, please take a leaflet from the church porch – or email finance@catholic-care.org.uk For more info: https://catholic-care.org.uk/about-us/
EASTER GALA: Bank Holiday Monday 21st April from 12noon in the parish hall. Fun for all the family – Easter Bonnet competition, Easter trail, face-painting, Treasure Hunt, Chocolate Hamper, stalls & games. Food & drink stalls: crepes, pizza, afternoon teas, BBQ & beer tent, soft drinks. All proceeds will go to creating the garden by the parish hall, so treat yourself to a day out and come to our first ever Easter Gala! PLEASE DONATE CHOCOLATES, BOTTLES & TOILETRIES – you can leave these in the church porch. Thank you!
BEER FESTIVAL: Tickets are now on sale for the annual St Joseph’s Beer Festival. There are two sessions on Saturday 3rd May: 2-6pm and 7.30-11.30pm. Tickets are £15 for the evening session, £10 for the afternoon session or £20 for a combo ticket. Kids are free for the afternoon session only. Tickets are limited so book early to avoid disappointment at https://buytickets.at/stjosephsmops/1594583
PARISH DAY PILGRIMAGE:
In keeping with the Jubilee Year theme of “Pilgrims of Hope”, as well as the pilgrimage to Assisi & Padua in October, it would be good to have a day pilgrimage to somewhere more local. So, the plan is to go to the shrines of Our Lady of Mount Grace in Osmotherley & Blessed Nicholas Postgate in Egton Bridge (North Yorkshire) on Bank Holiday Monday 26th May.
To assess whether there is enough interest, please sign the list in the church porch. There’s no commitment at this stage, but it helps if we know how many want to come and to plan transport too.
We would leave Pudsey at 10am, have Mass at the shrine at 12noon, followed by a picnic (indoors if the weather isn’t good), then on to Egton Bridge, and back to Leeds via the coast and a stop-off for Fish & Chips. To help with planning, please sign up in the next couple of weeks. There is a walk of just under a mile to the chapel at Osmotherley, so please bear this in mind, though we will try to arrange for a car to shuttle people there and back. There will be a charge for the coach, but we’ll try to keep it to £10 per person, £5 kids.
OFFERTORY ENVELOPES: The new boxes of offertory envelopes are now available to collect from the church porch. They commence on Sunday 6th April. If you cannot find your box or would like a set of offertory envelopes, or would like to set up a Gift Aid with the parish, please contact Janice in the parish office on Monday & Friday mornings (0113 257 0803) or email: office.stjoseph.pudsey@dioceseofleeds.org.uk
LIVING FAITH: The new editions of these popular daily devotional booklets are now available in the church porch. If you can make a donation of £2 to cover their cost, we would be grateful!
RECYCLING: As part of our parish effort in the CAFOD Live Simply Award Scheme, we have started a project to collect and forward items that are not currently accepted in the Leeds Council green bins. We have signed up with Terracycle, and at the moment we are collecting plastic lunchboxes, water bottles, and cheese packaging. Full details of what can be collected (and what can’t) is on our parish website: www.stjosephpudsey.org.uk/recycle. We’ll try to expand the scheme to include more things over the coming year. The bin is located by Presbytery garage in the church car park. Many thanks to Amy Miller for organising this.
PUDSEY COMMUNITY PROJECT are appealing for food and toiletries for people in need in our area. There is a need at the moment in particular for coffee and tins of chopped tomatoes. We can collect donations here at St Joseph’s – so please leave any in the church porch and we will transfer them each week. For more info: www.pudseycommunity.org.uk
PARISH PILGRIMAGE TO ASSISI & PADUA:
Saturday 25th October to Saturday 1st November 2025 (half-term). Flights to/from Manchester airport. Price £1075 sharing, £1295 single room. Half-board, guide, and all transport in Italy included. Mass each day in the various churches and shrines associated with St Francis, St Clare and St Anthony, plus a day visit to either Verona or Venice.
BOOKING FORMS are now available from Fr Peter.
For full details of the pilgrimage see: www.stjosephpudsey.org.uk/assisi/
ST PATRICK’S MISSION, BRADFORD BD1 2RU: The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal are holding a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration on Thursday 3rd April 7.30-8.30pm. And a “Discipleship Day” on Saturday 5th April 11.45am-4.30pm. For more info: www.stpatricksmission.co.uk
HANDMAIDS WOMEN’S GROUP: Join the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal for Adoration, Music, Rosary, opportunity for Sacrament of Reconciliation and refreshments. Friday 11th April 7.00-8.30pm Corpus Christi Church, Neville Road, Leeds LS9 0HD.
CATHOLIC CHARISMATIC RENEWAL PRAYER AND HEALING SERVICE: at Leeds Cathedral Saturday 12th April at 1.30pm, led by Divine Retreat Centre, Ramsgate. Welcome!
ASSISTED SUICIDE BILL: The third reading of Kim Leadbeater MP’s bill is expected to be on the 22nd of April, and there is mounting concern about it from politicians, experts, medics and campaign groups. Next weekend there will be a Pastoral Letter from our bishop about this, and petition postcards will be available too. In the meantime, for more info see: www.notdeadyetuk.org
DIOCESAN PILGRIMAGE TO LOURDES:
Friday 4th – Thursday 10th July 2025.
Bookings are now open. The theme is ‘With Mary, Pilgrims of Hope’, to coincide with the Jubilee Year of Hope. The Jubilee is a major celebration in which pilgrims are invited to immerse themselves in God’s infinite mercy.
Please book via the Tangney website or by phone directly with Tangney Tours: www.tangney-tours.com/tours-and-pilgrimages/diocese-leeds/
For further info see the flyer in the church porch or www.dioceseofleeds.org.uk/lourdes-pilgrimage/
Although bookings remain open with Tangney Tours, the Leeds flight is full. Seats are available from Stansted (coach transfer Hinsley Hall to/from Stansted), leaving Thursday 3 July – a day before the main flight from Leeds (an extra night at no extra cost). If the Stansted flights become fully booked, Tangney will try to arrange flights from another UK airport but this may involve coach transfers to/from Lourdes as well as in the UK. Please book as soon as possible if you want to join the pilgrimage.
Meet the Pilgrims: All pilgrims joining the Diocesan Lourdes pilgrimage are welcome to attend a coffee and biscuits afternoon at Hinsley Hall (62 Headingley Lane LS6 2BX) on Sunday 27th April 2.00pm-4.00pm. This is a great opportunity to meet the team and fellow pilgrims. Nurses and doctors will be available to answer any questions you may have.
DEMENTIA FRIENDS ONLINE TRAINING: Our diocesan “Growing Old Gracefully” group, along with Age Friendly Leeds, are organising a “Dementia Friends” online training session to give people a better understanding of dementia, as part of making parishes and communities more dementia friendly on Tuesday 29th April 7.00pm-8.00pm. To book: growing.old.gracefully@dioceseofleeds.org.uk or see: www.growingoldgracefully.org.uk
DOORWAYS OF HOPE – ONLINE EVENTS: Leeds Diocese older people’s charity Growing Old Grace-fully is hosting a programme of hour-long online events on the theme of hope, to be led by Paula Shanks and Mgr. Donal Lucey: Wednesday 14th May (evening) and Thursday 10th July (evening). More information/booking, email growing.old.gracefully@dioceseofleeds.org.uk
DIOCESE OF LEEDS COMMUNITY CHOIR CONCERT ‘GLORY TO THEE’: Sunday 30th March, 4pm, Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Moortown. Admission Free with retiring collection. The debut concert of the Diocese of Leeds Community Choir will feature music by Mendelssohn, Stanford and Rutter, directed by Michael Burt.
CHRISM MASS: The annual Chrism Mass will take place on Wednesday of Holy Week (16th April) at Leeds Cathedral at 11:00am. The sacred oils of Chrism, Catechumens and the Sick, used throughout the Diocese, will be blessed at the annual celebration. Our priests will also renew their priestly promises. All welcome to attend.
LIVE SIMPLY – CARE DEEPLY: All are welcome to this event to inspire renewal of your parish through living more simply, sustainably, and in solidarity with those experiencing poverty in this Jubilee year. Saturday 3rd May at Wheeler Hall (Leeds Cathedral) 10.30am-3.30pm. www.leedsjp.org.uk
CELEBRATION OF MARRIED LIFE: On Saturday 17th May, there will be a special Celebration Mass for Married Life at Leeds Cathedral at 12noon for couples and their families celebrating their 25th (Silver), 40th (Ruby), 50th (Golden), 60th (Diamond) and 70th (Platinum) wedding anniversaries this year. There will be an opportunity for couples, who wish to do so, to renew their marriage vows during the liturgy. If you are celebrating the anniversary of your wedding and you would like to take part in this celebration, please ask Fr Peter for an application form.
THE BRIERY RETREAT CENTRE, ILKLEY:
Briery Weekly Online Meditations: The Briery hosts a weekly hour of meditation/reflection focusing on the following Sunday’s readings, providing an opportunity for shared reflection in small groups, on Thursdays – reflection begins at 7.30pm, doors open from 7.15pm for a welcome/chat. All are welcome to attend. Register for zoom link by emailing: admin@briery.co.uk
‘Pilgrims of Hope’ – retreat weekend: 25 – 27 April. Individual places are available on this parish retreat weekend at The Briery, beginning before supper on Friday evening and running Sunday afternoon. £190pp fully inclusive (non-residential £70pp).
SPIRITUALITY OF CREATION’ RETREAT WEEKEND: 23rd – 25th May. Led by Margaret Siberry and the Begin with the Heart team, this retreat aims to deepen our understanding of the spirituality of creation, from early scriptures, through the wisdom of the mystics to the spiritual writers and teachers of today. £215pp fully inclusive (£85 non-residential).
Briery Retreat Centre, 38 Victoria Avenue, Ilkley LS29 9BW
For bookings & further information, please email briery@btconnect.com or tel. 01943 607287. www.briery.org.uk
Caritas Leeds Co-ordinator VACANCY: Salary: £11,250. Post: 15 hours per week. Initial fixed contract for 2 years. Working across the Diocese of Leeds. Closing date: 1st April 2025. Interview date to be arranged. To apply please visit http://www.catholic-care.org.uk/recruitment/latest-vacancies/
Pastoral Worker for Older People Vacancy: The Parish of Mary, Mother of God, Bradford is recruiting a part time Pastoral Worker for Older People, for 10hrs per week. The role will pay a vital role in supporting the spiritual and emotional well-being of older parishioners. More details at www.marymotherofgod.org.uk. Closing date for applications is Friday, 4 April 2025.
SCHOOL VACANCIES
DEPUTY HEADTEACHER VACANCY: St Austin’s Catholic Primary School, Wakefield. Closing date: Thursday 17th April 2025 at 9am. For further information about the role and school please visit https://www.bkcat.co.uk/vacancies/