Our Lady and St Joseph Parish
Aire Valley
Parish Groups
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Our Lady and St Joseph Parish
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BrowniesDetails of our Brownies are available on the Brownie page. Children's LiturgyChildren’s Liturgy runs at St Mary and Monica's during the 9.15am Sunday Mass during term-time only for all ages up to when they begin their preparation for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. Children can join the group as soon as they arrive for Mass, in the side room within the church, where they discuss the Gospel in simpler language and also do a focus activity around the theme of the gospel. They then return to the Mass during the offertory. The liturgy group is run by volunteers (all mainly parents of children within the primary school) and are DBS checked. Parents are welcome to attend with small children and this is usually encouraged if they require closer supervision. We are always looking for more volunteers to ensure we have a broad pool of helpers. This then means your turn comes round less often! If you are interested, please contact Rose: or 07460 673919. Here is the current rota for children's liturgy. Flower ArrangersThe current rotas are available for St Mary and St Monica's and Sacred Heart. St Vincent de Paul (SVP)The main focus of the S.V.P. is gradually changing towards helping the lonely and the sick by visiting and by organising social events. For more details, please click the SVP page or contact Anne McArthur (President) 01274 551091. Third World Interest Group (TWIG)TWIG is open to all members of the parish. We aim to:
TWIG has been in existence in one form or another for over 30 years. In that time we have donated over £80,000 to many different causes, including CAFOD, Mary’s Meals, Sylvia Wright Trust, natural disasters and many others. Regular events are our
Traidcraft (NB Link opens in a new window!) stalls and collections
during the year. Contact Viv Drake on 01274 771369. In August 2021, £700 was sent to CAFOD to provide aid in Haiti. Thank you to all Parishioners who donated at the last TWIG collection. A cheque for £500 has been sent from the TWIG account to CAFOD to support their work in poorer countries battling the Coronavirus. The money has come mainly from the taxman through Gift Aid and Gift Aid small donations scheme claimed from the generous donations from The Parish. The CAFOD Harvest Appeal was from October 8th to 11th 2020 and £1295.00 was collected.
The recent collection for TWIG totalled £362.50 At the Twig meeting on 16 January it was decided the 2020 Lenten Project would be CAFOD's Food Crisis in Zimbabwe & Zambia. The amounts we eventually received were: CAFOD Family Fast £485.45 and Lenten Project £820.21. We received this response from CAFOD: The Lenten Project for 2018 was
Aid to the Church in Need.
The focus for Lent 2017 was
'Let the Children Live', a charity supporting street children in Colombia.
The Lenten Project for 2016 was the Sylvia Wright Trust,
supporting the excellent work carried out by Sylvia and the charity in providing healthcare and
education in India. Minutes of our meetings and recent accounts can be seen on the meetings page. Our details can also be found on the Charity Commission website. | |
Union of Catholic Mothers (UCM)The Union of Catholic Mothers (UCM) is a national organisation of Catholic women, open to all women whether married or single, Catholic or non Catholic who support our aims and objectives in "prayer, love and active witness to marriage, family and Christian life in the world" (from our membership prayer). The U.C.M. in our parish was enrolled as a Foundation on September 11th 2012 at St Mary and St Monica's church, Cottingley. We would love to have more members: would you like to join us? From the start of 2023, we will meet on the first and third Thursday of each month from 2 until 3.30 at St Mary and St Monica's church, Cottingley. Dates are on the Parish Calendar. We pray, have fun, invite speakers and have trips out. In May 2017, Helena Harrington gave us an informative talk on the history of the Womens Institute - see THIS PHOTO. There is a annual Pilgrimage to Walsingham in July for all the foundations in England. A Rosary Rally is held annually at St Anne's Cathedral, Leeds for all members of the UCM in the Leeds Diocese followed by refreshments in Wheeler Hall. Our meetings are prayerful and sociable events where we meet up with old friends and make new. We are also looking at ways that we can support Keighley Women's Refuge. For more information, please contact Moira Smith on 01274 822354, Diane Charnock on 01274 569729 or Christine Acomb on 01274 562887. Other ContactsMissioMissio is the Pope's charity for world mission and is the principal mission support organisation of
the Catholic Church. In the UK it partners and works with the Mill Hill Missionaries and The Society
for the Propagation of the Faith (previously APF).
For more information, visit the official website at missio.org.uk/about-missio/ (NB Link opens in a new window!) World Mission Sunday 24 October 2021On World Mission Sunday we have an opportunity to think how best we can respond and support all those who have answered God's call and said “here I am send me”. This year, with many people still unable to gather for Mass, World Mission Sunday will look very different. We have experienced something of what many of our sisters and brothers face in remote villages where there is no church or priest to celebrate the Eucharist. It is fitting at this time we still celebrate World Mission Sunday as an opportunity to join together in prayer with our global family praying for one another. Please see the message from His Holiness Pope Francis at this link https://missio.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/WMS2021-Popes-Message.pdf In these unsure times, the collection and emptying of the red mission boxes is proving difficult. If you have a red box box that you would like to be emptied you may leave it at church (Cottingley for the time being). There are also contact details on the parish web site : Parish groups “Missio”
Please also see the Missio website missio.org.uk/donate should you wish to make a one off donation or set up a standing order. Altar ServersBoys and girls in Year 4 and upwards may be trained as Altar Servers. For further details, please contact Canon Callaghan. Church MusicContact Julia Radcliffe, Paddy Spiller or Paul Copley. Eucharistic MinistersSee the Parish Rotas page. Faith and LightFaith and Light is a Christian organisation for people with learning difficulties, their parents and friends. We meet on the second Sunday of each month in the school canteen at St Anne's, Keighley. For further details, please contact Peter Hellens on 01274 567760. Gift AidDo you pay UK Income Tax at either the standard or higher rate? If so, for every £1 that you give to the church - or any other registered charity - 27 pence can be reclaimed from HM Revenue and Customs at no cost to you if you complete a simple form. The scheme is even more beneficial for higher rate taxpayers. For more details, please contact Kevin King on 01274 825600. Each year the parish receives over £10,000 from HMRC due to Gift Aid donations! Why not complete this simple form (Standing Order plus Gift Aid) and return it to Kevin or Canon Jim right now? Winter ShelterEvery winter, for the last few years, the church communities of the Bradford area have provided a hot meal, overnight shelter and breakfast for some of the rough sleepers of Bradford. For more details see the Winter Shelter page |