Tag: journey

Remember – November

Lot’s coming up…

Dear

I really don’t know where the time is going. There is a big feast not far away… A lot needs to happen between now and then. Keep an eye on the newsletter over the next weeks – there is a lot going on. We are remembering – not nostalgically looking back – but contemplating the foundations on which our church and our faith are built.

This month we have our Adult Formation sessions on Thursday evening. Believe and Belong is the theme. In a Church after the pandemic – how can we reach out and grow? How can we become more and more a community open to the needs of those around us?

In the build up to Christmas, we will be asking for gifts for our Christmas Raffle. This helps us help others as this money is for our charitable causes. As last year we won’t be having a “Christmas Fayre” where we are crammed into the hall – but will have Advent Sunday – with bacon butties and something a little more than tea and coffee… 

During Advent, we will be contemplating the theme of the open door – and will be collecting food and toiletries for Red Door in Bury – one of our Caritas projects….

God Bless

Fr Andrew Pastore SI

To download our Newsletter – CLICK HERE

To download our November List – CLICK HERE

Back to School

Don’t think this is just for the kids…

That time has come. School is back!

These have been very different summer holidays.  Even though I, as well as many of you, are not in school any more, a lot of our lives are moulded by the rhythm of the school year. That is always a pointer for me. I don’t remember ever having to live with such prolonged uncertainty on a day to day basis. Good that we have our faith to guide and comfort, to encourage and challenge us. 

It is important for me at the moment to use every milestone – like schools starting up – to orientate myself. Through the pandemic time has stood still and accelerated at the same time. Being overwhelmed is an experience that is never too far from the surface.

It is a time where we are not just ploughing forward, but need to come together and listen to one another. Help each other heal and so be healthy for the journey ahead. This is not just true of our schools but for our places of work, our homes, our places of worship and in our dealings with one another in our town.

When the traffic builds in the next week – remember to not only slow down in the car – but in your life too.

God Bless

Fr Andrew

To download our newsletter – CLICK HERE

Listen – Grow – Share…

There is great need for listening at this time as we come out of Lockdown. When we listen we learn. But things should not stop there. When we learn things, when we find truth, there is an imperative to now make necessary changes, there is a challenge to grow.

Let’s look at growth…

I have always subscribed to the description of growth by the author Robin Sharma. He repeats again and again: Change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end. It is not an easy process and we are bound to get things wrong. There is a need for flexibility and experimentation. If we want to bring about change there must be an openness and willingness. Things will go against the grain, things will go wrong. Some things will have to go back to how they were before change started, but some things will be new and exciting.

This growth is not an abstract theory or dream, it is something real, but the “we” will only change if the ”I” can make the changes first. Changing my life and ways is the only way to help others to change too. One thing is certain, although it often does not seem this way, change in one person changes the whole of a community.

Soon we will celebrate Good Friday. That day we remember the sacrifice that God is prepared to make to bring about change in a world he created.

This pandemic has show how capable we are of change in our society. We can work from home, we can school from home, we can deliver food to a neighbour, we can make sacrifices for the good of others, we can volunteer, we can get the help we need from a food bank started by someone from another faith… I could go on…

Let’s not let things go back to “normal”, let’s keep and develop the good changes that we have learnt to live with as we help each other up and out of lockdown.


God Bless

Fr Andrew

The Journey Has Begun…

We have started off on our journey through Lent. Not sure how you are getting on – there is so much out there to try and to do – it can be a bit daunting. 

If you are wondering want you can do – or if you just want  a little suggestion you don’t have to think about and search for – take time to look at our Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/stvincentsbolton) – there are plenty of insights and impulses to keep you going through these days of Lent.

We’ve also had the “Roadmap” from the Prime Minister which will see us moving forward out of lockdown. Despite the announcements there is still much uncertainty.

That’s the way of progress – a map – but a certain amount of uncertainty.

This is where faith comes in. We have to journey – we have to follow the path that is laid out before us. The goal is not in question – what we experience on the way is.

Like on our faith journey, so too on this way out of the pandemic, we need to step out in faith and learn the lessons God is placing in our path. Use the time to think about yourself and your priorities. Where does Church, and, where does God fit into the picture of your life? What are you going to focus on as the restrictions are eased?  What has this past year taught you that means certain things from the past have no place in your life any more….

Keep safe as we journey together,

God Bless

Fr Andrew