The month of August is dedicated to The Immaculate Heart of Mary
21st SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
24 AUGUST 2025
| Sat 23 Aug | |||
| St. Theresa’s | 9.30am | Malankara Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Community Mass | |
| 5.00pm | Frank Lally RIP | ||
| St. Columba’s | 6.30pm | Tony Walsh RIP (MS) | |
| Sun 24 Aug | |||
| St. Theresa’s | 9.30am | Stephen James Taylor RIP | |
| St. Columba’s | 11.00am | Private Intentions | |
| 2.00pm | Kerala Catholic Community Mass in Syro-Malabar Rite | ||
| Mon 25 Aug | St Thomas of Hereford. Mem. | ||
| St. Theresa’s | Parishioners’ Intentions | ||
| St. Columba’s | 10.30am | Tony Walsh (AC) | |
| Tue 26 Aug | |||
| St. Theresa’s | Priests’ Intentions | ||
| St. Columba’s | David Mark McLoughlin (MW) | ||
| Wed 27 Aug | St Monica. Mem | ||
| St. Theresa’s | Private Intentions | ||
| St. Columba’s | 9.30am | Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament | |
| 10.15am | Novena Prayers | ||
| 10.30am | Caroline Okolie | ||
| Thu 28 Aug | St Augustine of Hippo, B, D. Mem. | ||
| St. Theresa’s | Special Intentions | ||
| St. Columba’s | Parishioners’ Intentions | ||
| Fri 29 Aug | The Passion of John the Baptist. Mem. | ||
| St. Theresa’s | 10.00am | Peter Lane RIP | |
| St. Columba’s | Private Intentions | ||
| Sat 30 Aug | |||
| St. Theresa’s | 5.00pm | Parishioners’ Intentions | |
| St. Columba’s | 6.30pm | Mary Ible RIP | |
| Sun 31 Aug | |||
| St. Theresa’s | 9.30am | Parishioners’ Intentions | |
| St. Columba’s | 11.00am | Caroline Okolie | |
| 2.00pm | Kerala Catholic Community Mass in Syro-Malabar Rite |
LIVE STREAMING OF MASS
Mass will be streamed at St Columba’s on Sunday 24 August at 11a.m.
Cover is needed at St Columba’s for occasions when Tim is unavailable. (St Theresa’s have a volunteer) The only requirement is you need to have an iPhone. If you would be willing to help with this, please contact one of the church offices. Thank you.
www.facebook.com/thecatholicparishofstcolumbaandsttheresa
RECENTLY DECEASED
Please remember in your prayers: Mary Ible and Anthony Walsh. Mary Ible’s Requiem Mass is on Monday 8 September at 12 noon at St Columba’s. May the Lord console their families and friends.
ANNIVERSARIES
Patricia Mary Blythe, Stephen James Taylor, John Albert Hodkinson
POPE’S AUGUST PRAYER INTENTIONS
For mutual coexistence. Let us pray that societies where coexistence seems more difficult might not succumb to the temptation of confrontation for ethnic, political, religious or ideological reasons.
CONFESSIONS
There will be Confessions after each weekday Mass until 11.30a.m.
St Columba’s: From 6p.m. before the 6.30p.m. Saturday evening Mass.
St Theresa’s: From 4.30p.m. before 5p.m. Saturday evening Mass.
WEDDINGS, BAPTISMS AND FUNERALS
Please contact one of the Parish Offices to make your arrangements.
FR WILLIAM
Fr William will be away until the end of August. We hope he has a well-earned rest.
PARISH OFFERTORY
Loose Plate: £488.59; Planned Giving: £361.14; Average weekly SO £718.15. Candles: £42.60.
CHURCHES TOGETHER FIFTH SUNDAY SERVICE
The next CTU Service is on 31 August at 4.30 at the URC Church on Heath Road. The theme is “A Short History of hymns”. It should be very enjoyable with a short social time afterwards. Please come to represent St Columba’s.
PRAYING TOGETHER
- Pray for the residents of Oakfield Drive, Flag Lane South, Upton Lane, Weldon Close, Cotes Place, Bridgeman Road, Stubbs Place, and South Way.
- For the Wardens, Deputy Wardens, Sides persons and Collectors.
- For our Churches being welcoming to newcomers.
ST COLUMBA’S OFFICE
Office hours at St Columba’s: 8.00am to 2.15pm, Monday to Thursday. Office will be closed on Bank Holiday 25 August and 1 September. When the office is closed, urgent matters will be dealt with through the kind services of Carol Galvin, Monday to Friday 9.00a.m to 12.00pm.
ST COLUMBA’S COFFEE ROTA
The coffee rota is on the noticeboard in St Columba’s Hall. Just write your name, charity and phone number on the calendar. If you can’t access the hall, leave a message on Margaret Curtis’s answerphone on 01244 318424 with your name and date(s) and she will add you to the rota.
24 August Chris & Elizabeth, Parish
31 August Sue McCarthy, SVP
07 September Voluteers please
FAITH EXPLORATION AND SHARING
For any parishioner not yet in full communion with the Church but interested in exploring a way to that, beginning in September the parish will be running the Sycamore course explaining the Catholic faith. If you are interested in joining the group, please contact deacon Lawrence for more details. If you know someone you think might be interested why not offer some words of encouragement.
FISH AND CHIP BABIES KNITTING PROJECT
If you have any double-knitting wool to spare, we now need more for the babies in NE Africa. Please arrange to hand it to Margaret Curtis, thank you.
NEEDLES & PINS – Wed 27 August
Everyone is invited to this friendly and welcoming needlecraft group in the Newman Room, between 2:00-4:00pm every fourth Wednesday of the month. Hope to see you.
YEAR OF THE JUBILEE 2025 MASS
Pope Francis gave this year’s Jubilee the theme of ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ and invited Catholics everywhere to renew our hope and discover a vision that can “restore access to the fruits of the earth to everyone”. A special Mass to celebrate our faith and renew our hope for the future is to be held in St Columba’s church on Thursday 18th September at 7pm followed by refreshments in the hall. All parishioners are encouraged to attend.
In the words of Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster “May our prayer in this Jubilee Year be robust and heartfelt: that God will guide our poor efforts here, enabling us to contribute to the harmony of the world and all its people”.
PARISH YOUTUBE CHANNEL
The Pastoral Council would like to offer Mass live streamed on our YouTube channel. To do this, at no cost to us, we need a minimum of 50 subscribers, we have 26 so far. We would be very grateful if parishioners could subscribe to the channel which can be found on YouTube as:
St Columba and Theresa RC Church Chester
Even if you are unlikely to use the service, please do subscribe to benefit others.
PARISH WEBSITE
If anyone has an item that they would like to have on the website, please contact Lyn Coyle, who is the parish liaison with the website manager. These items must be about parish-based events or information. marilyn.coyle44@gmail.com
EXAM RESULTS
To all our students who have received exam results over the last few weeks, we wish you all the very best for your future, may wonderful opportunities lie ahead for you. Enjoy. Good luck and God Bless.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. – Martin Luther King, Jr.
FRIENDSHIP THURSDAY SEPTEMBER
Friendship Thursday begins again on Thursday 4 September from 2- 4pm in the parish hall. Come for an afternoon of friendship, chat and sometimes, a guest to listen to. Bring a friend or two- it’s open to anyone. Refreshments, with suggested donation of £2. For information ring Lyn 07735574397
WELCOME TO OUR PARISH
If you are NEW TO THE PARISH, please complete a Parish Registration Form and send (or bring) it to either parish office to let us know that you are here and enable us to welcome you. Forms can be found in the front porches of both churches and on the website https://sscolumbaandtheresa.co.uk/i-am-new/. Thank you.
ST WERBURGH AND ST COLUMBA’S PRIMARY SCHOOL
Our much-loved Headteacher is due to retire in December 2025, and we are looking to appoint a new Headteacher for our happy, vibrant, and successful Primary school. If you are interested in this position, please click on this link for more information and the application pack.
MASS INTENTIONS (ST THERESA’S)
If you would like a Mass saying, please put the name of the person the Mass is for and the date you would like it in an envelope along with the donation. Please also put your name and a telephone number so that we can contact you if the date you requested is unavailable. Thank You.
JUBILEE EVANGELISATION EVENT
Jubilee Evangelisation Event Sharing Hope with a Broken World with guest speaker Mark Saunders on Saturday 13 September 10.30am-2.15pm at St Joseph’s Eucharistic Shrine, Tatton St, Stockport SK1 1EJ. To book email: natalie.orefice@dioceseofshrewsbury.org
JUBILEE FOR CATECHISTS
Bishop Mark Davies, the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph and Natalie Orefice, Diocesan Director of Evangelisation and Catechesis. On Saturday 15 November at St Joseph’s Eucharistic Shrine, Tatton St, Stockport SK1 1EJ. Book a free place here: https://bit.ly/Jubilee-for-Catechists
ST COLUMBA’S CHURCH & HALL BOOKINGS
To arrange meetings etc. in either the Church, Newman Room, or the Iona Chapel, please book through Magdalena Bukowska, St. Columba’s Church Office, phone: 01244 624019, email: stcolumbaschurch2016@outlook.com. Office hours Monday to Thursday 8a.m. to 2.15p.m.
Hall availability can be checked by looking at St Columba’s Church website – section for Church Hall gives a calendar of events in the Hall. Then contact Magdalena Bukowska on 01244 624019 for enquires within the office hours stated above or email columbashallbookings@gmail.com to arrange booking.
NEXT WEEK’S NEWSLETTER
Sunday 7 September edition will be compiled by Rebecca Vaughan. Phone: 012144 318632 or email:rebecca_vghn@yahoo.co.uk. Please include a phone number in case of queries, and please ensure that notices are also emailed to st.theresas@btinternet.com or phoned to the compiler by 9.00 a.m. on WEDNESDAY 3 SEPTEMBER 2025