Hugh Gibbons' helping hand for friends of St Margaret Clitherow Catholic Church
Click here to go to the SOS-MC Welcome page
 

A close-up Users' guide to
St Margaret Clitherow Church
Hugh Gibbons' personal take on
its pre-closure value and activities -
for visitors, newcomers (and regulars!) alike

NB 1  The church is one of two worshipping centres in Bracknell Catholic Parish - one of the largest in the Diocese of Portsmouth. For the official Parish website click here: Bracknell Catholic Parish. NB2 This SOS-MC website is personal and unofficial - and hasn't been paid for out of parish funds. The wide-ranging information here has been harvested by Hugh Gibbons from material available to anyone wandering into church porches or on the Web - including parish newsletters, website, posters, leaflets, and noticeboards.  Ex-directory phone numbers found in any of these public settings have been removed for this webpage.
NB3 To err is Hugh. The information is  believed to be as accurate as hughmanly possible but you're advised to look with the Parish office or elsewhere before you leap. 

This page last updated on Tuesday, 08 June 2010

SINCE 1973, millions of people driving along South Hill Road in Bracknell must have seen this sign - and perhaps got a good message about the Catholic community as a whole.

Thousands have been inside the church - mostly Catholic, as worshippers, whether regular or occasional; many as visitors for weddings, funerals, baptisms, concerts, school events, quiz nights, training courses, discussion groups.  Anglican and Catholic Bishops have been among them. Some have been audiences at our home-grown concerts, Christian Aid or CAFOD ecumenical public meetings in the church or York Room, training courses - or as welcome refugees from St Michael's Church, while their roof was being repaired. A BBC recording came here for the quiet after St Joseph's proved too noisy.  The car park space allowed a tank to lead the traffic-startling funeral procession of former Royal British Legion member (the coffin was on a Land Rover). Everyone's appreciated the spaces inside.

And everyone says: what a lovely church.

But the building and setting are only part of the fabric of a community.  As you'll realise ,the information below shows you something of the value of this worshipping centre to the local Catholic community, its Catholic primary school, other local groups, the Diocese - and the poor of the world through our support for CAFOD and Christian Aid.

Hugh Gibbons
Friday, 21 August 2009

Morning sunshine lights the church -
a classic Mass setting to get a Sunday
off to a good start

The church - light in the woodland
 

Many of the 250+ Sunday worshippers at St Margaret Clitherow come quite a distance to Mass, and appreciate its fine modern open design.

The congregation is in a wide arc around the altar - which helps give an excellent feeling of welcoming and togetherness. A high-angled wooden ceiling adds to the visual warmth of the church. The big windows on both sides look onto trees and bushes and light - helping to get Sundays off to a proper start.

Complementing the main part of the church is the sound-resistant York Room at the back  - with a panoramic window so that anyone in there can still feel fully involved with services.  It's a far cry from a cry chapel - but pretty useful for extrovert toddlers.  It's also where we serve FairTrade refreshments after Mass on Sunday - through a hatch in the sacristy.  And there are two toilets available - one specially for the disabled.

The presbytery at St Margaret Clitherow was often the gathering place for parish meetings and even parties. 
(Fr Peter Hart was a particularly fine cook in the Italian style - and many gallons of soup were made in the kitchen to raise money for CAFOD during Lent.) Eventually, the congregation were prevailed upon to let priests have privacy!  The house is now let privately.  It still includes a Garden of Remembrance.

As well as services and parish activities, concerts and recordings, aid agency meetings and training courses have been set in the church. The acoustics make it excellent for public meetings, and

Originally built with open-plan areas, St Margaret Clitherow Primary School was also a setting for many bustling parish social events - such as home-grown talent nights, barn dances and auctions.  It's still the home for Summer and Christmas Fetes, right through the class rooms and onto the hectares of grass and woodland outside.

Mass Attendance
up to 2006
(if anyone has the later figures to hand,
you might send them to
hughgibbons@just1.org.uk)

St Margaret Clitherow
2002: 447
2003: 400
2004: 321
2005: 275
2006: 275

St Joseph's
2002: 550
2003: 540
2004: 581
2005: 602
2006: 670

Total Bracknell
2002: 997
2003: 940
2004: 902
2005: 877
2006: 945

The figures are an average taken
on four Sundays each year -
and are all attending, regardless of age.

The figures above probably reflect
the change to three to one Sunday 9am Mass at St Margaret Clitherow, with 6pm Saturday and 10.30am Sunday at St Joseph's.

The Diocese records about
38,000 Mass attenders, among a Catholic population of around 200,000.
 

Locating St Margaret Clitherow Church -
and advice on parking  
The church is on the south side of Bracknell - by the roundabout junction of Mill Lane, the Crowthorne Road and South Hill Road.  So it's at the western end of the road which runs from the Sainsbury roundabout down past South Hill Park Arts Centre (aka Ringmead).

There's quite a big car park, but this gets well filled on Sunday morning.  Ringmead itself is a very busy (ie hazardous!)  road to park on.  Parking in the few roads around isn't really on.

So if you're coming to morning Mass, some alternatives to fuming in the jam afterwards are:

• park next door at the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints - they're happy to be of help - and just walk along.  (Be aware that both churches are probably the only ones in the UK which don't have a pavement leading to their gates, so take care as you make your way along the grass verge.)

• leave the car at home and walk or bike (a good contribution to LiveSimply!)

• arrive by parachute or helicopter or hanging on the feet of a passing angel

• or stay on and have FairTraid coffee or tea in the York Room!

Click here or the map above to see
a bigger, legible version

There's a wider Bracknell area map
available by clicking here

Parish Clergy
Parish Priest: Fr Chris Rutledge  Tel 01344 425729
 

The first priest at the newly-built church in 1973 was the seriously characterful Father John Keenan - with his canine assistant Fred.  Successive priests were Fr Tom McGrath, Fr Pat Faughnan, Fr Peter Hart, Fr John Chadwick and Fr Vincent Convery.

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Parish Office
The Office is at St Joseph's Church, Stanley Way, Bracknell RG12 1HA (opposite the entrance to Princess Square).  The entrance to the Office is round the back of the church - ie go through the car park and turn right.

• The Office telephone number is 01344 425729

• The Office E-mail address is bracknellrc@yahoo.co.uk

The Office hours are...

• Monday to Wednesday: 9am to 1pm

• Thursday 9am to 12pm

• Friday: 9.30am to 3pm

The Parish Secretaries are Mary McNab and Pat Grey - both available on 01344 425729.

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Weekly Newsletter and website
This is a publication covering both churches.  If you have a notice to include, please contact Pat Grey Tel 01344 425729 or E-mail bracknellrc@yahoo.co.uk
NB The earlier in the week the better - by Wednesday evening to be sure.

If you'd like to get the newsletter by e-mail, please contact the Parish Office (just e-mail bracknellrc@yahoo.co.uk)

The official Bracknell Catholic Parish website is at www.bracknellcatholicchurch.org.uk

Unlike many others in the Diocese, it doesn't carry an archive of newsletters, or PPC minutes, or lists of PPC and F&FC members, or show weekly giving or annual accounts.

Our Pastoral Area
Bracknell Parish is in the South Berkshire Pastoral Area - which includes Corpus Christi in Wokingham; The Immaculate Conception in Sandhurst; and the Holy Ghost in Crowthorne. From September 2010 it will also include St Francis in Ascot (on a free transfer from Great Park!)

Details of these and other churches (as well as schools) for miles around can be found at the special Just1 Homes of CAFOD page. 

You can see the Directory of parishes in the Diocese at the  Pastoral Areas page at the Portsmouth Diocese website

Sunday Services at St Margaret Clitherow
Until March 2010 when the roof fell in, metaphorically: 9am Mass

Currently: 8.30am Mass at St Joseph's
 

Sunday Services at St Joseph's
Saturday (Vigil) 6.30pm
Sunday: 10.30am Mass
 

NB No weekday services are currently held at StMC.  And they've always been subject to change.  As with Holy Days of Obligation, check the weekly newsletter or with the parish office Tel 01344 425729.

If you want to be told about any changes to Mass times and venues, you can use the free texting service. To subscribe text churchtext bracknell main and send to 82280.  To unsubscribe text churchtext bracknell main stop and send to 82280.

Schools in the area - and miles around
 

St Margaret Clitherow Primary School is about 400 yards along the Hanworth Road from St Margaret's church. Tel 01344 424030 or visit the website for information.

St Joseph's Primary School is in Gypsy Lane, to the east of town centre.  Tel 01344 425729 or visit the website.

For primary and secondary schools for miles around, see the special Just1 schools page.

Confession & Reconciliation
At St Margaret Clitherow it used to be before Sunday Mass - up to 8.30am - or by appointment.  At St Joseph's

Confessions can be heard on Saturday mornings after the 10am Mass at St Joseph's, and by appointment.
 

The parish priest can call to administer the Sacrament of Reconciliation to the housebound on request.

Ministering to the Sick or Housebound
Teams of parishioners based in both churches take communion to individuals in their homes or care homes - regularly (eg weekly) or as necessary.  For more information - or if you'd like to join the team - please contact the Parish Office Tel 01344 425729.

Confirmation
First Holy Communion
Marriage Preparation
Reconciliation

RCIA: Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults
Other church-related matters

Please contact Fr Chris Rutledge Tel 425729

Bracknell Parish Pastoral Council
The PPC is represents parishioners from both churches.  Their remit is set out in the Handbook for PPCs published by the Diocese as part of the Pastoral Plan.

Bracknell PPC Meetings are held during the day, and last no more than one hour (so if you're working, I guess you're excused from serving). 

You'll need to contact the Parish Office on 425729 to find out the current members, as a list has never actually been published,  except fleetingly in one newsletter in mid-2008.

As of Tuesday, 08 June 2010, the last known meeting was on 1 July 2009.

The Minutes are  displayed on the noticeboards of both churches - so if you're short of sight or stature you'll need to bring a step-up and spectacles! (You might like to suggest that the PPC falls in with the practice in many parishes and has an archive of Minutes for inspecting on line or downloading - easier on the eye and joints.)

Baptisms
These are arranged by the parish priest.  As a first step, contact the Parish Office Tel 01344 425729.

Eucharistic Ministers at St Margaret Clitherow
The rota for this is arranged regularly.  New Ministers are always welcome - and receive appropriate training before being commissioned by the Diocese.

For more information, contact the Parish Office Tel 01344 425729.

NB For the 8.30am Mass at St Joseph's, duties are allocated as ministers arrive.

Flower arranging at St Margaret Clitherow
A small team arranges these for a variety of occasions.  For information, contact the Parish Office Tel 01344 425729.

 
Flowers for a wedding in June 2008

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Shop at St Margaret Clitherow
There's a small shop usually open before and after 9am Mass - well stocked with religious books, cards, rosaries and many other items. Catalogues are available to let you order whatever isn't in stock. 

There's also a shop at St Joseph's - open before and after Masses.

Prayer Group at St Margaret Clitherow

Anyone is welcome to come along to any of this long-established group's meetings - which take place 8-9.30pm at the church on the second Tuesday of every month.  The evening includes prayer, intercessions, hymns, spiritual sharing and reflection.  For more information, contact the parish office Tel 01344 425729.

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Sacristan Rota for Sunday morning Mass
A sacristan is "an officer charged with the care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents."  It actually involves making sure things are shipshape and Vatican fashion before and after services - not least of which is that the church is locked and unlocked on time.

A rota has been arranged by members of Catenian Association. For details, contact the parish office.

Library
There's a small collection of religious and other books on shelves to the right of the porch*. Borrow them any time, and bring 'em back in due course.  If you'd like to add some of your own, thanks very much.

* The porch in the church is officially called the narthex.  But it's still the porch to many, because they instantly know what that familiar word implies.   Richie Benaud's Cricket Commentary Rule applies: "We're not supposed to call them tail-enders any more.  They're known as late-order batsmen now. Ooooh... that was a real tail-ender's shot."

Hymn-Book-Handers-Out
As you arrive for Mass, you should get a hymn book and a smile.  If you smile back, you may also get the hymn book supplement and a Mass book.

There's a rota for the hymn book/welcoming team who can expect to be on duty every six weeks or so.  

If someone pops up alongside you to help, it's probably young Mr Collery.

Tidying the books after Mass.
Note the Events noticeboard
and the big display by the school - a long-established feature in the porch.

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Altar Linen Laundry at St Margaret Clitherow
This is looked after by Theresa McDougall.  So if you'd like to help with this important activity, please  contact her via the Parish Office.  She's pictured on the right in a different role.
 

APF Collection Boxes at St Margaret Clitherow
This is also organised by Theresa McDougall.  If you'd like a box for home, contact her via the Parish Office.

The Association for the Propagation of the Faith (APF) assists each and every one of the Catholic Church's 1,062 mission dioceses and territories to provide pastoral care and preach the Gospel effectively.  It was founded in Lyons, France, in 1822 by a young French woman, Pauline Jaricot. She began by persuading local working people to support the missions by giving a farthing a week. A century later, when the organisation was established in almost every country of the world, Pope Pius XI made it the official mission-funding society for the Catholic Church. The APF works in England and Wales with the Mill Hill Missionary Society, the only major missionary society to have been formed in England. Mill Hill was one of the first societies to introduce lay missionaries, and its priests, lay brothers and associates work in 27 countries and every continent.  In England and Wales funds for the Missions are collected through the famous Red collection Boxes. These can be found in 200,000 homes and they have helped raise millions of pounds for the missions. The Association publishes a quarterly magazine: Mission Today. The APF enables its supporters to live out their own missionary vocation and to take an active part in the universal mission of the Church of Christ

In  2006, Theresa McDougall was awarded
a special medal by the Diocese of Portsmouth
in recognition of her service to one of the two Catholic churches in Bracknell.
For over a dozen years, she led the
First Communion programme for children
at St Margaret Clitherow. Theresa received her medal from Fr Chris Rutledge.

Fabric & Finance Committee
at St Margaret Clitherow
All parishes are required to have a Committee to ensure that the church complies with the standard requirements of the Diocese and Canon Law - which should improve financial administration.  A Committee has to approve all expenditure over a certain prescribed limit, to show that all major items of expenditure are properly scrutinised and authorised.

The financial procedures are shown in the Diocesan Operating Procedures.

Under civil law the parish priests' powers of financial management must comply with the public benefit requirement and the Charity Commission's guidance on meeting the requirement, available at www.charity-commission.gov.uk/publicbenefit/publicbenefit.asp.

The list of F&FC Members for both Bracknell church has not been published for several years, but if you want to know names you could try the Parish Office. (The website says there's already one committee - but see the note on the right.)

Unlike nearly every other parish in the UK, in Bracknell no figures for weekly giving or Diocesan special collections have been published for a number of years.  The annual financial accounts for both churches have not been published or subjected to any form of local public scrutiny other than by their F&FCs and, presumably, auditors.

For the list of Special Collections in the Diocese, click here.

NB In the Bracknell Parish newsletter
for 28 March 2010...

"PARISH FINANCES – The communities of St Joseph and St Margaret Clitherow have been together ever since the two Bracknell churches became one parish and the final stage of this merging will see the amalgamation of the financial arrangements.  The intention is that from 1^st September 2010, the start of the Diocesan financial year, there will be one account handling the income and expenditure of both churches, and all financial matters will be overseen by a joint Finance Committee which will include members from both St Joseph & St Margaret Clitherow.  The membership of the committee will be announced when it is finalised."

Collection-counting after Sunday Mass
If you'd like to give a few minutes to help with the counting on a Sunday, a small team of volunteers will be delighted to make room for you in the sacristy. Incidentally, the cash goes straight off to the bank, so petermen will get no joy (unless they'd like to join in a service.)

Gift Aid at St Margaret Clitherow Church
Gift Aid is an important source of income for many UK charities and parishes.  If you're a UK taxpayer, the Treasury gives to them the equivalent of the tax you've paid on any donation.  So for every £10 you give, the church gets about £2.80 extra - just from you signing something.

To sign up for Gift Aid, you'll need to fill in a form that you can find to the right of the noticeboard in the porch. On the same form is a banker's order by which you can make regular (eg monthly, quarterly, annual) donations.  NB This is a smart way of saving hassle on a Sunday morning instead of  frantically searching pockets, wallets, handbags or piggybanks for any change.

Hand the forms to the Parish Office.

You'll get a Gift Aid number which you should use for all offerings in an envelope - whether the official one for the church or one of your own.  Make sure your number is on it.

You can also find your Gift Aid Number
on the top right hand corner of the
noticeboard facing you as you
come into church

200 Club at St Margaret Clitherow
Someone must be organising this, because every month brings a Newsletter announcement of vast cash prizes!  Contact the Parish Office for information before booking that fortnight in the Maldives.  You pay £12 a year, and cheques should be made out to "St Margaret Clitherow 200 Club".  Well, if not the Maldives, how about Staines?
 

Gospel Challenge at St Margaret Clitherow
Anyone is very welcome at this friendly and informal group which meets in members' houses every Monday fortnight to explore the Gospel from Sunday Mass.  It started as Challenge 2000 - so it's been going a good long time.  After an initial  read-through, the group discuss the text, and a leader provides a commentary.  And there's a final read-through. Tea and coffee follow.

For more information, see the newsletter or contact Anne Gibbons Tel 01344 451847.

Safeguarding Officer
The Church has nationwide policies and procedures for protecting the safety of children, young people and vulnerable adults.  In Portsmouth Diocese a Safeguarding Commission advises the Bishop, and runs training courses for people engaged in working with these (eg ministers to the housebound). Each parish has at least one Safeguarding Officer.

Contact the Parish Office for names.

Incidentally, CAFOD staff and volunteers working in schools receive safeguarding training and have to undergo a CRB check. 

Tina Carney tunes up
with a new recruit

Music at St Margaret Clitherow
We have a long tradition of being very musical.  On alternate Sundays, we provide two complementary styles of music:

• A traditional church organ with a group of singers alongside - several of whom are members of Bracknell Choral Society.  So there's quite a willingness to add something different - especially during Communion. The musicians are led by organist Monica Maynard (contact her  via the Parish Office) with John Weeks in support. If you feel like joining the singers, just do come along and introduce yourself.  If not, just join in the singing with the rest of the congregation. 

• A music group with a mix of guitars, flutes, trumpet, and singers. This is led by Tina Carney who welcomes anyone else who'd like to join (sousaphone players excepted).  A violinist would get a special welcome.  For years Barbara Daly entranced congregations but a Dublin parish now has that pleasure.

Incidentally, the church has also been an excellent venue for concerts. At one, the remarkable Derek Paravicini - an occasional attender at the church - was the invited star of our home-grown musical talent evening. 

The BBC has used the church to record Choral Evensong with the Bracknell Choral Society - the quiet acoustics of the church being ideal.  And we've had wonderful time with the brilliant youth groups in  Taplow Choirs and Bracknell Voice raising nearly £1000 for CAFOD.

Click here for some
YouTube clips of the amazing
Derek Paravicini today

Readers at 9am Mass
Like most churches, we have a rota of readers.  If you'd like to join in, contact the Parish Secretary.

We've run a variety of training for Readers  ranging from full certification by the English Speaking Board to morning crash courses. 

If you'd like training as a reader - or speaker in church or elsewhere - contact Hugh Gibbons on 01344 451847 or hugh@ahaa.org.uk.  He's trained many people in churches, business and CAFOD. Some of our readers have attended the excellent days with Fr Gervase Holdaway OSB at Douai Abbey.  And we've all identified...

STANDING UP FOR GOOD READING ALLOWED

VOCAL VICES OF READERS
in church (or work!)

• No eye contact

• Almost inaudible even with microphone

• Too fast - gabbling the words

• Too slow - being ponderous and pompous

• Monotone - no variation in voice

• Not addressing congregation

• Speaking to oneself

• Reading for get it over with rather to enlighten the listeners

• Wrong phrasing

• Wrong emphasis

• Dry - no emotion

• Stumbling over unfamiliar names

• Not changing voices when people are shown to be speaking

• Not using silence.......or pauses

HOW TO BE VOCALLY VIRTUOUS
say the top trainers

• SPEAK UP - you can never be too loud!

• Get some feeling into the reading - aim to reflect the emotional tone and meaning of the content

• Take your time - a pause at the start and the end will show extra respect for the reading

• Get eye contact with the congregation - not only at the beginning and end (ie look up from time to time)

• Vary the pitch and pace of your voice to avoid sounding monotonous - to keep the congregation's attention

• Keep your voice up - don't drop pitch or volume at the end of sentences

• Pause between some sentences - for emphasis, and to keep attention

• Read things through well beforehand so you understand what the passage is about, check for difficult words, break up long sentences

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Children's Liturgy at St Margaret Clitherow
This is very popular activity, led by a team of catechists.  There are groups for pre-school and Year1 children, and for Year2 and Year3 children combined.  For more information, please contact Mary McNab at the Parish Office Tel 01344 425729.

Intercessions
Please contact the ubiquitous Mary McNab in the Parish Office Tel 425729.

Secular Franciscan Order at St Margaret Clitherow
The Order of Secular Franciscans is a Way of Life, approved by the Church, for men and women, married or single, who are called to take an active part in the mission of Christ to bring "the good news of salvation" to the world. Secular Franciscans commit themselves to a life in Christ calling for a positive effort to promote Gospel attitudes among their contemporaries. They are united with each other in Communities, through which they develop a sense of direction according to the Gospel spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi. (From Website of St Clare Fraternity).

For more information, contact the Parish Office
 

Church Cleaning at St Margaret Clitherow
The church is a pretty tidy place, but we take pride in giving it a weekly clean.  It's to keep the church presentable not just for Mass but for hatches, matches and dispatches.

Four small teams have a once-a-month rota, and usually give up about a hour. At Christmas and Easter we have a communal clean - with as many people joining in as possible.

If you would like to join in this important service to the church (and the chance of a good chat over coffee afterwards) contact the Parish Office Tel 01344 425729

Fair Trade Tea & Coffee after 9am Mass

Like most churches around - though not St Joseph's, curiously - we've long provided socially-cohesive coffee and tea after Sunday Mass. It's free, but donations are welcome to cover the cost. A team of volunteers share the refreshments rota.  Every couple of months they have to fill and switch on the urn in the sacristy, make the tea and coffee, serve it with a smile, and wash up. 

Bracknell Catholic Parishioners may be surprised to learn that like most churches and mass centres in Portsmouth Diocese - which is itself FairTrade - both St Margaret Clitherow and St Joseph's have FairTrade certification. However this has never been made public, and the actual StMC certificate went missing from the noticeboard.  (Despite requests for a statement on parish policy from the PPC, we're in a dark as dark as Divine dark chocolate.) So at StMC we've simply got on with providing FairTrade - and in the public events we've hosted.

It's been natural for us to support the FairTrade initiative - which has proved such a great popular success. But

FairTrade certification for churches brings obligations as well as kudos.  We're required to provide FairTrade refreshments in parish events and groups wherever possible; to encourage the purchase of other FairTrade goods; and to promote FairTrade Fortnight. So, we've also encouraged...

Taking a cuppa in the York Room after 9am Mass. The white dots are on the big safety glass wall between the Room and the main part of church.


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TraidCraft Stall at St Margaret Clitherow
This is a really good ecumenical story.  We don't have a resident TraidCraft stallholder - but an excellent alternative for this excellent way of reaching out to producers in poor countries.
 

Every now and again, Jenny Colby has come in from Bracknell CofE Team Ministry and does a crafty traid in these excellent goods. They're also present at St Margaret School events. 
 

And Jenny gives her profit to CAFOD.
 

We all win - as you can see in this Thought for the Week in the Bracknell News. Jenny also runs the stall from 10am to 4pm every Friday at the Tea House in Broadway, Bracknell. Why not pop in - and take a sup of human kindness?

TraidCraft Champion
Our great friend Jenny Colby,
Church Army Sister with
Bracknell Team Ministry

 

St Margaret Clitherow Church has a long and robust tradition of supporting the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England & Wales, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development - both in fundraising and campaigns. It's equalled by the wonderful efforts of the pupils, parents and staff at St Margaret Clitherow Primary School.

CAFOD operates in around 50 countries. Its purpose is to provide emergency relief, long-term development, education and campaigning for social justice and equality.

For nearly 50 years, the Harvest and Lent Fast Days have been a popular way of giving to CAFOD - and showing that we really do want to ‘go without so that others might have’ as the founders of CAFOD had in mind. 

In real terms, around a quarter of a billion pounds has been raised this way - with perhaps three times that amount coming from regular giving, special projects, World Gifts at Christmas, legacies, and other. It's not an extra offering. Thousands of people - of all ages - deliberately choose to eat and drink little on those days, and put what they would have spent into the envelopes.  These are usually handed out at  churches the week before.

Parishioners have also responded with great generosity to appeals following humanitarian disasters - such as in the Tsunami, Haiti, and Darfur.

For many years, we used to run an auction each Lent - at which gifts were sold off. Each year we raised over £1000.  (Er, if anyone knows the whereabouts of Fr Pat Faughan, tell him still owes 3 hours' gardening...)

While the presbytery and its kitchen were still open house, we also ran weekly home-made soup lunches.  The popular and much-travelled bear Caffy came all the way from Shurlock Row, thanks to parishioner Ann Stetz.  As many pupils know, he now leads the CAFOD Schools team of Owly, Beaky, Maurice, Andy and Barney (on secondment from Stonyhurst College).

Since 2005, St Margaret Clitherow has sent a team of entrants to the Great South Run in Portsmouth. Together, they have raised nearly £10,000, mostly from non-parishioners.  Click here for a photo- and video-gallery from 2008.

Parishioner Hugh Gibbons (left) is a Schools and Media Volunteer with CAFOD Portsmouth Diocese, and a Christian Aid Bracknell organiser.  Contact him for further information on either. Tel 01344 451847 or  E-mail hugh@ahaa.org.uk.

In 2005, Hugh was sent to report on CAFOD-funded projects in Banda Aceh following the Tsunami. On return, he wrote, broadcast and gave personal presentations to around 10,000 people in churches, schools and groups. He is seen presenting his Great South Run medal to Mrs Roshni, head teacher of Labuy Elementary School, funded by CAFOD, Islamic Relief and the Disasters for the 80 surviving children out of 220.

Click here for a special page about St Margaret Clitherow CAFOD and Christian Aid humanitarian activities. 

Hugh in blugh
at the big climate change rally
in London, December 2009.

CAFOD
CAFOD Portsmouth
Caritas International
Progressio
Justice & Peace
Disasters Emergency Committee

Stephen Cottrell, Anglican Bishop of Reading, and Jenny Ayres of Christian Aid came to our meeting for all Bracknell collectors called Recount Your Blessings

During May each year, St Margaret's is one of the churches of different denominations which do the Christian Aid Week house-to-house collections in Bracknell. 

One of the most visible Christian actions available to parishioners, it's a very simple way of raising big funds for a much-respected sister agency of CAFOD.

We give a few hours to this good cause - alongside around 300,000 people in churches all over the country.

Since 1990, we have collected over £24,000 in our Hanworth/Birch Hill/Roman Hill patch.  (Parishioners in St Joseph's have collected around £17,000.)

In 2010, though homeless, we fielded a team of six - and they collected over £700 between them (with nearly an extra £100 due in Gift Aid).

It's not an arduous duty. We pop the envelopes through the doors in our chosen road. A few evenings later we go back and collect them. Many people already have them ready, and most people put something in their envelope.

We have about 40 roads down to us, and until fairly recently there used to be a big fight to get  one of the allocated packs in the porch!  But of late, things have declined - partly because of pressures on people's time; partly because the porch is tableless and tidy; partly because it's not seen as traditional activity.

Click here for Hugh Gibbons' information on the list of other Christian Aid churches in Bracknell.

Click here or the picture above
for a Thought for the Week -
in the Bracknell News -
a tribute by Hugh Gibbons
to Christian Aid Week and
its many supporters.

Association of Separated and Divorced Catholics
There isn't a group in the parish.  But since 1981, this has been an association for Catholics who have experienced the trauma of separation and divorce. The website contains useful information about the Catholic Church's attitude to divorce, the annulment procedure and reading on the subject of divorce within the Church.  See www.asdcengland.org.uk/

On the Corpus Christi website at Wokingham, you'll find this about a local ASDC meet-up. 
 

Theresa Coachman: 0118 979 4938

3rd Monday/month, 8.00pm, Our Lady of Peace Church Hall, Earley.

For Wokingham and surrounding areas, the Reading group of the ASDC provides support for those in need. We represent a group of local people who offer hope and practical support for those individuals who find themselves in the situation of being divorced or separated. We are a self-help group and are part of the Catholic community and we aim to provide spiritual and practical support especially to those in early stages of separation or divorce; to provide a source of information on related topics such as personal rights and the annulment process; to help people come to terms with living on their own; to regain confidence which may have been lost.

And finally, here's some useful information on other groups that may interest you

Union of Catholic Mothers UCM
Catholic Women's League CWL
Neither of these excellent organisations - both with St Margaret Clitherow as Patron Saint and string supporters of CAFOD - currently have a section in Bracknell.

However, Portsmouth Diocese UCM are to be found nearby at: St Francis, Ascot; St Joseph's, Maidenhead; English Martyrs, Reading; St James, Reading; St Joseph's, Tilehurst; St Edward & St Mark, Windsor; Corpus Christi, Wokingham; and St Swithuns, Yateley. Click here for locations of these churches.

The first Section of Portsmouth Diocese CWL was formed in 1917 in Portsmouth Cathedral parish.  There are now 15 Sections: Farnborough (Hants), Fleet, Gosport, Hayling Island, Jersey (East), Jersey (West), Lymington, Portsmouth, Reading, Ryde (Isle of Wight) and also includes the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey. 

For more information, see www.catholicwomensleague.org.

And while we're about it...

National Board of Catholic Women

Founded in 1939, NBCW is a forum in which Catholic women of England and Wales come together to share their views and concerns at diocesan and national level. It's also a consultative body to the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales and has consultative status with the United Nations (ECOSOC).
For more information, see www.nbcw.org
 

World Union of Catholic Women's Associations
WUCWO's aim is to promote the presence, participation, and co-responsibility of Catholic women in society and the Church, in order to enable them to fulfil their mission of evangelisation and to work for human development.
 

Founded in 1910, WUCWO represents 100 Catholic women's organisations from all continents and some island states, with a total membership of over 5 million. In 2006 it was elected by the Holy See as a Public International Association of the Faithful.
 

See www.wucwo.org for information.

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Knights of Saint Columba
As their website says, The Knights of St Columba are an Order of Catholic Laymen dedicated to the Service of the Church and fellow man. The Organisation, which is non-political and essentially democratic, exists to support the mission of the Catholic Church and at the same time to work for the spiritual and material good of its members and their families.

The local branch (Council 590) meets every second Monday of the month at St Joseph's Church. Contact Jim Webster Tel 484378 for more information.  Or click here to see the newsletter of their local Province 23.

Catenians
The national website shows that The Catenian Association is an international brotherhood of practising Catholic laymen who meet socially, at least once a month, in local branches, known as Circles. Members refer to each other as 'brother'. This reflects the strength of the mutual support they give to each other and their families, which is based on the shared values of their Catholic belief and practice.

There are local circles in Bracknell Forest, Ascot, Maidenhead, Reading, Wokingham, Maidenhead and elsewhere in this area.  The national website has information on contacts and meetingplaces. 

LIFE in this area
Life offers free, confidential information, counselling and support for women contemplating abortion, suffering after pregnancy loss or struggling to cope after abortion. It has a nationwide network of care centres, a free national helpline open 6 days a week (0800 915 4600) and a ‘text-to-talk’ service (0778 620 0330).  The national helpline is staffed by experienced counsellors. You can call if you have a quick query, or if you want to talk in depth to someone over the phone.  LIFE can also provide financial and practical help and support before and after birth. It has a network of baby shops which can supply baby clothes and equipment, and its care centres can also supply clothes and equipment to anyone who might need help. 

National website www.lifecharity.org.uk

Locally, Bracknell is part of the Reading & District LIFE Group. There is a local hostel for single mothers and babies.  Counselling for pregnant women or after abortion is available, as well as infertility advice.  For information contact Dominica Roberts Tel 01344 422902 or Anne Gibbons Tel 01344 451847.
 

And finally, you might like to be aware that St Margaret Clitherow Catholic Primary School has led the way with the Schools Stand Up Against Poverty in 2008 and 2009.

You can see more information on these at www.just1.org.uk/schools and www.just1.org.uk/schools2009

They are organised by parishioner Hugh Gibbons, through his one-man organisation Just1.

Heading in is Schools Weigh Up Your MP - a nationwide PSHE/RE/Citizenship Studies project.  Pupils in each of the 650 constituencies will be invited to inspect and rate the on-line record of actions for social justice and against world poverty by their MP in the first year after the 2010 election. The Opposite of Ofsted!

See www.just1.org.uk/weighupyourmp

This page was built by Hugh Gibbons

If you have any corrections, possible additions, amendments, helpful suggestions or even the odd rant, please contact Hugh

E-mail hugh@ahaa.org uk
Tel 01344 451847

for getting this far!