PRIVATE PRAYER

Obviously there is no obligation for anyone to attend church during this time and no-one should feel guilty about not

coming back to church until they feel that it is totally safe to do so. For those who would like to come back into the church for a short private prayer in silence in front of the Blessed Sacrament, St John the Baptist Church will be open for

private prayer only on these days:

Friday 3rd July from 11.00am to 1.00pm.

Monday 6th July from 11.00am to 1.00pm

Friday 10th July from 11.00am to 1.00pm

Monday 13th July from 11.00am to 1.00pm

Friday 17th July from 11.00am to 1.00pm

The following guidelines apply:

Please do not visit the Church if you feel unwell, especially if you have either a high temperature or a new, continuous cough or loss or change in your normal sense of smell or taste.

During these hours only 14 visitors will be able to be in the church at any one time along with a steward, and we will only be using the area under the balcony. We have no idea how many parishioners will want to attend church during these times, but if there is a queue of people outside then we would expect those inside to be considerate with the amount of time they spend in church.

NB The toilets and hall will remain closed.

On entering the Church through the main double doors - which will be kept open - visitors are asked to leave by the side double doors. There will be no holy water and the lighting of devotional candles and the touching of statues is not

permitted. Even though it will not be necessary for visitors to touch anything in the church with their hands, there will be hand gel available, but you are advised to bring your own. We will not be providing any personal protective equipment to our visitors so you will need to bring your own gloves or face mask etc if you require them. 

Before leaving we would ask that you take a disinfectant wipe (provided) and wipe down the area you have been sitting in, including the back of the bench that was in front of you, and dispose of the wipe in the bin provided.

Please remember to observe the ‘1 metre plus’ social distancing rule at all times unless you are from the same household.

Please sit in places marked with a green tick, a red cross means please don’t sit here, this is so we can ensure safe spacing. We ask that you do not arrange to meet up with friends to say the Rosary or for group prayer.

Please note, the week of Monday 20th July to Friday 24th July the Church will be closed as we are having new carpets throughout. This could have been done earlier during ‘lockdown’ but unfortunately Teresa was furloughed and couldn’t liaise with the fitters etc. It is something that we have been waiting for, for a long time!

Following this closed week of new carpets, there will be notices of how we intend to proceed opening the Church for

public Masses. More details to follow, but please note there will be no Exposition on 4th July, no Syro-Malabar or Polish Masses for the time being and still no hall hire events.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Please remember too, that if you normally give your weekly donation to the Church in the collection plate, you do have the opportunity to make your donation by Direct Debit/Standing Order.

All the forms are on the parish website under the ‘Gift Aid and Donations’ tab.

[Do bear in mind that we still have all our bills to pay each month, all our Direct Debits for Insurance, Utilities, Copyright and Levy to pay, and your donations are needed to fulfil these payments.]

Thank you for your understanding.

We hope and pray that we all are able to stay well and look after each other and our neighbours.

Mass Intentions during Closure

Farther Austin will be celebrating Mass 'behind closed doors' for the foreseeable future.

Below are the Mass Intentions for each day to 10th July:

IMPORTANT NOTICE RE: FIRST HOLY COMMUNION 2020

PLEASE NOTE - THIS MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE - DEPENDING ON GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES FOR PUBLIC CELEBRATIONS.

The First Confession Service for Group A on Saturday 21st March at 4.00pm has now been moved

to Saturday 29th August at 4.00pm

The First Confession Service for Group B on Saturday 28th March at 4.00pm has now been moved

to Saturday 5th September at 4.00pm.

The First Holy Communion Mass for Group A (Non SJB Pupils) on Saturday 6th June at 11.00am

has been moved to Saturday 12th September at 11.00am.

The First Holy Communion Mass for Group B (SJB Pupils) on Saturday 13th June at 11.00am

has been moved to Saturday 19th September at 11.00am.

The remaining two children’s sessions on 31st March /1st April and 5th/6th May will take place

on 1st/2nd September and 8th/9th September instead.

If you haven't registered with the Parish Office, then please find below a Parishioner Registration Form in the 'new' format. Completed forms need to be sent to the Parish Office.