There will be a Quiz night in the Canons Hall on Friday 27th August at 7.00pm. Tickets which include a hot pot supper are available from church priced £5

40 hours of Devotion
The 5th August is the feast of St. Oswald, King & Martyr and so Mass at 9.30am
will be in St. Oswald’s Church that day.
This will also be the beginning of the annual 40 hours of devotion before the Blessed Sacrament.
St. Oswald’s will therefore be open from 8.00am to 8.00pm on Thursday and Friday;
8.00am to 6.00pm on Saturday; and from 8.00am on Sunday, concluding with Solemn Benediction at
3.00pm.
Anyone intending to visit during these hours is asked to add their name to the Watching List at the back of
the Church to ensure there is a perpetual presence before the Blessed Sacrament.

Holy Hand Mass
This year’s Pilgrimage Mass to the Holy Hand of St. Edmund Arrowsmith will take place at 3.00pm on
Sunday 29th August.
Please note that there will be no 11.00am mass at St. Oswald’s on that day.

Refreshments will be served in the Canons Hall after Mass.

The following is the most recent guidance received from the Archdiocese after the lifting of Covid
restrictions on 24th July 2021.
1. Due to the fact that the pandemic is far from over, it is not the intention to restore an obligation to
Attend Sunday Mass at this point. People should be reminded of the importance of keeping Sunday holy
and, if possible, attending Mass weekly.
2. Face coverings will remain mandatory for all those coming to a church service. (Exemptions for medical
reasons excluded.)
3. Social distancing will not be mandatory in our churches.
4. Hand sanitising will remain necessary as people arrive.
5. The numbers for weddings, funerals and baptisms are limited by the capacity of each building.’
It has been suggested that an area of seating be kept for those who may still wish to socially distance. This,
however, does not seem practicable and, in view of the increasing local rates of infection, it seems prudent
to leave the social distancing measures in place for the time being to reassure anyone who may be anxious
about this. The tapes in Church will therefore remain for the next few weeks and will be reviewed at the
beginning of September.
The following changes to the celebration of Mass will take place from next Sunday (1st August)
a. Holy Communion will be restored to its traditional place in the Liturgy, and with a procession. Stewards
will continue to invite you to come forward row by row.
b. Communion on the tongue is permissible, but those who wish to receive in this way are asked to wait
until the end of Communion and the priest/minister must use sanitiser after each communicant has
presented themselves.
c. Holy Communion under both kinds will not be re-introduced at this time.
d. Congregational singing will resume.
e. Hymn books and Mass books will be used.
f. The Procession of Gifts will resume.
g. The Sign of Peace will be restored but without any physical contact i.e..by a gesture.
h. Mass will end in the traditional way.
Home visits to the sick and housebound will resume this week. Further details will emerge in the coming
weeks.

Father John

Following the recent Synod, The Archbishop of Liverpool, Malcom McMahon, has written a Pastoral letter to be read in all churches in the Archdiocese.

Synod Pastoral Letter