A selection of the Children's responses to the Word of God

Confirmation 2024: Bishop Patrick will be celebrating Confirmation in our parish on Friday 6th December at 7pm.

Application forms are now available from Fr Paul or Fr Joby. Young people aged Year 9 and above are eligible for the Sacrament of Confirmation and will be required to take part in a 6 session programme of preparation which includes a day trip to The Briars Residential Youth Centre. Young people are asked to collect a form personally from one of the priests. Please make sure the forms are returned to church by 29th September. Sessions begin Wednesday 16th October 7pm but full details will be available for those who register.

Youth Club (children's social club) Relaunch Update: If you would like your child (ages 5-11) to be part of the club, please complete a consent form from one of the youth club representatives; Ilkeston - Jake Smith & John Melbourne, Eastwood - Anna Fitzpatrick & Teresa Quinn, Stapleford - Laura Collier & Magella Camm. We hope to host he first event for children at the parish hall in likeston on Saturday

12th October. The September date has had to be delayed so that all volunteers can be registered with their DBS.

Baptism Preparation Programme: We are introducing a new programme of preparation for parents who are registered for children to be baptized at one of our parish churches. You will only need to attend one session of preparation before the baptism. Sessions will take place four times a year. For parents who are asking for children to be baptized between October and December 2024, your session of preparation will take place after 11am Mass next Sunday 22nd September in the Meeting Room at Eastwood. The session will take no more than an hour and refreshments will be available. For further details, please contact Fran Maud (her contact is in the newsletter).

Some upcoming events for the diary:

Autumn Craft Fair: The 'fundies'

are organizing an Autumn Craft Fair at the Church Hall Ilkeston on Saturday

12th October 11am - 2pm. As well as Crafts, there will be refreshments and our usual scrummy cakes and bakes to buy. If any crafters are interested in having a stall, please email

St.Thomas.Fundraising@outlook.com for more information and a booking form.

CAFOD Harvest Lunch: all are welcome on Sunday 13th October after the 11am Mass to the Social Centre Eastwood for our Harvest Lunch. Tickets will be on sale 29th September & 6th October. Adults £4 Children eat free. Please come and join us!

St Thomas' School Open Day: St Thomas' staff invite parents whose children are due for reception intake in 2025, to an open day in school on Thursday 7th November from 1.30 - 3pm.

Coffee at SJH: The staff and students at SJH School Ilkeston, invite us to coffee or tea in school on Friday 20th September 11.30am - 12.30pm. Come along, meet some of the students and staff and enjoy their company.

Everyone welcome.

This Sunday (1st September) we have a shared aid to Ukraine and cancer research coffee cake event, in the social centre after 11am Mass at Eastwood. Please support if you can.

2 lovely ladies enjoyed their Afternoon Tea raffle prize today. Shame it was with Lee but it didn’t seem to put them off 😇

Friday Film Night: The film night for July will be in the parish meeting room at Eastwood this Friday (26th July) beginning at 7pm. This month's film is: Fiddler on the Roof. Guaranteed to then spend the rest of the weekend singing “If I were a rich man” 👍

Today is the 35th ordination anniversary of our beloved Canon Paul. Yesterday we celebrated with a surprise for him at our end of year Priory School Mass where we were also joined by representatives from St Thomas’s and Saint John Houghton schools. It was a beautiful celebration. He was very humbled and has yet to catch up and excommunicate Lee and Caz for organising it 🙏🏻

Congratulations Canon Paul.

Et multos annos venire.

Coffee Morning – Eastwood: Join us for coffee/tea and cakes after the 11am Mass on Sunday 21st July in the Social Centre. The summer Raffle will be drawn during the coffee morning. If you have bought tickets, good luck! You could be the lucky winner of some great prizes.

School News: The Priory Catholic Academy will be celebrating their Year 6 Leavers Mass at Our Lady’s Church on Monday 15th July at 2pm and an end of term Full School Mass on Friday 19th July at 9.30am. St Thomas’ Catholic Academy will be celebrating a joint end of term/Year 6 Leavers Mass on Thursday 18th July at school at 9.30am. We wish all our Year 6 children every blessing as they leave their primary education and prepare for a new stage in their education at secondary level. Please keep the children in your prayers at this transition time.

Confirmation 6 th December 2024: The programme of preparation for Confirmation will begin on 16th October. It is open to young people Year 9 and above who show commitment to their faith. Application forms will be available from Fr Paul or Fr Joby from September.

Journey in Faith: Are you interested in learning more about the Catholic Faith? Are you thinking of becoming a Catholic? We have a new 12 session course called ‘Catholic Foundation Stones’, beginning on Saturday 14th September at 10am at the meeting Room Our Lady’s Eastwood. Come along and see what it has to offer. Put the date in your diary! Forms are now available from church.

13 children from the Indian Syro-Malabar Catholic Community of Nottingham, receive the Sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Communion from Bishop Joseph Srampickal ,the bishop of the Catholic Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Great Britain, on 6th of July at Our Lady and St Thomas in Ilkeston.

The Mass will begin at 4.30 pm in the Malayalam language. Please keep them all in your prayers.

Thank you all for attending a brilliant get together.

Photos available on our Facebook page

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0uXoFspnG4Ct718pBMHnycSu3zRgrnQmtuLUSbJ1njWiBmRgPc1d2K6oLBL7e2fYel&id=100068033594090

After 2 years hard work and reflection, I was unanimously recommended by the Scrutiny board at Oscott this weekend to be accepted to carry on my Permanent Diaconate Formation journey and candidacy for ordination in (God willing) 3 years.

I'm very proud and very humbled and with the bishop's permission, am ready to serve you all.

Your support is more appreciated than you know.

Thank you and continued blessings.

Lee.

New Church Lectionaries: If you would like to give a donation in memory of a loved one, to help towards the cost of the new lectionaries for our churches, please put the donation in an envelope with the name of the person and it will be entered onto a special sheet inside the lectionaries.

Weddings:

Congratulations to Daniel and Gemma Bowen who will be celebrating the convalidation of their wedding at Our Lady and St Thomas’ Ilkeston on Saturday 29th June at 11.30am.

Our congratulations to Declan Conlon and Hollie Wheeler who will be married at St Joseph’s Matlock on Saturday 13th July at 12 noon. We wish both couples every blessing and happiness at this special time.

First Holy Communions: Congratulations to all the children who will be making their First Holy Communion in our churches over the next three weekends. We have 11 children this weekend (2 at Stapleford, 5 at Ilkeston and 4 at Eastwood). We have 9 children receiving their first Communion on Sunday 16th June (3 in Ilkeston and 6 at Eastwood) and 14 children on Sunday 23rd June (9 at Ilkeston and 5 at Eastwood) Please be aware the churches may be fuller than usual for the children’s families to attend over the next three weekends. We keep the children and their families in prayer.

As from next week Lee will be spending more time at the Holy Family Parish in Nottingham, serving the 3 churches there, as he starts his new position as Adult Formation coordinator. This means his regular weekday for our Parish will be Friday morning (beginning 7th June). 9.30 Mass at Our Lady of Good Counsel, followed by the Rosary (changed from Wednesday) and he’ll be around for the rest of the morning, in the small office off the meeting room, if anyone needs him.

There seems to be a bit of congestion in our church car parks at weekend Masses at Ilkeston and Eastwood. Please can we ask you to park considerately to avoid any problems. Thank you for your understanding.