Christian Meditation

Our group meetings for July are 2nd, 9th & 16th, all in St Alphonse, 32 rue des Capucins (the main door of the couvent, next to the church door). Meetings are at 7pm, and last approximately 1 hour.

Please email Marcella McCarthy marcellacreed@hotmail.com if you intend coming…or just simply turn up.  If you are interested but find this day or time inconvenient please email your preference to Marcella and it may be possible to change the dates and times thereafter.

[The first information meeting about the above was held on Monday  evening (17.06.13) at 34, rue des Capucins.   It was well attended with representatives of both the Anglican and Catholic communities as well as the simply curious.  M. Eric Dotuche, WCCM National Co coordinator for both Belgium and France led the meeting.  It began with an informative DVD on the life and work of John Main and the World Community of Christian Meditation which was followed by  a Q&A session.  It concluded with a short meditation session.]

SAFEGUARDING

Our Parish Council has identified the issue of Safeguarding as one to be addressed urgently, and has begun working towards formulating and implementing a full Safeguarding Policy. Cheryl Kouba and Robert Foley have begun work on this, consulting the Anglican community (who have a full policy in place) and the archdiocese here, which has its own policy. Once our guidelines are in place, and we have begun implementing them, details will be made available to parishioners.

One aspect of a policy is to have a trained Safeguarding representative as a point of contact between ourselves and the diocese, whose contact details are publicised in the parish, and with whom any concerns can be raised. As we have not reached that point yet,  the Council have agreed to be points of contact, and will refer issues raised as appropriate.

If you do have concerns regarding inappropriate behaviour by, or towards members of our community, please do not hesitate to share them.

Safeguarding is for the protection of our children, young people, vulnerable adults, all of us who are in contact with them (catechists, priest, etc) and for the safety of our community.

Best wishes,

Fr Ed

We are holding an open meeting on Sunday 30 June in Hollerich to discuss the recent news that we are to move on from the church and seek new premises, in co-operation with the archdiocese. The meeting will be at 10am, to make it easier for both those attending the 9am & 11am Masses to attend (in addition, there is the celebration for P. Rall after the 11.15 Mass at St Alphonse, and some of our community will be attending that).

If you cannot be present at the meeting, but would still like your voice to be heard, you can email a question or opinion, and if it is not otherwise raised, it will be then introduced.

Our Mass of Thanksgiving is on the following Sunday, 7 July, at 11am. There will be a 9am Mass also.

Best wishes,

Fr Ed

Dear all,
On 7 July we will be celebrating together our last regular Mass in Hollerich. To many, this announcement will come as a bolt from the blue; some may have read the signs. On Thursday 13 June, P. Erny Gillen, the Vicaire Général, had a meeting with the Fabrique d’Église of Hollerich. This was prompted, at least in part, by our concerns about the structural integrity of the church building; in part also to see how we might work together in the future. The conclusion of the meeting was that the committee feel that both our interests are best served if we find another home; I am sure there is wisdom in this.

This presents us with a once-in-a-generation opportunity:  to work with the archdiocese in finding ourselves a new church, more suitable to our needs, where we can begin afresh. Both the Archbishop and the Vicaire Général believe this to be the best course of action for us, and I agree with them, and our Parish Council are of the same mind.

The archdiocese have indicated that they will help us find us a new, suitable venue, hopefully by Autumn 2013. At this early stage, they have several churches in mind, and we will remain in close dialogue with them as to our future. We are looking at the date of 7 July to celebrate together our final regular Mass in Hollerich, at our usual time of 11am. This Mass will be a Mass of thanksgiving.

When we leave Hollerich, several things suggest themselves:

• The Parish Council are agreed that we will have an open meeting, where any parishioner can come along, learn what’s going on and have a voice. The date for this meeting will be announced shortly.
• Obviously we will leave with sadness, but with great spirit of gratitude for our years in the church.
• We will move our Masses to St Alphonse until our new home, wherever it might be, is available (our Mass at St Alphonse would be at 11:15).
• The Parish Council will be working to define our priorites for the new building: size of church, location, parking, rooms available, disposition of the Fabrique d’Eglise, etc. to assist the archdiocese in identifying possible locations, and to clarify our own thinking on the matter; no church will be perfect, but we need to be able to ascertain which would be the best compromise

I will continue to work with the Parish Council on these issues, and we will keep you up-to-date with developments;  We would be grateful for your comments and suggestions. In the meantime, please keep our parish in your prayers, asking the Lord that we will find the best possible location for our vibrant and growing community.

With warmest best wishes,

Fr Ed, with the Parish Council

Next Sunday, 16 June, our parish will be celebrating its annual Outdoor Mass and picnic on the grounds of our Archbishop’s residence (3, Marie-Thérèse, Luxembourg City) at 11:15 a.m.  Each person/couple or family attending is asked to bring a salad, a main dish or a dessert (to serve six) to share with others.  Plates, cutlery and drinks will be provided.  Please contact Cheryl Kouba if you would like to take-part. There will be an additional Mass at Hollerich at 9am the same day.