Sacred Heart Exeter
Jubilee Day for Catechists
In this Jubilee year this day is for all Catechists and those interested in being catechists. “My teaching is not mine, but His who sent me” (Jn7,16) Speakers include Dr Pat McGovern and the LIFT Team from Truro and Deacon Tim van Kroonenburg. This day will also provide opportunities to connect with fellow catechists and share ideas of fruitful pastoral practice in our challenging times. The day will be held at the Buckfast Abbey Conference centre on Saturday 27th September !0am – 4pm. To register please email plymouth-crownhill@prcdtr.org.uk We look forward to seeing you there.
Messages from Fr James Barber
Jubilee Coordinator, Plymouth Diocese
I hope this finds you well as we approach the Summer. This email is just to clarify the upcoming weeks of Jubilee up to the end of August. There are relatively few, as promised, with the next big tranche beginning mid-September. I have attached the timetable for your information. As always, mileage will vary and it is up to each parish to decide what is most fitting to celebrate and how they do so.
June
21st-24th is the Jubilee of Civic Service. This might serve as an opportune time to honour anybody who holds public office in the parish or to simply promote responsible citizenship and the Church’s Social Teaching.
25th-29th is the Jubilee of Priests. This would be a nice opportunity to celebrate the priesthood, build on your promotion of vocations from Good Shepherd Sunday, or just have a celebration with other priests.
July
26th-3rd is the Jubilee of Youth, meaning Young Adults. During this time there are a dozen young people making pilgrimage to Rome for the events there. It is a good time to have a parish celebration as it takes place just after the school holidays begin. For the late Pope Francis, this Jubilee week was to take a central place, so I hope you will be able to have some kind of celebration.
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Revelation
In this Jubilee year where Pope Francis has asked us to be active “Pilgrims of Hope”, renowned scripture scholar and author, Fr. Nicholas King SJ, will lead us to understand the Book of Revelation and how the Word of God is our power for Mission. . This event will be held at Buckfast Abbey conference centre on Saturday 15th March 10am-4pm. ( Dart View Room 4). There is an opportunity to go to the Abbey mass at noon. Booking is essential and needs to be done through plymouth-crownhill@prcdtr.org.uk Enquiries: 01752 701660. We look forward to seeing you at this inspiring day.
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Diocesan Jubilee Calendar
With the Holy Year underway I can now share with you the Diocesan Jubilee Calendar. It is a spreadsheet which plots the liturgical year, Diocesan events, Schools, Parishes, and Charity activities during the year. Seeing them alongside one another should provide a level of clarity about how things relate. This will be updated as further developments take place.
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Places of Pilgrimage
I have already heard word of people keen to go on pilgrimage, which is tremendous. Please contact the Place of Pilgrimage ahead of time to avoid disappointment to give them a chance to prepare. Be prepared for them to suggest dates that fit better with their schedules. The contacts are below:
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Cathedral: plymouth-cathedral@prcdtr.org.uk (01752) 662537
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Crediton: crediton@prcdtr.org.uk (01392) 271191
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Dorchester: dorchester@prcdtr.org.uk (01305) 251976
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Launceston: launceston@prcdtr.org.uk (01566) 773166
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To see what Caritas are doing for Jubilee click here
Caritas Rest Jubilee Newsletter
One of the Jubilee social action themes is rest. Caritas Plymouth has created a short reflection sheet on this topic which you can download here: https://tinyurl.com/y6fxtu6n
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Messages from Fr Mark Skelton on Zoom Lent Course
Latest Update 25 February 2025
Please find below the Zoom Link for the 2025 Lent Series. The talks themselves will begin at 7pm but the Zoom call will be open as from 645pm. I do hope you will feel able to advertise and encourage your parishioners to come along and share the journey. Each evening is an independent and free standing talk given by 5 separate individuals and so although you can attend all 5 they are not linked other than seeking to reflect on some of the Holy Father's signs of hope in this Jubilee Year. This is the 5th year of the Series and it is always lovely to welcome back the virtual family for the 5 weeks we are together and to welcome new members of our extended family.
As we prepare to enter into the wonderful season of Lent I do hope it will be a truly blessed and holy time for you and your parish families.
13th March:- Commitment to others.
20th March:- Debt cancellation.
27th March:- Recognizing Hope.
3rd April:- Peace.
10th April:- Jesus's last Pilgrimage.
Annual Zoom Lent Course
It is that time of year again. New Parish but same Zoom account. Following on from the last four Lents, I am again offering a series of talks on Zoom for parishioners and indeed all those that would be interested and once again I am inordinately grateful to the generosity of the speakers who all said yes immediately . The themes have varied over the years but it seemed sensible in 2025 to reflect on some of the Holy Father's signs of hope in this time of Jubilee. This year the series will be on a Thursday at 7pm and I will send the link to join nearer the time. The timetable is as follows.
Jesus' last Pilgrimage ;-walking through Holy Week with Him.
13th March :- Fr James Barber - 'Commitment to others'
20th March :- Rev Brian Bargent - 'Debt Cancellation'
27th March :- Rev Lizzi Green - 'Recognizing Hope'.
3rd April :- Fr Gerard Barry - 'Peace'.
10th April :- David Mcloughlin - 'Pilgrimage'.
Those of you who have joined with us in the past will know that the format varies and that each speaker presents in his or her own individual style which I always think adds to the wonder of the thing. There is no need to pre book and it is not an absolute necessity to attend all if that is not possible as, although they are linked on the common theme, they inevitably stand independently. It would be great if you could advertise when we draw closer to Lent but I will, if you are ok about it, send you out a further reminder nearer the time and include your parish secretaries in the email. Thanks for your support and encouragement to your parishioners to join us. It is always great to see the return of old faces, if you'll pardon the expression, and we have built up, over the years, quite a lovely virtual family.
