Quick Guide 

On this Page:

Introduction |  Mass & Confession Times | Where to Find Us |  Sister Churches - Links

Other St John's Pages:

St John's Church Groups |  St John's Ministers' Rota |  St John's Monthly Memorials |  St John's Photo Album |  St John's Parish War Dead |  St John's History |  Humour

Introduction

 A warm welcome to St John’s section of the Parish of the Good Shepherd’s Web Page.

St John’s is a vibrant church community, with a real feel of being an extended family, reaching out to the whole community and beyond. Check out our groups and societies listing being added to regularly, you’ll see what that means.

This section, like the whole of the web site, belongs to its people. To that end if there is anything that you would like to see in your church’s section please contact Margaret Pickles or David Hartley.

The monthly anniversary memoriam, updated monthly, replicates the old newsletters weekly listing. If you have anyone you would like to be added for the month following current listing please contact David Hartley in sufficient time.
Many members of the parish family have asked for some form of humour to be incorporated, we’ll try to put a monthly mixed bag together. If you have anything you would like to share humour wise e-mail David Hartley.
You will see the reproduction of the contents of the Great War Memorial from church. The tribute for those who lost their lives in WW2 is really basic. Should we try to record names of the lost? E-mail David Hartley with your thoughts or ideas.
Sincere thanks to Mike Morris and Margaret Pickles for their dedication in putting together the whole Web Page.
New areas will keep being slipped in to the listing, keep checking in.

email contacts Margaret Pickles - at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

David Hartley - david.hartley2014 AT gmail.com

(replace AT with @ when emailing - thanks)

⚠️IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS⚠️ 

*CORONAVIRUS NOTICES*

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VIDEO RECORDING OF SUNDAY MASS FOR THE PARISH

Like last week, we will be again uploading onto the parish web site a video recording of this Sunday’s Mass from St Mary’s for  Sunday. This should be available from late morning/early afternoon on Sunday. Thanks to all those who have helped to make this possible: http://www.goodsamaritanparish.org.uk/

OTHER LIVE-STREAMED MASSES

The National Shrine in Walsingham; www.walsingham.org.uk 

Live streaming (Sunday 9.30am) from The Good Shepherd parish in Colne; www.goodshepherdpendle.org.uk. You can also find the Readings for Mass each day on www.universalis.com

It is also possible that these streams will offer the Triduum services—though times may not coincide with our parish worship.

Caritas Diocese of Salford Newsletter click here to read

The Alter at St Johns dressed in honour of Saint Peter and Saint Paul and the beautiful tridute is in memory of Donald Butterworth RIP

Feast of the Birth of John the Baptist, patron of our church community

Wednesday 24th June.  Mass was celebrated throughout the Church. 

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On the matter of black lives -CAFOD Blog 

 George Floyd was laid to rest this week and the world rightly continues to speak out as one against racism. Sam Aidoo, a member of CAFOD’s campaigns team, gives a personal reflection on injustice, racism and how her faith motivates her work.

I really struggled with work last week. Not just because I’m working from home and my kitchen table is just not suitable for this. Last week was really heavy and as I start another working week, I still feel like I’m carrying the weight of the violent and protracted killing of George Floyd.

We are all feeling trauma

A week and a bit after the killing of George Floyd, I protested on the steps of Stratford Town Hall in East London. A handful of us were gathered. We hadn’t forgotten that we are in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. We all wore masks and distanced as much as possible. But we came to add our voices that day, just as millions of people around the world are doing too. We were just a group of normal, working class, unremarkable people of all races who came together because we are sick and tired. And witnessing the breakdown of US society is making us all feel trauma.

For those of us who are of BAME decent, especially black, I know I can safely say that George Floyd’s killing is trauma. And there are countless others who have reached media attention, familiar and maybe unfamiliar. Stephen Lawrence’s unsolved murder is also trauma. Amy Cooper’s police threat is trauma. Ahmaud Arbery’s shooting is trauma. Belly Mujinga’s case closed is trauma. Mark Duggan’s killing is trauma. Marielle Franco’s assassination is trauma. I feel pain and trauma seeing people who look like me losing their lives and their dignity to the state and the system.

But there is power in trauma, and that was why we gathered together amid a pandemic.

Racism is a sin

My faith has led me to work for CAFOD as a campaigner. I believe that Jesus is a role model, a true restless champion of justice, and I am proud to see his mission at the core of the work that I do.

So when a great injustice like racism refuses to die, I can comfortably say that it is incompatible with God. As the events of the week unfolded, I was proud to see that the Church spoke out in so many ways. Fundamentally, the Church said in clear and plain language that racism is a sin. Not only is it intolerable, it is not to be tolerated.

As I continue trying to navigate work – answering emails, making sure I’m not muted on Zoom – I felt solidarity from colleagues. They reached out, they shared quotes, they opened themselves to learning and unlearning. It feels like there has been a shift in global consciousness. I hope there is at least.

Find ways to put your faith into action and campaign for a fairer world

We work to fight injustice

I was not just affected by the killing of George Floyd as a black woman, but as a campaigner too. I work with communities and campaigners overseas as well as here in the UK to bring to life CAFOD’s mission to challenge injustice and to rebalance power. We work to shed light on how poverty is political. We know that the roots that underpin poverty are the same roots that underpin racism – how countries are kept in poverty because the system is fixed in the direction to prop up the global north.

The heinous public killing of George Floyd, the stories of all those who have lost their lives due to racial violence, and the public response, shows us very clearly that the world is no longer waiting for the apathy of global systems, which at their very root are designed to exclude.

In contrast, at our root we are faith filled. We are committed to advocacy and campaigning, confronting the problems of hate, racism and discrimination – calling out injustice for the world’s poorest people, the most vulnerable, the displaced, the excluded.

I believe we have reached a moment, but not for the first time, where organisations like CAFOD can lead the way in re-wiring our societies and transforming lives.

Help us protect the most vulnerable people from coronavirus

Hope as we go forward

Pope Francis tells us: “We cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life.”

He is telling us we have an opportunity to lead the way in setting the agenda for a just world. But this must include:

• Recognising that our mandate to fight ‘injustice’ intersects with racism and we must therefore speak out.
• Recognising that in our country, racism isn’t a gun, an ignorant tweet or a confederate flag. But it could be, and these are just symptoms. We must get comfortable with the role the UK has played in history, how it has shaped global conflicts, global poverty and, yes, racism.
• Recognising that George Floyd is one of many and not the last. We will be confronted with this again. What therefore will our response be?

We may fumble, we may not know what to say, we may worry we’ll offend, we may have to ask questions, we may have to be silent, and we may be challenged, but as Catholics, Christians, global citizens and human beings we must see our commitment to fighting injustice as a commission to anti-racism and all that’s in between.

My hope stands in love, action, dignity and respect for all. We cannot take up the challenges by ourselves. We need to act in communities, within parishes and the wider Church, with families and friends, to fight every single form of injustice as though they are one.

This article was written by Sam Aidoo who is a member of the CAFOD campaigne team

OUR FRANCISCAN SISTERS’ MESSAGE

Sister Patricia and all the Sisters at the Franciscan Convent send prayerful greetings to our Parishioners and our Priests. We are very aware of the challenges facing your families and elderly people at this time. Our own families contact us with requests for prayers. After spending our lives serving the poor and needy in many parts of the world, we feel blessed now to spend our retirement years in the Parish of the Good Samaritan. We keep you in our prayers daily Thank you to the Sisters for their love and kind words. We should remember them in our prayers.

MESSAGE FROM POPE FRANCIS ABOUT RECONCILIATION

These words from the Holy Father should help us while the Sacrament is not currently available:

"I know that many of you go to confession before Easter… Many will say to me: ‘But Father…I can’t leave the house and I want to make my peace with the Lord. I want Him to embrace me… How can I do that unless I find a priest?’

Do what the catechism says. It’s very clear. If you don’t find a priest to go to confession, speak to God. He’s your Father. Tell Him the truth: ‘Lord. I did this and this and this. Pardon me.’ Ask His forgiveness with all your heart with an act of contrition, and promise Him, ‘afterwards I will go to confession'"

OFFERTORY COLLECTION

With no Sunday Masses at which to take a collection, please hang onto your envelopes until things go back to normal then you can kindly bring your envelopes and contributions. Thank you.

FOODBANK

Please note that Christ the King has suspended Foodbank collection during the unfolding Coronavirus situation. We will not be taking any money donations either. Should you wish to do either of these, please take foodbank items to St Mary’s or St John’s church when open, and money donations to their Presbytery letterboxes marked ‘Foodbank’.  

Every local Spar shop should have a collection point for groceries and other produce, so keep donating if you are able to do so. They welcome all non-perishable foods and oranges continue to be popular as they last a good while.

If you want to make a money donation here is the website: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/supportburnleyfoodbank 

Information of particular interest to Saint John's parishioners

ST JOHN THE BAPTIST CHURCH CHOIR We continue in our search for an Organist and Choirmaster for the dedicated church choir. The appointment would be for alternate Sunday Masses at 10.45am. Initially those interested are invited to contact David Hartley on 07434 763 822 or  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.