Church re-opening – Easter 2021

14/05/2021
Updated Attendee Guidance and Steward Procedures

Our Lady Immaculate re-opened for public Mass on Sunday 28th March and following further discussions and meetings to review existing and any new procedures, updated documentation, procedures, and posters were put in place from Sunday 16th May.

The need for these or any other restrictions will be reviewed on a regular basis and in particular towards the end of June when restrictions are planned to be fully removed.

The updated documentation can be viewed here.

Please also take a note of the other posters and notices placed around the church.

13/06/2021
Message from Fr. Maurice

In today’s gospel Jesus says “What is the Kingdom of God like, what parable can we find for it.” Jesus never describes the Kingdom of God, when he says what is the Kingdom of God like, he means what can it be compared to. In today’s gospel he compares it to tiny seeds. This is surprising, you would surely expect him to compare it to something much more exotic. Throwing seeds on the ground which eventually grow and become wheat which is harvested and made into bread is literally very down to earth, and a process which occurs year by year. At first sight it’s not very exotic, but if you look again, surely it is. It’s the process by which we feed ourselves, and the growth into wheat of the sown seed is a marvel, no doubt science today knows how to explain it, but it didn’t back in Jesus’s time.

We tend to think today that scientific explanations of nature have removed what people once thought was miraculous, but science can’t explain how nature came into existence and that seems to me to be miraculous. The sort of every day things Jesus uses in his parables point beyond themselves to the Kingdom of God. What is the Kingdom of God like, it’s unlike anything we are familiar with, it’s beyond what language can express, but these things can point beyond themselves, and we can see beyond them if we know how to look.

04/06/2021
Message from Fr. Maurice – Parish Job Vacancies

From time to time I need to draw your attention to jobs that need doing to ensure the smooth running of the parish. At the moment we need someone to be Chair of the Parish Council, we also need a Deputy. Charles Beange and Sir Paul Kennedy have recently stepped down from these positions and I would like to thank them on your behalf for all the work they have done.

We also need someone to do the bulletin, this really means someone to type up the bulletin in some sort of attractive format, consider your computer skills. We also need a Parish Safeguarding Representative (see Diocese Safeguarding webpage), this is not the most sought after parish job, I suppose it entails keeping us safe from one another. You may think that shouldn’t be necessary, but the fact is it is necessary.

If you think you could help with any of these positions please get in touch.

30/05/2021
Message from Fr. Maurice

Today is the feast of the Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity tells us something about God, that he is three persons so closely united in love that they are one. So we can say God is love. There are all sorts of other things we might want to know about God, what does he look like, where is he, what does he do all day. But we can’t know these things, they don’t really make sense in relation to God. We live in his creation, and maybe to a limited extent we can find something of him in his creation, this is disputed but as Catholics we believe it is true. But we still have to be careful, we can’t sum God up in a formula: God is three and God is one. We need to be careful in thinking we can explain God, we tend to explain things in terms of our own experience and our own experience is limited, God is not limited, he infinitely transcends us, but he does reveal himself to us.

Doctrines are very important, they help us to have some inkling of God, but because God loves us, because his very nature is love we can know the fullness of God’s presence.

21/05/2021
Message from Fr. Maurice

Bishop Marcus and his fellow Catholic Bishops of England and Wales have issued a Pastoral Letter for Pentecost which will be read out or made available in parishes across the Diocese. This is a passage from the bishops’ letter:

“For all too long we have either been ignorant of, or ignored, the systematic exploitation of our planet and the unsustainable consumption of its resources. While accepting the crucial need and demand for energy for the benefit of the poorest of our brothers and sisters, the provision of our energy must, nonetheless, be by means which radically reduce the use of carbon-based fuels.

In our political thinking, there must be a new global understanding of our world, where nations recognise our common responsibility for the dignity of all people and their rights to sustainable livelihoods, in authentic freedom. Pope Francis speaks of a global politics that looks beyond our own needs to the needs of all, most especially the poor and the marginalised.”

Pastoral Letter from the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales for feast of Pentecost.

14/05/2021
Message from Fr. Maurice

We are nearing the end of Eastertide, last Thursday was the feast of the Ascension and next Sunday is the feast of Pentecost. Jesus had to go away so that he could come closer than ever to his disciples, to us in the form of the Holy Spirit. Let’s pray for the guidance of the Spirit as we emerge from the pandemic into ordinary life.

Unfortunately, we are not quite there yet, but I’m sure the vaccination process is making us feel a lot more confident that we will get there. From this Sunday we will get back to saying mass as we did before Covid, you will make the responses without raising your voices, we’ll have all the readings, bidding prayers, homily. However, for the time being we will continue to social distance, wear masks, sanitize our hands, and book to come to mass. The bishops have not said anything yet about how and when these things will change, I think there is a big not knowing factor at the moment which is unsettling for people, we have to be patient. When I hear something from the bishop I will let you know.

07/05/2021
Message from Fr. Maurice

We have a very limited understanding of God, some theologians have said we can only know about God that which he has revealed to us. Other theologians have said we can intuit some things about God from our own experience, from our lives in the world in which we live. The trouble is we don’t know very much about our lives in this world: if God didn’t create this world how did it get here, what is time, what is human consciousness, why do things happen the way they happen? The truth is our ability to figure these things out is very limited.

Our lack of knowing may make us feel if there is a God he is very far away from us, yet in recent gospels at mass we have listened to Jesus saying things to us like “remain in my love” and “I will come and make my home in you”. Thursday is the feast of the Ascension, the risen Jesus left his disciples and went back to the Father, wherever the Father is, but he told them in doing this he was coming closer to them. For some reason God loves us and wants to be deeply involved with us. He also wants us to love one another just as he loves us. It takes great faith to believe this, but having this faith gives us a direction, it means we are on a journey into the heart of love. I think if we know little else this is supremely worth knowing.

30/04/2021
Message from Fr. Maurice

It’s 10.48am Friday, an hour and 20 minutes ago I got my second vaccination. This momentous event took place at the Village hotel upper Headingley, Leeds. I was expecting a queue and the process to take 45 minutes or so, but no queue and the process took about 3 minutes. The doctor who jabbed me told me it would give me 90% to 95% protection. It feels to me something of a resurrection experience, it has brought home more vividly to me than anything else the prospect of returning soon to something like normal life. I’m sure that many of you have had the same experience.

Some people have asked me what will be happening as regards the Church when we reach the 21st June. The answer is I don’t know, but I’m sure it is something the bishops are talking about among themselves, but I imagine it will be much nearer the time before they will be able to make firm decisions and communicate them to us. I am sure they will take into account the difficulties many of us will have getting back to normal life and there will be no rush to do anything.

We are still in Eastertide, we are still celebrating the resurrection, let’s be mindful God brings us through difficulties into safety, brings us even through death into eternity. But, meanwhile, let’s pray that vaccines will rescue the whole world from Covid.

24/04/2021
Message from Fr. Maurice

The parishioners of the anonymous priest in George Bernanos`s novel The Diary of a Country Priest don’t like him or trust him. One day someone takes him aside and tells him “you see Father people expect definite things from a priest.” He goes on “a priest is a bit like a lawyer, money changes hands, people expect definite things from a priest.” But the priest just goes on acting as though his expectations of his parishioners are more important than their expectations of him. In the course of the diary which is most of the novel, the priest writes “a true priest is never loved.”

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday, traditionally we pray for more vocations to the priesthood, and give money for the priests’ training fund. The priest’s task is to lead, shepherd people into everlasting life. In the medieval Church everlasting life was a hot topic, people saw the Mass as a way of breaking through the barrier between this life and everlasting life, they looked for other spiritual practices which did the same. People wanted more and more certainty that they were saved, that they were going to go to heaven, and not hell. The notion of purgatory gave the issue more scope, and also gave people more control over what happened on the other side of death.

Today the issue is not so much how to get to heaven, but is there a heaven to get to. In the middle ages there was a certain amount of conflict between clergy and laity over how to break through the barrier, people wanted more flagellation and that sort of thing while beleaguered priests were telling them that if taken to excess it was bad for them.

Are we still keen to break through the barrier, or have we settled for nice communities on this side of it? What is the role of priests in these communities, if it comes to that, what is the role of the risen Christ in these communities?

16/04/2021
Message from Fr. Maurice

“Peace be with you” says the risen Lord to his disciples in today’s gospel. There’s not much peace in the world around us. Many of us will be feeling anxious about the situation in Northern Ireland. We’d hoped and even believed that the troubles which started in the 1960’s and went on for decades were a thing of the past. I must admit I had thought the solution to the problems Brexit had thrown up might have been a united Ireland. It’s sad to see that people have preferred to hold onto old hatreds. Let’s pray that there is not a drift back into the murdering thuggery of the past.

It’s not easy to put the past behind us, but the resurrection should draw us into a new life. It’s rarely a sudden and complete transformation, our pasts are usually troubled and even traumatised and there are things we need to come to terms with. We can bring these things to the risen Jesus remembering that the resurrection followed the crucifixion. Mary Magdalene thought that the risen Jesus was a gardener, it’s extraordinary to think that after the trauma of the crucifixion Jesus was able to gather about himself the self possession of a young man going about his daily work. Let’s ask him to impart his peace to us as we go about our daily lives.

10/04/2021
Updated Attendee Guidance Summary

– Booking only
– Masks must be worn
– Sanitise hands
– Comply with stewards
– Maintain social distancing
– Silent responses in your own head
– No gathering outside

10/04/2021
Message from Fr. Maurice

Today’s gospel is doubting Thomas, St. Thomas would not believe in the resurrection until he saw the wounds on Jesus’s body. When he did, he made his great act of faith, he said to Jesus “my Lord and my God”. Jesus said to Thomas “You believe because you have seen, blessed are those who have not seen yet believe”.
We have not seen yet we believe, or we say we do; we can believe out of habit, if we do we won’t convince any one else. Do we really believe in the resurrection? Do we really believe in an all loving God in the midst of this pandemic?

03/04/2021
Message from Fr. Maurice

After the resurrection Jesus met with his friends again. They must have thought that all that had ended, they had hoped he was going to do something really significant, then he fell foul of the religious authorities of their people, and then the political leaders, and all this resulted in his death, this was the end of everything. But it wasn’t, Jesus rose from death, he did do something really significant, more significant than had ever been done before.

We believe he rose again never to die again, and further more we will rise again after we die, this will be the most significant thing that will ever happen to us. Today we rejoice because Jesus came and promised us eternal life, it makes a huge difference. Even amidst the difficulties of Covid there is reason to rejoice.

31/03/2021
Mass Update for Easter Triduum

Masses have not yet returned to normal and the church is likely to be full to restricted capacity and so the same or slightly modified restrictions that were in place before the current Lockdown will still be in place. It is possible that this has not been well communicated recently and some of these points and supporting information is given below:

– meeting and chatting outside and inside the church before and after Mass is strictly prohibited. Despite the ongoing relaxations, as far as we are concerned, it is not allowed because the Rule of Six does not apply at church

– there will be no admittance to church to anyone turning up without a ticket

– it is emphasised that the allocation of pews and seats will carried out on a strict Front to Back and first come – first served basis and that no one can or should ask for a specific seat or pew within the church; please therefore do not embarrass our Stewards by asking for a specific seat or pew

– please see the revised Diocesan advice for the curtailed nature of Masses during Easter, which can also be viewed here

– the more general advice issued following the meeting of the government’s Coronavirus Places of Worship Task Force on Monday 11th January is also attached and can be found here

– spoken responses during worship should not be in a raised voice

– there will be no music or singing before, during or after Mass

– an amendment – the Outside Steward will take Holy Communion first and then move outside before the congregation are called to communion and to exit the church

– attendees will be guided to leave the church in a strict Back to Front order; please do not leave your seat until you are instructed to do so by a Steward

– the church will be sanitised by the Stewards after the Masses on Thursday, Friday and Saturday in preparation for the following days Mass.

While these restrictions are not welcome, they remain necessary while the virus posses a continuing risk to our health. Please be aware that the obligation to attend Mass is still lifted and attending Mass at our or any other church at present may not be for everyone.

Father Maurice and the Stewards look forward to welcoming you all back to church over Easter or whenever you feel comfortable doing so.

29/03/2021
The Liturgies of Holy Week and the Triduum

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) has issued guidance as to what changes the lay faithful who are able to attend in person may find to the Liturgies of Holy Week and the Triduum this year.
Bishop Marcus has summarised these into FAQs which may be viewed or downloaded here  and are reproduced below:

To comply with the requirements and guidance for the safe celebration of the Liturgies of Holy Week and the Triduum, please note to following arrangements:

Palm Sunday
There will be no procession into the church and the blessed palms may be collected by each member of the congregation when they leave at the conclusion of Mass, not collected at the beginning. The Passion will be read by a priest celebrant or deacon alone, or with the assistance of one or two readers; the parts normally assigned in the text to the congregation will be read instead by a single reader.

Holy Thursday
At the celebration of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, the washing of the feet, the procession to the Altar of Repose, the stripping of the Altar, and the “watching” after the Liturgy will be omitted. The congregation will leave in the usual manner at the end of the celebration.

Good Friday
As on Palm Sunday, the Passion will be read without the congregation joining in. The Veneration of the Cross by the congregation will take place by each person making a profound bow or genuflection whilst remaining at the place where they are seated.

Easter Vigil
The Blessing of the Paschal Fire and the lighting of candles held by each member of the congregation will be omitted. During the Renewal of the Baptismal Promises, the sprinkling of the congregation with newly blessed Easter Water will be omitted.

Easter Sunday
During the Easter Day Masses, the sprinkling of the congregation with the Easter Water will be omitted.

During all the Liturgies of Holy Week and the Triduum, there will be no communal singing, Holy Communion will be distributed under one kind only, face coverings must be worn, social distancing maintained, and any guidance issued by the celebrant and church stewards should be observed.

Church re-opening – from 28/03/2020
Booking in advance is mandatory; updated 29th March

We are pleased to confirm that Masses will resume at Our Lady Immaculate on Palm Sunday, 28th March.

Please note that the recent phased relaxation of the Lockdown regulations do not yet result in any changes to the restricted way in which we continue to attend church.

Booking in advance is mandatory without exception – apologies in advance but attendees without a booking will be turned away at the door. The means to book a place for yourself and your household are as follows:

Online via the Parish’s Eventbrite web page – Book ticket(s) for a Mass at Our Lady Immaculate

The cut-off times for booking tickets are:

–  For Masses on a Sunday – 5:00 pm on the prior Saturday for online bookings

–  For Masses on a Wednesday – 3:30 pm on the prior Tuesday for online bookings

If you are unable to use the Online Booking System, you can still book tickets to attend Mass by telephone. Please call Father Maurice on 01423 711277 at the following times: Tuesday and Thursday from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

In all cases you will have to provide your name, the number and name of all attendees in your group and telephone numbers and / or email address. Any personal information is gathered for attendee validational and NHS Track and Trace purposes only and will be deleted after 21 days.

Full details on booking and attending church after re-opening can be found in the attached document – Attendee Guidance.

27/03/2021
Message from Fr. Maurice

It all started with such optimism: Jesus being welcomed by the crowds into Jerusalem, or was it just his own who came with him and strewed palms before him and the donkey he was riding. He knew he’d come to be crucified not crowned. The events of that week unfolded, he was betrayed during the final meal he shared with his friends by one of them. He sweated blood agonising over surrendering to his Father’s will which meant death on the cross while his friends fell asleep. Then the trial and sentence, and finally the agony of the cross, and the yielding up of his spirit.

Maybe we were once optimistic, but things have not worked out like that. Jesus invites us to follow him on the way of the cross. He asks us to surrender our lives to the will of his Father, but promises to be with us especially when the way is hard. But what seems the end of the way is not the end but a new beginning.

Let’s abide with Jesus as this ceremonial week unfolds, let’s watch and pray with him, knowing he always watches and prays over us.

Mass schedule – Easter Week 2021

Public Masses will take place at Our Lady Immaculate at the following times:

Palm Sunday
Sunday 28th March at 11:00h

The Mass of the Lord’s Supper
Holy Thursday 1st April at 7.30pm

The Solemn Celebration of the Lord’s Passion
Good Friday 2nd April at 3.00pm

The Easter Vigil Mass
Holy Saturday 3rd April at 6.30pm

Full details on booking and attending church after re-opening can be found in the attached document – Attendee Guidance.

20/03/2021
Message from Fr. Maurice

From Palm Sunday 28th March we will get back to Masses in Pateley Bridge as well as Bishop Thornton. For the time being St. Joseph’s will continue to be Sunday 9.30am and Thursday 9.30am; Our Lady Immaculate will resume with Sunday 11.00am and Wednesday 9.30am (expect there will be no Wednesday morning Mass during Holy Week). It may be the case that we will go on having 2 Masses a week in both parishes until 21st June, this will depend on what the Government is saying to us and what the Bishops are saying to us.

Holy week begins next Sunday 28th March. The Easter Triduum will take place in both churches, Fr. Michael Smith will preside at St. Joseph’s, I will preside at Our Lady Immaculate. The Triduum consists of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper Holy on Thursday 7.30pm, the Solemn Celebration of the Lord’s Passion Good Friday 3.00pm and the Easter Vigil Mass Holy Saturday 6.30pm. All the services will be curtailed for safety reasons.

The booking system is in place for St. Joseph’s and will be from this week-end for Our Lady Immaculate.

Church closure – January 2021

28/02/2021
Message from Fr. Maurice

Last week I suggested we would re-open for Masses next Sunday 7th March; the Stewards, on being sounded, preferred nearer to Easter, so we’ll go for Palm Sunday 28th March. We will be subject to the same restrictions as we have been throughout the pandemic, but I hope as time goes on that this will gradually change until we get to where we were before the pandemic. What will take us there is the vaccine, the Church is encouraging us to have the vaccine when the opportunity arises, do think about this very carefully.

We are in the holy season of Lent, it is a time of fasting and being generous to the poor, you could think of sending some money to Cafod. We will think of Holy Week and Easter a bit later on.

It may well be the case that many of you still don’t feel safe coming to church, or you may be happier going to a bigger church in Harrogate than coming to our Lady’s. These are decisions only you can make, don’t feel under pressure, but again, the vaccine is rolling out, hopefully, before the Summer most people will have been vaccinated, and we will have reached some sort of new normal.

21/02/2021
Possible re-opening in March

A couple of possible re-opening dates have been suggested – 3rd Sunday of Lent, 7th March and Palm Sunday, 28th March – and Fr. Maurice is keen to have your feedback on which of these would be more acceptable.

A final decision will be taken towards the end of week commencing 22nd February following the release of the new guidance from the government expected then.

Fr. Maurice will continue to say a strictly private Mass each day at 9.30am and parishioners can be in Spiritual Communion with him doing these Masses.

16/02/2021
God With Us Lent Talks

Just a reminder that Monday evening 23rd February will see the beginning of our series of Lenten talks on the Old Testament (“God with Us”), led by Fr Timothy Swinglehurst. If you’d like to attend and haven’t already done so, please send a quick email to gregory.stacey@dioceseofleeds.org.uk, and use the Zoom links in the timetable given below to join the meeting.

Best Wishes,
Greg

Dr Gregory Stacey, BA MSt DPhil (Oxon)
Co-ordinator of Catechesis (Adult Formation and Research)
Diocese of Leeds
Hinsley Hall
Headingley Lane
Leeds
LS6 2BX

Tel: +44 113 261 8043
Email: gregory.stacey@dioceseofleeds.org.uk
Web: www.dioceseofleeds.org.uk

13/02/2021
Church closure extended

It has been decided to move back the decision on re-opening of the church until the end of February, when hopefully new guidance issued by HM Government on the 22nd February will prove helpful in defining the way forward. Our church will not therefore re-open for Mass on Ash Wednesday, the 17th February.

Fr. Maurice will say a strictly private Mass each day at 9.30am and parishioners can be in Spiritual Communion with him doing these Masses.

25/01/2021
Suspension of Masses until 17th February

as a result of the unpredictable conditions in terms of both the weather and the corona virus, Father Maurice has decided to suspend Masses at both Our Lady Immaculate and St Joseph’s with immediate effect.

We are currently looking at re-opening for Mass on Ash Wednesday, the 17th February and will re-evaluate this decision and the re-opening date in the first weeks of February.

While Father appreciates that this will be a disappointment for some, several factors had to be taken into account: the safety of parishioners, Stewards and Father Maurice at the forefront of these, and also the continuing high prevalence of the virus, the poor weather at present, the new tighter guidance on not mingling before and after Mass and also the much reduced attendance since the New Year.

It is hope that the short hiatus will allow time for the weather to improve a little and also for some clearer guidance to become available in terms of the effect of the vaccination programme and the course of the virus. The re-opening date will be reviewed early next month in light of any new information.

Future dates will be removed from Eventbright and Mass will not take place this Wednesday; anyone with a booking on this or future dates will be notified separately of the cancellation.

December Church Re-opening

Church re-opening – from 03/12/2020
Booking in advance is mandatory

We are pleased to confirm that we continue to have Masses again at Our Lady Immaculate and St. Joseph’s, for the time being in any case. Booking in advance is mandatory without exception – apologies in advance but attendees without a booking will be turned away at the door. The means to book a place for yourself and your household are as follows:

Online via the Parish’s Eventbrite web page – Book ticket(s) for a Mass at Our Lady Immaculate

The cut-off times for booking tickets are:

–  For Masses on a Sunday – 5:00 pm on the prior Saturday for online bookings

–  For Masses on a Wednesday – 3:30 pm on the prior Tuesday for online bookings

If you are unable to use the Online Booking System, you can still book tickets to attend Mass by telephone. Please call Father Maurice on 01423 711277 at the following times: Tuesday and Thursday from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

In all cases you will have to provide your name, the number and name of all attendees in your group and telephone numbers and / or email address. Any personal information is gathered for attendee validational and NHS Track and Trace purposes only and will be deleted after 21 days.

Full details on booking and attending church after re-opening can be found in the attached document – Attendee Guidance.

29/11/2020
Church re-opening – from 03/12/2020
Booking in advance is mandatory

We are delighted to say that following the second Lockdown, Our Lady Immaculate and also St. Joseph’s will re-open for public worship on Wednesday the 2nd and Thursday the 3rd December respectively. The normal booking and attendance procedures that were in place prior to the 2nd Lockdown are re-instated; in essence, bookings must be made in advance and please follow the instructions of the Stewards at church.

Bookings can be made on-line again, but at this time please only book places for dates between Wednesday 2nd December and Sunday 20th December as dates and times of Mass at Christmas and beyond are not yet confirmed.

The means to book a place for yourself and your household are as follows:

Online via the Parish’s Eventbrite web page – Book ticket(s) for a Mass at Our Lady Immaculate

The cut-off times for booking tickets are:

–  For Masses on a Sunday – 7:00 pm on the prior Saturday for online bookings

–  For Masses on a Wednesday – 5:30 pm on the prior Tuesday for online bookings

If you are unable to use the Online Booking System, you can still book tickets to attend Mass by telephone. Please call Father Maurice on 01423 711277 at the following times: Tuesday and Thursday from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

In all cases you will have to provide your name, the number and name of all attendees in your group and telephone numbers and / or email address. Any personal information is gathered for attendee validational and NHS Track and Trace purposes only and will be deleted after 21 days.

Full details on booking and attending church after re-opening can be found in the attached document – Attendee Guidance.

New Lockdown

07/11/2020
Churches closed from 5th November until further notice.

Our church, along with all others, is now closed until further notice. The closure of the church is in line with current Government guidance which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november

Throughout the new Lockdown, Fr. Maurice will say a strictly private Mass each day at 9.30am and parishioners can be in Spiritual Communion with him during these Masses.

Please also find attached a Pastoral Letter from the Bishop on this Remembrance Sunday.

Public Mass on Wednesday 4th – tickets for final event (this month) going fast!

as things stand, the public Mass at 9.30am this Wednesday 4th November at Our Lady Immaculate Pateley Bridge will be the last until early December.

Tickets are still available for Wednesday and we feel that we have made attending church as safe as it can be, so if you wish to attend on Wednesday please book your tickets on-line or call Father Maurice on 04123 711277 between 2.00pm and 5.00pm today, Tuesday 3rd.

Father Maurice would also like to bring to your attention two documents from the Diocese in relation to the forthcoming 2nd Lockdown. These will be on the parish website shortly and can also be found here: 2020.10.31 – Statement – PMs Statement – FINAL  and The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP 01.11.20 +MS.

Church re-opening – from 30/08/2020
Booking in advance is mandatory

We have begun having Masses again at Our Lady Immaculate and St. Joseph’s. Booking in advance is mandatory without exception – apologies in advance but attendees without a booking will be turned away at the door. The means to book a place for yourself and your household are as follows:

Online via the Parish’s Eventbrite web page – Book ticket(s) for a Mass at Our Lady Immaculate

The cut-off times for booking tickets are:

–  For Masses on a Sunday – 7:00 pm on the prior Saturday for online bookings

–  For Masses on a Wednesday – 5:30 pm on the prior Tuesday for online bookings

If you are unable to use the Online Booking System, you can still book tickets to attend Mass by telephone. Please call Father Maurice on 01423 711277 at the following times: Tuesday and Thursday from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

In all cases you will have to provide your name, the number and name of all attendees in your group and telephone numbers and / or email address. Any personal information is gathered for attendee validational and NHS Track and Trace purposes only and will be deleted after 21 days.

Full details on booking and attending church after re-opening can be found in the attached document – Attendee Guidance.

20/09/2020 – Church re-opening
A message from Father Maurice

After a couple of weeks of having Masses, numbers are quite low and with infections going up at the moment this is not surprising. Please keep on praying for those who become seriously ill from catching coronavirus and those who die of it, and let’s go on praying that a cure will be found soon.

13/09/2020 – Church re-opening
A message from Father Maurice

This is the third Sunday of having Masses in church after the lockdown, we have not been over booked which indicates that many of you are being understandably cautious. I think some people who have started to come back to Mass have been in a quandary over it, and have had to make a decision. Some of you will have made a decision not to come back yet, please feel comfortable with this, and come back in your own time.

I am grateful to the people who are working so hard to put all the arrangements in place so that we can have Mass. At the moment we are having two Masses a weekT, and this feels right for the moment, in time we will get back to a normal Mass time table, there will be things to consider before this comes into effect.

06/09/2020 – Church re-opening
A message from Father Maurice

The new system for going to Mass appears to be working well, new roles and instructions are being followed, we are all trying to keep each other safe and we are fully booked online for Sundays the next few weeks, with a few telephone tickets still available. But places continue to be available for Wednesdays and so if you are able to attend mid-week then please book on online or by telephone.

Public Masses have begun again in our church and we seem to have got off to a good start, let’s pray that things continue to go well, that everyone gets the hang of the process of registering for Mass, and that before too long we are back to normal again.

23/08/2020 – Church re-opening
A message from Father Maurice

Next Sunday 30th August we begin having Masses again at Our Lady Immaculate and St. Joseph’s. For the time being there will be a Mass at 11.00am / 9.30am respectively on Sunday and a Mass at 9.30am on Wednesday / Thursday respectively.
Details of how to register to come to Mass are shown at the top of this page and you will find everything you need to know in the following document – .

Please do not book to attend the rehearsal event on Wednesday 26th August.

 16/08/2020 – Church re-opening
A message from Father Maurice

A meeting will take place in the church on Monday to discuss the plans, details, tasks, timetabling, etc. for the church re-opening. Provided that certain strict conditions are met and the Diocese re-opening checklist has been successfully submitted, we can’t see any reason why we can’t resume Masses again on Sunday the 30th August.

Initially the plan is for Masses on Sunday at both Our Lady Immaculate and St Joseph’s and Our Lady Immaculate on Wednesday and St Joseph’s on Thursday. This alleviates some of the cleaning requirements but at the same time please be aware that this will not be a return to normal as strict regulations will have to be observed.

09/08/2020 – Church re-opening
A message from Father Maurice

Last Thursday the health and safety officer came and did measurements and marked on the benches the places where people will be able to sit. Soon
there will be a meeting of volunteers to look at the whole process of coming to Mass. After that we will arrange some sort of process of you being able to register to come to Mass. I have to decide what Masses I am going to say. It seems apparent by now that not many people are coming out to Mass, and it is important that I tell you there is no obligation to go to Mass at the present time. I think people have to make their own decision about when they feel the right time is for them to go Mass.

25/07/2020 – Our Lady Immaculate
A message from Fr. Maurice Pearce:

I have arranged for the Diocesan Health and Safety Officer to visit the church on Thursday 6 August.  I am hoping that he will agree to our opening up for Mass in the near future.  If he does agree, he will tell us how many people will be able to come to Mass, the number will be quite small, he will also work out a one way system for people entering the church, being in the church for the duration of Mass, and leaving the church at the end of Mass.  In addition to this he will want to be sure we are able to supply stewards to supervise this at every Mass said, and cleaners to clean the church after every Mass.

As you all know you have to register to go to Mass, and you can register as an individual or as a family (a family counts as an individual as they can be together in one bench).  So if we do get the go ahead a system will be put in place for you to register to go to Mass.  Just to remind you again not a lot of people will be able to go to any given Mass, but hopefully there will be several Masses a week.  Also to remind you there is still no obligation to go to Sunday Mass, I should think it will be some time before it is re-imposed.  Let’s all pray that something will start happening for us soon.

In the meantime, if you would be prepared make yourself available as a steward or to clean after Mass in order to allow the church to open in the future, please call or email me at office.ourladyimmaculate@dioceseofleeds.org.uk to register this interest in the first instance.

Christmas Octave 2020 – 24th December to 1st January

another quick update on ticket sales for the Christmas Octave, following recent changes. In summary, Christmas Eve currently has 2 tickets, Christmas Day is fully booked but there still tickets available for Wednesday 30th December.

Christmas Eve – 24th December at 6.30pm.
2 tickets remaining.
8 Online tickets sold, 4 Telephone tickets sold. With Family Groups this results in 6 pews being full and 16 Attendees in total.

Christmas Day – 25th December at 11:00am.
Sold Out.
10 Online tickets sold, 4 Telephone tickets sold. With Family Groups this currently results in all 7 being pews full and 20 Attendees in total.

Wednesday 30th December at 9.30am.
11 tickets remaining.
3 Online tickets sold, 0 Telephone tickets sold.

Anyone wishing to attend on Christmas Eve can book the last 2 remaining remaining tickets online.

We expect Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to be sold out and all 7 pews at each Mass will be fully allocated. As a result, places at church will be allocated in a very strict manner and the following should be observed and adhered to:

– remember your mask – no mask no entry – and please accept the sanitiser offered by the Outside Steward at the door

– the Diocese has issued updated guidance for Stewards in relation to attendance at Christmas Masses. All of this is reasonable but firm and we will be following this guidance except that we cannot allow anyone into Mass unless they have a booked ticket. To do so would break our agreement with the Diocese, be illegal and more importantly put our parishioners and attendees at risk.

– The Steward’s Online Booking Attendance lists will be grouped according to Eventbrite booking order numbers, thereby identifying couples and family groups.

– couples and family groups must present themselves to the Outside Steward as a group, please do not come forward in ones and twos. Couples and family groups will be escorted into church and seated together in one pew.

– if you are an individual and are allocated to an empty pew please move directly to the seat furthest from the aisle without stopping at the aisle seat or placing possessions there. Please do not sit in the seat next to the aisle in the hope that the other seat will remain empty. It will not, and this will only embarrass our Stewards when they ask you to move seat and may cause concern to other Attendees at Mass

– at the end of Mass, please do not get up from your seat until directed to do so by the Inside Steward.

– once outside, please move promptly away from the door of the church to prevent congestion for others leaving the church behind you.

We appreciate that these instructions might appear a bit draconian, but they are intended and are required to ensure that everyone attending Mass can feel and is safe, and can thereby enjoy Christmas Mass as fully as possible.

a quick update on ticket sales for the Christmas Octave. In summary, Christmas Eve is sold out, Christmas Day has 2 tickets available and there still tickets available for Wednesday 30th December.

Christmas Eve – 24th December at 6.30pm.
Sold Out
10 Online tickets sold, 4 Telephone tickets sold. With Family Groups this results in all 7 pews being full and 18 Attendees in total.

Christmas Day – 25th December at 11:00am.
2 tickets remaining.
10 Online tickets sold, 2 Telephone tickets sold. With Family Groups this currently results in 6 being pews full and 18 Attendees in total.

Wednesday 30th December at 9.30am.
11 tickets remaining.
3 Online tickets sold, 0 Telephone tickets sold.

Anyone wishing to attend on Christmas Day can book the last 2 remaining Telephone tickets by calling Fr. Maurice on 01423 711277 on Tuesday from 2.00 till 5.00pm, or by email to office.ourladyimmaculate@dioceseofleeds.org.uk thereafter.

We expect Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to be sold out and all 7 pews at each Mass will be fully allocated. As a result, places at church will be allocated in a very strict manner and the following should be observed and adhered to:

– remember your mask – no mask no entry – and please accept the sanitiser offered by the Outside Steward at the door

– couples and family groups must present themselves to the Outside Steward as a group, please do not come forward in ones and twos. Couples and family groups will be escorted into church and seated together in one pew

– if you are an individual and are allocated to an empty pew please move directly to the seat furthest from the aisle without stopping at the aisle seat or placing possessions there. Please do not sit in the seat next to the aisle in the hope that the other seat will remain empty. It will not, and this will only embarrass our Stewards when they ask you to move seat and may cause concern to other Attendees at Mass

– at the end of Mass, please do not get up from your seat until directed to do so by the Inside Steward.

– once outside, please move promptly away from the door of the church to prevent congestion for others leaving the church behind you.

We appreciate that these instructions might appear a bit draconian, but they are intended and are required to ensure that everyone attending Mass can feel and is safe, and can thereby enjoy Christmas Mass as fully as possible.

Bishop Marcus has indicated that if we think in terms of the Octave of Christmas – the eight days from the 25th December to 1st January – it opens the possibility to a lot more people coming to Mass at Christmas than if we restrict Christmas day to the 25th December.

It could be the case that many of you will simply not be coming to Mass this Christmas, and this is perfectly understandable.

However, for those of you who wish to attend Mass this Christmas, the dates and times are as follows:
Pateley Bridge
No Mass Wednesday 23rd
Christmas Eve Thurs 24th – 6.30pm
Christmas Day Fri 25th – 11.00am
No Mass Sunday 27th
Wednesday 30th – 09.30am

Bishop Thornton
No Mass Thursday 24th morning
Christmas Eve Thurs 24th – 4.00pm
Christmas Day Fri 25th – 9.30am
No Mass Sunday 27th
Thursday 31st – 09.30am

The usual booking and attendance details apply and the Pateley Bridge Christmas Octave dates are now available on the Eventbrite online booking system. We expect Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Masses to be quite full so please book as soon as you can.

Online Booking Cut-off Times at Pateley Bridge:
Christmas Eve Thurs 24th – tickets can be booked until 2.30am on the 24th
Christmas Day Fri 25th – tickets can be booked until 7.00pm on the 24th
Wednesday 30th – tickets can be booked until 5.30pm on the 29th.
But places at church on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are likely to be in great demand so please book early.

The last chance to make a Telephone booking for Christmas Eve or Day will be Tuesday 22nd 2.00pm to 5.00pm.

22/11/2020
Christmas at Our Lady Immaculate.

Within Father’s message within the Bulletin for Christ the King, he considers what might be the situation for churches at Christmas, and we sincerely hope to have Mass at our church over Christmas for as many people as would like to attend

It would be really useful if you could email or give Father a call, to let us know if you would like to attend Mass at Christmas at Our Lady Immaculate and also let us know how many in you family group might attend.

This information, in conjunction with our limited church capacity, will help us decide how many Masses will be required over the Octave of Christmas, when these might be and how many Stewards might be required.