PARISH GROUPS

ALTAR SERVERS

Visitors to our church often comment on the high standards maintained by our altar servers. This is unquestionably down to the training given and the example set by Wilf Doyle. All servers work towards achieving membership of the Guild of Saint Stephen and proudly wear the guild medal while they are serving at Mass.

The letters XP are the first two letters of the name Christ in Greek. At the top of the medal is the crown of victory given by God to everyone who overcomes evil, especially those who die for him. At the bottom are the palm branches, the traditional signs of martyrs who died for Christ. The Latin words are the Guild motto, "Cui servire regnare est" - "To serve is to reign". The guild members declare that to serve on the altar is to serve Christ Himself. And the reward for all good and faithful servants is a share in His kingdom.

There is a bronze medal awarded when a server is accepted into the guild; a silver medal can be given for ten or twelve years' faithful service, while a gold medal can be granted after fifty years' membership of the guild.

CAFOD

This page has only recently been created. More details about CAFOD will appear in due course. You can find out more about the work of CAFOD by clicking on the logo above.
CAFOD: Over the last year since August 2017, our parish has donated £340.78 to CAFOD, which includes the Harvest Fast Day 2017, the Lent Fast Day 2018 and any other fundraising activities. Many thanks for your generosity. Altogether nationally, £4.2 million was raised for the Lent Fast Day; this will be match-funded by the government. This money will be used to fund an ambitious three-year project to help families in Zimbabwe, Eritrea and Zambia feed themselves.

CHILDREN’S LITURGY

Who?
Children’s liturgy is provided for children of primary school age (3-11 years)
Younger children are welcome to participate with the support of a parent/carer
A team of volunteers, mostly parents/carers, lead Children’s liturgy. We operate a 4-week rota. We are always delighted to welcome new helpers

When?
Children’s liturgy takes place during the first part of our Sunday mass at 9am
It lasts for approximately 25 minutes

Where?
Children’s liturgy takes place in the St. Gregory’s church hall
We meet in church for the start of mass and return to church at the offertory

What?
In Children’s liturgy, we share the Gospel of the day and respond to it through activities such as

talking
singing
praying
acting out the story
drawing

When we return to church, the children participate in the offertory procession. They tell the congregation what they have been doing and display their pictures

Each week, the children receive a LOOK and/or ICHTHUS sheet to take home. These contain information and activities that support their understanding of mass

Celebrations
The children play an active role in special celebrations during the year, for example

each year, the First Mass of Christmas is celebrated as a children’s mass. The children lead our celebration by reading, acting out the Gospel, singing and the preparation of gifts
during Lent, the children lead a Stations of the Cross service
in May, the children make a crown of flowers for our statue of Mary

APF

The APF (The Association for the Propagation of the Faith) has been supported by St. Gregory's Parish since 1976 and has contributed most generously, mainly through the "Red Boxes" which are emptied quarterly. Contributors receive a quarterly magazine which keeps them updated on the work of the Association. The local secretaries are Bron Coleman (Sileby) and Joan Wiggins (Barrow) who would welcome enquiries on how you could support the Association. Detailed information about the work of the APF can be gained by clicking on the blue link above.
Bron and Joan have taken over from Bridget O'Dwyer who has been responsible for the red boxes for very many years. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude for the wonderful work in which Bridget has been engaged for such a long time; she has been an inspiration to us all. The phone call with the gentle reminder that it was "that time of the year again" was a feature of her stewardship. The splendid sums raised for the missions are a tribute to her efforts.

CHURCHES TOGETHER IN BARROW

The aims of Churches Together in Barrow are:

to work and pray together for Christian unity

to enable the churches as pilgrims together to develop growing relationships in mutual respect for the fellowships, ministries and traditions of member churches;

to encourage churches to worship and pray together, and to reflect together on the nature and purpose of the church in the light of its mission - each church sharing with others the treasures of its tradition and

to enable the churches on appropriate occasions to respond to the needs of society and to witness to the Gospel together.

Currently the four churches are Holy Trinity Anglican church, Barrow Baptist church, Barrow Methodist church and Barrow Catholic community.

The enabling group meets three times a year to plan joint activities.