Young people from newman college, walking from crosby to southport

Young people from newman college, walking from crosby to southport

30 Hour Fast

"For millions of people all over the world going 30 hours between meals is the norm. Most of us wouldn't normally go for more than three hours without eating something. That's why I decided to take up the challenge of fasting for 30 hours to raise money for the pilgrimage to Lourdes. Starting at 12 noon on Friday 15th May I went without food until Saturday evening when I received holy communion at our 6pm vigil Mass at English Martyrs. So just before Midday on Friday I tried my best to fill my stomach with all manner of biscuits and chocolate as any student normally does. Knowing that I would not eat again until the following evening was indeed a sobering thought. But it wasn't so much about the fasting itself. It was the time I spent in prayer and reflection with God when I would normally have been preparing or eating meals that made this prayer fast such a worthwhile and strengthening experience. I felt strength through the Holy Spirit which guided me through each hour and gradually the hunger for food dissipated into a hunger for my Lord. My faith grew stronger as I reflected on how fortunate we are to live in a country where we have no worries about food being on our plate. My relationship with God grew stronger as I realised the great love He has for us and His sacrifice on the Cross for our sake. It was a wonderful feeling to be in the presence of God without the distractions which are constant in our demanding 24/7 society. The fast ended after Saturday evening Mass when I tucked into a delicious cake courtesy of the world's best baker, my Mum, Mary. Everyone gathered in the church hall for tea and cakes to celebrate. I would like the thank our parishioners at English Martyrs for their support through prayers and donations."Jonathan Lord.

Exclusive Dining Evening

On Thursday 1st May we held the first of two exclusive dining evening fund-raisers at St Kentigern’s Presbytery, Blackpool.
The first sitting was limited to 10 guests who dined on a four course meal which began with canapés and sherry served in the sitting room. The meal began with home-made butternut squash, red pepper and chilli soup served with French bread prepared by Lizzie’s mum. The main course was chicken cacciatore or salmon served with seasonal vegetables,

lovingly prepared by our Italian chef, Nino and whilst the diners tucked in to their main course, the “staff” took the advantage to sample the food themselves in the “back kitchen”.
The dessert was a “Death by Chocolate” cake made by Ralph’s mum which was served with a local Italian ice-cream, kindly donated. Cheese and biscuits followed with coffee and liqueurs whilst the guests were entertained by Regina de Silva, an exchange student from Brazil who had been persuaded to act as a waitress during the evening. Regina sang one of her own compositions and dedicated it to Mr and Mrs Frank Bateson who were celebrating their 52nd
wedding anniversary that evening.
We would like to thank Asuka, another exchange student from Japan, who acted as a waitress for the evening and to all the people who prepared and donated food for the meal, particularly Nino. Our special thanks go to Fr John Foulkes, our parish priest, who allowed us to use the Presbytery for the evening and to all the diners who cleared their plates and helped make the evening a great success.
Our next sitting is Thursday May 14th but unfortunately we are

fully booked!!!!

Ralph Garcia and Lizzie Cavanagh

Skydive For Lourdes 2009

Around three months ago i decided to do a sponsored skydive for my fourth pilgrimage to Lourdes. I decided to pay for the skydive in order to get sponsors for the pilgrimage.

My friends and family were very supportive and the parishioners at my local parish were very generous. I have raised around £400 pounds in sponsors and donations so far.

On Saturday 4th April I drove down to black knights parachute centre in Cockerham at 7.45am and waited until 5.30pm to do my parachute as the winds were too high.

All I can say is that it was worth the very long wait…

And I would like to thank everyone for being so generous…

Lucy Miller

Sponsored Cycle Lourdes 09

We all set off on our journey at about half eight (am) hoping to reach Blackpool Football Club by nine. This of course was by car. We had all arrived apart from two. Amy gave us a funny start to our day as she fell off her bike before the ride had begun. Things weren’t looking hopeful! It was quarter past nine when the last two turned up. However, we thanked them for being late as they arrived at the same time as the Blackpool FC team! For most of us this was fab, as we are big Blackpool fans! Being such a lovely bunch they stopped and posed for pictures with us, showing great interest in our ride. The clock struck half nine and we were ready to set off. We rode along the prom at a steady pace of 10mph. For the majority of the journey to Preston North End we stayed close together and rode as a team. However, as time went on we did spread out. This led to one wrong turn at a very big roundabout. (Luckily, we had a trusty adult with us correcting us on our wrong turns!!!) For the duration of the ride we encouraged each other along and each managed to make it to Preston. We had travelled just over 20 miles.
We reached Preston NE after only two hours of riding, yet we felt like we had been riding much longer! We had photographs at the ground so we could all remember and share the ride with those who had sponsored us. We got some funny looks due to our tangerine BFC shirts! We didn’t stay long as the Preston fans were not very welcoming of our tangerine army. Five of the team jumped in the car, relaxing their legs, however two of us got back on our bikes and set off back to Blackpool. This was done, as I pledged to my Parish, I’d do the journey there and back in order to raise money for the pilgrimage to Lourdes. After just over and hour of my return, I stopped off in McDonalds (Lytham) for a well earned Big Mac! I stayed there with my Dad for just thirty minutes before setting off again. I would describe it as the worst stop I had ever made, as my legs had completely turned off and I found the last ten miles extremely tough. The end seemed near as I reached Blackpool prom and I began to smile. The thought of getting into the car and being driven home enlightened me, therefore I raced to get home, reaching Blackpool FC in just two hours.

Morecambe Bay Walk

To find out what happened and to see photos follow this link
This is an exciting opportunity to raise some money for your Pilgrimage to Lourdes. Get your friends and family, your teachers, your Parish and even pester your neighbours to sponsor you for this Morecambe bay adventure.

We will meet at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Arnside for Mass at 11am
We will walk from here down to the shore.
We should arrive at Grange-over-Sands by 4pm.
Everyone will need to make their own travel arrangements
There is a train from Grange back to Arnside if you should wish
If you would like to be involved but are stuck for transport please get in touch.

There is a suggested donation of £10 each for the guide to help cover his insurance

If you would like to be involved please contact us at the youth office and we will send you the sponsorship forms. Email youth@lancasterrcdiocese.org.uk Phone 01524 596063 More info

Five Go Fundraising

From this point onwards all fundraising items will go directly on this blog but here's one that we wrote up earlier... Five Go Fundraising