IN THIS ISSUE….IN THIS ISSUE….IN THIS ISSUE….

Georgetown Pastoral Area 2-6

Berbice 7

Interior Missions 8-9

East Coast Parishes 9

NEWSLETTER NEWSLETTER NEWSLETTER APRIL APRIL APRIL ISSUE NO. ISSUE NO. ISSUE NO. 2 [2011]2 [2011]2 [2011]

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Remembering Fr. Harold Wong SJRemembering Fr. Harold Wong SJRemembering Fr. Harold Wong SJ

(July 23 1930— April 2, 2010)

Marriage Encounter (Guyana)- Sharon Grant

The Worldwide Marriage Encounter– Guyana

(WWME) hosted its first Community Night Activity

on March 19, 2011. Community Night is a forum

where the entire Marriage Encounter community

comes together as family. The activity was held at

the Catholic Life Centre, Brickdam. The high point of

the Evening was a wonderful presentation done by

one of ME’s long serving couples, Raymond & Elaine

Thomas who shared how their marriage has and still

continues to benefit from their involvement in

Marriage Encounter since their experience of the

WWME Weekend up until the present time. This

segment was followed by Couples sharing with

their spouses on some of their best memories ex-

perienced as part of the Marriage Encounter

Movement. After Prayer and the singing of our

Team Song, it was time for socializing and partak-

ing of delicious snacks with soft love music play-

ing in the background. We were all grateful to

once again be part of another such forum as we

continue to bond and build relationship as com-

munity.

Cathedral Youth Retreat - Elizabeth Small

The Cathedral Youth Lenten Retreat was held at

St. Paul’s Pastoral Centre from March 18-20 under

the theme “I am the light of the world”. This re-

treat saw the participation of about 38 youths.

Two main topics were presented: “Sin-Darkness

and purifying Darkness” & “Forgiveness-Light and

Life” which were followed by small group activi-

ties.

Youths also had an opportunity to play games,

relax and view the film “From homeless to Har-

vard”. On Sunday 20, Fr. John Persaud celebrated

Mass with participants. After Mass the youths

were led in a Praise and worship session by

Brother Kent Vincent and His Wife Gail along

with Sister Dona from the Catholic Charismatic

Movement. All the participants were invited to be

anointed and prayed for & their letters to the Lord

were burnt.

At the closing session, while the theme song for

the weekend was sung “Carry your candle, run to

the darkness….,Carry your candle, go light your

world”, youths presented to each other a blessed

candle as a reminder that they are called to share

and to be the light of Jesus in the world.

St. Pius X celebrates 50 years!

The Golden Jubilee of the Consecration of St.

Pius X Parish was celebrated on April 12, 2011

under the theme “ To Renew all things in

Christ” (Eph 1:10). This was the Papal motto of

Pope St. Pius X under whose patronage the

parish was placed. Bishop Francis Alleyne was

the main celebrant at the Mass of thanksgiv-

ing which was celebrated on the same day.

Other priests from the diocese concelebrated.

It was truly a day of great joy as many well

wishers from around the diocese journeyed to

celebrate this momentous day with us. The lit-

urgy was further enhanced by the presence of

musicians from Sacred Heart, Holy Spirit &

the Cathedral as well as singers from the Sun-

shine Choir.

After the mass, light refreshments were served

and persons got an opportunity to socialize

with each other and in some cases reminisce

on how their association with St. Pius X im-

pacted on their lives.

We extend our heartfelt appreciation to Fr.

Stephen Patterson SJ who helped to guide all

our plans & preparations so as ensure that all

went smoothly for the day.

Several additional activities have been planned in the

coming months as we continue to celebrate the Jubilee:

May

May 1 Children’s Mass & Crowning of Our Lady

Praying of the Rosary

June

June 5 Seminar on the Life & Service of St. Pius x

June 12 Healing Service & Pentecostal Mass

July Youth Mass & Campfire

August

Saturday August 6 - Health Fair

Sunday August 21—MASS: Feast of St. Pius X

Fun Day

Pastoral Area Youth Retreat

From April 01-03, a retreat was organized for the

Pastoral Area Youths at the St. Paul’s Retreat Cen-

tre. Topics such as “Lectio Divina”, the “Life, Pas-

sion and Death of Jesus” and “the Influence of Lent

on our lives” were explored.

Retreatants also had an opportunity to participate

in Blessed Exposition & Adoration, Confession and

the Way of the Cross.

There were also light moments where youths were

able to socialise with each other, watch a movie and

share in small groups.

Thanks very much to presenters: Bishop Francis

Alleyene OSB, Fr. Stephen Patterson SJ & Sr.

Patricia Cary O.Carm.

Special mention too must be made of Fr. Edwin

Thadheu SJ and the Youth Coordinating Committee

of the Pastoral Area (YCCPA) who organized and

facilitated the weekend.

Sacred Heart– Robin Chase

GOOD FELLOWSHIP ‘Jesus said to his apostles, “Come by yourselves to an out-of-the-way place and rest a little…” – Mark 6:31 Sunday April 2, 2011 was a special day for the Catholic communities of Kuru Kururu and Sacred Heart. Thir-teen vehicles formed part of the entourage from Georgetown to the Linden/Soesdyke Highway to cele-brate, as part of their planned outreach with the Kuru Kururu community. A service was conducted under the guidance of Sacred Heart’s Extra Ordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. Ursuline nuns, Missionary Sisters of Charity, Sacred Heart CPD members, the choir, altar servers, reli-gious, readers and a number of parishioners from both communities contributed to an afternoon of great music and the proclaimed message of spiritual and physical blindness. Sacred Heart parishioners were provided with some historical data regarding the community and the vision of a future with a new church in the area. Following this, light refreshments were shared.

Abstinence Pledge - Shondell Ferdinand

In February 2011, the Programme on Abstinence—

Guyana (PAG) held its Annual Pledge Ceremony at

the St. Pius X Parish during the 8:30 am Mass. Per-

sons from various parishes in the diocese are in-

volved in the programme which is sponsored by the

Catholic Relief Services (CRS).

The Abstinence Pledge is a commitment to remain

abstinent in one’s state of life and it is renewed an-

nually. Participants included a married couple, a re-

ligious sister & candidate and single young adults.

The ceremony was witnessed by Fr. Stephen Patter-

son SJ and those who came from various parishes

and organizations.

Although the Sacred Heart community is presently raising funds for their new church, they donated hymns books to the parishioners and offered their ser-vices in getting the catechism classes etc started as there is a lot of work to be done in this faith community. A survey of the Catholics in the community is scheduled to take place shortly. We hope that this visit will inspire the community to follow through with their plans for future development.

Ordination Anniversaries

Fr. Paulose Vellakada SJ April 09 1983

Fr. Keith Hardless April 18 1971

Fr. James Gonsalves SJ April 28 1980

Fr. Joachim, D’Mello SJ May 03 1986

Fr. Anil Tirkey SJ May 20 1986

Diocesan Quiz Competition– Shondell Ferdinand

Between the months of March & April, the Roman Catholic Diocesan Youth Office held it’s Annual Quiz Competition at the Marian Academy. This event saw the participation of various parishes in the diocese from the East Coast, East Bank and Georgetown. Questions for the various rounds were based on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah which was the text used for study this year. At the Final Round questions on the Sacraments were introduced. Participants and members of the audience were encouraged by Bishop Francis to not just be readers or listeners of the word but to allow it to bear fruit and give expression in their lives. Prizes & Certificates were distributed to all those who participated in the Quiz.

Clergy Birthdays

Fr. Varghese Puthussery SJ

April 04, 1953

The Following is a list of the Quiz Results:

Juniors 1st Place—Our Lady of the Mount (Meadowbank) 1nd Place—St . Peter’s (BV) 3rd Place—St. Pius X 4th Place—St. Paul’s (Mahaica)

Seniors 1st Place—St. John the Baptist (Plaisance) 2nd Place—Sacred Heart 3rd Place—St. Peter’s (BV) 4th Place—St. Pius X

Teresa’s Parish—Sonya Van Sluytman

On Sunday March 27, there was a retreat for

the first year confirmation candidates with the

theme “Come Back to Me”.

Activities included role-play on specific bible

passages, individual reflection, group sharing

and a Penance Service. The Penance Service

consisted of prayers, an examination of con-

science based on the Ten Commandments, each

child writing a letter to Jesus and burning it be-

fore the Crucifix, a sign of peace and ended

with the singing of the hymn – Make me a chan-

nel of your peace.

The retreat certainly afforded an opportunity

for the candidates to grow closer to God as indi-

viduals and as a group.

In early March, the Committee for Pastoral De-

velopment (CPD) held a coffee morning after

the 8am Mass. This was wonderful opportunity

for parishioners to chat with them and also so-

cialize with each other. Additionally, a sugges-

tion box was made available.

Finally, the Parish welcomed 9 new members to

our family as Fr. Marlon Innis SJ conferred the

Sacrament of Baptism on Sunday March 20.

Eco Retreat ―A Divine Experience‖

Gibion Moonsammy

This Retreat was organized for the Youth Coordinat-ing Committee of the Pastoral Area (YCCPA). How-ever, a few other youths from Georgetown attended along with Bro. Robert Fanovich from Grenada. It all began with the scare of knowing that there were no means of communication except for one telephone that would be about half an hour’s walk away. It took us a little over three hours to arrive at the resort (Rockstone) which is endowed with beau-tiful scenery: tall trees, lush green grass and a red-water creek. I was urged to look for the good, beauty and oneness in the nature. The retreat was based on the five elements: Ether, Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Each session was based on one of these; my favourite was the fire, where we had exposition before the Blessed Sacrament and all had a candle to pray in thanksgiving for the things that were beautiful and good in our lives. We then released the small can-dles on the water and they were taken downstream by the current. It was one of the most beautiful things I've seen.

The other highlight was the Mass down at the red-water creek! The Altar was placed between two trees and retreatants sat around it with their feet in the creek. This was a totally new experience for me, I saw God alive in nature and had a look of how more majestic nature can look than any ca-thedral known to man. Also, all retreatants were given an opportunity to walk in-and-out of the resort to find items in the nature that could be associated with them to make models of themselves .This exercise gave us an opportunity to know each other better and re-flect on the things that affect our lives. We left that retreat having a better appreciation for nature and became a closely-knit group. Many thanks to Fr. Edwin Thadheu SJ for his efforts in organizing this beautiful retreat.

Church of the Annunciation

(Malgre Tout) - Danny Persaud

During the month of February, Parishioners

were engaged in restoring the two shrines in

front of the church. The project included the

cleaning & repainting of these structures. The

parishioners are also desirous of replacing the

statues but these cannot be located. Help from

other parishes is most welcome.

The shrines were built in the early 1970's by Fa-

ther James Kudilil SJ who came to Guyana

from India.

Episcopal Anniversary

Bishop Benedict Singh April 18 1971

Sunday, March 13, 2011 was an auspicious day for the parishioners of St. Joachim's Church, Springlands. On this day, Mrs. Sybil Regina Francis celebrated her 90th Birthday. Along with her sons, daughters and grand children, the whole congregation came together to praise and thank the Lord for the gift of Mrs. Sybil. At the felicitation after the Eucharist, the Sunday School children and others praised her for her faithfulness in following God's Providence. According to them she never failed to attend Sun-day Mass at this age. The neighbours of Port Mourant community gath-ered at the Jesuit run Guyana Human Development Centre (GHDC) on March 18 to celebrate the festival of Phagwah. At the gathering, Frs. Gilbert & Edwin SJ shared on various themes which sought to high-light the spirit of the celebration. This year the 100th International Women's Day was celebrated on March 8. For the Occasion, the Guy-ana Human Development Centre organised a semi-nar for the people of Berbice."The Women in Soci-ety" was the topic of the seminar. Participants were also given the opportunity to share their views. The seminar brought out the areas of women's subjuga-tion in the present context of Guyana and was de-scribed as a truly beneficial event.

The mission week was organized at the Church of

the Ascension by Msgr. Terrence Montrose, the Par-

ish Priest. The noon Eucharistic celebrations, eve-

ning talks on catholic tradition, Scripture, Sacra-

ments and Lent led the parishioners to introspect

their Christian way of life.

The East Berbice parishes organized a Lenten Pilgrimage to the Holy Name Catholic Church and community at Lesbeholden, Black Bush Pol-der on Sunday April 3. After Mass, four buses de-parted the Church of the Ascension for the farm-ing community. A parade was held some dis-tance from the church and processions made their way into the church building, singing hymns and praising the Lord.

Parish Priest of the St Francis Xavier and Sts Joachim & Anne communities, Father Gilburt Camillus SJ said the 12:00 hrs Mass. Even though the heat was sweltering, the faithful partici-pated in the Eucharistic Celebration. The choir from New Amsterdam led the singing with gui-tars .

After Mass, the pilgrims had lunch, by sharing whatever they had from lunch baskets that they brought on the journey. Parish priest of New Amsterdam, Monsignor Terrence Montrose was also present during the pilgrimage.

After lunch, the pilgrims continued in praise songs. The day’s activities were brought to a suc-cessful end just after 16:00 hrs.

Fr. Gilburt Camillus SJ & Leon Suseran

Thanks to Fr. Edwin Thadheu, SJ for commit-

ting himself for a week long spiritual accom-

paniment with the parishioners. The mission

ended with a reconciliation programme which

has prepared more than a hundred parishion-

ers to encounter Easter meaningfully.

News from Aishalt0n– Sch. Edwin Anthony SJ

The presence of Bishop Francis Alleyne OSB at the

Deep South Rupununi had been a grace-filled occasion.

The sacramental graces were bestowed upon hundreds

of Catholics in different villages. On 27 Feb, in a solemn

concelebrated Mass, 13 faithful were confirmed at

Shea. On the same day, a score of catholic babies were

baptized in a concelebrated Eucharist in Aishalton. The

number of babies baptized in the first quarter of the

year in the satellite parishes of Aishalton are 63. The

following day was a day of celebration and commemo-

ration at Maruranau where 18 children were confirmed

in the catholic faith in the presence of more than 700

people in the Church. Dancing, singing and socializing

transformed the occasion unique and spectacular.

The Month of March was filled with faith formation programmes in various parts of South Ru-pununi. On the first phase more than 120 teenagers participated in the Youth Seminar organized in Sa-wariwau. Novices Letroy and Kevin planned and executed the two-day seminar on “Call to Life”. Ms Emma, a local youth joined the organizers to make the global issues very local and concrete. Her debut performance is likely to encourage many more youngsters to come forward to organize ongoing programmes of this kind.

As the second phase programme, 70 youngsters were gathered at Maruranau for a two-day-seminar on “Call to Life”. Sch. Edwin SJ and Novice Letroy made the days eventful and fruitful through their innovative games and talks. As the third phase, a three-day-workshop on “Leadership” was organized for more than 75 youngsters at Aishalton. Fr. Edwin Thadheu SJ was the resource person who made the programme down to earth and professional. The seminar ended with a cultural programme organized by the various teams who participated in the workshop. More than 15 Altar Servers are given an ongoing formation in service and leader-ship. The newly trained enthusiastic cru-saders serving at the Altar brings an over-all spiritual ambiance in St. Robert Bel-larmine Church at Aishalton. Keep it up guys. The Jesuit novices from Jamaica and the US had volunteered to undertake a com-prehensive survey (Socio-economic , po-litical and spiritual) of Aishalton, Sawar-wau and Maruranau. The studies are hoped to enhance the missionaries to vi-sion for the future. At the Human Development Centre at Aishalton, 10 youngsters undergo a train-ing programme organized by the CRS. During these two months of inten-sive training, the trainees will be exposed to Wapishana and Portuguese, Amerin-dian Crafts, personality development and computer literacy programmes. We wish the staff and students all the best.

News from Aishalt0n Cont’d

Sch. Edwin Anthony SJ

Fr. Stephen Patterson SJ was in Aishalton for about three weeks to give technical assistance and labour to the community. His presence brought light to the community through his dedi-cated electrical work. We await his second com-ing. Thanks Fr. Steve.

The arrival of Sr. Irma OSU has made the Ursu-line community at Aishalton a Trinitarian. Her missionary zeal draws her easily into the differ-ent communities. She is overwhelmed by the warm gesture of welcome offered by them. Sr. Roshni OSU, the provincial and Sr. Clare OSU paid their visitation to the Aishalton community on the occasion of starting a new convent at Karasabai. After serving the South Rupununi for Four Years, Sr. Calista OSU has returned to her home province. Thank you sister for your pio-neering works.

On Sunday April 3, a Lenten Pilgrimage was organ-

ized for all six (6) of the East Coast Parishes. Parish-

ioners gathered at St. Anthony’s Parish, Buxton

where the Chief Celebrant was Fr. Dermot Preston

SJ. Fr. Dermot spoke on the spiritual meaning of

Lent and the need for building a personal relation-

ship with God.

Search Group Gathering

Anna Abraham

The Search Group aims to “deepen the prayer

lives of young adults so that together they

may hear more clearly how God is calling

them to follow & serve Him”.

The Group meets at a different Parish or Lo-

cation on the second Sunday of each month

and is made up of youths from the East Coast,

East Bank & Georgetown. However, there is

planned outreach to Berbice & Bartica later

this year.

For 2011, topics such as Who am I? What is my

Purpose? Wisdom & Being Counter– Cultural

and Vocation have been examined.

Guest Visitors are also invited to share their

spiritual journeys/vocation stories with the

young people.

Movie Nights held at Arrupe House serve to

provide food for thought and provoke discus-

sion with their life enriching themes.

We are heavily indebted to Fr. Stephen Patter-

son SJ who serves as a spiritual guide to the

group.

Congratulations to Fr. Dermot Congratulations to Fr. Dermot Congratulations to Fr. Dermot

Preston SJ on his appointment as Preston SJ on his appointment as Preston SJ on his appointment as

the new Jesuit Provincial of the the new Jesuit Provincial of the the new Jesuit Provincial of the

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