We ask your prayers for Mercy Associate Nancy Ayley who died on the Feast of Our Lady of Mercy 2019. Nancy became an Associate while in Care at Maryland, St Albans. On the first Wednesday of the month Staff knew that Nancy, who was wheelchair bound, was to be taken to the Mercy Associates' Meeting in the Marian Hall. She so enjoyed being with the Sisters and Associates and she proudly wore her Associate badge. Cath White from St Albans and Sr Maura Halpin from Stechford attended her funeral at St Joseph's Church, Bishop Stortford. A Mercy candle was on her coffin & the Suscipe was sung at her graveside. Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace.

Article kindly provided by Carolyne Clamp

MERCY ASSOCIATES’ ANNUAL MASS AND DINNER, 2019. When it comes to celebrating – in the words of the song – ‘Nobody does it better’ than the Mercy Associates led by Srs. Bridie and Betty, at Coolock, Newcastle! And Thursday, 8th. of October was no exception. The Members of the Mercy Associates gathered at Holy Trinity Church, Newcastle-under-Lyme to take part in the celebration of Mass, where we prayed for all Associates, living and dead. Foremost in many of our thoughts, was Margaret Hewetson, a longstanding Associate, who died very suddenly in Lourdes in July. Fr. Simon preached about Our Lady, inspiring us to keep her close to us always, and especially during this month of October. We were reminded of Pope Francis’ exhortation to us to care for our Earth by Sr, Bridie’s beautiful display of the fruits of the Harvest which was placed in front of the altar. Following Mass, we all moved next door to the Parish Centre, where we were met with a welcome glass of wine, before we tucked into a delicious meal, provided by Ann and her team. There was a happy buzz of conversation as the group of Associates gathered, the ‘afternoon’ and the ‘evening’ groups renewing acquaintances, meeting old and new friends, and recounting stories of events since the last meeting. As a relative ‘new comer’ to the Mercy Associates, I always find such a warmth and friendship at the monthly meetings, which enhances the spiritual nourishment provided by Srs. Bridie and Betty. On a personal note, I really appreciated this warmth and feeling of ‘family’ by the many members who came to offer care and concern to my brother, Noel, following the death of Margaret. I look forward – as always – to our next meetings. Article kindly provided by Ann Hewetson

MERCY GARDEN PARTY – STECHFORD, BIRMINGHAM - 14 JULY 2019 Once again the Stechford Sisters of Mercy and their Associates held their Annual Mercy Garden Party in the grounds of Corpus Christi Church and Parish Room on Sunday 14th July 2019. This was our 20th annual event to raise money for various charities over the years. We began in 2000 in our garden in Albert Road and raised £330 for the ‘Homeless in Edinburgh & London.’ The Mercy Garden Party has grown in popularity over the last 19 years and since 2008 we have held it in our Church Grounds and parish room. So far a total of £47,243.73 has been given to Charities at home and abroad. Preparations begin well before the date with requests in the parish newsletter for goods to be sold to raise funds for Charities chosen by our Mercy Associates. Our house becomes the depot for everything that comes in! We also sell raffle tickets in this parish and at Holy Family parish and more recently additional raffle tickets for a TV donated by a couple who are Associates. This year the 42” TV was won by Joyce, a housebound lady from another parish. Her family were so excited that they collected it from our house within the hour! Our chosen Charities this year are: • To help train teachers at our Mercy Mission in Addo, South Africa • Hamlin Fistula UK, a registered Charity here in the Midlands dedicated to the treatment and prevention of childbirth injuries in Ethiopia. The weather was a challenge to us for the first time this year. That Sunday morning it rained, but we battled on until the rain stopped after the 10.30 Mass so parishioners spent money on the way out! The amount raised was £5,818 and we hope to make this up to £6000 so that each Charity will receive £3000. We are grateful to everyone who helped us raise this great sum, those who gave donations, bought TV raffle tickets and to the Sisters in Addo who suggested that approximately £1000 would go a long way towards training each student for teaching. At our September Mercy Associates’ Meeting we celebrated the hard work, commitment and enthusiasm of our Associates who wish to have another Mercy Garden Party in 2020! We also celebrated a 70th & 80th birthday among us!! We thank God for all of these Blessings . Article kindly provided by Sr Maura & Sr Maureen

This is a call out to all Sisters of Mercy who have a link to Blessed Philip Howard School in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Sue Gajjar writes... "I am writing to you as Assistant Headteacher of St Philip Howard Catholic School in Hatfield, Herts. The school was previously known as Blessed Philip Howard and was started by the Sisters of Mercy in 1959. Our 60th Anniversary falls this year and we would like to warmly invite any sisters who have had past association with our school, to the celebrations. I would be grateful if you could let me know any contact details for these sisters. Kind regards, Sue Gajjar" If anyone wishes to contact Sue, you can email her at Sgajjar@sphoward.herts.sch.uk or contact the school directly on 01707 263969 or by clicking this link here... https://www.sphoward.herts.sch.uk/

North Shields Mercy Associates Visit To Emmaus Youth Village On Monday July 15th our group travelled from North Shields to the Hexham and Newcastle Diocese Emmaus Youth Village in Allensford. The journey took about an hour and we left the busy traffic behind we travelled through glorious countryside and arrived in beautiful sunshine. We joined with Youth Ministry Team to celebrate Mass in their newly opened chapel. Fr Charlie, on a visit to Sr Patricia, accompanied us and blessed us with a beautiful and intimate mass. Afterwards the team joined us for coffee and gave a presentation on the journey, ethos and vision of the Youth Mission Team. Their aim is to bring young people into a personal relationship with Christ, fully into the life of the church and to develop a sense of their unique value. They offer a holistic experience through a strategy of school missions, follow up and residential retreats, local events and support for Parish Youth Ministry. The team has a core staff but equally important is their “Gap Year Team”, young people who willingly volunteer to give a year or more of their lives answering the call of the Second Vatican Council that the young should be “the first apostles of the young …….exercising the apostolate by themselves, among themselves.” (Decree of the Laity, 12) Sr Patricia presented the team with a cheque for £250 raised at our strawberries and cream coffee morning. This will be used specifically for the formation of the team. We were given lunch and then a tour of the grounds and accommodation before setting off home. It was a privilege and a blessing being with these wonderful young people who are giving so much of their lives in the service of God and the young people of our diocese. We all agreed that it had been a truly grace filled day.

It has been an eventful time for we Mercy Associates in St.Albans. We were delighted to welcome a new Associate to our group at our meeting on the 13th March when Stella was commissioned by Sr.Maura Halpin. We also each renewed our commitment as Mercy Associates and Sr.Maura renewed her vows as a Mercy Sister. It was a very special evening and we remain grateful for the support our group is given by Sr.Maura and Sr.Margaret Jones. In June we were delighted to pay a visit to Clacton to meet up with the Sisters who were at the convent in Maryland. Sadly due to ill health and other commitments, only three of us were able to make it but we were delighted that Sr.Maura Halpin was able to join us and four ex members of the Maryland care staff came as well. As always we received a very warm welcome from everyone and, atSr.Moira Keane’s kind invitation we enjoyed a superb lunch with the residents. We had numerous ‘comfortable cups of tea throughout the day too. Sr Moira and Sr.Maura provided us with a very interesting talk and period of reflection after lunch – we learnt a little more about the work of the Sisters of Mercy

Retreat at St Mary’s Convent, Handsworth - June 2019 A small group of Handsworth and Stechford Associates gathered at St Mary’s on Saturday 8th June for a Retreat led by Sister Noreen and Sister Bridget. During the morning session, Sister Bridget talked to us about Juliana Hardman and her family. Juliana had the privilege of receiving her formation from Catherine. She and three companions set off for Dublin to be trained and after their profession, returned immediately to Handsworth where they were greeted by Cardinal Wiseman who had travelled from London to receive them. Catherine had also travelled to Handsworth with the four, where she stayed for a month to help them settle in. Juliana was the first Reverend Mother of Handsworth. She was a Sister of Mercy for forty three years and was superior for thirty five of those years. In the afternoon, Sister Noreen recounted a talk she had attended called ‘Mercy is Love’s other Name’. What a wonderful way to describe Mercy. Catherine described Mercy as a blend of loving, compassion and forgiveness. We were delighted to celebrate with Briege and Joan who were commissioned in the afternoon by Sister Noreen and joined Handsworth Associates. We enjoyed a lovely lunch in the company of the Sisters at St Mary’s and, of course, lots of comfortable cups of tea throughout the day.

Youth Mercy Associates Service of Promise Many congratulations to our four Year 5 children who were officially enrolled into the Mercy family as Youth Mercy Associates during a special Liturgy on Friday at The Mercy Convent North Shields. Throughout the year they have been working and praying for others and learning about Catherine McAuley and the Sisters of Mercy. We have reflected on the many virtues of Catherine but our liturgy focused on how cheerful she was, carrying out her vocation joyfully. How blessed we were that the Mercy Associates prayer for July reflected on this also and we were able to incorporate this into our liturgy. We were all tasked with taking a smile out into the world as a means of “animating all around you.” We now have 10 enrolled Associates and 3 more preparing to be enrolled early in the new school year. Please keep them in your prayers that they may live out the promise they made to support each other through friendship and prayer and to grow together in faith, hope and love.

Associates from High Heaton, Newcastle and North Shields, came together for their annual retreat day on 22nd June, in North Shields. Sr. Annette McCarten and Sr. Margaret Jones gave a thought provoking talk, the theme being 'WORDS MATTER'. Part of the afternoon session was taken up watching The Circle of Mercy, a good way of reminding Associates of the wonderful work of the Venerable Catherine McAuley and how the Sisters of Mercy was founded. A very prayerful and inspiring day. Thanks go to Sr. Annette and Sr. Margaret for travelling to Tyneside. Article kindly provided by Monica Mills High Heaton Associate

* * * Please Note that the start times of the events have changed * * * A small number of Retreat / Regional Days have just been announced. if you would like to attend any of the events then please email May Raughter ********** Saturday 8th June St Mary’s Convent Hunters Road Handsworth B19 1EB Refreshments - 10.30 Start Time -11.00 ********** Saturday 22nd June Church of St. Cuthbert Albion Road West North Shields NE29 0JB Refreshments - 10.30 Start Time -11.00 ********** * * * Please note that the following event will not now take place in June and is being rescheduled for later in the year. More information will follow shortly * * * Our Lady of the Rosary Church 211 Old Marlybone Road London NW1 5QT Refreshments - 10.30 Start Time -11.00 Directions to Our Lady of the Rosary Church Transport - 205 bus from Marylebone Station : BAKERLOO LINE, stops outside Church -1st stop Underground - Marylebone station - 5 mins walk or Edgware Road station - also 5 mins walk

A recent Mercy Associates meeting in Coolock, Newcastle under Lyme in Staffordshire saw five people make their commitment and become Mercy Associates. Coolock always holds two meetings each month, one in the afternoon, where this month two people made their commitment and one in the evening to cater for those that work during the day which saw three men make their commitment. The evening group had a celebratory cake which they shared with all that attended the meeting which went well with their 'good cup of tea', something which Catherine would surely have approved of. The evening meeting also saw an established member of the Mercy Associates, Dave Hammersley, tell the story of his recent operation and thank all the associates for their prayers while he was undergoing his treatment. He thanked God for answering his prayers as he feels very well now after such a difficult time.