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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.

A Mercy Associate Retreat Day was held in St Mary’s Blackbrook on Saturday 15th April, 2019. It was well attended with over 40 persons present. Associate groups came from Oldham, Golborne, Blackbrook and Finch Lea Drive. The day was organised by Sister Jo Gleeson and the presentation was led by Sister Geraldine and Sr Mary. Sr Bridie, Sr Betty and Maria Overend from the Mercy Associate National Commission also attended The “Theme” was based on ‘Laudato Si' an encyclical from Pope Francis which is a profound invitation to everyone on the planet to care for our common home. The Sisters posed a question at the start of the day: “What is our new call to Mercy in the face of the urgency of climate change / global warming and the widespread destruction of habitats and species essential for life on earth? What action can I / we take?” We began with morning prayer “The Cry of the Poor, The Cry of the Earth, The Cry of God.” Pope Francis and the 8th work of Mercy. After a power point reflection we processed in silence to the Church for the Stations of the Cross, The Cafod Stations. Returning to the hall various ideas were discussed and it was noted that there is apparently only 25 years of water left in the UK. Those present queried the necessity of carrying around bottles of water all day – we managed without this years ago. The proposed action was that we all write to the big supermarkets and ask them to stop selling water in plastic bottles. The discussion then moved on to alternative ways of managing beverages and there was a brief discussion about one of the large coffee chains who were happy to use refillable cups ; bring your own cup and not only not use the plastic which is so hard to recycle but save money as well! Another contributor to the ongoing discussion referred to Veronica wiping the face of Jesus - she said, “don’t just think about it, do it!” And another was to ‘switch off power for an hour’ once a month, once a week, or every day and spend some or all of that time in prayer. Sr Mary suggested we ask the earth to write us a letter and remember all the good times in our past, then ask ourselves what went wrong, what has changed – we have largely moved from rural/semi rural areas to concrete jungles – what is missing? Technology has taken over our lives – how can we put this right? What kind of good actions can we take? Sr Geraldine asked if we consider where our produce comes from. Air travel comes with a huge carbon footprint. Is there anything we can do to reduce our carbon footprint? A suggestion was made that we could write to organisations requesting labelling on produce and other goods that would enable us to identify its country of origin, noting that some of the products we buy are produced in sweatshops. However, it was suggested that we continue to purchase Fairtrade goods. There was reference made to the number of huge buildings that are hastily built and almost as quickly demolished. Could we avoid this kind of waste of time and resources by better forward planning? Sr Mary then posed the question, “how would I like the world to be in 50 years? What kind of earth will we leave behind us? After lunch 3 Associates made their commitment as Mercy Associates Maria from Finch Lea Drive and Christine and Patricia from Gobourne.

Two new Associates recently made their commitment at Coolock and here are a few images of the joyful day.

The Sisters of Mercy at St. Mary's Convent in Handsworth, Birmingham are having a Mercy Associates Retreat Day on Saturday 8th June from 10.00 until 15.30. All are welcome to attend and the event is free, although a small donation would be greatly appreciated. The convent is located at 98 Hunters Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, B19 1EB Further information can be found by contacting the Sisters... by phone - 0121 554 3271 by e-mail: sisters@mercyhandsworth.org.uk or their website: www.mercyhandsworth.co.uk

Associates and parishioners braved the weather on Saturday 16th March to attend Mass in Corpus Christi Church followed by refreshments and the annual fundraising draw. The draw was made by Fr Gaspar. The Convent in Oldham closed in December 2018 and the Associates have met since in the presbytery. Sr. Cathy who lives nearby was able to join them for the Mass and the draw. The Money raised from the Draw will be distributed to various Mercy Charities.

Mercy Associates in Filey meet once a month at the Convent. January’s meeting took place at the Convent on the 29th. It was a grey, overcast day but inside was warm and welcoming. Sr. Zita led us through a meditation on the New Year and introduced the “Presentation” of Our Lord in the Temple. We reflected on how Our Lady must have felt holding her beautiful little boy but being told there would be sorrows for Him later on. We said a Hail Mary for those whom we knew who were going through a difficult time and needed our prayers. Each of us were given a tea-light to hold. This was lit and after a few minutes they were all placed on a plate in front of the bright daffodils at the front of the room. Exposition followed in the Chapel with a time of silence. Then Evening Prayer of Our Lady was said with Sr. Helen playing for us. A raffle was held with the proceeds going towards Aid to the Church in Need. In true Mercy style “a good cup of Tea” was enjoyed with homemade Coconut cake, scones, jam and some fruit loaf. Sr. Anne joined us for tea. A lovely afternoon of friendship, fellowship and joy.

Mercy Associates in Coolock had a wonderful celebration for the start of Lent. The reflection was the key to your heart and a basket of keys was passed around for each Associate to pick one as a symbol of the reflection itself. Two of the associates arranged the setting which was a large cross draped with a purple and gold piece of material. A life size crown of thorns was placed on a red cushion near the cross. It was a truly thought provoking and poignant day and an excellent way to start off Lent. In time honoured fashion the Associates then celebrated with a 'good cup of tea' (or coffee) as well as a biscuit and piece of cake (or two! !)

Associates from St. Catherine of Siena & All Saints and St. Lewis parishes, Golborne recently visited Father Bernard in his new home with the De La Salle brothers. Whilst Fr. Bernard still celebrates Mass on a daily basis for the brothers, his frailty means that he's no longer able to help with Mass in the Parishes when a priest is away. The Associates were delighted to see him and plans maybe afoot to hold one of their meetings in his new home. Fr. Bernard visited Coolock with the Golborne Associates on St. Patrick's Day last year. Please pray for Father Bernard and the Golborne group of Mercy Associates

Coolock Associates met for their first meeting in 2019 recently. The theme of the meeting was light. The reflection was the story of Anna in the temple, where she waited for her prayer to be answered for 80 years. We often give up praying for light and an answer to our supplication. The Scripture Reading was taken from Luke:2:36-38 The Meditation where Anna tells her own story was taken from 'No Ordinary Man' by Nick Fawcett.