Our Lady Star of the Sea | St Bernard of Clairvaux | St Saviour
Sunday 08 March 2026
Third Sunday of Lent
The Gospel passages for the 2nd and 3rd Sundays of Lent present the glory and divinity of Jesus through the Transfiguration; and Jesus breaking the established human boundaries of His time by reaching out to, and interacting with an outcast (i.e. the Samaritan Woman).
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We are hereby reminded that the Jesus we follow is not merely human, but divine too; and we should follow His example and not close in on ourselves, but reach out of our comfort zones to spread the message of the Gospel to everybody.
“Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony […] And many more believed because of his word.” (Jn 4,39-41). our Lord invites us to cooperate with him in spreading the Good News about him. May we have that courage in this season of Lent to spread the Gospel of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ so that all of Ellesmere Port may come to know the love and peace which only come from the God who suffered, died and rose from the dead to set us free in the person of Jesus Christ.
Fr G
Stations of
the Cross
Come and prayerfully journey with Jesus on His way to Calvary!
Friday at 11.30am
Saturday at 4.15pm
Confession Times:
30 mins before weekday Masses
Saturday
11am-12pm | 4pm-4.50pm
Sunday
10am-10.45am
By requesting a different
day/time:
In person
Via email to parish office
Via WhatsApp to
0151355877
Eucharistic Adoration
& Benediction
Come spend some time with Jesus!
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Mon & Tue
30 minutes before Mass
Thursday
6pm-7pm
Friday
11am-12pm
Prayer Requests
Please pray for: Paul Smith, Dot MacDonald, Antoinette Denney, Carol Elliott, Veronica Page, Doreen Baxter, Steve Brittain, Shirley Stephen, Roy Mark and Eliyamma Thomas
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Written requests for prayers to be included in the newsletter can be given to Fr Godlove, Deacon Tony or passed into the sacristy. Please include on the written request; your name, the person you are requesting prayers for, and state that the person is happy for their name to be included in the newsletter.
May the Lord watch over, guide and protect all the sick and housebound of our parish. Amen.
Social Projects
Our social projects reflect Christ’s call to serve those in need. We provide food, friendship, and assistance through initiatives like our weekly hot meal café, weekend food bank, and Refugee Assist program. We are committed to supporting families, ensuring they feel welcome and cared for in our parish, and providing opportunities for them to grow in faith together.
DOUBLE NEWSLETTER
As the Parish office will be closed from 26th February until 16th March, there will be no newsletter on the weekend of 8th March, so please retain this week’s copy for Mass times during the week of 8th March. A reminder that newsletters do not need to be returned to church once you have finished reading them.
PARISH OFFICE CLOSURE
The Parish Office will be closed from 1pm on Thursday 26th February and will reopen on Monday 16th March at 9am. For any urgent enquires please speak to Fr Godlove or Deacon Tony. Non urgent enquiries will be dealt with when the office reopens. The answerphone messages will be checked regularly.
COUNTESS OF CHESTER HOSPITAL
Holy Mass will be celebrated next Thursday 5th March at 12.15pm in the hospital chapel. Stations of the cross are prayed each
Thursday of Lent at 12:15 in COCH chapel, All are welcome. Thank you for your ongoing support.
PRIMARY SCHOOL MASSES
The children from the Parish primary schools will be joining the weekday Masses over the next few weeks. These Masses are not
exclusively for the schools, and all Parishioners are welcome to attend.
FIRST FORGIVENESS & FIRST HOLY COMMUNION – UPDATE
13 children from our parish (not in Catholic schools) are receiving catechesis in preparation for First Forgiveness and First Holy Communion. The meetings take place on Tuesday evening in the parish centre, and it has been great to see these young Christians
actively learning about their faith, under the guidance of Fr G, Dcn T, Pauline, Ann, Amy, & Chris. During these sessions, whilst the children immerse themselves in the learning activities in one part of the room, their parents/guardians engage in thoughtprovoking
questions on Faith and Morals in another part of the room. Last Tuesday, while the children looked at the ripple effect of love of God and our neighbour, the parents discussed how to determine what is good and what is bad based on reason and how this could lead to a belief in a timeless and objective lawgiver (God).
The catechesis for our children in Catholic schools will take place in the respective schools. St Saviour’s School began theirs this
week with their headteacher Ms Baird and Ms Millard (Vicky). As a parish, may we pray for all these children and their families, as they take this step on their faith journey. May we equally encourage them to attend Mass weekly and be actively involved in the life of the parish (as Altar servers, readers, welcomers, musicians, Children’s liturgy, SVP, Social & Events Committee, Wednesday Church cleaning, etc).
OFFERTORY ENVELOPES
Offertory envelopes boxes for 2026/27 will be available for collection from Our Lady Star of the Sea Church from 7th/8th March. At this time of year we are also asked by the Diocese to contact Parishioners who have made a Gift Aid for Our Lady and St Bernard to confirm their tax status. Patricia Jenkins will be in Church on 7th/8th March and 14th/15th March for you to confirm/update your Tax Status for 2026/2027. Patricia will also have standing order forms available should you wish to move from using weekly offertory envelopes or if you wish to move your donation from St Saviour’s to Our Lady’s.
CAFOD QUIZ
The CAFOD quiz will go ahead as planned on Friday 13th March in the Parish Centre at 7.30pm. All are welcome, raising funds for CAFOD with free tea and coffee for all participants.
CHILDREN’S LITURGY
Thank you to the amazing volunteers who organise, coordinate and lead the Children’s liturgy; and ‘Thank you’ to YOU, the parents, grandparents and great-grandparents for bringing our young parishioners to Mass and other church activities. They are an important part of our parish family.
IRISH NIGHT
There is an Irish Evening of Music (provided by Ant Hunt), Dancing and Raffle on Saturday on 28 March at 7.30pm in the Parish Centre to raise funds for EPCHS Lourdes Fund. £5 entry fee.
WIRRAL WALK 2026 – SIGN UP NOW
Our annual Wirral Walk will take place on Saturday 28th March 2026, following the Wirral Way from West Kirby to Hooton.
This 12-mile sponsored walk is open to all and raises vital funds to support our parish.
You can sign up online at ourladystar.co.uk/wirralwalk or collect a sign-up form from the back of church.
Everyone is warmly encouraged to take part! For further information please email events@ourladystar.co.uk
RETIRED PRIESTS’ FUND – THANK YOU!
We raised over £1100 for the Priests’ Retirement Fund. A huge THANK YOU to each and everyone for this very kind gesture and show of love for all our retired priests as we thank God for their ministry and service in & for our Diocese of Shrewsbury. These funds will be forwarded to the diocese, and we are sure our retired priest would be very grateful and appreciative.
PILGRIMAGE TO ASSISI
Pope Leo has declared 2026 as a Jubilee Holy Year for St Francis. Maria Fryer from St John’s Parish on the Wirral is organising a special pilgrimage to Assisi on 28th June to 3rd July. The cost is £995 and 20 people are required to make the pilgrimage viable. If you would like to know more, please telephone Maria on 07576-243-343.