Chaplaincy Commissioning Mass- St Chad’s

24th September 2018Mrs D Ferris

Chaplaincy Commission Mass
On Thursday 20th September all the Chaplaincy Teams, Lay Chaplain, Chaplains, across the Birmingham Diocese along with 10 students from St Edmund’s Catholic Academy our Lay Chaplain Mrs Ferris and Mr White came together to celebrate Mass at St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham.
The Mass was presided by Bishop David McGough and music provided by members of the Kenelm Trust, the Alton and Soli Teams. We had been asked beforehand if we would provide two students to take the Offertory and 2 students to Alter Serve.
I was so proud of Abigail Caron and Georgia Luliano who were a credit to themselves and the school, serving for the Bishop is not easy especially in a different church in front of so many schools.
During the Mass the Lay Chaplains and the student Chaplaincy members were Commissoned and made their yearly promise to, ‘With the help of God be ready and willing to serve’. After our promise we were blessed with Holy Water.
Bishop David thanked everyone for everything they were doing in the schools and like Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gon and His Companions who’s feast day it was to continue Evangelising and to Love One Another.

Soli House

21st September 2018Mrs D Ferris


Soli House
Next week a group of students from years 9 and 10 will be on Retreat with Mrs Ferris and Mrs Badham. They will be travelling to the new Soli House in Staffordshire for 3 nights and 4 days of time to pray, rest, have fun and take time to reflect on themselves, the world and their faith.
The theme of the week will be Legends. Tommy Rowan, the new director of Soli, and his team have put together a great programme of events and activities such as Bin Bag Superheroes, Dragon’s Den, Emmaus Walk, My Hero, Bubble Football and Escape Room. There will also be more reflective time through group work, prayers and Mass.
The week will be shared with students from Bishop Challoner Catholic College so our students will have the opportunity to make new friends from across the city, ensuring a great time will be had my all.
Please keep those attending in your prayers, just as they will be praying for everyone in the St. Edmund’s and Bishop Cleary family.

Solemnity of St Peter and St Paul

26th June 2018Mrs D Ferris

St Peters and St Pauls Mass
The Solemnity of St Peters and St Paul is this Friday 29th June, which is a Holy Day of Obligation. The whole school, students and staff, we will be walking to St Michael’s Catholic Church on Coalway Road, Penn to celebrate Mass with our Chaplain Monsignor Mark Crisp as the celebrant. This will be a true show of our faith, as a school and a joyous celebration.
St Peter and St Paul were two great Christian Martyrs, Christians who were prepared to stand by their faith in spite of persecution, or threats of death. Through them, the church first received our faith.
St Paul
He was firstly a Jewish leader who saw Christianity as a direct threat to the Jewish way of life. He persecuted Jesus’ followers in a bid to wipe them out. He famously converted to Christianity on the road to Damascus, having had an apparition from the risen Lord.
He then set about preaching the Good News of Christ. He suffered tremendously for his newfound faith, he had several stints in prison and suffered a gruesome martyrdom in Rome AD 62
St Peter
Was a humble fisherman who didn’t always agree with Jesus and occasionally rebuked him. He recognised the true nature of Jesus “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” but he also denied Jesus when his life was threatened. He saw the error of his ways, repented, wept for his sins and was forgiven by Jesus.
He was elected as the leader of the Jesus’ followers… “You are the rock on this rock I will build my Church.”
He became a fervent preacher and leader in the early Church. He went to Rome to preach the Good News. His faith, along with that of thousands of followers was challenged but he did not give up.
He was crucified for his faith in 64AD.

Wear it Purple Day and Cake Sale

8th June 2018Mrs D Ferris

On Friday 25th May 2018, the staff turned the school purple by wearing purple clothes to raise funds for Pancreatic Cancer. ‘Wear it Purple’ day is normally in November but St Edmund’s Catholic Academy decided to have theirs near to the anniversary of the passing of their beloved colleague Mandy Whittaker who sadly died of Pancreatic Cancer a year ago.

The staff also purchased lapel pins and pens and the students held a cake sale during break and lunchtimes. Sam Hamilton one of our catering staff made many cakes with purple icing on and other members of staff donated cakes.

Thank you to all involved including the new appointed six form Chaplaincy team, who gave up their time or donated in any way. We raised ÂŁ101.25 from the sale of the lapel pins and ÂŁ98.75 from the sale of the cakes and from donations.

Good Shepherd Mass

7th June 2018Mrs D Ferris

On Tuesday 5th June many primary schools in the diocese, along with schools from the Bishop Cleary MAC, including St Edmund’s Catholic Academy, gathered together at St Michael’s Catholic Church in Penn to celebrate ‘The Good Shepherd’ Mass.

The choir and a group of musicians from St. Edmund’s Catholic Academy provided the music and were led by Mr Bard. Students from the different schools in attendance read the scripture and bidding prayers, including two students from St Edmund’s.  Four of our Altar Servers did us proud and were a credit to themselves and our school.

Students brought gifts during the offertory and offered donations they had helped to raise money for, for the Father Hudson Society. Some of the ‘Hope Community’ also joined us to celebrate Mass. The Hope Community Project is based in Wolverhampton and is one of the many causes that the Father Hudson Society supports.

Unfortunately, Bishop David couldn’t be with us but Monsignor Mark Crisp did a fabulous job of stepping in.  He led us all in a prayer about being a ‘Good Shepherd’ to one another, one very important way that we can Love and Serve the Lord.

The Feast of Ascension

9th May 2018Mrs D Ferris

Tomorrow, Thursday 10th May we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of Lord ; as we celebrate this beautiful Feast, we remember the promise and invitation of the Lord, the promise is the Gift of the Holy Spirit, the invitation was to return to Jerusalem and await this promised gift. The Church invites us to wait and pray, may we do so with Pope John XXlll’s ‘lnvocation’ Prayer:

‘Renew Your wonders in this our day,

as by a new Pentecost.

Grant to Your Church that,

Being of one mind and steadfast in prayer with Mary,

the Mother of Jesus, and following the

lead of blessed Peter,

it may advance the reign of our Divine Saviour,

the reign of truth

and justice, the reign of love and peace.

Think Tank-Synod

20th March 2018Mrs D Ferris

Think Tank for Pope Francis
By John Smith 12BH

Last week, a handful of pupils from each year were gathered to take part in a global questionnaire for the youth of the world, in preparation for the Synod of Pope Francis. Asked a set of questions about their identity, beliefs and ideas about prejudice and assisted by familiar faces from last year’s Mission Week, the views and ideas of St Edmund’s students will be gathered along with the answers of schools from across the world, ready to be presented to the Pope in time for his conference with the world’s bishops and priests, all in an effort to help the youth of the world.

Think Tank by Alishya Jose 10RH

The Synod Think Tank took place on the 15th March. Both the BCYS AND Soli Team (Vicki, John, David, Cameron and Janaya) came into school. They met with 30 pupils from KS3, KS4 and Sixth Form and I was one of the pupils involved.
At the beginning they encouraged us to play a game to get us active. Vicki gave us a subject to discuss. She has 3 key focuses: Beauty, Truth and Goodness. Based on that, David shared an experience of his pilgrimage walk to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. After he shared his experience, we were asked to close our eyes and think of the moments we saw or heard of something that was beautiful. He said even the simplest moments, like having a cake on a rainy day, is special.
Janaya sang the song that she and her band composed and the verses were profound, it touched me somewhere inside. After she sang, she shared her experience of seeing the Northern Lights in her town where she lives in Canada and she said she would never get enough of seeing them.
After this we split into groups to discuss the questions we had been given. Me and my friends were in Cameron’s group and we were all confident in answering the questions since the leader was friendly. A portion of the inquiry that we were given was very thought provoking that it makes you doubt your convictions, life and future. There were 20 questions and two of them was what is important to you in life? What do you want to be as a person? The experiences of the two group leaders encouraged me to ponder that the littlest thing can be admirable in your life. In the group discussion, the talk was profound and I got the chance to encounter a new point of view.
My companions, my friends and I were astonished at the fact that Pope Francis actually wants to hear real, honest answers to the questions he asked. We never lied. Regardless of whether or not it was impolite, we were advised to state the truth. That gives us the motivation that even one individual can have an effect on the world. I hope that there are further Synod meeting in school since many people, including me, loved hearing and giving opinions and it felt like Pope Francis was there when we were making our points.

Reconciliation

20th March 2018Mrs D Ferris


Reconciliation Liturgy and Confessions
The common definition of reconciliation as it relates to relationships is ‘The restoration of friendly relations’. The Lord our God is your friend so it makes sense to have the opportunity to confess our sins and have our relationship made anew.
Last Thursday, Year 8 had the opportunity to do this and attend confession if they wished. We were blessed with the presence of our Chaplin Fr. Mark, Fr Janek, Fr Pawel and also Fr. Paul Whielden, who took confession and listened to any thoughts and prayers. The students were given the opportunity to say sorry, make cards, write a letter of forgiveness, offer prayers to our Lady and wash away their sins.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is one of the most unique and beautiful aspects of Catholicism. Jesus Christ, in His abundant love and mercy, established the Sacrament of Confession, so that we as sinners can obtain forgiveness for our sins and reconcile with God and the Church. The sacrament “washes us clean” and renews us in Christ. We are in the last two weeks of Lent; maybe God is calling us to go to Confession before Holy Week so that we can be forgiven and given a fresh start at Easter.
“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’” (John 20:21-23)

SYNOD

5th March 2018Mrs D Ferris

On Thursday 1st March a number of pupils from St Edmunds Catholic Academy, along with 17 other schools in the diocese, travelled in snowy conditions to St Mary’s, College, Oscott in Sutton Coldfield to share a day ‘listening and learning’.  Also for the young people to voice their views on a variety of social contexts.

Pope Francis has dedicated the 15th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to the theme of young people, the Faith and Vocational Discernment. It will be held in Rome in October 2018.

“The theme represents an expression of the pastoral care for the young. The Church has decided to examine herself on how she can lead young people to recognise and accept the call to the fullness of life and love and to ask young people to help her identifying the most effect ways to announce the Good News today”

The event gave our young people the opportunity to speak and share their voice, by answering a variety of questions with the headings:

Who am I?

My views on the World

My Response to Struggles and Suffering.

Unfortunately, Archbishop Bernard was unable to join us but we were blessed by presence of the Vicar General Fr Tim Menzies and Jimmy Mitchell. Jimmy had travelled from America via Spain to be with us and share his thoughts and experiences of when he had seen and experienced the joy of the Lord in his life.

Our students loved the Chapel.

Jimmy and a team of young Leaders will be visiting our school to take the views of another 30 students on the 15th March.

Anyone from the age of 16-29 are invited to ENGAGE AND SHARE THEIR VIEWS ON Saturday 24th March 10am-4pm at Saint Mary’s College, Oscott, B73 5AA

       

Lent

13th February 2018Mrs D Ferris

As we get ready to enter the journey of Lent, some of you may be thinking about what to give up or what can I do to help other people. There are many modern ideas, such as put 1 item of clothing you don’t use in a black bag everyday, for 40 days then take them to a Charity shop or but an item of food in box for 40 days and deliver it to a food bank or homeless shelter or try and do one act of random kindness everyday. What ever you choose to do, I hope your Lenten Journey brings you closer to the Lord and I leave you with these words from Pope Francis.Mrs Ferris Lay Chaplain

Do You Want to FAST this Lent? ~ Pope Francis
Fast from hurting words and say kind words.

Fast from sadness and be lled with gratitude.

Fast from anger and be lled with patience.

Fast from pessimism and be lled with hope.

Fast from worries and trust in God. Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity.

Fast from pressures and be prayerful.

Fast from bitterness and fill you heart with joy.

Fast from selfishness and be compassionate to others

Fast from grudges and be reconciled.

Fast from words and be silent so you can listen.