Heritage Open Days

by

Heritage Open Days are almost upon us again and this year, Ss Peter & Paul and St Philomena has two events that we hope you will find of interest. They are free of charge, although we will not refuse a donation toward the restoration of this unique Wirral landmark church.

Heritage Open Days at the Dome of Home feature Scaffolding tours and the Organ recital. We also seek volunteers to help make the events a success.

Scaffolding Tour – Saturday 18th September

Explore the inside of the Church in a unique way – using the scaffolding! Also meet the Architect overseeing the current interior refurbishment works.

High level tours 2pm, 3pm, 4pm & 5pm – Accessible to physically able with alternative low level discussion
Low level discussion 1.30pm, 2.30pm, 3.30pm & 4.30pm – for the less physically able.

A display of the works programme and a film by Liverpool TV on our project will be available to watch in the narthex.

Due to the limited number of people being permitted on a tour, free tickets must be reserved via Eventbrite here:

Organ recital – various dates below – all performances start at 4pm

19 September 2021   French Organ Mass (F. Couperin Messe pour les paroisses)
17 October 2021   Italian Organ Mass (Frescobaldi Fiori musicali)
14 November 2021   Lutheran Organ Mass (J. S. Bach Clavier-Übung III)
12 December 2021   Bach & Daquin for Advent & Christmas
23 January 2022   Gregorian Chant in Lutheran Liturgy & Organ
27 February 2022   Music for Lent
27 March 2022   Magnificat: Music for Our Lady
24 April 2022   Music for Easter
22 May 2022   Lutheran Hymnody
19 June 2022   Veni, Sancte Spiritus: Pentecost

Featuring:

Mr. Christian Spence (organist)
the Canons of the ICKSP and the Sisters Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus (singers)

Free of charge.

All followed by a National Lottery ‘thank you’ cuppa!

Volunteers

Volunteers are required to help with these events, if you can help with :

Refreshments
Preparing the hard hats between tours
Welcoming visitors and answering questions about our church
Distributing posters and flyers to the local area

To volunteer, contact us here.

Publicity posters:

Scaffolding Tours flyer click here.
Organ Recitals flyer click here.

Christmas Schedule

by

Sunday 24th December:
Vigil of Christmas. Sunday Morning Masses at 8.30am and 1030am.
First Vespers of the Nativity at 5.30pm.
Sung Matins (Gregorian Chant) at 8.00pm.
Christmas Carols at 10.300pm.
First Mass of Christmas at 11.00pm.

Please note Midnight Mass fulfils your Christmas obligation BUT NOT your Sunday obligation.

Monday 25th December:
Mass (Missa Secunda ‘The Aurora’) at 8.30am
Mass (Missa Tertia) ay 1030am.
Second Vespers of of the Nativity followed by Rosary & Benediction and concluding with Compline at 5.30pm

Recollection for Advent

by

Prepare your hearts for the coming of the Infant King! Talks, Rosary & Silent Adoration, opportunity for Confessions. Starting after 10am Mass, ending around 3.30pm. Bring a packed lunch. All welcome.

All Day Adoration

by

Afternoon Adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament for our Priests.

This begins at 1pm with the Rosary and prayers. Silent Adoration until 6.10pm. Meet at Morrisons Café for lunch at 12noon. All welcome.

ICKSP General Chapter

by

For the week commencing Monday, 28th August 2023 – Friday, 1st September 2023, the Canons of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest will gather at the motherhouse of Gricigliano. The week is an important occasion in the canonical life of the Institute clergy: in addition to providing them with spiritual, liturgical and practical instruction, the gathering is an opportunity for the priests to enjoy a fraternal reunion with brother priests, who rarely have an opportunity to see one another. In addition, the Canons receive their assignments for the coming year.

As a result of the Chapter meeting, the liturgical programme at each apostolate will be subject to revision. Please keep an eye on the appropriate weekly bulletin.

Brown Scapular enrolment

by

According to the century old Carmelite tradition, the brown scapular of the Carmelites was given by the Blessed Virgin to St. Simon Stock on July 16th in the year 1251. Pope Sixtus V approved a feast in 1587 that commemorates this important private revelation to the English man and crusader, St. Simon Stock in the South of England. If you wish to be enrolled in the confraternity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel by receiving the brown scapular, please  speak to a Canon.

Blessings on Sundays and the requesting of a Mass Intention

by

Rather than go to the Sacristy, if you would like one of the Canons to bless items or to sign a Mass card, please place them on the small table permanently prepared in the narthex (entrance of the church): Straight after 8.30am and 10.30am Sunday Masses, one of the Canons will come to the narthex.

Provincial Convocation

by

Masses (including Offices, Adoration and Benediction) have been cancelled from Tuesday 30th May to Thursday 1st June (inclusive).

The Canons of the Institute’s GB province will spend the octave of Pentecost together in Lanherne. This fraternal time together helps the Canons to continue their pastoral work and mission, “living the truth in charity.”

Due to this absence, daily Mass will not be offered at Ss Peter & Paul and St Phlomena until Friday 2nd June.

Bolier Replacement – Your help is urgently needed

by

Dear friends and benefactors,

 ‘Canon, we have a problem!’

This is not how I prefer to be greeted by the heating engineer servicing our boilers, but as some of you may know, this is what happened last November (2022) when he was forced to shut down two of the four boilers for the church and presbytery heating system, after their annual service. These boilers were condemned because of their carbon monoxide levels and leaking gas valves. Not good news!

The 40 year old boilers located in the cellar of the house

Let me give you some history: in March 2019, we consulted a specialist heating engineer company to consider the viability of our present heating system compared to alternatives. They: concluded that this ducted system was the best for us, but the-ducts and pipes needed a massive overhaul and update to improve efficiency. At that time, the boilers were old, but serviceable. We carried out the expert’s recommendations from their general heating survey, including a complete cleaning of the labyrinth of warm air vents, allowing the church to reach a temperature of 18°C from a 7-8°C start, all helped of course by the other restoration and insulation works. This work has allowed us to save much on energy bills over the last two years. However, the system is still working with the original ‘old’ boilers, which are around 40-50 years old. We knew that sooner or later, complete replacement would be necessary, and that time has arrived sooner than expected!

During recent cold winter months in northern England, with only two out of four boilers limping along, we found a temporary solution and some breathing space, to keep our church open and welcoming, while we researched a viable plan we could present to our faithful. We purchased petrol space heaters in time for Christmas. Since then, every Sunday morning at 4 am, one of our Canons goes into the church to manually start the two machines to ensure a reasonable temperature for the Sunday Masses.

Searching for a permanent solution, several heating engineers have made recommendations with quotes which we have carefully considered. Ideally, we need to replace all four boilers, located in the cellar of the house, both for the church and presbytery. Four existing boilers will need to be stripped out and replaced with four efficient, energy saving boilers, reordering the discharging flue pipes, and improving the gas safety. Thanks to your help in the past, and of course God’s Providence, we have managed to rescue this church, restore it, and redecorate it akin to the original design, following the steps of our dear predecessor Father Mullins (may he rest in peace). If we could raise enough money for new boilers, we will be able to offer a much higher level of comfort for all.

 

But the difference this time is there is no public fund grant available for boilers!

The total cost of replacement boilers is £80000. We already have £10,000 thanks to generous previous donations. The Diocese of Shrewsbury has promised us a grant of £10,000 to support this project, and offered us a 5-year interest free loan of £40,000 (We will have to pay this back.)

If we can raise £20,000 now, we can get the boilers replaced in March 2023. We will then need help to repay the £40,000 diocesan loan over the next 5 years: however, the sooner we repay this loan, the better!

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE BOILER FUND

The replacement:

What our four new Broag-Remeha boilers will look like:

Remeha was originally a Dutch company formed in the 1920s, and now part of Baxi Heating. They have been in the UK for over 30 years.

Technical data about the Quinta Ace boiler from their website includes:

– Cascade output (3 boilers linked together) up to 345 kW + separate one for the presbytery (65 kW).
– High-efficiency compact wall hung boiler up to 99.6% Gross Calorific Value (GCV) at 50/30 (30% part load) .
– greater than average energy savings.
– Low NOx Annual Emissions levels from 22mg/kWh (0% 021 dry) (Class 6)
– low pollutant emissions meet environmental regulations.
– Quiet operation less than < 52dBA – improved comfort.
– Certified to work with 20% hydrogen.

Cost Breakdown

We rely on your generosity for this important phase to give glory to Our Blessed Lord! Please help us.

Thank you and God bless you all.

 

Canon A Montjean

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE BOILER FUND

Thursday, 2nd February

by

Two events this Thursday:

– All–day Eucharistic Adoration in reparation for sins 12noon – 5.30pm in the day chapel

– and at 6pm,  the blessing of candles, procession & Sung Mass for  Candlemas,  the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 40 days after Jesus was born when He was presented in the Temple according to the Mosaic Law.