This week's 2nd Collection will be for The Clergy Training Fund.

LITURGY OF THE WORD PARISH MASS BOOKS [SM] Readings for Sunday Easter Week 4 of (Year A) : Page 262

In compliance with the current guidance from the diocesan insurers PLEASE DO NOT Light candles and place them on the windows or by the statues. Votive Candles should be lit and placed on the votive candle stands ONLY. Thank You

NEWSLETTER BY EMAIL. Please contact the parish office at St Mary’s to be added to our mailing list.

STRUCTURAL WORK ON THE CHURCH [OLG]

Work on the drains and the Coping Stones on the site at St Mary’s is due to be carried out over the next few months. This includes work on the drains and the crumbling coping stones, at a cost in the region of 45K. Scaffold will be erected on or around the 5th of May, and the work will start two weeks later.

WELCOME TO OUR PARISH

We would like to extend a warm welcome to all our parishioners and visitors attending Mass. Whether you are just passing through or looking for a spiritual home, we pray you find our church inviting and spiritually uplifting. If you are attending Mass on a regular basis, we encourage you to register with the parish. Please call our parish office and start the conversation!  Both our church is always open to you, your family, and friends.  

Pax et Bonum [Peace and All Good]

Please note in the newsletter

[OLG] represents events at The Shrine of Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury and [SM] represent events at St Michael’s, Shepton Mallet

Local elections are coming up shortly.

This is an opportunity for Catholics to have respectful, thoughtful conversations with candidates for election, in order to highlight the need to address environmental challenges alongside economic and social priorities. Your voice matters, especially when it is rooted in care, dignity, and hope. For help with engaging politicians, click on the resources prepared by the Catholic Diocesan Environmental Leads Network.

SAVE THE DATE:  Dr Scott Hahn

Delighted to announce that Dr Scott Hahn, Catholic writer, author, broadcaster and teacher is coming to this country in May and will be speaking at St John the Evangelist, Bath, on Tuesday, 26 May at 7;00pm. It will be a ticketed event only. Click here to book tickets. In addition, Dr. Scott will be signing his books which CTS will bring with them. This is a truly great opportunity for our diocese to welcome Dr Hahn - so do keep the date free and come along! You will not want to miss this great speaker.

REQUEST FOR HOLY COMMUNION AT HOME

Please contact the parish office by Email or by Telephone, if you are sick and unable to attend church and require Holy Communion at home.

Please do not make the request through friends or parishioners.

MARRIAGE

If you are thinking of getting married, in England or Abroad, you need to be in contact with your parish priest at least 6 months prior to the wedding. This is to allow time for the paperwork, enquiries and necessary permissions from the Marriage Tribunal to have been obtained and paperwork to be sent to the parish where the marriage ceremony is taking place.

PRAYERS PLEASE

For those who have made petitions requests and all who are ill at home or in hospital, and for the repose of the soul of those whose anniversary occurs at this time, including, Pope Francis, Robert Dammann, Ronald Cran.

• Paul Hill requiem mass will be at St Mary’s. on Thursday 7th May at 12 noon. Please keep Paul and his family in your prayers.

Parenting Teenagers? 

CELEBRATE Trust is excited to announce two new webinars for parents and carers of teenagers. We are aware that bringing up young people in today’s world can be both a joyful and challenging experience, so we have booked some experts to share their wisdom with you, help you gain confidence and provide you with some practical ideas to support you at home.

• Confident parenting in a world of screens 29th April 8:00pm

• Raising teenagers in a Catholic family 2nd June 8:00pm 

Confident parenting in a world of screens. Hardly a day goes by without headlines highlighting the impact of smartphones and social media on our teenagers. They face a whole new level of complexity as they grow up in a digital world, but as parents and carers there are so many things we can do to help them navigate it well.This webinar with Kate Duroux from Care for the Family, a national UK charity, will help us consider how we can best support our teenagers through the challenges of the digital world, and offer practical advice and principles to apply in our own unique families. 

Raising teenagers in a Catholic family.

The beginning of adolescence is in many ways a “rebirth” of the child, and when this “rebirth” happens, many parents feel as if they are learning how to be a parent all over again!  This is the great journey from childhood to adulthood and it is not always an easy road for parent or child.  But God always gives the grace parents need, and Mike and Alicia from the Messy Family Project, a Catholic family ministry from the US, remind parents of this fact.  They also give empathy and guidance on how to successfully navigate the tween and teen years by modelling for children the behaviour they wish to see in them and investing in the relationship on a deeper level.

To reserve a place, book here.

Prayer to Our Lady of Good Counsel

O, Holy Virgin, to whose feet we are led by our anxious uncertainty in our search for and attainment of what is true and good, invoking thee by the sweet title of Mother of Good Counsel we beseech thee to come to our assistance, when along the road of this life, the darkness of error and of evil conspires towards our ruin by leading our minds and our hearts astray.

Do Thou, O Seat of Wisdom and Star of the Sea, Enlighten the doubtful and the erring, that they be not seduced by the false appearances of good, render them steadfast in the face of the hostile and corrupting influences of passion and of sin.

O Mother of Good Counsel, obtain for us from Thy Divine Son a great love of Virtue and, in the hour of uncertainty and trial, the strength to embrace the way that leads to our salvation. If Thy hand sustains us, we shall walk unmolested along the path indicated to us by the life and words of Jesus our Redeemer; and having followed freely and securely, even in the midst of this world's strife, the sun of truth and justice under Thy Maternal Star, we shall come to the enjoyment of full and eternal peace with Thee in the Haven of Salvation. Amen.

PRAYER FOR THE HOLY SOULS.

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

Diocesan Annual Pilgrimage to Lourdes 2026

This Pilgrimage will be led by Bishop Bosco MacDonald with the Catholic Association of Lourdes UK.

Friday 21st ~ Friday 28th August 2026.

Including Airport transfers from Bristol to Birmingham Airport, Flights to Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport, hotel transfers.

Full pilgrimage programme, including visits to the Grotto of the Apparitions, Mass each day, Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, Sacrament of Reconciliation, visits to sites related to St Bernadette, Open air Mass in the Cite-San– Pierre, Water Gesture, Station of the Cross. Diocesan Day Trip to Bartres (extra charge).

Please email Clifton Diocese Lourdes Pilgrimage to declare an interest.

NOW IS THE TIME

A Symposium to explore the teachings of Pope Leo in his Apostolic Exhortation ‘Dilexi Te' (Love for the Poor) at St Brendan’s College, Brislington, on Saturday 30 May. Keynote speakers - Bishop Bosco MacDonald, Sir John Battle KC*SG & Raymond Friel (CSAN).

The day starts at 10am (refreshments from 9.30am) and finishes at 4pm. Please bring a packed lunch. Click this link to register on Eventbrite.

ALABARÉ is set to pay its own poignant tribute to the military to mark Armed Forces Day 2026, by hosting our latest flagship BIG Sleep at St Paul’s Cathedral.

On Friday, 26 June, 200 participants will attend a memorial event under the dome before sleeping out in the iconic cathedral’s courtyard, waking up on the morning of Armed Forces Day. It’s an important moment to recognise the contribution that military personnel, past and present, have made to British society and in protecting King and country. The BIG Sleep at St Paul’s will be the first ever public sleep out to take place at the world-famous building and is raising awareness and funds for ALABARÉ’s efforts to break the cycle of veterans’ homelessness.

SAFEGUARDING

Our parish operates in accordance with Statutory Safeguarding Guidance, and both National and Diocesan policies & procedures at all times. SAFEGUARDING WEBPAGE:

Contact: Email for St. Michael’s or Email for Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury

CREATING A SAFER ENVIRONMENT - SAFEGUARDING

In line with the CSSA ‘Creating a Safer Environment’, entry to the Sacristy from the Church, when there are servers present, must be recorded.

[OLG] ANYBODY ENTERING DIOCESAN PROPERTY

In compliance with Creating a Safer Environment, nobody has permission to access any of the key boxes unless the parish office has been notified prior to your visit. This week the Key Codes have been changed, going forward you will need to request the code from the parish office so that your details and the reason that you have the code can be recorded. Please do not pass on the codes to anybody, without checking with the parish office. Thank you for your co-operation.

EMERGENCY EXITS

Please take a moment to familiarise yourself with the nearest exit, in case of an emergency. In the unlikely event of having to vacate the church unexpectedly, during a service, please follow the instructions of the priest and our stewards. They will direct you to the nearest exit. Please vacate promptly and leave all belongings. Thank you for helping us keep you safe.