Dear brothers and sisters,
As we look forward to next weekend, the important news for everyone to note is that with the new chaplains taking over duties at Nazareth House, Sunday Mass will now be beginning at the later time of 10:00.
Unfortunately, this pushes our start-time later. However, we have no alternative.
This has a massive impact on our worship, which has already been starting at a very late hour for an Orthodox Liturgy. We have been able to set up the church for Orthodox worship and hear Sunday confessions from 10:10, and losing thirty minutes every Sunday will make it impossible to begin the Hours before 11:00.
Confession time will be limited, so it is especially important that those requiring confession on Sundays inform me and that all who can confess in the week do so. On whichever day I am confessing, there will be time for confessions in the evening as well as the day time.
Given the pressures which we now face, I will endeavour to be in Cardiff on Saturdays, as well, unless there is rail industrial action. Please feel free to discuss any specific limitations in your opportunity to confess, so that we can endeavour to make things work.
I will hear confessions on Thursday of this week from around 15:00 (according to need), and will be available for the afternoon and the evening. It will not be possible to be in Nazareth House this Saturday as we will be in Cheltenham, but as always, any Cardiff parishioners supporting the Cheltenham Liturgy can be confessed on Saturday.
Further to the notice of September dates, a few services may need to be relocated due to maintenance, and community choir practices recommencing at Nazareth House on Wednesday evenings.
So… just to be absolutely clear:
The Hours and Liturgy will now (hopefully) start at 11:00 in Nazareth House, and confessions will begin as soon after 10:30 as is possible.
Please be mindful of time constraints if you are confessing and understand that timings will be approximate and experimental until we experience Sunday with the new chaplains.
If you arrive before the end of Mass – probably around 10:25 – please remain at the back of the church until the residents leave the church.
Finally, thanks to all who have contributed to our services during the octave of the Dormition, which ends tomorrow.
We appreciate each contributors gift: musical, liturgical, floral and culinary – or in any other way in which our parishioners made this Dormition such a glorious and wonderful celebration!
In Christ – Hieromonk Mark