Letter from Ben

Hi everyone,
I am writing to remind you all of a few things before our second meeting together on Sunday. This is the first time that I am not sending out a Lourdes letter by post. Steve and I think it’s time we sent letters out by email to save costs. I’m sure that everyone uses email daily now. When you speak to other members of the coach this week, please check with them that they have checked their email and received this letter!
Another reason for writing to you all is to thank you for the great attendance at our first meeting on 1^st April. We had one of the highest attendances at a first meeting and it really does make a difference when we all try to be there. I was also grateful to those who sent apologies in advance. So thanks to you all!

Next meeting

As just mentioned, our second meeting is this Sunday, 13^th May, between 2pm and 4pm at St. Joseph’s Parish Centre, Chorley. The theme of the second meeting is ‘The story of Lourdes’. If you are unable to attend, please let me know in advance.

Final payment

Thank you for getting your cheques to me for the second payment. I had to do considerably less chasing up than last year! The final payment of £165 is due to me by Sunday 27^th May. You can pay this at Sunday’s meeting or send it to me at the address above. Cheques should be made payable to Lourdes Coach 5.

Third meeting

Just to give you advance notice that our third preparation meeting is on Sunday 10^th June and will be a joint meeting with Coach 8. We will be having this meeting at St. Joseph’s, Chorley as usual. Why should we travel?!! Let them! We are hoping Aileen and Jenny, from the Lourdes music group, will come along to teach us the hymns and music they will be using this year.

Website

Steve has been very busy working on the coach website and it’s looking great. Log onto www.coach5.co.uk to see information on Lourdes, maps, discussions etc. If you have any items you would like included on the website please email them to me.

Parents’ meeting

We still haven’t finalised a date for this yet. We are having a staff meal on Friday night and we will agree a date then. I’ll let you know at Sunday’s meeting.

Fund-raising

I hope you have started to get fund-raising activities up and running. Feel free to talk to us about this on Sunday. We will be sorting out the quiz soon and will ask you to sell these as a whole coach fundraiser. We will also be giving you information on how to apply to the Catenians for funding for those of you who are over 17. More details will be given on Sunday.

Passports and E111 cards

Now is a good time to check that your passport has not expired and will be valid for July. You also need to have an E111 medical insurance card. This is vital because it will avoid you having to pay huge medical costs in Lourdes should you have any sort of illness, accident or injury.

‘LIFE AND SOUL’ – the summer festival

Fr. Stephen Pritchard and the Animate Team are organizing a summer festival on Sunday 1^st July for young people over the age of 15. It’s still very much in the planning stages but it sounds an excellent day. There will be a main stage with speakers, ice breakers, workshops on global issues, circus skills, bread making, drumming, music, drama, relationships, prayer etc. There will be an inter-coach 5-a-side, an open air mass at 6.30pm, a bbq, battle of the bands and disco in the evening, ending with night prayer at 10.30pm. I’ll let you know more details as soon as I have them. It would be great to have as many of you there as possible. We need to get our 5-a-side team together as well.

Youth Alive Mass

Coach 5 is not the best at attendance of these diocesan youth masses which is a shame because they’re very good. The liturgy is planned and delivered by young people and it gives a flavour of what Lourdes is like. After each mass there is usually a disco with an entrance fee of £2 and goes on until 10pm. The next one is on Sunday 3^rd June at St. Joseph’s, Leigh at 6.30pm.

Coach 5 theme night

For those of you who are coming to Lourdes for the first time, it has become a tradition on Coach 5 to have a fancy dress theme night in Lourdes. The theme is usually a kind of a twist on the main pilgrimage theme. The pilgrimage theme this year is ‘Reconciliation – Be reconciled with God’. On our discussion board there has been a great suggestion from Matthew Shepherd as to what our theme night could be this year! Go on to www.coach5.co.uk and follow the link to the discussion board.

Well that’s all I can think of for now. All the staff members are looking forward to seeing you on Sunday!

Ben

PS Malta (or maybe Switzerland) will win the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night. Remember who told you first!