What is Lent?
Lent is a period of 40 days and nights when Christians prepare for Easter. During this time we commemorate the time that Jesus spent in the desert enduring temptation by Satan.
This year Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, falls on 6th February.
Why are Sundays not counted in the 40 days?
Sunday is the traditional day of celebration in the Christian church and commemorates the Resurrection which is why Sundays are not included in Lent.
What happens during Lent?
We prepare for the Resurrection by praying and fasting during Lent. Nowadays, people will often give up a favourite food, like chocolate, during Lent to show that they too can resist temptation. Performing charitable acts is another way to show our committment during Lent.
Other things that lasted for 40 days in the Bible:
Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai with God
God made it rain for 40 days and nights in the days of Noah
The Hebrew people travelled for 40 years to get to the Promised Land
Jonah gave the people of Nineveh 40 days and nights to repent of their sins
Elijah spent 40 days walking to Mount Horeb
Tuesday 29 January 2008
What & When is Lent?
Saturday 26 January 2008
Who are the English Martyrs?
Our school has a name that is a bit of a mystery to most people. So, we thought a little explanation was in order.
Our school has four house teams: St.Thomas More, St.Edmund Campion, St.Margaret Clitherow and Blessed John Lyon
The houses were chosen by Sr. Olive the Headmistress of English Martyrs about 15 years ago.
St.Thomas More(1478-1535) was a lawyer and noble statesman, most famously as Lord Chancellor during King Henry VIII's reign. He coined the word 'utopia' in a book he wrote in 1516 about an ideal, imaginary island. He refused to accept Henry as supreme head of the Church of England which led to his execution for treason. St.Thomas More was canonised by Pope Pius XI in 1935 and declared patron saint of politicians and statesmen by Pope John Paul II. His feast day is 22nd June.
St.Edmund Campion (1540-1581) was a well educated young man who found favour initially with Queen Mary and then Queen Elizabeth and her suitor the Earl of Leicester. He struggled inwardly with his Catholic beliefs during a turbulent time of persecutions by the Anglian Church. He fled to Ireland and then France returning to London in 1580 as a Jesuit. He was captured by a spy in Lyford, Berkshire whilst preaching and committed to the Tower of London. Queen Elizabeth offered him wealth and dignities if he renounced his Catholic faith. He was tortured terribly and kept in prison a long time to try to shake his constancy. Finally, on October 31 1581 he was charged with conspiring to dethrone the Queen. He answered the sentance of the traitors death with the Te Deum Laudamus. He spent his final days in prayer and was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn on 1st December 1581. St. Edmund Campion was canonised on 25th October 1970 by Pope Paul VI and his feast day is 1st December.
St. Margaret Clitherow (1566-1586) was married to a butcher named John and had two children. She converted to Roman Catholicism when she was 18 and became a friend to the persecuted Catholic population in Northern England. Her son became a Catholic Priest and she regularly held Mass at her home. She was arrested in 1586 for hiding Catholic Priests from the authorities. For refusing to plead against the accusations, thereby preventing her children from having to testify against her, she was sentenaced to be crushed to death. She was executed on Good Friday 1586. St. Margaret Clitherow was canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970 and her feast day is March 26th.
Blessed John Lyon is a bit more of a mystery. The first part of the mystery is that Sr. Olive was mistaken in naming him 'Blessed' he is in fact 'Venerable'. John Lyon is said to be Rutland's own Martyr, and was a farmer who lived in North Luffenham. He was hung in 1599 for his Catholic Faith near the 'swooning bridge' on the Uppingham Road in Oakham and very little is known about him. Research is still ongoing about this amazing man by two of his devotees and teachers at our school, Mrs Elizabeth Keogh and Mrs Maria Marriott. John Lyon was made 'Venerable' during 1970 when 40 Catholic English Martyrs were canonised by Pope Paul VI.
Friday 25 January 2008
New Online Shops!
We're pleased to announce three new online stores here on the Friends of English Martyrs Blog.
We hope to be able to feature 'John Lewis' on our site within the next few months. So, keep coming back to see what's new or alternatively sign up to our FREE email bulletin service and have all the latest news delivered straight to your inbox. Just enter your email address in the box provided on the right hand side and follow the instructions when you receive a confirmation email.
Tuesday 22 January 2008
WANTED - Book Reviewers of all ages!
If you hadn't heard, 2008 is the Year of Reading! So, Friends of English Martyrs have decided to do a number of things to help the Year of Reading go with a "....shhh...we're reading!"
First of all we wanted to know what everyone is reading at the moment. Is there a book you want to rave about or one that perhaps you didn't like? Is there a book you'd like to recommend for children or perhaps there's one you'd like to suggest for grown-ups?
Please take a little time to help your children write a book review for us and in return we'll publish it right here on our Blog and on our notice board at school.
You can either leave a comment after this post, email us (joanna at sayersmedia dot co dot uk) or hand in your reviews at school.
We'll keep you posted on all the events coming up this year.
Friday 18 January 2008
2008 School Term Dates
For those of you that have requested information about dates for the school term, please read the following:
TERM 3 - School opened Thursday 3rd January 2008; School closes Friday 15th February (for 1 week)
TERM 4 - School opens Monday 25th February; Good Friday 21st March; Easter Monday 24th March; School closes Friday 4th April (for 2 weeks)
TERM 5 - School opens Monday 21st April; May Bank Holiday Monday 5th May; School closes Friday 23rd May (for 1 week & 1 day due to Teacher Training on Monday 2nd June)
TERM 6 - School opens Tuesday 3rd June; School closes Tuesday 22nd July
Wednesday 9 January 2008
Chicken Out Campaign
The children at English Martyrs Catholic Primary school, here in Oakham, have been very proud of raising their own chicken, 'Flapjack Henny Penny'. They have been fascinated with her development from egg to hen and delighted to see her lay eggs.
Monday 7 January 2008
Blog Fundraising Update!
It's time to give you another update of how much money this Blog has raised for our school.
The Friends of English Martyrs Blog started on the 9th October 2007 and has raised a magnificent £53.05!
Tell all your family and friends to log on to the Friends of English Martyrs Blog and do their online shopping through us! Why not send an email to everyone in your address book to let them know about our Blog and what we're all doing for our school.
Please visit our Blog regularly as it is constantly being updated with news and new online shops for you.
Don't forget to let us know what you think of it and whether you have any suggestions for what you'd like to see here.
Wednesday 2 January 2008
Happy New Year
Friends of English Martyrs would like to wish everyone a very happy new year!
We hope you all had a splendid Christmas and look forward to bringing you lots of news and fun activities to get involved in during 2008.
If you have a snippet of news or something you'd like to see featured on the blog, please get in touch. We'd also like to feature any blogs or websites run by parents or friends of English Martyrs - perhaps you'd like to nominate a site that you think others would be interested in ... Here's to a busy year of blogging!
