ANONYMOUS LETTER FROM A PARISHIONER

Webmaster • August 18, 2025

Dear Father Malachy


I hope this letter reaches you at the right moment. A small encouragement tucked between your many unseen labours Please know that even if you don't always hear it aloud, what you’re doing and chose to do matters.


Though I remain anonymous, I am part of this parish and I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for staying- faithful, even when the pews felt a little empty. Thank you for showing up, not just to preach, but to live the Gospel through action; by opening the café, openng Bible study, creating spaces for connection, prayer and warmth. It’s easy to over - look these things in a busy world, but I see them. Many of us do. And they mean more than you may ever know.


Thank you also for creating space for others to serve, in a time when many feel disconnected from their faith, it’s a quiet gift to see opportunities open up within the parish, ways for people to take part, however small. That kind of invitation a can mean more than words express.


Even if some members of your parish aren’t here all the time, and even if the presence feels scattered or uncertain, please know that your ministry is still reaching hearts. There are many of us who are quietly praying for this parish, even from a distance. People who are not away visible but are still drawing closer to God, slowly, quietly, but deeply.


Even when growth feels hidden, I hope you remember that God sees it all. Your words, your witness, your sacrifices. None of it is in vain, Some-of the most life -changing work happens in silence and in stillness. You are creating a space where the holy spirit can move, even when it seems small. Sometimes, the smallest seeds grow into the strongest roots, ones that hold firm through every season. And though the fruit may not be visible yet, God is still working. Please do not lose heart. The quiet things matter to God, the prayers no one hears, the hours no one sees, the love that doesn’t need recognition, It all adds up in eternity. Your faithfulness is planting more than you know. And one day, those seeds will bear fruit in ways only Heaven can measure.


May God bless you with strength when you're weary, joy when you’re discouraged, and peace that comes not from outcomes. but from the quiet assurance that you’re walking faith fully with him.


Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your leadership. Thank you for staying.


With gratitude.

A thankful member of the parish.

THANK YOU

By Webmaster • November 17, 2025
To Manuel and Kim, for all their help in the Cafe. Manuel and Kim tell me that ‘Grandparent Duties’ have led them to feel they had to move to a different parish where their own children and grandchildren now live and where the grandchildren and their parents celebrate holy Mass. To David, for all his past work in the field of Health and Safety. David has now kindly agreed to be our Lead parishioner in matters of Maintenance and Repairs.  To Jim, for taking on the role of Lead Parishioner in the area of Health and Safety

CHRISTMAS CARDS

By Webmaster • November 17, 2025
It won’t be long before our thoughts will rightly begin to turn towards the great Feast and Season of Christmas. I have left in the porch of the church, Christmas cards that feature the picture of a holy Family living in the slums of Guayaquil, Ecuador, South America. When I lived and worked there, I knew this family - a single mother with a very young daughter. The mother is disabled, having lost her legs in an accident and she is only able to move by sitting on a small piece of wood fixed with castors and then propelling herself and her child forward. They live in a small shack made of bamboo and cardboard boxes over the filthy waters of the swamp. The real meaning of Christmas is that the Lord Jesus came to be especially with the poor and suffering of our world by sharing in their plight and offering everyone the chance to be saved from Sin and Death.  Perhaps you would like to buy this Christmas card and send it to family members and friends to remind them of why we celebrate the birth of Jesus. May I suggest £1 for each card and envelope. We will send any money raised to CAFOD to care for the Poor, Homeless and Suffering people of our world.

PROGRAMME OF PREPARATION FOR FIRST RECONCILIATION AND FIRST HOLY COMMUNION, FOR CHILDREN

By Webmaster • November 17, 2025
Our programme to help parents to prepare their children for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist will begin early in the New Year. Meetings for Parents and meetings for their children will be on Friday evenings at 5.00pm. The parents will meet with Fr Malachy in the Parish Room and the children will meet with our Catechists in the Sacristy of the church, at the same time. Each meeting will last just 30 minutes. The dates of the meetings are flexible but we are planning to have the first six meetings on: 16th, 23rd, and 30th January 2026, then the 6th, 13th and 20th of February 2026. First Reconciliation for Children and their parents will be during the Season of Lent 2026 and First Holy Communion during the month of June 2026. If you have a child who you think is ready to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion in 2026, please let me have details as soon as possible so that we can begin our planning.

HOLY MASSES IN THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER, FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED

By Webmaster • November 17, 2025
We began the month of November with the great Feast of All Saints, inviting everyone who is now with the Lord in Heaven, living in eternal joy, to pray for us. We think of those who have died and, while not yet in Heaven, are on their way home! We believe that the holy Mass and our prayers help these Holy Souls on that journey. Do come to holy Mass, and join me and through the holy Mass we can help our loved ones to speedily reach our homeland of Heaven.  If you would like me to offer holy Mass during the month of November, for specific members of your family or friends who have died, please fill in one of the Holy Mass envelopes which you will find in the church porch, enclose your stipend and please give it to me or pop it through the presbytery letterbox. In the holy Mass, we are connected to the Lord Jesus in his death and resurrection. The holy Mass is the most powerful means possible to allow the Lord to bring us and our loved ones safely home to Heaven.

EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS OF HOLY COMMUNION ROTA

By Webmaster • November 16, 2025
NOVEMBER 2025 1/2: 5pm Patrick; 9am Paul; 11am Lizzie, Ross, Marian(H) 8/9: 5pm Patricia; 9am Maggie; 11am Lorenza, David, Simone(H) 15/16: 5pm Angela; 9am Phil; 11am Margaret, Mary, Lisa(H) 22/23: 5pm Carolyn; 9am Jim; 11am John, Gabrielle, Giannina(H) 29/30: 5pm Regina; 9am Patrick; 11am Paul, Patricia, Linda(H) Thank you to our wonderful Ministers of the Eucharist who have accepted the Lord’s invitation to this awesome, sacred ministry, by their willingness to give up their own plans and convenience in order to do God’s will rather than their own. Let us pray for them because they too fight the same personal weaknesses we all have to fight against and they too have to fight the same temptations we all have to fight. God be with them.

WEEK DAY LECTORS

By WEBMASTER • November 16, 2025
Wed 19 Nov: Lizzie Thu 20 Nov: Jim Fri 21 Nov: David

CHILDREN’S LITURGY OF THE WORD DURING 11.00am SUNDAY HOLY MASS

By Webmaster • November 16, 2025
We began again our ‘Liturgy of the Word’ for children of Primary School age on Sunday November 2nd and will continue on the following consecutive Sundays. Dear Parents please bear these dates in mind when you bring your children to holy Mass. During these ‘Liturgy of the Word’ sessions, our children will have opportunities to understand and enjoy God’s loving Word during the 11.00am holy Mass.

BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE

By Webmaster • November 16, 2025
Please add the names of any loved ones who have died in the last year, to our Book of Remembrance, on the page of the date they left our world. The Book of Remembrance will be placed on the altar during every holy Mass in this month of November and so we will remember to pray for them at each and every holy Mass.

OLDE FORGE CAFE - FREE COFFEE AND CAKE FOR OUR VISITORS

By Webmaster • November 16, 2025
Please do your best to bring members of your family, your friends, neighbours and colleagues who normally have little, if any contact with our Catholic parish, to the Olde Forge Cafe. Please remember that those you bring with you DO NOT give a donation for their coffee and cake. Only us, who are regular members of our parish, are asked to give a donation, each time, to cover the cost of the Coffee machine, coffee beans, heat, light etc. Dear Bakers and those who provide milk, please remember to take your expenses from the donations received.

BEQUEST, IN A WILL

By Webmaster • November 16, 2025
It is wise to write a Will so that the resources you have when the time comes for you to leave this world, goes to the people and organisations you wish. May I suggest that you might consider leaving a Bequest in your will to our parish or to our diocese or to our priest as well as to other causes. A gift in your will can enable us to continue to help people to know the Lord Jesus and his saving love. What a wonderful legacy you would be leaving behind.