Parish Events

During the month of November, we pray for everyone who has lived in this world and during that brief time, has tried to follow the Lord’s will and plan for them. We call them the ‘Holy Souls.’ Following their deaths, they are now travelling home to Heaven, while undergoing a process of the purification of their Souls. We believe that the holy Mass, celebrated for the deceased person, connects them closely to the Lord and his saving love and speeds their purification and journey to Heaven.  Please find in the porch of the church, envelopes for holy Masses to be celebrated in November, for people you have known or have known about. Please complete the details on the envelope, adding your stipend, and please post the envelopes through the door of the presbytery. One day, please God, following our deaths, there will be people praying for us.

During October, we pray a decade of the prayer of the rosary, at the end of every holy Mass. To carry a string of rosary beads with you and to pray the rosary can be a beautiful way of prayer. Please bring your rosary with you, when you come to holy Mass. If you don’t yet have a rosary, please may I encourage you to get one.

The re-arranged date and time for the first meeting will be Friday 20th November at 5.00pm in the Parish Room.

If you are not a Catholic Christian but you are open to hearing a little bit about our Faith, please register your interest by printing your name and address and phone number on the sheet you will find in the porch of the church. Please talk to me in person or send me an Email, or call me on the phone, and we can get together for a chat. Shortly, we will be starting a small discussion group to explore our Catholic Faith but in a very relaxed, informal way. Our first meeting will be on Thursday 22nd October at 7.00pm in Parish Room.

TO MARK THE 800TH ANNIVERSARY OF ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI After our morning holy Mass on Sunday 25th October , at about 11.45, I invite you to bring your pets into our Olde Forge Cafe. I will bless you and your friend with an individual blessing, asking the Lord to look after you both and to give you both many happy times together. God has made all creatures great and small to share our lives. They bring us such joy and companionship and only ask that we care for them and look after them. St Francis of Assisi, 800 years ago, taught us this. He is known to have preached to the birds and befriended even a wolf whom he called his brother. Do bring your pets to the Cafe on the 25th October, whatever be their size or shape or sound! All are most welcome. Last time we held this Service, we were joined not just by the most popular pets but also by wiggly worms! All are God’s creatures.

Dear Sisters and Brothers who share in this privileged, sacred ministry, please meet with me on Saturday 17th October at 10.30am for a period of silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, in our church. Following 30 minutes of silent prayer, we will then move to the Parish Room for a short meeting to reflect on the gift of this awesome ministry, finishing before 12.00 midday. Dear members of our parish, please pray for all our Eucharistic Ministers that they themselves may become increasingly like the Lord Jesus who calls them to follow him in a closer and closer way.

An essential part of Health and Safety is that we are prepared for an emergency caused by a fire in our church. May I invite you to join me for some basic training to teach us what to do in such an unexpected event. To ensure the safety of everyone who celebrates holy Mass in our church, it is essential that we have a good number of people who have had some basic training in what to tell a congregation to do and where to go, in the event of a fire in our church. We need people at every one of our Sunday holy Masses able to do this. On Saturday 8th August at 10.30 in our church, Mr Roy Collier, an expert in Health and Safety, will explain to us what we need to know and how to do it. Please come, if you possibly can, so we can look after each other, in an emergency of this kind.

Deep in the human heart is a longing to be connected to others, to love and to be loved. I am leading this Workshop from 10.00am until 2.00pm on Saturday 11th July . The Workshop will help us to understand the reasons why we sometimes feel lonely and what a devastating effect Loneliness can have on us. I’ll suggest effective ways to ensure that your experience of Loneliness can actually become the means of finding deep, satisfying ways of being close to the Lord and to other people. The workshop will take place at the London Jesuit Centre. If you would like to attend this Workshop, please book now on the London Jesuit Centre website.

This Collection ( 27/28 JUNE ) enables Pope Leo and the Holy See to exercise works of charity throughout the world.

Anxiety and Worry often make life difficult for many people. I am leading this Workshop, from the evening of Friday 22nd May ( 6.30pm to 8.30pm) then continuing on Saturday 23rd May (11.00am TO 1.00pm). This Workshop will explain how Anxiety begins, how it can take hold of us and then spoil so much of our lives. I’ll also offer some very good, tried and tested ways in which people can escape from Worry or at the very least reduce it and begin to live much happier lives, feeling and monk . The Workshop will take place at the London Jesuit Centre. If you would like to attend this Workshop, please book now on the London Jesuit Centre website.

May I invite you to join me for a short ‘Walk of Witness’ along our High Street on the morning of Good Friday. We will walk from our church, at 11.00am, to the ‘Gruffy’, stopping occasionally to meditate and pray. One of our parishioners, dressed in similar clothes to Jesus, will carry a large cross. We will be finished by 11.45am. Please bring the children too. I’m hoping that some of our friends from other Christian Churches will join us.