News fro St Peters Hamilton

EASTER AT HOLY FAMILY

Sun, 26 Apr 2026 12:53:44 GMT

We give thanks to the Lord that our dear sister Caitlin was baptised into the very life of God, on Easter Sunday. We join Caitlin in sharing her joy. Caitlin now bravely sets forth on her journey, which is our journey too, of making the Lord’s loving, saving presence the centre of all our lives.

We give thanks to the Lord that on Easter Sunday, Alan entered into full communion with the Church founded on Christ and built on the Apostles

THANK YOU

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 12:21:29 GMT

To Clare and everyone who brought the beautiful plants and flowers that adorn our church giving praise to God.

To everyone for your generosity in the Easter Sunday collection and for all your gifts and cards.

To Jim for cutting the grass.

EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS OF HOLY COMMUNION ROTA

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 21:05:24 GMT

March

7/8: 5pm Mary; 9am Lisa; 11am Carolyn

14/15: 5pm Jim; 9am Gabrielle; 11am Giannina

21/22: 5pm Lesley; 9am Linda; 11am Regina

28/29: 5pm Patrick; 9am Paul; 11am Lizzie

April

2 (Maundy Thursday): 8.30pm Lorenza, Patricia, Maggie

3 (Good Friday): 3.00pm Ross

4 (Easter Sunday Vigil): 8.00pm David, Marian, Angela

5 (Easter Sunday): 9.00am Phil, Margaret, Simone 11.00am Mary, Carolyn, Lisa(H)

11/12 : 5pm Jim; 9am Gabrielle; 11am Lesley, Paul Donovan, Linda(H)

18/19 : 5pm Regina; 9am Patrick; 11am Paul Mould, Lizzie, Patricia(H)

25/26 : 5pm Maggie; 9am Lorenza; 11am Ross, David, Marian(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.

DEALING WITH LONELINESS - 11TH JULY AT THE LONDON JESUIT CENTRE

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 21:00:04 GMT

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.

DEALING WITH ANXIETY - 22/23 MAY AT THE LONDON JESUIT CENTRE

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 20:59:07 GMT

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.

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

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 17:19:10 GMT

Dear Parents, please note that the Children’s own reflection of the Liturgy of God’s Word, takes place during School Term times. Please, of course, continue to bring the children to holy Mass, come early and sit near the front of the church so that children can see and better understand the holy Mass. The children’s own Liturgy of the Word begins again on Sunday 26th April. Dear Parents, please bring the children to the Holy Week Services especially on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil/First holy Mass of Easter on Saturday evening. During this week, the Lord speaks powerfully of his saving love, through the Liturgy, to all our hearts.

HOLY MASS INTENTION/STIPEND

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 16:57:01 GMT

An Intention for holy Mass is a specific prayer, often for a particular person or purpose, that a priest offers during the celebration of a holy Mass. It is the best way that we have to unite our lives, our hopes, our fears, our joys and our sorrows with the Lord Jesus. It is the best way possible, because every time holy Mass takes place, the Lord’s Death and Resurrection also takes place.

A holy Mass Intention is a prayer asking that the Lord’s victory over sin and death be applied to the Intention. The Intention can be for those who are still living in this world or for those who have left this world. Anyone, of course, may request a holy Mass - In Thanksgiving, for a Birthday, for someone who has died, on the occasion of a special Anniversary, for someone who is unwell or for any other intention that we believe the good Lord wishes to hear and possibly to give us. Every holy Mass is the making present of the Lord offering his saving love to everyone, so every holy Mass is for everyone! However, sometimes we have specific Intentions that we may wish to mention to the Lord.

A ‘Stipend’ or Offering for the holy Mass is not a fee! It is not ‘the cost of a holy Mass’! The holy Mass is so sacred, so full of the Lord’s presence and saving power that it is priceless! In fact, the Stipend is only a gesture of gratitude and care for the priest who celebrates the holy Mass for you. It is a way for supporting our priests who, although they do not receive salaries, still need personal funds to meet their own ‘costs of living.’ The Stipend suggested by the Archdiocese of Southwark Finance Committee is a minimum of £10 for each holy Mass. Of course, anyone who can’t afford a Stipend should still request a holy Mass Intention and I’m sure every priest would always be more than happy to celebrate holy Mass for someone in that situation.

Here in our parish, please use the holy Mass Intention envelopes which you will find in the porch of the church. Please write the details of the Intention, a preferred date if required, enclose the Stipend, and let me have it directly or post it through the presbytery letterbox.

OLDE FORGE CAFE - FREE COFFEE AND CAKE FOR OUR VISITORS

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 15:52:27 GMT

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.

OLD FORGE CAFE BAKER’S AND HOST'S ROTA

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 14:47:11 GMT

OLDE FORGE CAFE BAKERS/PROVIDERS ROTA

MARCH 2026

21: Anderson

28: Mary

APRIL 2026

4: Sophie

11: Helen

18: Anderson

25: Bridget

Please, if possible, could you provide enough cakes for the whole of each week.

Thank you to everybody who is helping to provide cakes. To avoid having too many cakes, Coral mentioned to me that non-perishable cakes can be safely stored in the Cafe for a short while. When it is your turn to provide a non-perishable cake, please bring your cake to the Cafe a few days before the date of your turn.

OLDE FORGE CAFE - HOSTS ROTA

MARCH 2026

22: Bridget, Jannine

24: Ros, Lizzie

28: Kelly-Ann, Carolyn

29: Giannina, Lorenza

31: Linda, Maggie

APRIL 2026

5 (Easter Sunday): Regina, Patrick

7: Lorenza, Maggie

11: Collette, Patricia

12: Lizzie, Paul

14: Colette, David

18: Phil, Mary

19: Marian, Jim

21: Linda, Lesley

25: Ros, Gabrielle

26: Emmanuala; Giannina

Please note that for each of the above dates when the Cafe is open, one of the two Hosts has been trained in the use of the new coffee machine. Please would that trained person be the only person operating the machine and also please train the other person in its use. Many thanks.

Thank you to everybody who acts as a Host. If an unexpected emergency occurs on the date you are scheduled to be a Host, please don’t worry about the Cafe. No need to try to find someone to ‘stand in’ for you. There is no need whatsoever to ‘swop’ with someone! We are not a Business, having to stay open to make money! - we open when and if we can. We take this role of ‘Host’ as a Vocation from the Lord to be his Missionary and his Prophet. Actually, the Cafe has, at times, functioned well with just one Host.

The success of our Evangelisation Cafe depends on us. The more we speak to others of our Cafe, inviting them to visit us, the more successful it will be. Please invite members of your families, your friends, your neighbours and colleagues. Please check when it is your turn to be a Host (or a Baker!). Please see this role as a Calling, a Vocation from the Lord which you are generously telling the Lord you will do”. Thank you so much for your trust in the good Lord

HOLY COMMUNION UNDER BOTH KINDS/THE MINISTERIAL PRIESTHOOD/EUCHARISTIC MINISTRY/SIGN OF PEACE

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 14:45:18 GMT

During the holy Mass of Maundy Thursday, we celebrate the priceless gifts of the holy Mass and the Priesthood which the Lord has given to his Church. Also, members of our Community of Faith who have been blessed and privileged to be Eucharistic Ministers, will renew their commitment to this sacred ministry.

This is the best moment to begin again our normal practice of receiving Our Blessed Lord in the way he gave himself to us at the Last Supper, the very first holy Mass. Now that the Winter has officially ended and there is less risk of colds and flu’, we will be able to receive Our Blessed Lord not just in the consecrated bread which has become the Body of Christ but also in the consecrated wine which has become the Blood of Christ.

Every holy Mass is a moment when the Lord’s great saving love for us, is made manifest. This is his love which he gives to us and wishes us to share with everyone, without exception. We will begin again, during this beautiful holy Mass, to offer a real physical gesture of peace and love for each other.

Please do not receive the Precious Blood of the Lord from the chalice if you have a cough or cold or simply do not feel well.

Last Saturday, during a Eucharistic Ministers time of Prayer and Reflection, it was suggested by some Eucharistic Ministers that Hand Sanitiser be available for use following the Sign of Peace during holy Mass. Following the meeting, other Eucharistic Ministers suggested to me that the availability of Hand Sanitiser wasn’t really a great need and its use during the Liturgy would detract from the sacredness of the moment. Let’s leave the use of a Sanitiser then to personal choice, just as the way in which we offer each other a Sign of Peace is also a matter of personal choice.

ROTA FOR LECTORS – APRIL 2026

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 13:36:31 GMT

2 (Maundy Thursday): 8.30pm Paul

3 (Good Friday): 3.00pm Jim; Passion Reading: Gerry(N), Mutsa(C)

4 (Easter Sunday Vigil): 8.00pm Lizzie(1), David (3)), Patricia (5), Lorenza (7/Epistle)

5 (Easter Sunday): 9am Phil 11am Mutsa

11/12: 5pm Maggie; 9am Mike; 11am Lisa

18/19: 5pm Collette; 9am Gerry; 11am Jim

 25/26: 5pm Patricia; 9am Richard; 11am Paul

PRIEST TRAINING FUND SECOND COLLECTION 25th/26th APRIL

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 11:06:20 GMT

The Priesthood is at the heart of our Catholic Faith. This Fund helps to prepare men for the Priesthood. Formation for the Priesthood, in financial terms, costs roughly £30,000 per year, for 6 years. The Archdiocese of Southwark currently has 9 Seminarians.

PLANTS AND FLOWERS FOR EASTER

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 11:09:16 GMT

Please could you bring flowers and plants to our church that we could then place them on the sanctuary for Easter, as signs of the joy we feel at the Lord’s Resurrection from the Dead. Please bring them any time next Saturday before about 5.00pm and leave them in the porch of the church. Thank you.

EASTER OFFERTORY COLLECTIONS

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 11:06:09 GMT

The Collections on Easter Sunday (basket in church, on-line and the Card Reader) are your personal gift to your priest. Thank you for your kindness and generosity.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 11:00:22 GMT

The Olde Forge Cafe, our parish way of fulfilling the Lord’s command to be a Missionary Community, will only work if each one of us brings someone new to the Cafe on Sundays, Tuesdays or Saturdays. Each one of us, regardless of age or circumstance, is asked by the Lord to be a missionary in Sanderstead. As we enter into Holy Week and understand more the significance of the Lord’s passion, death and resurrection, may we allow him to fill each one of us with his spirit so that we become a missionary parish.

WALK OF WITNESS ON GOOD FRIDAY

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 23:46:26 GMT

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.

CHURCH CLEANING FOR EASTER

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 21:27:40 GMT

Please could you join us next Saturday morning at 9.30, to tidy and clean the church for Easter. Parents, please bring the children too. Whatever age we are, whether man or woman, young or not so young, there is always some little thing we can all do. Humbly cleaning, tidying the church is a real prayer in itself.

LENTEN PENANCE SERVICE/OPPORTUNITY FOR INDIVIDUAL RECONCILIATION -31st MARCH

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 20:57:41 GMT

We will have a short Penance Service, followed by an opportunity for individual reconciliation with the Lord, on Tuesday 31st March at 6.00pm

WEEK DAY LECTORS

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 20:19:44 GMT

Mon: Giannina

Tue: Marian

PRAYERS, PLEASE

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 14:35:55 GMT

Please thank the Lord in your prayers for two wonderful people. Caitlin who will be baptised into our Catholic, Christian Faith, this Easter and Alan who will enter into full communion with us in our Catholic Church, as he leaves a different Christian Church, also this Easter.

Please pray for our Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion as they renew their commitment to this sacred Ministry. May they become increasingly aware of the priceless gift that is theirs and the Lord’s call to them to become more and more like the Lord Jesus they serve, in thought, word and deed.

LENTEN FASTING AND THE NATURAL WORLD

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 13:21:37 GMT

The practice of fasting or doing something extra, in this time of Lent, can be ways of helping to address the damage of Climate Change:

Try a vegan or plant-based meal once a week! Explore tasty meat-free recipes. Industrial slaughtering of cows and pigs and chickens is also taking a toll on our planet. ‘JBS Meat Production’ supplies most of the met for the UK Supermarkets. This Company alone produces around half of the carbon emissions of fossil-fuel giants like ‘Shell’ or ‘BP’ and is driving Forest deforestation in the Amazon, by buying meat from animals which have grazed on deforested land.

Fast from the digital world! Set boundaries for your use of digital devices. Limit Netflix, Amazon, Emails and Social Media for yourself and your whole family.

Grow your own Veg!: Herbs, Salad, Radish can be grown in pots Save energy in your home: Draught-proof windows and doors; swop your bath for a quick shower; lights off when not needed.

Move your money: Could you divest from fossil-fuels and use a Bank that invests in Renewables?

Fast from Waste: Think about packaging for fuels - can you buy your food loose? Strive to use all the food you buy before it deteriorates.

Carbon-Fasting: Instead of jumping in the car, why not walk or take public transport!

‘LAVABO’/WASHING THE FEET

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 12:43:36 GMT

During the course of the Last Supper, the first holy Mass, Jesus dramatically showed his friends how to love, by washing their feet. During our holy Mass of the Lord's Supper, on Thursday evening, I would like to bathe the feet of 12 members of our congregation, as a sign of how much Jesus loves them and loves every one of us. Please allow me to bathe your feet. We need 12 people, women and men, young and not so young. Please put your name on the sheet which you will find in the porch of the church, if you will help me with this ceremony.

HOLY WEEK AND EASTER - DETAILS

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 12:38:48 GMT

Please find below the days and times of the holy Masses and Services for Holy Week and Easter. The days of Holy Week and Easter are the most important time in the whole year for those who know and love the Lord Jesus. Please try to arrange your schedules around these opportunities that the Lord gives us so that we can experience and feel the depth of his saving love.

HOLY WEEK

Palm Sunday : As a normal Sunday. At every holy Mass, palms will be blessed and distributed

Monday 30th, Tuesday 31st March : Holy Mass at 9.30am each day, preceded by Morning Prayer and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at 9.00am Tuesday 31st March : 6.00pm - Penance Service and an opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Wednesday 1st April: Holy Mass of the Chrism, in the Cathedral at 11.30am. Please let me know if you would like to travel with me and join me for this holy Mass during which the sacred oils used in the Sacraments are blessed and all the priests present renew their priestly promises.

Thursday 2nd April: Maundy Thursday - Holy Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 8.30pm, followed by ‘watching’ at the Altar of Repose until Midnight

Friday 3rd April: Good Friday: Solemn Liturgy of Good Friday at 3.00pm, including Veneration of the Cross and Holy Communion. Stations of the Cross at 6.00pm

EASTER

Saturday 4th April : Easter Vigil and the first holy Mass of Easter Sunday at 8.00pm

Sunday 5th April: Second holy Mass of Easter Sunday at 9.00am Third holy Mass of Easter Sunday at 11.00am

SHORT MORNING OF RECOLLECTION FOR ALL EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS - 28th MARCH

Sun, 22 Mar 2026 20:55:12 GMT

May I invite all our present Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist who feel the Lord is calling them to this sacred ministry, to please join me for a time of prayer and reflection on Saturday 28th March from 10.30am until 12.00midday. We will begin in the church for 30 minutes of quiet personal prayer before the Blessed Sacrament; then we will move into our Cafe for reflection on the privileged gift of this most sacred of ministries, including conversations about logistics. This short time is an opportunity to prepare hearts and minds to renew a commitment to Eucharistic Ministry during holy Mass on Maundy Thursday.

PARISH FOOD BANK

Sun, 22 Mar 2026 14:49:16 GMT

Our rota for the delivery of food to the Good Shepherd school in New Addington begins this week. Please find the rota below. The dates indicated are Thursdays during the school term. Please collect the two hessian bags of fruit on Thursdays from the porch of the presbytery between the hours of 8.30am and 2.30pm. Please then bring the fruit to the school in New Addington. The fruit could even be collected and delivered on Friday mornings too, if necessary.

The address of the school is: 23, Dunley Drive New Addington CR0 0RG.

The school is close to the Good Shepherd Catholic Church.

16th April: Gerry Murphy

23rd: Tony Charlton

30th: Chris Finnin

ECUMENICAL LENT MEETINGS

Sun, 22 Mar 2026 13:13:28 GMT

As last year, I have invited our friends from the other Christian Churches in our area, to join us for a three-part series of discussions during the holy Season of Lent which begins in the not too distant future!

We will meet in the Olde Forge Cafe at 12.00midday for one hour, on the 12th, 19th and 26th of March. We will be talking about the three great theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. One of the leaders of each Christian Church in our area will give a 10/15-minute introduction and then pose a few questions to the group for discussion. On the 12th, Graham, our local Methodist Minister will lead on the theme of ‘Faith.’ I’ll lead on the theme of ‘Hope’, on the 19th. We will be led by a third person on the theme of ‘Charity’ on the 26th. Please pop these dates and time in your diary.

This Thursday, 19th March, we welcome Deacon Vincent Morrison, from Our Lady of Reparation in Croydon, to our Cafe, at 12.00midday, for the second of our three Lenten Talks. Vincent will be speaking on the theme of ‘Hope.’ Please come and support our efforts to build closer ties with our friends from other Christian communities.

THANK YOU

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 20:52:08 GMT

To everyone who bakes or provides cakes for our Olde Forge Cafe. Please let me know if you could join our rota of very kind people who occasionally bake or provide cakes for the Cafe.

Thank you to Margaret Fuller who provides the cakes this week.

Also, thank you to Bridget Saunders who will let us have some delicious Irish Soda Bread on Tuesday, to celebrate the Feast of St.Patrick.

ROTA FOR LECTORS – MARCH 2026

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 14:51:56 GMT

7/8: 5pm Jim; 9am Lorenza; 11am Patricia

14/15: 5pm Mutsa; 9am Phil; 11am Marian

21/22: 5pm Mike; 9am Chris; 11am Collette

 28/29: 5pm Paul; 9am Gerry; 11am Claire

ECUMENICAL MEETING FOR LENT

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 17:10:30 GMT

Please come to the Cafe on Thursday, 12th March , at 12.00midday for an hour. Grahame, our local Methodist Minister will lead us in a reflection on the great theological virtue of Faith.

THANK YOU

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 16:51:26 GMT

Thank you to Patricia for all her very good work as a Catechist in our parish.

Thank you to Lorenza for leading Stations of the Cross, last Friday.

Thank you to Angela for helping parents with the Faith development of their children

FAMILY FAST DAY - FRIDAY 6TH MARCH -

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 15:29:30 GMT

Let’s make next Friday, 6th March , our Family Fast Day. Let’s reduce the amount of food we consume in our families, on that day and the money that we save by doing so, we will give to CAFOD for the hungry people of our world. Envelopes available in the porch of the church.

USE OF THE KITCHEN IN THE OLDE FORGE CAFÉ

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 14:41:32 GMT

Please note that the Cafe is only licensed to provide hot drinks and cakes. We are not insured for the cooking or provision of hot food. There are regulations around hygiene and food safety which we would have to meet, before we would be able to offer cooked or heated food to Visitors to the Cafe. Also, only someone with the required Health and Safety certification is permitted by Law, to prepare food for public consumption. We can, of course, apply for permission to provide cooked or heated food in our Cafe and as long as we can satisfy all the requirements, we would receive permission to do so. This is what we have done in the past for special occasions. If we were to use the cooking facilities and equipment in our Cafe and provide food, without the required permissions, we could be in difficulty. If an accident occurred in the kitchen or someone became unwell after consuming food, we could well face a very large fine or even the compulsory closure of the Cafe. Please speak with me, well in advance, if you would like to suggest an occasion when we could provide cooked or heated food. We would need to satisfy all requirements and seek the approvals needed, which we could do. Many thanks.

DISCUSSION ON THE FREQUENCY AND TIMES OF SUNDAY HOLY MASSES IN OUR PARISH

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 14:39:38 GMT

The overwhelming consensus of opinion among our parishioners is that having a choice of three Sunday holy Masses in our small parish is not necessary and that in fact having three Sunday holy Masses is only there for convenience sake! Everyone is agreed that two Sunday holy Masses are more than enough for our needs and not just in the Summer! Everybody also agreed that if we are told to lose a Sunday holy Mass, then it must be the 9.00am Sunday holy Mass that we lose, since it is the least well-attended of our present three Masses. It was agreed by almost everyone that given the loss of the 9.00am holy Mass, then the time of the present 11.00am holy Mass will need to be a little earlier in the day. Almost everyone was in agreement that the best time for a Sunday morning holy Mass would be 10.30am. I have sent your recommendations of two Sunday holy Masses in Holy Family parish, at least during the Summer each year, to the Diocese, i.e: Sunday Vigil holy Mass at 5.00pm on Saturdays Sunday holy Mass at 10.30am on Sundays

The frequency and times of holy Mass in all parishes in the Archdiocese is decided by Archbishop John and his Advisors. So, we await the decision.

THANK YOU

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 14:37:20 GMT

Everyone who came to our meeting last Sunday afternoon to discuss the frequency and times of Sunday holy Masses in our parish. Archbishop John asks all parishes in the Archdiocese to reduce their Sunday holy Mass schedule, during the Summer, by one holy Mass and to revise the times of Sunday holy Masses. Thank you also to those who sent me emails and texts. Thank you especially, to those who asked what would help me if there was to be a change in the times and the frequency of our Sunday holy Masses!

BEQUEST, IN A WILL

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 15:26:26 GMT

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.

REDUCED SUMMER HOLY MASS SCHEDULE FOR ALL PARISHES

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 18:41:53 GMT

All parishes, where more than 2 Sunday holy Masses are celebrated each weekend, in the Archdiocese of Southwark, by decree of Archbishop John, are required to reduce the number of Sunday holy Masses by one holy Mass, beginning on the third weekend in July until the first weekend in September. I would very much like to hear your view on this and also how you think we can achieve this in our Holy Family parish here in Sanderstead. Which of our three Sunday holy Masses would be best to remove? Do we need to change the times of any of our Sunday holy Masses? How best can we work with neighbouring parishes, which are also required to drop one holy Mass, to ensure Sunday holy Masses are available in our area?

Please let me know your views and suggestions on all this. The Archbishop wants our response by next Wednesday, Ash Wednesday! Please talk to me directly or by telephone, text or email, as soon as you can. I would like very much to hear your views and suggestions before offering our parish decision to the Deanery and to Archbishop John.

THANK YOU

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 18:36:47 GMT

Thank you to Monica for Church cleaning.

Thank you to everyone who has already signed up to occasionally deliver two hessian bags of fruit, from our Parish Food Bank to the Good Shepherd Catholic school in New Addington.

So far, 21 people have agreed to do this. If you haven’t yet had a chance to add your name and contact details to our list, please do so this week. There is a Sign-up Form in the porch of the church.

The Rota will begin next week. It will be published, week by week, in the Parish Newsletter. The first date for delivery to the school will be Thursday 24th February

ASH WEDNESDAY AND THE BEGINNING OF LENT

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 15:20:18 GMT

We begin the holy Season of Lent, this week, on Wednesday, Ash Wednesday. We will have two holy Masses for Ash Wednesday, as shown above. At each holy Mass, ashes will be blessed and distributed. The ashes will be placed on our foreheads, with the words: “Remember you are dust and to dust you will return”, a stark and dramatic reminder that all of us, young or not so young, are to leave this world in the not too distant future and to stand before God to give an account of how we have lived. If we are ready for that moment, all is well. Let’s make sure that we are indeed ready to meet Our Lord and Saviour by entering wholeheartedly into these forthcoming forty days of Lent. The best way to begin to do that is to celebrate the holy Mass of Ash Wednesday on Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning and to receive the blessed ashes. Then, do something extra during Lent, to get to know the Lord Jesus better - weekday holy Mass, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Morning/Evening Prayer from the Divine Office, Prayer in church before the Blessed Sacrament, Stations of the Cross, active involvement in some way in the life of our parish.

Please note that Ash Wednesday is a Fast Day, when we do without meat and reduce the amount of food we eat.

Please note also that each Friday evening during Lent, we will meditate together on Our Lord’s suffering and death, at 6.00pm, praying the ‘Stations of the Cross’. Each week we will use a different set of meditations.

ROTA FOR LECTORS – FEBRUARY 2026

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 12:18:29 GMT

31 January 5pm Lisa

1st February 9am Richard; 11am Lorenza

7/8: 5pm Mutsa; 9am Phil; 11am Marian

14/15: 5pm Jim; 9am Mike Guckian; 11am Chris Mallows

21/22: 5pm Collette; 9am Gerry; 11am Chinwe

 28: 5pm Claire 1st March: 9am Giannina; 11am Maggie

‘NONVIOLENCE: A RADICALLY DIFFERENT RESPONSE TO OUR VIOLENT WORLD’

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 15:15:45 GMT

‘Pax Christi’ are organising a one day meeting of presentations, discussion and reflection on Nonviolence. It will take place at the London Jesuit Centre on Saturday 14th March from 10.30am until 4.00pm . The meeting will be led by Professor Nicolas Paz, Director of the ‘Catholic Nonviolence Initiative’.

I’m hoping to attend this meeting. Please let me know if you would like to join me.

THANK YOU

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 15:11:39 GMT

To Bridget for all her great work for our Parish Food Bank.

To everyone who helped to clean and tidy our church on Thursday and Friday last week.

To David and Jim for removing the old electrical Sound System equipment.

To Marian for helping with the Food Bank.

HOSTS, IN THE EVANGELISATION CAFE, THE OLDE FORGE

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 13:14:33 GMT

Thank you so much to all the wonderful people who act as Hosts in our Olde Forge Cafe. If you are not yet a Host, please speak with me. It would be great to increase the team of Hosts. All training to operate the Coffee Machine, will be given.

REVISED DATES FOR FIRST RECONCILIATION AND FIRST HOLY COMMUNION

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 13:01:32 GMT

Dear Parents, please note the revised dates for these Sacraments:

First Reconciliation: Saturday 21st March at 10.00am.

First Holy Communion: Sunday 7th June , during 11.00am holy Mass.

PRAYERS, PLEASE

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 12:56:47 GMT

Please remember, in your prayers, to thank the Lord for:

Paul, who has been commissioned by our Archdiocese to become an ‘Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion’. Paul now joins our parish group of Ministers who have the enormous honour and privilege of sharing in such a great, sacred gift.

Canon Gerard Bradley, who will be ordained an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Southwark on Monday this week.

Please pray for me too that my visit to the High-Security prison of HMP Belmarsh, this week, will be helpful to the residents and staff in the prison.

CHURCH CLEANING - NEXT FRIDAY 6TH FEBRUARY, AFTER HOLY MASS

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 15:55:38 GMT

Please could you come to help us keep the place where the Lord dwells among us, clean and tidy. Thank you.

RETIRING COLLECTION NEXT WEEKEND (31 Jan/1 Feb)

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 12:13:31 GMT

Our Retiring Collection next weekend will be for ‘Pax Christi’, the Catholic international Peace Movement, based on the Christian Gospel and inspired by Faith. ‘Pax Christi’ (the Peace of Christ) works with all who share a vision of a world where all people can live in peace, without fear or violence in any form.

EVANGELISATION CAFE (OLDE FORGE CAFE)

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 12:10:10 GMT

Part of our parish response to the words of Fr Jim McManus (see this week’s ’Thought for the Week’) is the existence of our Evangelisation Cafe. The Cafe is, first and foremost, a way of encouraging new people who do not yet know the Lord Jesus, to get to know him through us. The Cafe as a place where retired people can have somewhere to go is not the reason for its existence. Nonetheless, of course, we do hope that the many retired people living in our area have meaningful and happy lives and feel that they can get to know the Lord Jesus through us, in the Cafe. Our Cafe is simply an attempt to break out of an inward-looking pastoral strategy built on maintaining things, to an outward-looking pastoral strategy built on ‘mission’, which is the very task that the Lord lays upon the shoulders of every adult Catholic person in our parish. The Cafe is not a place for us to simply sit down and enjoy sponsored food and drinks. It is, rather, a place where each of us is asked by the Lord to bring someone we know, but that someone we bring is to be a person who doesn’t yet know the Lord and his Church. The success of this project is entirely in our hands. Hopefully, one day, the Lord will say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Now, enter into my Kingdom, your work for me is done.”? Social Workers do great work but we are not Social Workers; we are Missionaries of the Lord Jesus.

HMP WANDSWORTH

Mon, 19 Jan 2026 16:54:34 GMT

The conditions in the prison are grim for both residents and staff. Please pray that my visit to the prison, this week, and the celebration of holy Mass in the prison will help to bring hope to the hundreds of people who live and work there.

Parish Office

Mon, 19 Jan 2026 12:34:57 GMT

Our Parish Office re-opens this Wednesday (21st January) immediately after holy Mass until 12.15pm, for all queries and requests. The Office is normally open every Wednesday.

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

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 16:52:21 GMT

Our First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion preparation programme for children and their parents,

begins on Friday 16th January , at 5.00pm in the Parish Room.

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.

2026

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 12:33:04 GMT

How inspiring it was to see so many people celebrating holy Mass on New Year’s Day, beginning the New Year in the best possible way.

Whatever may come your way in this New Year, allowing the Lord to be close to you guarantees you will have peace and joy and love in your heart and also the strength and resilience that you may require to face any difficulties.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, DEAR SISTERS AND BROTHERS

CRIB OFFERINGS

Sat, 03 Jan 2026 19:20:30 GMT

The Crib Offerings this year will be for ‘The Manna Society’, an organisation working in Central London which provides food, clothes, medical care and much more to homeless people living on the streets of our capital city.

ROTA FOR LECTORS – JANUARY 2026

Sat, 03 Jan 2026 19:13:42 GMT

4/5: 5pm Lisa; 9am David; 11am Paul

11/12: 5pm Phil; 9am Mike Guckian; 11am Chinwe

18/19: 5pm Patricia; 9am Gerry; 11am Mutsa

 25/26: 5pm Claire; 9am Chris Mallows; 11am Lorenza

CALLED TO BEAR FRUIT CONSULTATION RESPONSE.

Sat, 03 Jan 2026 12:41:34 GMT

Thank you to the thousands of people who took part in the Called to Bear Fruit consultation. We are grateful to you all for sharing so openly your hopes for the life of the Church in our Archdiocese. The consultation response, which includes 15 actions points for renewal, is available at https://rcaos.org.uk/calledtobearfruit and hardcopies will be sent to every parish. The consultation revealed a burning desire within our parishes to be missionary and evangelising disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, who work together to help people encounter His love. So, as we move forward on the next steps together, let’s build up the Body of Christ in Southwark with faith and confidence, becoming ever more a community of missionary disciples filled with joy and hope for the future. As an Archdiocese, we will continue to discern the process of renewal, and further updates will be provided in due course.

There are hard copies of the ‘Report on the Consultation’, in the porch of the church. I’m afraid they are rain-damaged but hopefully still readable.

THANK YOU

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 15:33:38 GMT

Thank you for all the lovely cards and gifts that you very kindly gave me for Christmas. Thank you also for your generosity in the Offertory Collections of Christmas Days. I feel honoured to be your Parish Priest.

Thank you to the children, parents and grandparents who came and built an inspiring crib and decorated our tree so beautifully. Congratulations and very well done to the children who designed the crib to represent the type of structure in which the people of Gaza are forced to live.

FIRST HOLY MASS OF 2026

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 15:25:10 GMT

Our first Holy Mass of the New Year will be on Thursday 1st January at 9.30am , preceded by Morning Prayer at 9.00am and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at 9.10am. There could not possibly be a better way to begin 2026 than to come to Holy Mass on the first day of the New Year and to allow the Lord to draw close to you, as he promises you his wonderful, all healing, all-powerful love throughout the coming year.

RCIA - RITE OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION OF ADULTS

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 15:00:54 GMT

We have our final meeting, next Friday at 5.00pm, for those preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation on Sunday 4th January.

THANK YOU

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 19:07:58 GMT

Everyone who kindly gave time and energy to clean and tidy our church, last Saturday in preparation for Christmas, our celebration of the Lord’s coming into our world. This was nothing short of a beautiful prayer to the Lord.

To everyone who provided Christmas Gift Bags, on Christmas Day, for people held in HMP Wandsworth. We provided over 170 bags.

CHRISTMAS DAY - A MOMENT OF GRACE

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 14:55:44 GMT

Christmas is always a time when hearts are more open to God than at any other time in the year. Please invite members of your families, your friends, your neighbours and your colleagues to join you for one of our three Christmas Day holy Masses. God can work powerfully through your words and your invitation, helping people we love and know, to discover the life-giving presence of the Lord Jesus in holy Mass.

Just to remind you:

Wednesday 24th December:

5.30pm Christmas Carols

6.00pm First holy Mass of Christmas Day

11.30pm Christmas Carols

12.00 Midnight Second holy Mass of Christmas Day

Thursday 25th December:

10.00amChristmas Carols

10.30am Third holy Mass of Christmas Day

Friday 26th December:

9.00am Morning Prayer and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

9.30am Holy Mass of the Feast of St.Stephen

SHORT PENANCE SERVICE AND INDIVIDUAL RECONCILIATION - WEDNESDAY 6.00pm

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 14:51:22 GMT

To prepare our hearts to celebrate Christmas properly and well, as the time when the Lord Jesus came into our world to save us from Sin and Death, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is available next Wednesday evening 17th December . In this wonderful Sacrament we experience the gentle, compassionate love of God for us. Please take up this opportunity and you will be filled with the Peace that God alone can give us.

THANK YOU

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 14:30:14 GMT

To our parishioners who pay for coffee and cake, when visiting the Cafe. Your payment enables us to pay the costs of running the Cafe, without which we couldn’t keep the Cafe open. Of course, our visitors and especially the guests that you bring with you to the Cafe, do not pay anything for their refreshments.

ADULT ON-GOING FAITH FORMATION MEETINGS - DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 14:22:15 GMT

We will shortly begin again our meetings for everyone who is ready to grow in Faith and who wishes to have a grown-up Faith. For many people, opportunities to move from a childish Faith to a mature Faith have been very limited or even not available at all! These meetings are moments to talk about any aspect whatsoever of human life and to receive a little help to see how our loving Lord is so close to us in everything and to see how he is trying to draw us all into a genuine adult Faith relationship with him and his Church.

We will meet on Saturday mornings, at 12.00midday for one hour, in our Parish Room. Owing to other commitments, we can only have 4 meetings before Christmas, on the 22nd and 29th November and the 13th and 20th December.

ROTA FOR LECTORS – DECEMBER

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 12:51:30 GMT

6/7: 5pm Lizzie; 9am Gerry; 11am Chinwe

13/14: 5pm David; 9am Claire; 11am Richard

20/21: 5pm Phil; 9am Marian; 11am Lorenza

24: 6.00pm Paul; 12Midnight Lisa

25: 11am Mutsa

27/28: 5pm Collette; 9am Maggie 11am Jim

MORE DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 14:01:31 GMT

Please note in your diaries:

Advent Service of ‘Light in Darkness’, followed by Tea in the Olde Forge Cafe: Sunday 14th December at 3.00pm.

Advent Penance Service and Individual Reconciliation: Wednesday 17th December at 6.00PM

Christmas holy Masses and Carols:

Wednesday 24th December - Carols at 5.30pm, holy Mass at 6.00pm;

Wednesday 24th December - Carols at 11.30pm and holy Mass at 12.00Midnight;

 Thursday 25th December - Carols at 10.30am and holy Mass at 11.00am

CHRISTMAS GIFT BAGS FOR PEOPLE IN PRISON

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 12:49:18 GMT

“Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me.”

These words of the Lord Jesus apply to the people held in our prisons as much as they apply to anyone. Christmas Day in prisons is often experience of Hell! People locked in and sharing a 3 metre by 2 metre space called a ‘Cell’ for almost all of Christmas Day, perhaps alongside somebody unpredictable and dangerous! Christmas is the worst day of the year in prisons, for attempted and successful suicides and when the incidence of self-mutilation (self-harm)is at its highest.

May I invite you, this Christmas, to share the love of the Lord Jesus with some of the women and men who will spend Christmas Day behind bars, separated from but thinking of families and loved-ones on the outside. Many people in prison feel forgotten, but they are still our sisters and brothers.

In the Bible, we read: “Remember those in prison as if you yourselves were imprisoned.” (Hebrews 13:3)

How can we help? I invite you to join me in a very practical way of showing the Lord’s loving presence to our sisters and brothers held in our prisons. I invite you to assemble and donate ‘Christmas Gift Bags’ which will be distributed to people in prisons by our Prison Chaplains. Your generosity can help to bring the light and love of the Lord Jesus into those places that often feel very dark.

Please use a small paper or plastic bag and put in it the items, listed below:

A sachet of hot chocolate

A sachet of coffee

10 tea bags

A standard size chocolate bar (eg Mars Bar, Twix. Nb Must only be in paper wrappers!)

A small wooden Christmas Decoration (Nb Baubles and anything with sharp edges and points, not allowed!)

A Christmas card from our parish (Do not use your own name; only sign the card ‘From all at Holy Family Catholic parish, Sanderstead’)

A blank Christmas card (to be used by the person in the prison to send to a family member or friend on the outside)

A pair of socks

Please note that all bags must only contain what is mentioned on the list above and no more than the quantity listed above. The bags must not sealed and must be left open, in order for the contents to be checked by Prison Security.

Please bring your filled Christmas Gift Bags to church in the next few weeks and leave them in the porch of the church. I’ll bring them to one of our prisons or I’ll ask one of our Prison Chaplains to please collect them.

A Christmas Gift Bag is much more than a gift. It is a message from us which says: “You are part of our family. You are not alone. The Lord Jesus loves you and we do, too. We will keep this Appeal open until Sunday 13th December. Thank you for your compassion, generosity and kindness.

Marie, one of our Catholic chaplains at HMP Wandsworth will collect the Christmas Gift Bags for distribution among the residents of that prison

MORNING RECOLLECTION FOR EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS LECTORS, IN ADVENT, ON SATURDAY 13TH DECEMBER

Sat, 06 Dec 2025 13:51:24 GMT

This is just an early note for all our Eucharistic Ministers and all our Lectors, to please join me for a short time of prayer and reflection, before Christmas. We will begin at 10.30am for a period of silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament followed by a meeting in our Cafe at 11.00, finishing at 12.00midday in time for our Meeting for Adults who allow the Lord to deepen their understanding of their Faith.

THANK YOU

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 12:33:53 GMT

The Gardening Group for their great work in the Cafe as well as in the grounds around the church. On Tuesdays, our cafe is hosted by Bridget, Linda and Jannine. Their warmth, kindness and week by week consistency has led to our Cafe on Tuesdays becoming a place of great welcome for many Visitors as well as our own parishioners. This is exactly what our Evangelisation Cafe should be. Very well done and thank you.

CHRISTMAS CARDS

Sun, 30 Nov 2025 17:08:43 GMT

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.

‘HOW TO LIVE AND DIE WELL’ - A COURSE AT THE LONDON JESUIT CENTRE

Sun, 30 Nov 2025 11:15:40 GMT

On Saturday 6th December , from 10.00am until 2.00pm, I’ll be delivering this course. The course will bring hope to anyone who is struggling in any way with the complexities and disappointments of life and deeper meaning to anyone who wishes to live and die with peace and joy. The Lord who loves us, is with us in everything. He can show us how to live and even how to die, in the ways that will bring peace and joy to our hearts and minds, whatever be our circumstances. Please book early for this course, on the London Jesuit Centre website, to avoid disappointment.

THANK YOU

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 17:09:55 GMT

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

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

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 16:48:27 GMT

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.

BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE

Sun, 16 Nov 2025 16:05:58 GMT

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.

ROTA FOR LECTORS – NOVEMBER

Sun, 16 Nov 2025 14:21:22 GMT

1/2: 5pm Richard; 9am Gerry; 11am Mutsa

8/9: 5pm Collette; 9am Claire; 11am Paul

15/16: 5pm Marian; 9am Lorenza; 11am Patricia

22/23: 5pm Lizzie; 9am David; 11am Jim

29/30: 5pm Maggie; 9am John; 11am Lisa

HEALTH AND SAFETY - LEAVES!

Sun, 16 Nov 2025 14:08:03 GMT

Please be careful on the pavement in front of the church and on the pathways leading to the main door of the church and around the church and Cafe and presbytery. As Autumn takes hold and the daylight hours decrease, fallen leaves make for slippery surfaces. If you see fallen leaves around our church and buildings and on the pavement in front of the church, please clear the leaves. There is a brush in the church porch. Thank you.

THE SACRED AREA OF THE SANCTUARY WHERE THE BLESSED SACRAMENT IS RESERVED

Sun, 16 Nov 2025 13:48:43 GMT

I’m sure you will notice that a special rope will soon be placed across the front opening of the sanctuary area, in the church. The rope is simply a visual aid to remind us that the area of the sanctuary is a very holy place because on the sanctuary is the tabernacle which contains the consecrated bread, Holy Communion, the presence of the Lord Jesus. It is an area that we treat with enormous awe and respect. Normally, we will be able to enter the sanctuary area from the side openings. During holy Mass however, at the time of receiving Our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion the rope will be removed to enable our Eucharistic Ministers and myself to distribute Holy Communion and then to return the remaining consecrated hosts to the tabernacle. The rope will be replaced across the front opening of the sanctuary, when the time for the distribution of Holy Communion has ended. All this is really to help us to have a strong sense of the very important sacredness of that part of the church.

Let’s try also to keep the whole church building a place of quiet at all times so that in our busy, noisy world, there is a place set apart for prayer and meditation.

THE PARISH IN COUNCIL - MEETING

Sun, 16 Nov 2025 13:46:24 GMT

It was a very positive meeting as we identified the very good progress we have made in building the Lord’s Kingdom, through the grace of God working through the efforts of so many people in our parish. Although a relatively small parish, we can be pleased that so much has been achieved, especially in the areas of Liturgy, Catechesis and Evangelisation. Of course, there is much more for us to do but we know that if everyone is willing to use their God-given time and skills in God’s work, then the Lord will bless all we do and we will become, more and more, a genuine, authentic Christian community. Thank you to everyone who took part in our ‘Parish in Council’ meeting.

HOLY FAMILY PARISH WEBSITE

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 13:53:32 GMT

I’m very pleased to tell you that Lissy will be taking over the development of our website and our use of Social Media. Lissy has great expertise in this area. Thank you so much to Lorenza for all the work she did to keep our parish moving forward in this vitally important field of new technologies.

RCIA MEETINGS - EVERYONE WELCOME

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 13:40:15 GMT

I was asked if anyone who is already a Catholic could still come to our Rite of Christian Initiation meetings. The answer is, of course, yes, with great pleasure. Every meeting in our parish is open to everyone. Do come to these meetings and your own relationship with the Lord will grow stronger and deeper.

THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER - PRAYING FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED

Sun, 09 Nov 2025 21:09:32 GMT

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. Tomorrow, the Feast of All Souls, we begin to 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 tomorrow, All Souls Day, and join me and through the holy Mass we can help our loved ones to speedily reach our homeland of Heaven.

BLESSING OF GRAVES

Sun, 02 Nov 2025 23:06:35 GMT

BLESSING OF GRAVES AND PRAYER FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED

Next Sunday afternoon, 9th November , I’ll be pleased to visit local cemeteries to bless the graves of your loved ones with holy water and pray for them. Please let me know if you would like me to do this for you.

THE PARISH IN COUNCIL - MEETING - A DATE FOR YOUR DIARY

Sun, 02 Nov 2025 15:09:16 GMT

Each year we have a meeting for the whole parish to discuss our plans for the forthcoming year and to review all that we have achieved, by God’s grace, during the previous year. At this meeting we will cover every aspect of our parish life, from Liturgy to Finances! Last year, you may remember, we discussed our Archbishop’s plans for the diocese and parishes. May I invite everyone to this ‘Parish in Council’ meeting on Thursday 6th November at 6.30pm

ROTA FOR LECTORS – OCTOBER

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 11:31:47 GMT

4/5: 5pm Jim; 9am Lisa; 11am Richard

11/12: 5pm Claire; 9am Gerry; 11am Patricia

18/19: 5pm Marian; 9am Lizzie; 11am Paul

25/26: 5pm Mary; 9am Giannina; 11am Lorenza

VISIT BY THE CATHOLIC APOSTOLATE OF THE ‘WOMEN OF CHRIST’S LOVE’

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 11:16:45 GMT

On the weekend of the 25th/26th October , I’m delighted to tell you that members of the Catholic Apostolate of the ‘Women of Christ’s Love’ will join us for holy Mass in our parish. They believe very strongly that “Christ’s love for humanity must be the focus of our worship.”

CRUCIFIX

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 11:09:36 GMT

As you see, we have raised up the outside crucifix to a height which now makes it fully visible to all who pass by our church. It is also now surrounded by a solid base.

This is another way in which we are demonstrating that we are a Christian community obedient to the Lord and to our Archbishop, by becoming a missionary parish. We are trying to make stronger the ‘rumour’ of the living presence of the true God who loves everyone and who can save all who come to him from their sins and from death itself. In a secular culture where the worship of false Gods like Money and Power and Violence and Fame and Selfishness in all its forms and Greed are so strong, the Lord needs you and I to take every opportunity we can to make his saving loving presence known.

THANK YOU

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 11:07:03 GMT

To Bridget who delivers a supply of our weekly ‘Food Bank’ fruit and vegetables to our sisters and brothers in New Addington.

OLDE FORGE CAFE - A CALL FROM THE LORD TO BE EVANGELISERS

Sun, 21 Sep 2025 20:33:47 GMT

Our Olde Forge Cafe has been up and running for some time now. There have been very wonderful signs, during these past months, that the Lord has been working through our efforts in the Cafe, to bring his love and truth to others who don’t yet know him well. Thank you so much especially to everyone who ministers as a Host or Baker. Thank you to everyone who has invited friends, family members, neighbours, colleagues to join them for refreshments in the Cafe. Of course we are delighted to offer our guests free drinks and cakes, while we ourselves offer a donation to cover costs.

If you haven’t yet come into the Cafe or if you haven’t yet brought a guest with you, please may I urge you in the name of the Lord and at the request of our Archbishop, to please do so. Every one of us is called by the Lord to bring others to know him. If you do or even if you don’t think our Cafe is the best way to do this as a parish Faith community, nonetheless please take a full and active part in this initiative. In that way we really are trying to fulfil what our dear Lord Jesus is asking of us.

DAY OF CELEBRATION AND THANKSGIVING FOR JUBILEE BLESSINGS IN THE CATHEDRAL OF ST GEORGE, SOUTHWARK

Sun, 21 Sep 2025 15:09:53 GMT

On Saturday 4th October , Archbishop John will lead a day of prayer and praise, from 10.15am to 5.00pm, which includes, holy Mass, Adoration, Reconciliation.

RETIRING COLLECTION NEXT WEEK FOR THE ‘HOME MISSION’ FUND

Sun, 21 Sep 2025 14:56:20 GMT

FOR THE ‘HOME MISSION’ FUND.

The ‘Home Mission’ Fund provides the Bishops of England and Wales with resources to support the work of sharing our Faith in our home countries

PARISH INCOME AND EXPENDITURE

Sun, 21 Sep 2025 14:19:59 GMT

Forgive me for raising the issue of parish finances, but I need to alert you to how we must finance our parish and manage our financial resources, if we are to continue as a viable parish. We pay a monthly levy to the diocese of £1,110.59. We also pay a monthly Health and Safety levy of £118.43. Monthly charges for electricity are around £200.00

These are just a few basic monthly costs. Our general monthly expenditure is well in excess of these amounts. Our weekly Collection is presently around £450.00. As you will appreciate then, our present weekly income is not covering our normal weekly expenses.

Please may I suggest that every adult member of our parish give a minimum of £15, each week, in our Collection. If you are in personal financial hardship, please just disregard this suggestion. If you are in a reasonable or good financial position, please give more than this suggestion. We live in a relatively affluent area, so our finances should be secure. In addition to a Current Account, we also have a Savings/Loan account. I am reluctant to take anything from that account to pay our normal bills. The Savings/Loan account is there in case we face any unforeseen, sudden, emergency call on our finances or for any special projects we might have. That said, we are about to incur a debt of almost £8,000 to replace our very poor church Sound System with a much-needed new system. We will have to take that cost from our Savings/Loan account.

LECTORS (READERS)

Sun, 21 Sep 2025 13:05:40 GMT

The role of proclaiming the Word of God, in the celebration of holy Mass, is a sacred function. In words taken from the Bible, Almighty God is made present among us. Therefore proclaiming God’s Word to people gathered for holy Mass, must be done with the utmost care, meaning, skill and love. It is not simply reading a text.

To proclaim God’s Word in the best way possible, our Lectors prepare the text they will proclaim some time in advance. This preparation consists of taking time to meditate on the text, finding out its meaning and how that meaning applies to our lives.

Jim Keating and I will be only too pleased to help our Lectors with their preparation. Please arrange with Jim or myself an opportunity to reflect upon the Reading, a few days before you are due to proclaim it.

If anyone would consider becoming a Lector in our parish, please let me know. We can offer you some on-going understanding of the meaning of the Scriptures and some training in how to deliver the text with skill and love. You can then become a very valued member of our group of Lectors. Thank you.

‘FULLY HUMAN, FULLY ALIVE’ COURSE AT THE LONDON JESUIT CENTRE

Sun, 21 Sep 2025 12:06:49 GMT

I’ll be leading this course, once again, at the London Jesuit Centre on five consecutive Saturday mornings, from 11.00 until 1.00pm, beginning on Saturday 18th October. Each time I offer this course, it is always different! It’s designed to help people to become more human, more alive, more their true selves, while discovering ever more deeply the true loving God at the heart of their lives. The course is now available to book, on the LJC website. I’m told that the number of participants, this time, will be strictly controlled to no more 18 people! Please book early to avoid disappointment.

THE MINISTRY OF LECTOR (READER)

Sun, 21 Sep 2025 10:28:34 GMT

Jim Keating has very kindly agreed to help all our Lectors to develop their public- speaking skills, so that God’s holy Word is proclaimed as well as possible. Please, dear Lectors, work with Jim when he contacts you or when you contact him. If any of our Lectors is not sure of the meaning and/or the historical context of any Reading they are to proclaim, please let me, Fr Malachy, know, a few days before you proclaim God’s holy Word, so that we find a little time, convenient for you, to speak together about your Reading.

THE CATHOLIC EDUCATION SERVICE ANNUAL COLLECTION, NEXT WEEKEND

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 15:10:52 GMT

The CES supports Catholic Education in the 2000 Catholic schools, academies and colleges of England and Wales, providing education over 800,000 students. The CES is the chief negotiating and advisory body on matters affecting all aspects of Catholic education.

MACMILLAN COFFEE MORNING

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 12:32:05 GMT

On Sunday, 21st September , after the 11.00am holy Mass, we will be holding a Coffee Morning in the Olde Forge Cafe, for MacMillan Cancer Care. This excellent charity seeks to help and support people diagnosed with Cancer. It will be Coffee and Cakes to raise funds for this worthy cause. Please pop that date and time in your diary.

ROTA FOR LECTORS – SEPTEMBER

Sun, 07 Sep 2025 13:08:26 GMT

6/7 : 5pm Jim; 9am Carolyn; 11am Lorenza, Patricia, Lisa(H)

13/14 : 5pm John; 9am Gabrielle; 11am Maggie, Ross, Giannina(H)

20/21 : 5pm Lesley; 9am Regina; 11am David, Marian, Linda(H)

27/28 : 5pm Patrick; 9am Lizzie; 11am Angela, Phil, Paul(H)

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

Sun, 07 Sep 2025 10:24:17 GMT

To everyone who has managed to increase their Sunday Offertory Collection contribution to a minimum of £15 per person, per week. If you haven’t done so already, please do so now, if you possibly can. You can do this in one of three ways - by using the Card Reader, located on your right as you enter the main body of the church, or by revising your instruction to your bank, or by using the basket collection during holy Mass.

Please may I ask that any coins, less than £1, are not put into the basket. Please don’t forget to ensure your weekly Offering continues even while you may be away from the parish on holiday.

Please don’t forget to Gift-Aid every contribution you generously make, in favour of our parish. As the Archbishop has said: “People are increasingly turning to the Catholic Church because we offer a message of hope, purpose for life and a spiritual and liturgical tradition which opens the soul towards God. Let’s be as equipped as we can be, to lead people to the Lord Jesus so they can all know of God’s love for them.”

NEW SOUND SYSTEM INSTALLATION

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 12:38:45 GMT

I’m hoping that on Thursday this week, a team of engineers will be installing a new Sound System in our church to replace the rather old, tired system that hasn’t worked well for some time.

APPEAL TO FEED THE STARVING PEOPLE OF GAZA

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 12:36:09 GMT

Thank you to everybody who has already shared their financial resources. We will keep our Appeal open until Wednesday this week. Please put any contribution you wish to make into an envelope and drop it into the presbytery before Wednesday. There may still be a few ‘Cafod’ Gift-Aid envelopes in the porch of the church which you might like to use. If you use these envelopes, Cafod can also claim a Gift-Aid contribution.

VIEWS ON INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE READINGS AT HOLY MASS

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 12:33:28 GMT

Thank you to everyone who has shared with me their own personal opinions of my attempts to explain some of the context and meanings of the biblical Readings at holy Mass. Your comments have been overwhelmingly positive, appreciative and encouraging. I’ll continue then to do my best to offer you this help so that we can all better hear and understand and respond to God’s living presence in his Word, whenever we come to holy Mass.

CANDLES BURNING IN THE CHURCH - A HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUE

Sun, 24 Aug 2025 20:35:51 GMT

A lovely tradition in Catholic and Orthodox Churches is to light a small votive candle as a symbol of prayer. We provide facilities for this in our church. People can ‘light a candle’ and give a little donation, when holy Mass or Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament is not taking place in the church. However, we must take matters of Health and Safety and the matter of Fire Prevention, very seriously. We cannot allow votive candles to be alight in the church when nobody is actually in the church. We must insist on this for very good reasons as I’m sure you understand. A recent serious incident involving fire, in a local Catholic church, highlighted the importance of this. When holy Mass is not taking place or hasn’t yet begun or when Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is not taking place and if someone is present in the church, please feel free to ‘light a candle’. However, please be sure to extinguish all candles before you leave the church.

ANONYMOUS LETTER FROM A PARISHIONER

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 13:18:43 GMT

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

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 13:07:14 GMT

To everyone who helped to clean and tidy our church, after holy Mass, last Friday, the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady. Cleaning and tidying the church, when we do it together as a community of Faith, is a beautiful prayer to the Lord in which he delights. May he reward you for your loving care.

CRUCIFIX MOVED TO THE FRONT OF THE GARDEN – EVANGELISATION

Sun, 17 Aug 2025 20:29:33 GMT

Our church grounds boast a rather striking crucifix. It was hidden away at the back of the garden. As you will see, I have moved it forward, closer to the front of the garden, where it is much more visible and prominent.

St Paul says, “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, the power and the wisdom of God, to save us.”

Our Archbishop John asks every parish in the archdiocese of Southwark and every parishioner in every parish, to do everything possible to help the Lord Jesus to be better known and loved especially anyone who doesn’t yet know the Lord. This is called ‘Evangelisation’. Moving the crucifix to the front of our garden means it is very visible to hundreds if not thousands of people every day, passing along Limpsfield Road in cars, vans, trucks, on buses or as pedestrians. When they see the crucifix, many will wonder what it means and that moment of wondering gives the Lord a chance to speak to their hearts!

The crucifix isn’t in good condition, at the moment. It has been damaged by the trees and the ground which it has occupied, over the years. I’m hoping that we can properly and fully repair both the image and the cross.

Incidentally, the symbol of Jesus actually hanging on a cross, which is the normal symbol used by Catholic and most Orthodox Christian Churches, is called a ‘crucifix.’ The symbol of a cross, without the image of the Lord hanging on the cross, is usually simply called a ‘cross’ by members of Protestant Christian Churches.

May the symbol of Our Lord being put to death on a cross, showing the depth of his love for everyone, help people who gaze upon it, to know that the Lord Jesus offers them his saving love.

Jesus says, “Come to me all you who labour and are burdened and I will give you peace, for I am meek and humble of heart and you will find rest for your souls.”

FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION OF OUR LADY INTO HEAVEN

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 20:23:16 GMT

WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY HOLYDAY OF OBLIGATION

This week we celebrate the beautiful feast of the Assumption of Our Lady. Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus played and still plays an important role in how her son is able to save us from sin and death. This week we honour Mary who was assumed body and soul to Heaven without dying, because of her unique relationship with her son. This great Feast-day is an occasion when the Church, acting in God’s name, obliges us all to celebrate holy Mass. We will have two holy Masses in our parish for this Feast day. Please see below for details.

BAKERS FOR THE CAFÉ

Sat, 02 Aug 2025 23:11:25 GMT

Thank you so much to everyone who helps as a Host and/or a Baker at our Evangelisation Cafe. Your perseverance and generosity are sure signs of your great Faith in the Lord. We would be delighted to welcome more Hosts and Bakers, especially parishioners who are not yet active in the parish. Please let me know.

One request, please to our wonderful team - May I ask everyone who uses the Coffee Machine to be careful about which buttons are pressed. Types and amounts of coffee, for example, are fixed but some buttons when pressed, change how the machine operates! Also, If you are not sure about how the machine’s self-cleaning process works, please do ask.

Who Have You brought With You?

Sat, 02 Aug 2025 19:13:22 GMT

"WHO HAVE YOU BROUGHT WITH YOU?"

Invite and encourage others in your family, those living next door to you, those living down your street, your friends. Do that and the Lord will work through you, probably slowly and bit by bit. Do that, and one day you will hear him say to you, "Well done, good and faithful child of mine. Enter into the joys prepared for you, for all eternity. Thank you to the wonderful people who have the privilege of being Eucharistic Ministers and Lectors and thank you to the wonderful people who act as Hosts and Bakers for our Evangelisation project, 'The Olde Forge Cafe.

We live in a time/space world in which none of us can be in two places at once! We provide rotas to make our commitments as feasible as possible. Often, there are conflicting calls on our time and energy. All we can do in deciding which call to follow, is to listen to the Lord speaking to us and then follow the voice of God in our consciences. Trying to arrange the rotas according to what is convenient for everyone is extremely difficult and results in some people doing a great deal and others doing very little! Instead, we will just publish general rotas and simply ask everyone to please just try to do what the Lord asks of you. So, please, if you don't mind, do not send me or Jim or Kim and Manuel who manage the Cafe, dates and times you are unavailable. If we are unable to bring the Lord in Holy Communion to the Sick and Housebound members of our parish every week, but as often as we can, then that is all we can do. If sometimes we are unable to open our Evangelisation Cafe, but we open it as often as we can, then that is all we can do. We trust in the Lord to send his Holy Spirit into the hearts of us all and we pray that the hearts of us all are open to his call. We go forward doing all we can to build his Kingdom in this world and to bringing his love and truth to others as the Lord's missionary disciples. Thank you to all the very dear friends of the Lord Jesus who so often put his plans before their own - your reward will be great in Heaven.

OLDE FORGE EVANGELISATION CAFÉ

Sat, 02 Aug 2025 15:36:05 GMT

Thank you to all our wonderful Hosts and Bakers for their faithful commitment to this great enterprise. At the recent Diocesan Jubilee, Archbishop John spoke of the Holy Spirit of God prompting us all to develop new ways of being missionary. Our Cafe is a way of reaching out to those in Sanderstead and beyond who do not yet have a connection with our Catholic Faith community and through us to the Lord Jesus. Thank you so much to everyone who uses their gifts and time to be Hosts, Bakers or just invites their family members, friends, neighbours, colleagues to join them and visit our Evangelisation Cafe. Thanks be to God, we are beginning to see people visiting the Cafe - Strangers who can become Friends, through your warm words of invitation.

Please may I just remind you of how the Cafe operates:

Guests are asked not to pay for their drinks and cakes but to please accept our hospitality. If our Visitors insist on making a contribution, then we graciously accept their kindness but please make it clear that no contribution is needed or requested. Members of our parish however, each time they visit the Cafe, are asked to give a donation towards the cost of drinks and cakes, so that we can meet the expenses of running the Cafe and our parish.

Please, dear Bakers, continue to deliver your cakes each Saturday morning. Hopefully, we will then have enough cakes for the Saturday and the following Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the days when the Cafe is open each week. We do not offer a ‘take-away’ service so please, dear Hosts, do not give cakes to take away, to our own parishioners or visitors. Any cakes left over, after a session on Saturday, Sunday or Tuesday, please leave for Wednesday.

Dear Parishioners of Holy Family parish, Sanderstead, please double your efforts to bring new people to your Evangelisation Cafe. Let the Holy Spirit fill your hearts and support this practical way of helping others to get to know the Lord Jesus better and better. Your Evangelisation Cafe is normally open each week, on;

Saturdays 11.00am - 1.00pm

Sundays 12.00midday - 1.30pm

Tuesdays 10.00am - 12.00midday

Wednesdays 12.00midday - 1.15pm

Please let me know if you are not yet an active member of your parish. Becoming a Host or Baker would be an excellent way of fulfilling what the Lord asks of us all.

THE OLDE FORGE CAFE - OUR WAY OF TRYING TO EVANGELISE

Sat, 02 Aug 2025 14:37:04 GMT

It’s good to remind ourselves, from time to time, that the Cafe is not about making money nor is it about attracting lots of people because our coffee is good! The Cafe exists because if even only one person gets to know us and our Faith a little better, then that is great success. We leave the rest to the Lord! Let’s not view the Cafe with pagan, secular eyes but with eyes of Faith and hearts filled with a desire to make the Lord known and loved.

ROTA FOR LECTORS – AUGUST

Sun, 27 Jul 2025 12:30:53 GMT

2/3: 5pm Richard; 9am Chinwe; 11am Jim

9/10: 5pm Patricia; 9am Mike; 11am Lisa

16/17: 5pm Mutsa; 9am Gerry; 11am Phil

23/24: 5pm Marian; 9am Claire; 11am Lorenza

30/31: 5pm Lizzie; 9am Collette; 11am Paul

THANK YOU

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 16:34:44 GMT

To Alex, Rob, Tom, Billy and Tim for providing us with high-speed internet connections.

To the family of Anne Abbott for arranging the clearance and tidying of a large area of land behind the church and for the pruning of a large tree that presented a Health and Safety problem.

Soul Food

Sun, 13 Jul 2025 12:18:36 GMT

Every week, a group of international Catholic young people, aged 20 years and older, gather at a central London Catholic Church, St Charles Borromeo, in Ogle Street, for prayer, reflection and social time. They are called ‘Soul Food’. I have had the pleasure of joining them for prayer and reflection, in the past. Next week I hope to join them again. How inspiring it is to glimpse a growing number of young Catholics deeply and joyfully living their Faith, just like St Carlo Acutis.

GARDENING AND PRAISE OF GOD

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 13:42:36 GMT

To keep our church clean and tidy on the inside is a prayer in itself, a prayer of praise and thanksgiving to God. Please feel free to offer your time and skills to pray in this way. Cleaning and tidying of the church can be done at almost any time, on almost any day, just let me know if you need access to the sacristy. The same applies to the grounds surrounding our church and buildings. The Lord can work through our gardening efforts, to create a place of beauty, peace and calmness. We need more people to help with the gardening. You need know nothing about gardening. A willingness to help is all that is needed. Please let me know if you can help or simply come along on Tuesday mornings when our Gardening Group will be there and will be delighted to welcome you.

SAFEGUARDING

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 13:40:42 GMT

The Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency are seeking feedback from anyone who may have information regarding the safeguarding function in Southwark Archdiocese. Please follow on the below links if you wish to contribute. Thank you

Do you have information to help our safeguarding inspection in Southwark? Survivors’ Work With Us

FOOD BANK

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 12:16:56 GMT

Each week Sutton Community Garden provides us with fresh fruit and vegetables. Each week, we deliver this food to a school in New Addington. Thank you very much to Bridget for all her help.

NO VIGIL HOLY MASS ON SATURDAY 12TH JULY

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 12:12:38 GMT

Please note that there will not be a Saturday Vigil holy Mass on the 12th July . We will, though continue with our Saturday Vigil holy Mass next Saturday, the 5th July and on Saturday 19th July and then going forward. Holy Masses on Sundays will continue without any interruption, at 9.00am and 11.00am.

ROTAS

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 13:46:38 GMT

Thank you to the wonderful people who have the privilege of being Eucharistic Ministers and Lectors and thank you to the wonderful people who act as Hosts and Bakers for our Evangelisation project, ‘The Olde Forge Cafe.’

We live in a time/space world in which none of us can be in two places at once! We provide rotas to make our commitments as feasible as possible. Often, there are conflicting calls on our time and energy. All we can do in deciding which call to follow, is to listen to the Lord speaking to us and then follow the voice of God in our consciences. Trying to arrange the rotas according to what is convenient for everyone is extremely difficult and results in some people doing a great deal and others doing very little! Instead, we will just publish general rotas and simply ask everyone to please just try to do what the Lord asks of you. So, please, if you don’t mind, do not send me or Jim or Kim and Manuel who manage the Cafe, dates and times you are unavailable. If we are unable to bring the Lord in Holy Communion to the Sick and Housebound members of our parish every week, but as often as we can, then that is all we can do. If sometimes we are unable to open our Evangelisation Cafe, but we open it as often as we can, then that is all we can do. We trust in the Lord to send his Holy Spirit into the hearts of us all and we pray that the hearts of us all are open to his call. We go forward doing all we can to build his Kingdom in this world and to bringing his love and truth to others as the Lord’s missionary disciples. Thank you to all the very dear friends of the Lord Jesus who so often put his plans before their own - your reward will be great in Heaven.

RETIRING COLLECTION NEXT WEEKEND - ‘PETER’S PENCE’

Sun, 22 Jun 2025 14:19:58 GMT

By reason of the bond of unity and charity, every diocese in the world supports, through this fund, Pope Leo and the Apostolic See in exercising works of charity and mercy throughout the world.

Prison Chaplaincy

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 16:00:57 GMT

On the 7th of June, we celebrated our Archdiocesan Jubilee Celebration Day.

As part of the day, Monsignor Malachy and several chaplains hosted a stall for those interested in learning more about prison chaplaincy.

Wherever you live in the County of Kent or South London, you are never far from a prison. Across our part of the Archdiocese, many thousands of young people, women, and men are currently held in prison – including around 1,200 of our fellow Catholic Christians, our sisters and brothers in faith.

It was a special day of outreach, awareness, and fellowship.

Prisons in the Archdiocese of Southwark

Twelve prisons are located within the geographic area of the Archdiocese of Southwark:

HMP Brixton
HMP Wandsworth
HMP Belmarsh
HMP Isis
HMP Thameside
HMP Rochester
HMP East Sutton Park
HMP Maidstone
HMP Cookham Wood
HMP Swaleside
HMP Elmley
HMP Standford Hill

How Can You Help?

Would you consider helping people held in our prisons to change?
Will you help them when they leave prison?
Would you consider helping anyone who is a victim of crime or affected by crime?
Will you help the children and families of those held in our prisons?
Would you like to know more about our Criminal Justice system?

If your answer to any of these questions is yes or perhaps, please contact:

Monsignor Malachy Keegan

Episcopal Vicar for Prisons

Holy Family Parish, Sanderstead, CR2 9LF

�� 020 8657 1728 | �� 07801 701763

�� Malachykeegan@rcaos.org.uk

Assisted Dying Bill

Sun, 15 Jun 2025 15:23:00 GMT

This Bill which to legitimise Suicide will again come before Parliament. Here is a message from Archbishop John Sherrington, the lead Catholic Bishop on matters of Life.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which seeks to legalise assisted suicide, is fast approaching its decisive vote in the House of Commons which will likely take place on either the 13th or 20th of June.

The Catholic bishops of England and Wales oppose this flawed bill both in principle and in practice.

Among the many concerns, we are particularly alarmed by the following:

• This legislation would require many hospices and care homes to facilitate assisted suicide. This will put in jeopardy their ability to provide care. Parliament has rejected an amendment that would have allowed institutions to opt out of participating in the provision of assisted suicide.'

• The provisions for conscientious objection for health and social care workers are both unclear and inadequate. This problem will not be addressed by proposed amendments.

• Safeguards against coercion for the most vulnerable are wholly inadequate, particularly in cases involving coercive control or social pressure.

During Committee Stage, the bill's main proponent was unable to confirm whether individuals seeking assisted suicide due to financial concerns or feelings of being a burden would be prevented from accessing it.?

Since then, no progress has been made, and many MPs consider the existing safeguards insufficient, with the potential to result in a "terrible tragedy."3

We note the opposition for the bill from key professional bodies including the Royal College of Psychiatrists whose members will be expected to be involved in the process of assessing those who elect for assisted suicide.

We have already seen the bill weakened during Committee Stage. In addition, MPs are expected to debate nearly 60 pages of amendments in under 15 hours. The whole process by which this bill has been brought forward and debated is insufficient for such a radical change.

We urge Catholics, and all people of goodwill, to contact their MP and ask them to vote against this bill. We also ask you to pray that our representatives choose to protect the most vulnerable citizens of this country when they vote later this month.

You can contact your MP using this this tool.

Archbishop John Sherrington

Lead Bishop for Life Issues and Archbishop of Liverpool

THANK YOU

Sun, 08 Jun 2025 14:57:59 GMT

To Maggie for all her great work as our Parish Secretary.

To Tracey for her enormous generosity and for her superbly designed materials for our ‘Prison Chaplaincy’ stall at the diocesan Jubilee event.

To everyone who attended the Jubilee at ‘The Friars’ in Aylesford as our parish representatives.

COURSE AT THE LONDON JESUIT CENTRE

Sun, 08 Jun 2025 13:50:56 GMT

The Workshops and Course I deliver at the LJC have proved helpful and popular. This is just an early piece of information about a forthcoming Course and Workshop which I think you might find very helpful in your spiritual and human development.

FULLY HUMAN, FULLY ALIVE, PART 2 - A course on how to be genuinely human and to be able to live with real joy and real peace, in a world where the ‘worldly’ solutions on offer, sooner or later, simply don’t work! This course takes place on 5 consecutive Saturdays at the London Jesuit Centre, beginning on the 14th June, from 11.00am until 1.00pm each Saturday.

Please book for this Workshop or this Course, on the London Jesuit Centre website. I suggest book early to avoid disappointment.

ROTA FOR LECTORS – JUNE

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 21:55:29 GMT

31/1: 5pm, Lisa; 9am, Claire; 11am, Kelly, Jim

7/8: 5pm, Lizzie; 9am Mutsa; 11am David, Marian

14/15: 5pm, Maggie; 9am Gerry; 11am Chinwe, Richard

21/22: 5pm, Jim; 9am Phil; 11am Mutsa, Lisa

28/29: 5pm, Patricia; 9am Lorenza; 11am Marian, Maggie

NOVENA PRAYER FOR THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT UPON US

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 21:51:14 GMT

As we mentioned during holy Mass, on the great Feast of the Ascension last week, we follow the example of the first Christians by praying for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon us. Between now and Pentecost Sunday, every day, please ask the Lord to send his Holy Spirit upon you and upon our parish that we may all be filled with more wisdom, with more willingness to be actively involved in our parish, with all the gifts we need to continue his work in the world. Here is the ancient prayer used by countless numbers of people, who have gone before us. Please pray this prayer every day until next Sunday, Pentecost Day. Please allow the Holy Spirit to enter your heart and allow the Spirit of God to melt and mould you into the person he wishes you to be.

Come, Holy Ghost, Creator, come,

From thy bright heav’nly throne,

Come take possession of our souls,

And make them all thy own.

Thou who art called the Paraclete,

Best gift of God above,

The living spring, the living fire,

Sweet unction and true love.

Thou who art sevenfold in thy grace,

Finger of God’s right hand

His promise teaching little ones

To speak an understand.

O guide our minds with thy blessed light,

With love our hearts inflame;

And with thy strength, which never decays

Confirm our mortal frame.

Far from us drive our deadly foe;

True peach unto us bring;

And through all perils lead us safe

Beneath thy sacred wing.

Through thee may we the Father know,

Through thee the eternal Son,

And thee, the Spirit of them both,

Thrice-blessed Three in One.

All glory to the Father be,

With his coequal Son;

The same to thee, great Paraclete,

While endless ages run.

Amen.

WORLD COMMUNICATIONS DAY RETIRING COLLECTION - NEXT WEEKEND

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 21:45:55 GMT

This Collection supports the work of the Catholic Communications Network, the media office of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, promoting the Gospel message through the media.

First Friday of the Month

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 21:38:01 GMT

I bring our Blessed Lord in Holy Communion, to all our parishioners who are house-bound, on the First Friday of every month.

DIOCESAN JUBILEE - Saturday 7th June at The Friars, Aylesford, 10am - 5pm

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 20:17:56 GMT

Please pop that date in your diary and come to the Jubilee celebrations on the 7th June . We are celebrating the 60th anniversary of Southwark becoming an Archdiocese, following centuries of being unable to publicly live out our Catholic Faith. The celebrations at The Friars will feature Music, Teaching, Prayer, Fellowship and will conclude with holy Mass. Please sign the list in the porch if you would like to attend this historic and most joyful event. We could try to arrange transport to and from The Friars Carmelite Centre in Aylesford.

SAFEGUARDING

Mon, 19 May 2025 13:54:16 GMT

Sunday 18 May is Safeguarding Sunday and Archbishop John has issued a pastoral letter. In his letter, Archbishop John said “Safeguarding is not the work of a few; it is a shared responsibility. Each of us — clergy, volunteers, parents, parishioners — is called to remain vigilant, informed, and committed to the well-being of every member of our community”. You can find out more about Safeguarding Sunday, including accessing the full pastoral letter, at rcaos.org.uk/safeguardingsunday25

FEAST OF THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD (Holyday of Obligation)

Mon, 19 May 2025 13:48:56 GMT

Please note that we will have 2 holy Masses in our parish for this great Feast day of the Lord’s Ascension into Heaven: Wednesday evening 28th May at 6.00pm and on Thursday morning 29th May at 9.30.

ROTA FOR LECTORS – MAY

Sun, 18 May 2025 14:02:00 GMT

3/4: 5pm Marian; 9am Phil; 11am David, Chinwe

10/11 : 5pm Paul; 9am Lisa; 11am Lizzie, Maggie, Jim

17/18: 5pm Patricia; 9am Gerry; 11am Lizzie, Richard

24/25: 5pm Mutsa; 9am Lorenza; 11am Paul, Marian

THANK YOU

Sun, 11 May 2025 13:33:38 GMT

To Linda for much help with an external finance audit

To Lorenza for much help with the Parish Religious Tour

To Kelly-Anne for personal help

RCIA MEETING - NEXT SATURDAY 11.00AM

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 13:35:18 GMT

The next meeting for our parishioners preparing for Adult Baptism and the Sacrament of Confirmation will be next Saturday 26th April, at 11.00am in the Parish Room

HOLY MASS FOR THE REPOSE OF THE SOUL OF POPE FRANCIS - TUESDAY, 22ND APRIL AT 6.00PM

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 13:20:37 GMT

The death of Pope Francis is head-line news around the world. His warmth, his care for the poor and marginalised, his attachment to Truth, his enormous love for the Lord and his longing to share the hope and forgiveness of God, touches our hearts.

Please join us for holy Mass as we thank God for Pope Francis and pray that he now fully receives the mercy and forgiveness of the Lord in the joys of Heaven for all eternity.

MAY POPE FRANCIS REST IN PEACE AND RISE IN GLORY

(nb no holy Mass on the morning of Tuesday 22nd April)

PENANCE SERVICE AND INDIVIDUAL RECONCILIATION

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 22:49:40 GMT

Tuesday 15th April at 6.0 0pm

If you haven’t yet, during Lent, experienced the gentle forgiveness of God in this wonderful Sacrament, please come and allow the loving Lord to fill you

with his peace so that you will be ready to enter into Easter Joy.

CHILDREN PREPARING FOR FIRST HOLY COMMUNION AND RECONCILIATION - NEW DATES

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 12:52:40 GMT

NEW DATES FOR THE MEETINGS OF PARENTS OF CHILDREN PREPARING FOR FIRST RECONCILIATION AND FIRST HOLY COMMUNION

Sat 26th April: 10.00 – 10.30am

Sat 10th May: 10.00 – 10.30am

FIRST RECONCILIATION: Sat 17th May: 10.00 – 10.30am

Fri 30th May: 5.00 – 5.30pm

Fri 6th June: 5.00 – 5.30pm

Fri 13h June: 5.00 – 5.30pm

Fri 20th June: 5.00 – 5.30pm

Sun 22nd June FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI 11.00AM HOLY MASS – FIRST COMMUNION

LECTORS FOR HOLY WEEK

Sun, 13 Apr 2025 11:35:38 GMT

PALM SUNDAY

Sat 12 April: 5.00pm

Readings/Bidding Prayers Phil

Passion Paul(Narrator), Patricia(People)

Sun 13 April: 9.00am

Readings/Bidding Prayers Chinwe.

Passion Gerry(Narrator), Lorenza(People)

11.00am

Readings/Bidding Prayers Claire

Passion Jim(Narrator), Mutsa(People)

MAUNDY THURSDAY

Thu 17 April: 8.00pm

First Reading Lisa.

Second Reading/Bidding Prayers Marian

GOOD FRIDAY

Fri 18 April 3.00pm

Readings Gerry.

Passion Paul(Narrator). Jim(People)

EASTER

Sat 19 April 8.30pm

Reading 1 Lorenza; Reading 3 Lisa; Reading 5 Lizzie; Reading 7 Paul New Testament Reading/Bidding Prayers Jim

Sun 20 April 9.00am

1st Reading Gerry; 2nd Reading/Bidding Prayers Collette 11.00am 1st Reading Chinwe; 2nd Reading/Bidding Prayers Patricia

TIMES OF HOLY WEEK AND EASTER SUNDAY

Sun, 06 Apr 2025 22:11:10 GMT

HOLY MASSES AND SERVICES AND EVENTS

We are drawing near to the most important week in the year for all Christians. Please plan your time around the invitation of our Saviour to put him first before everything else, especially during Holy Week. Here are the times you will need to know:

PALM SUNDAY (12/13 April)

The normal times of our weekly 3 Sunday holy Masses - 5pm, 9.00am, 11.00am

Tuesday of Holy Week (15 April):

Penance Service and individual Reconciliation 6.00pm

Mass of the Chrism in the Cathedral (16 April):

11.30am Please join me. We can travel together

MAUNDY THURSDAY (17 April):

8.00pm Holy Mass of the Lord’s Supper and ‘Watching’ at the Altar of Repose until midnight.

GOOD FRIDAY (18 April):

Ecumenical Walk of Witness 11.45am

Liturgy of the Passion 3.00pm

Stations of the Cross: 6.00pm

HOLY SATURDAY/ EASTER (19 April):

Easter Vigil and first holy Mass of Easter 8.30pm

EASTER SUNDAY (20 April):

Ecumenical outside Dawn Service - around 5.30am

2nd holy Mass of Easter 9.00am

3rd holy Mass of Easter 11.00am

BRIEF RECOLLECTION FOR ALL OUR EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS IN PREPARATION FOR THE RENEWAL OF THEIR SACRED MINISTRY

Sun, 06 Apr 2025 21:32:34 GMT

May I ask all our Eucharistic Ministers to please join me on Saturday 12th April from 10.00am until 11.45am for a short period of prayer and reflection on this very sacred ministry. Please may I invite these women and men, chosen by the Lord, to renew their acceptance of this priceless, awesome role, on the evening of Maundy Thursday, during the holy Mass of the Lord’s Supper. Please join me in our church for half an hour of silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament at 10.00am and then from 10.30 in our Cafe for a time of reflection together.

THANK YOU

Sun, 06 Apr 2025 20:21:31 GMT

To everyone who increased their Sunday Offertory Collection contributions and no longer uses coins, either by use of the Card Reader in the church, through a Bank Order or through the Collection during Sunday holy Mass. Thank you for supporting your parish in this practical way. Thank you to the person who gave a very generous contribution.

ECUMENICAL ADULT FAITH FORMATION MEETINGS FOR LENT

Sun, 06 Apr 2025 20:15:56 GMT

I have invited our friends from other Christian Churches in Sanderstead to join us for our next Adult Formation meetings during the Season of Lent. Each meeting is at our usual time of 12.00midday for 1 hour. The themes of this series of meetings will be:

22 March Prayer and how to pray led by Fr Malachy

29 March Fasting, led by Mrs Leck

12 April Almsgiving, led by Rev Graham

STATIONS OF THE CROSS DURING LENT – FRIDAYS AT 6.00PM

Sun, 06 Apr 2025 20:13:15 GMT

A traditional devotion during Lent is to meditate on the final hours of Jesus. The ‘Stations of the Cross’ are a blessed way of doing this. Each Friday we will use a different set of meditations to reflect together on the enormous love of the Lord for us. Please do come and pray this beautiful prayer with me.

WELCOMERS

Sun, 06 Apr 2025 17:17:43 GMT

Before ‘Covid’ struck. We had a wonderful group of individuals whose ministry was to be in the porch of the church and there to greet and welcome people arriving to celebrate the Sunday holy Masses. I hope we can revive that ministry. Please let me know if you could do this. All it means is to arrive in the church a little early. Please note that this will be a ministry only for people who are not yet actively involved in our parish.

Pastoral Letter on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Sun, 06 Apr 2025 15:39:06 GMT

Pastoral Letter on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

To be read at all Sunday Masses on Sat 5 / Sun 6 April 2025 - Fifth Sunday of Lent

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ

Following my pastoral message in March 2024, I wish to speak to you again about the process by which Parliament is currently considering legalising assisted suicide through the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. As I made clear previously, concerning this grave matter, as Catholics we maintain a principled objection to this change in law, because we recognise that every human life is sacred: a gift of God, bearing a God-given dignity. We are, therefore, clearly opposed to this Bill in principle, elevating, as it does, the autonomy of the individual above all other considerations.

The passage of the Bill through Parliament, as originally proposed, would lead to a vote in late April on whether it progresses further. This will be a crucial moment and I, together with all the Bishops of England and Wales, am writing to ask your support in urging your MP to vote against this Bill at that time.

There are serious reasons for doing so. At this point we wish not simply to restate our objections in principle, but to emphasise the deeply flawed process undergone in Parliament thus far. We wish to remind you that it is a fundamental duty of every MP to ensure that legislation is not imposed on our society which has not been properly scrutinised and which will bring about damaging consequences.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will fundamentally change many of the key relationships in our way of life: within the family, between doctor and patient, within the health service. Yet there has been no Royal Commission or independent inquiry ahead of its presentation. It is a Private Member’s Bill. The Bill itself is long and complex and was published just days before MPs voted on it, giving them inadequate time to consult or reflect upon it. The time for debate was minimal. The Committee examining the Bill took only three days of evidence: not all voices were heard, and it comprises an undue number of supporters of the Bill. In short, this is no way to legislate on such an important and morally complex issue.

One consequence of this flawed process is that many vital questions remain unanswered. Can MPs guarantee that the scope of the Bill will not be extended? In almost every country where assisted suicide has been introduced the current scope is wider than was originally intended. What role, if any, will the judiciary have in the process? We were told that judicial oversight was a necessary and vital part of the process; now we are told it isn’t needed at all. What will protect the vulnerable from coercion, or from feeling a burden on family? Can the National Health Service cope with assisted suicide or will it, as the Health Secretary has warned, cause cuts elsewhere in the NHS? Can MPs guarantee that no medical practitioner or care worker would be compelled to take part in assisted suicide? Would this mean the establishment of a ‘national death service’?

In contrast to the provisions of this Bill, what is needed is first-class, compassionate palliative care at the end of our lives. This is already provided to many in our society but, tragically, is in short supply and underfunded. No-one should be dispatched as a burden to others. Instead, a good society would prioritise care for the elderly, the vulnerable, and the weak. The lives of our families are richer for cherishing their presence.

It is sad reflection on Parliament’s priorities that the House of Commons spent far more time debating the ban on fox hunting than it is spending debating bringing in assisted suicide.

I am sure that you will share these concerns. Despite recent events, this measure is still being rushed without proper scrutiny and without fundamental questions surrounding safeguards being answered. This is a deeply flawed Bill with untold unintended consequences.

Every MP, and Government, has a solemn duty to prevent such legislation reaching the statute book. This, tragically, is what may happen. So, I appeal to you: even if you have written before, please make contact now with your MP and ask them to vote against this Bill not only on grounds of principle but because of the failure of Parliament to approach this issue in an adequate and responsible manner.

In his Letter to the Philippians, from which we heard in the Second Reading, St Paul reflects on the difficulties and responsibilities of life. He speaks of ‘pressing on’ and ‘striving’ for the fulness of life promised in Christ Jesus. Yet he is totally confident in his struggles because, as he says, ‘Christ Jesus has made me his own’.

We too have many struggles. We too know that Christ Jesus has made us his own. So, we too press on with this struggle, so important in our times.

With an assurance of my continued prayers and blessing

Yours devotedly in Christ

+John Wilson

Metropolitan Archbishop of Southwark

Given at Southwark, 26 March 2025

SERVING HOLY MASS AND SACRISTY WORK

Sun, 06 Apr 2025 13:20:56 GMT

It is wonderful to see so many people, children, young adults, women and men, young and not so young, having the great honour of serving holy Mass. Please continue to do so. If you haven’t done so already, do come up onto the sanctuary and take this precious opportunity. Please may I also ask everyone in the church, to help to prepare the altar and sanctuary before holy Mass begins, to light the candles etc and then, after holy Mass, to help to return the sacred vessels to the sacristy, extinguish the candles, return the cruets etc. The full, conscious and active participation of everyone, will mean that holy Mass will become even more important to us all.

HOLY WEEK AND EASTER

Sun, 30 Mar 2025 23:36:40 GMT

Palm Sunday 12/13 April : The normal times of our weekly 3 Sunday holy Masses - 5pm, 9.00am, 11.00am

Tuesday of Holy Week 15 April : Penance Service and individual Reconciliation 6.00pm

Mass of the Chrism in the Cathedral 16 April : 11.30am Please join me. We can travel together

MAUNDY THURSDAY 17 April : 8.00pm Holy Mass of the Lord’s Supper and ‘Watching’ at the Altar of Repose until midnight

GOOD FRIDAY 18 April: Ecumenical Walk of Witness 11.45am

Liturgy of the Passion 3.00pm

Stations of the Cross: 6.00pm

HOLY SATURDAY/ EASTER 19 April : Easter Vigil and first holy Mass of Easter 8.30pm

EASTER SUNDAY 20 April: Ecumenical outside Dawn Service - around 5.30am

2nd holy Mass of Easter 9.00am

3rd holy Mass of Easter 11.00am

PILGRIMAGE 2025, THE HOLY YEAR: ROME, ASSISI AND SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO

Sun, 30 Mar 2025 15:23:59 GMT

Our pilgrimage gets closer! Our Travel Director, Adrian will visit us on Sunday 6th April and we can meet with him in our Cafe, after the 11.00am holy Mass. May I ask all our pilgrims to come to this meeting. Adrian will be able to give us final instructions and information and answer all our questions and probably let us have our Aircraft Boarding Cards.

DEALING WITH ANXIETY

Sun, 30 Mar 2025 12:17:44 GMT

This is the title of the next workshop that I am leading at the London Jesuit Centre on Saturday 5th April , from 10.00am until 2.00pm. Anxiety and Worry, whether mild or severe, can blight people’s lives. We need to understand where it comes from and how to deal with it, in order to live our lives in peace. Simply praying, although prayer of course is so important, it is not enough! If you would like to attend this workshop, please look on the London Jesuit Centre website to book a place. We could travel to the LJC in London together.

PARISH EXPENSES AND OUR SUNDAY OFFERTORY COLLECTION

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 15:24:26 GMT

For this month of March our essential Parish expenses will be little short of £5,000.00 That is: £1,440.00 Monthly diocesan levy; £750.00 Repairs to Drains; £180 Health and Safety Boiler checks; plus Council Tax, Insurance for Church, Cafe, Cottage, Presbytery, Heat, Light, Petrol, House-Keeping etc etc.

I’m afraid our weekly Sunday Offertory Collection, in church, via Bank Order, via Card Reader, of about £650 in total, is falling short of what is needed to pay our bills! Please may I ask you to consider increasing your already generous giving. I’m afraid £5 is not enough! Please consider doubling what you give and please no more coins in the church collection plate! We live in a relatively affluent community - I hope I am not asking too much of you. Forgive me if I am but if you can support your parish better, please do so. Many thanks.

THANK YOU

Sun, 16 Mar 2025 21:40:00 GMT

To Lorenza for so much pastoral and practical work in so many ways.

To Linda for help with our Finances

To Maggie for Admin’ help

To Jim, Matthew and David for maintenance work

To our Hosts and Bakers for Evangelisation work in our Cafe

To Alex for helping with IT issues.

To Antonio for work in our sacristy

To everyone who came to help and/or take part in our ‘Family Fast Day’ event in the Cafe.

To everyone who takes part in our Ecumenical Lent Meetings.

CONGRATULATIONS

Sun, 16 Mar 2025 21:23:53 GMT

To our friends Shanna, Sarah and Sian who are now the ‘Elect’, following the ‘Rite of Election’ with Archbishop John.

PRAYER AND MEETING FOR ALL EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS

Sun, 09 Mar 2025 16:07:44 GMT

IN PREPARATION FOR THE RENEWAL OF THEIR SACRED MINISTRY

SERVICE AT THE UNITED REFORMED CHURCH

Sun, 02 Mar 2025 20:14:52 GMT

World Day of Prayer Service at the United Reformed Church, Sanderstead next Friday, after our holy Mass in Holy Family church at 9.30am. The Ecumenical Service at the URC will begin at 10.30am

INTERESTED IN FINDING OUT MORE ABOUT OUR CATHOLIC FAITH?

Sun, 23 Feb 2025 13:16:33 GMT

If you are not a Catholic or if you are already a Catholic but haven’t yet received the Sacrament of Confirmation, please let me know. We will begin, shortly, a little course on our Faith for those who would like to know more about it and may, at some point in the future, consider joining us in our Catholic Faith community.

CLERGY SUPPORT FUND - RETIRING COLLECTION NEXT WEEK

Mon, 17 Feb 2025 15:29:20 GMT

The clergy in our Archdiocese have given us so much. They have been there for us in our happiest moments; comforted us on the death of a very loved one; helped us to understand our Christian Calling; celebrated holy Mass, Reconciliation and the Sacraments with us. Supporting our priests in their retirement is one way of showing appreciation. Please continue to keep our priests in your prayers and in your care.

PREPARATION FOR FIRST RECONCILIATION

Sun, 16 Feb 2025 23:08:03 GMT

Next Saturday, 22nd February, at 10.00am , in the Parish Room and for the following six Saturdays, some of our children and their parents will be preparing for the children's First Reconciliation which will take place on the 29th March. Please pray for these families as they approach that moment when the children first experience the tender, gentle forgiving love of the Lord Jesus in this beautiful Sacrament. Please, dear Parents, notice the slight difference in the time of these meetings which will now begin at 10.00am .

THANK YOU

Sun, 09 Feb 2025 17:15:49 GMT

To everyone who came, last Saturday, to discuss ‘Called to Bear Fruit’ and then to share with the Archbishop what you, Lay Parishioners of our parish, believe is the way forward for our Archdiocese and our parishes. Your insights were noted by Linda and Marie and will be forwarded to the Archbishop via the diocesan Agency for Evangelisation. Of course, anyone can still send their views, in the next few weeks, using the contact details found in the booklet which were distributed at holy Mass recently.

STREAMING OF HOLY MASS - A WAY OF EVANGELISING

Sun, 02 Feb 2025 14:52:00 GMT

Every holy Mass from our parish is streamed world-wide. I thought you might like to know how many individuals and groups have joined us for holy Mass in the last few weeks:

England: 473

Wales: 8

Scotland: 1

Ireland: 12

United States (Iowa): 2

United States (Oregon): 40

Ecuador: 60 May all our

Viewers be blessed by the Lord

BLESSING OF THROATS - MONDAY, DURING HOLY MASS

Sun, 02 Feb 2025 14:49:38 GMT

Monday this week is the Feast of St. Blaise, who was a Bishop in Armenia in the 4th century. He was a physician before becoming a Bishop. His reputation spread widely throughout the church in the Middle Ages, because he was reputed to have miraculously cured a little boy who nearly died because of a fishbone stuck in his throat. From the 8th century, he was asked to pray for those who suffered from illnesses of the throat. One account of the miracle cure was that it took place when he had been imprisoned for his faith and when he picked up two candles provided for him and formed a cross around the boy’s throat. I will offer you this Blessing on Monday. During holy Masses

Archbishops Pastoral Letter

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 15:58:11 GMT

CALLED TO BEAR FRUIT - AN INVITATION FROM ARCHBISHOP JOHN

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ

This Jubilee Year calls us to remember that we journey together as ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ who look to Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life. At the wedding in Cana, Our Lady spoke words that are addressed to us today: ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ (Jn 2:5) Trusting in the Good News brought to us by the Lord Jesus we are encouraged to look to the future with confidence. God keeps his promises and can make all things new. Therefore, we place our hope in God’s Word. He asks us to be ‘tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.’ This means we each have a part to play in building up the Church’s life of faith and fulfilling the Great Commission to ‘make disciples of all nations.’ (Mt 28:19)

The Jubilee Year offers each of us, and all of us, a profound opportunity to reflect prayerfully on the future of our Archdiocese. We face some significant challenges - nearly half of our diocesan priests will reach the canonical retirement age of 75 by the end of 2025; Mass attendance has declined by a third over the past 25 years; and many parishioners have yet to return to parish life since the pandemic. But – and importantly - these realities do not need to define us. Financial uncertainties in many of our parishes may feel daunting, but they are also an invitation to rediscover our mission, and to dream boldly about what God can achieve through us.

Pope Francis, in his letter The Joy of the Gospel, shared a vision that resonates deeply with the challenges we face: “I dream,” he said “of a ‘missionary option,’ that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language, and structures can be suitably channelled for the evangelisation of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation.” (Evangelii Gaudium, 27).

I have the privilege to serve as your Archbishop, and I want to say to you that I share this dream. A dream of an Archdiocese where every parish embraces this missionary spirit, becoming evermore vibrant communities where new people are continually encountering the Lord Jesus. My hope is for our parishes to be places of profound joy and healing, where lay men and women experience the transformative love of Christ; where they are equipped to carry forward the Church’s mission with renewed purpose. I invite you to dream with me and to make this dream a reality.

In 2023, we embarked on a process entitled Called to Bear Fruit. It’s a journey of listening, collaboration, and renewal in a spirit of synodality. We began by listening to the hopes and concerns of our clergy. Now, I would like also to hear from you, my sisters and brothers in Christ. What signs of vitality do you see flourishing in your parish? Where do you perceive the challenges to be? How can we work together, as clergy, laity and consecrated people, and neighbouring parishes, to make the Church’s mission more effective in our local communities?

Today, I would like to ask for your help in two ways:

First of all, please pray for the renewal of our Archdiocese . Let us ask the Holy Spirit to illumine our hearts and minds with fresh possibilities during this Jubilee Year of Hope. Together, let us pray for the courage and wisdom to discern the path ahead.

Secondly, to engage in the Called to Bear Fruit consultation . A booklet is available at Mass today which outlines six key themes for reflection. I encourage you to gather in small groups, as works best in your community. Come together prayerfully to reflect on these themes, and share your insights with the Called to Bear Fruit team. The booklet explains everything about how to do this.

When I began my ministry as your Archbishop, I said that I did not come to the Archdiocese to manage decline, but to lead with hope. This Jubilee Year of Hope is our chance to open ourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and to work together towards a revival of Christian life, witness, and mission in our Archdiocese. For this, I humbly ask for your prayers, your ideas, and your active participation. Together, we can re-imagine our parishes as thriving centres of faith, healing, and evangelisation.

As Pilgrims of Hope, therefore, let us walk this journey together with faith, courage, and joy.

With every blessing and with the assurance of my prayers and gratitude

Yours devotedly in Christ

+ John Wilson (Metropolitan Archbishop of Southwark)

Please join me on Saturday 8th February, as the ‘Parish in Council’, at 10.00am, in our ‘Olde Forge Cafe’ and bring your ‘Called to Bear Fruit’ booklet with you, to reflect on the themes the Archbishop suggests so that we can respond to his request to “re-imagine our parishes as thriving centres of faith, healing and evangelisation.”

ROTA FOR LECTORS – FEBRUARY

Sun, 26 Jan 2025 21:37:43 GMT

1 Marian

2 9am Anne 11am Lorenza Claire

3 David

4 Colette

5 Lorenza

6 Paul

6 Maggie

6 David

9 9am Lisa 11am Mutsa Patricia

10 John

11 Jim

12 Patricia

13 Lizzie

14 David

15 Phil

16 9am Giannina 11am Maggie Jim

17 Lorenza

18 Lisa

19 Maggie

20 John

21 Lisa

22 9am Gerry 11am Paul Richard

23 Lizzie

24 Patricia

25 Lorenza

26 Jim

27 Paul

Please note that some of these dates and times may be cancelled or changed because of my other pastoral work

DEALING WITH SHAME - 1st February at the London Jesuit Centre

Sun, 26 Jan 2025 15:07:19 GMT

This is the next workshop I am hoping to offer. Please look on the LJC website for details and to book a place.

Shame is a feeling that often lies deep and hidden within us. Even though the causes of those feelings may have occurred many years previously, they can still be alive and active in our lives today, spoiling our joy and peace. In this workshop, we will explore how Shame can take root within us, even without being consciously aware of it and how we can be healed of the damage done to us.

Hope you can come - we can travel together.

BIBLE STUDY – SATURDAY 25TH JANUARY AT 11.00AM

Sun, 19 Jan 2025 22:51:53 GMT

The holy Bible is God’s living Word. The Word of God is proclaimed every time we come to holy Mass. It acts like a Navigation System to direct us into a special way of living our lives, a special way that will lead us safely to our destination of Heaven. It is so important that we listen with our hearts and minds to God’s Word whenever it is proclaimed to us. It is vitally important that we understand God’s Word whether we listen to it or indeed whether we are the ones proclaiming the Word, as Lectors.

It was recently suggested to me that we have regular Bible Study meetings. We did this, if you remember, in pre-COVID days! Let’s start again! May I invite everyone to join me, in our Parish Room, once a month, for an hour, to look at and to pray the Bible Readings used in our celebrations of holy Mass each month. Understanding the Readings will help us to gain so much from them, whether you are someone, during holy Mass, who simply listens to the Word or someone who also proclaims the Word. These Bible Study meetings are for everyone but may I ask, especially that our Lectors make these meetings a priority. The meetings will help us all to better understand God’s Word and if we are Lectors to better proclaim God’s Word with meaning and skill. The date and time of our next meeting is above. Please note that it is on a Saturday morning rather than a weekday evening, to make it easier for everyone to attend, especially our Lectors

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY

Sun, 19 Jan 2025 15:47:23 GMT

During this week, many people who hold different views of the Christian Faith, are encouraged to pray together and work for closer bonds. In our area, this week, there are two ways, two Services, in which we can do this. The two Services are:

Wednesday: Morning Prayer and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at 9.00am, followed by holy Mass at 9.30am in the Catholic church of the Holy Family, Sanderstead.

Wednesday: Prayer Service at 12.00midday in Sanderstead Methodist church

THANK YOU

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 13:02:07 GMT

To everyone one who made the time to come and help to clean and tidy and decorate God’s House, our church, in preparation for the Christmas Season.

To everyone for your very kind cards and gifts and generosity. I feel honoured to be your priest.

Pastoral Letter on the Solemnity of the Holy Family 2024 for the Opening of the Jubilee Year of Hope

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 13:00:45 GMT

The Archbishop of Southwark published a pastoral letter to be read at all Sunday masses on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 December 2024. As we approach the Year of Jubilee, Archbishop John said “looking to the Holy Family, we too are called to be pilgrims of hope, just like Mary and Joseph. As they journeyed with faith and trust, so must we”.

Read the pastoral letter in full below.

Nativity Scene

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 12:49:28 GMT

A nativity scene in solidarity with the poor in Gaza

New Year

Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:07:41 GMT

May the New Year, 2025, declared a Holy Year of God’s love by Pope Francis, help you to rejoice in the Lord’ s gift to you of time,

 to know him, to love him and to serve him.

Christmas

Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:03:13 GMT

A joyful Season of Christmas be yours. As we begin our Christmas time and the great Feast of the Epiphany, my prayer is that you will discover the depth of God’s love for you and that you may have the wisdom and the courage to help others to know him too, as our Saviour, our Friend and our Brother.

FLOWERS FOR CHRISTMAS

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 16:55:01 GMT

It would be good to adorn our church with beautiful flowers as a sign of our love for the Lord Jesus as we celebrate the anniversary of his first Coming into the world. Please bring your gift of flowers to the church any day, any time next Sunday or Monday or Tuesday. The church is open every day for private prayer. Please just leave your gift of flowers in the porch of the church where they will be collected. Many thanks.

TIMES OF HOLY MASS AND SERVICES FOR CHRISTMAS

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 16:51:24 GMT

Please see below all the times of holy Masses and Services during the Season of Christmas. Many hearts are open to the Lord’s loving invitation at this holy time of the year, to know him and to discover his life-giving love. Please invite members of your family, your friends, your neighbours and colleagues to come with you to the holy Masses and Services of Christmas. The Lord will speak through you, through your words, inviting people to know him and to know the salvation he comes to give us.

Mon 23 Dec: 9.30am

THE SEASON OF CHRISTMAS

FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD – CHRISTMAS

Tue 24 Dec: (Vigil Holy Mass of Christmas in HMP Elmley at 9.00am)

5.30pm Christmas Carols Service

6.00pm Vigil Holy Mass of Christmas Day

12.00Midnight Holy Mass of Christmas Day

Wed 25 Dec: 11.00am Holy Mass of Christmas Day

Thu 26 Dec: 12.00Midday Fri

27 Dec: 9.30am

FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH

Sat 28 Dec: 5.00PM Vigil holy Mass of the Holy Family

Sun 29 Dec: 9.00aam 11.00am

Mon 30 Dec: Holy Mass in HMP Elmley at 9.00am

Tue 31 Dec: 9.30am

Wed 1st January 2025 12.00Midday

Thu 2 Jan: 9.30am

Fri 3 Jan: 9.30am

THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD

Sat 4 Jan: 5.00pm Vigil holy Mass of The Epiphany

Sun 5 Jan: 9.00am 11.00am

FLOWER ARRANGING

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 16:41:28 GMT

Thank you to Jackie for all she does in this way of loving God. If anyone would like to help to arrange flowers in the church, please let me know. Arranging flowers in the church and near the altar is a beautiful prayer of praise to God. Whether it is one person or twenty people who do this work, what matters is that we give honour to the Lord. Perhaps if you are not yet very active in the parish, this might be something you could do or even something more you could do for God! It would be great to have your help. Many thanks.

SAFEGUARDING - PARISH ROOM

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 16:28:34 GMT

Thank you very much to Angela who is our Parish Safeguarding person. Angela helps many people who are actively involved in our parish, to obtain or renew their DBS clearances. Please note that the completing of documents must be done in our Parish Room where the process is private, secure, dignified and respectful. Please, not in a vehicle in the car park! Our Parish Administrator, Maggie, who is available in the Parish Room, on most Wednesdays, can arrange dates and times when the Room will be available. How about making the completing of documents a rather wonderful act of love for the Lord by everyone involved first coming to holy Mass in the church and then afterwards completing the paperwork!

PILGRIMAGE 2025, THE HOLY YEAR: ROME, ASSISI AND SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 15:25:06 GMT

Pope Francis has declared 2025 to be a ‘Holy Year’. This means that everyone who visits Rome next year, who prays for the intentions of the Holy Father, celebrates holy Mass and Reconciliation, is promised many special blessings from the Lord. The tradition is that this happens only once every 25 years!

With the great help of Adrian and his ‘Northern Star’ Travel Agency, I have negotiated a superb deal to enable us to stay in the Eternal City of Rome next year. Not only that, but also to visit and stay in two other amazing locations, Assisi and its connection with St Francis and St.Clare, as well as visiting and staying in St Giovanni Rotondo where the holy priest who was given the wounds of Jesus (Stigmata)St Padre Pio, lived and ministered.

We will spend 3 nights in Rome, 3 nights in Assisi and 3 nights in San Giovanni Rotondo. A taste of what we will do: Holy Mass in St Peter’s Basilica, holy Mass in St John Lateran Basilica, visit the Catacombs, Papal Audience, Tour of Rome - churches of St Mary Major, St Paul outside the Walls, Vatican Museums, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Colosseum, Navona Square etc, etc; holy Mass in Basilica of St Francis, holy Mass in the Basilica of St Clare, visit Porziuncola, San Damiano, Loreto; guided tour of San Giovanni, visit chapel of the Stigmata,Pietrelcina.

Lots of free time for relaxing, looking around, shopping

Excellent quality hotels for Dinner, Bed, Breakfast; all excursions, English-speaking guide; Outward flight: Gatwick-Rome(9.30am), Return flight: Bari-Gatwick(4.55pm); all airport duties and passenger taxes

28th April to 7th May 2025. A week after Easter. A perfect time to visit Rome and Italy when the climate is ideal, not too hot and not cold.

Cost: £1400pp all inclusive.

Rome and Italy will be very busy for the Holy Year and prices will soar! We are really blessed to have arranged such a great itinerary at such a relatively modest and very economic cost. I suspect that there will be lots of interest in this pilgrimage and it’s quite possible that we will have to limit numbers. I hope to offer this pilgrimage to various people and groups. If you are seriously interested, I suggest you contact me as soon as possible. I have Booking Forms available now.

DECORATING THE CHURCH, BUILDING THE CRIB, CLEANING THE CHURCH

Sun, 15 Dec 2024 21:36:58 GMT

Please may I ask everyone to come to our church on Monday 23rd December to help in the decoration and cleaning of the church for Christmas. Also, please may I invite all our children (and parents) to help to design and build the crib. You might like to come to holy Mass at 9.30am and after holy Mass we can decorate the church, build the crib, clean and tidy God’s house.

PRESENCE OF THE LORD JESUS IN HIS WORD AND SACRAMENT

Sun, 15 Dec 2024 14:16:35 GMT

Our church building, although simple and humble and rather beautiful in its own way, contains an immense treasure - the very presence of the Lord Jesus. Our church is not empty - it is a ‘House of God’. The bread consecrated in holy Mass becomes a real presence of Jesus although still under the appearance of bread and reserved in the tabernacle. So too with the wine - it becomes the precious Blood of Jesus although still under the appearance of wine. We call this sacramental presence of Jesus, under the forms of bread and wine, the ‘Blessed Sacrament’ or the ‘Eucharist’ or ‘Holy Communion’. A red light is kept constantly alight in the church, to remind us of this.

Also, when God’s Word from the holy Bible, is proclaimed in the church and when the priest explains its meaning to us in his homily, that too is a real presence of the Lord Jesus, actually trying to speak to our hearts. The red light you will see in front of the lectern also serves as a reminder to us of the Lord, present to us when his Word is proclaimed and when we reflect upon his Word.

He comes to us in Sacrament and Word.

ROTA FOR LECTORS – DECEMBER

Sat, 14 Dec 2024 15:21:24 GMT

2 Dec Lorenza

3 Dec

4 Dec Marian

5 Dec David

6 Dec John

7 Dec Phil

8 Dec 9am Giannina 11am Mutsa, John

9 Dec

10 Dec

11 Dec Jim

12 Dec Lizzie

13 Dec Lorenza

14 Dec Mutsa

15 Dec 9am Gerry 11am Chinwe, Paul

16 Dec David

17 Dec John

18 Dec Maggie

19 Dec Paul

20 Dec Jim

21 Dec Claire

22 Dec 9am Anne 11am Marian, Richard

THANK YOU

Sun, 08 Dec 2024 22:54:04 GMT

To Lorenza for the Training Session on our new coffee machine

To our ‘strong’ parishioners who moved a sacristy safe

To our three ‘Some Definite Service’ Parish Leads, Margaret, Patricia and Lorenza, who attended a diocesan meeting with Archbishop John

To Margaret for work on our Adult Faith Formation meeting

To Jim for compiling the rota for our Lectors

To David for arranging a Health and Safety Inspection

EPISCOPAL VICAR FOR PRISONS

Sun, 01 Dec 2024 13:59:16 GMT

Archbishop John has appointed me as 'Episcopal Vicar for Prisons' within the Archdiocese of Southwark. This means that I speak on his behalf and act with his Episcopal authority on issues of Criminal Justice. My role is to raise the profile of Prisons, Victims of Crime, Prisoners and Criminal Justice generally to our Bishops, Priests, Deacons and Laity. Practically, I have the responsibility of recruiting, helping to appoint, overseeing and supporting Catholics who live and work in the 12 prisons located within our Archdiocese as well as promoting work for the care of the victims of Crime and developing initiatives in our parishes to support former Offenders in matters of rehabilitation. This is quite a task and is often likely to take me out of the parish! Please pray for me as I begin this new role.

Statement from the Archbishop of Southwark Following the Vote on Assisted Dying in the House of Commons

Sun, 01 Dec 2024 13:56:43 GMT

I am deeply saddened and extremely worried by the progress made in the House of Commons towards the legalisation of assisted suicide. While this is not yet the final step in enacting this legislation, it represents a seismic and concerning shift in our nation’s approach to caring for the most vulnerable among us.

Compassion, rightly understood, means standing with those who suffer, sharing their burdens, and honouring their dignity until the natural end of their lives. It does not mean hastening death, even in the face of pain or despair. Every human life is of immeasurable value, and our response must always be to protect and support those who are most in need.

The experience of other countries where assisted suicide has been introduced serves as a grave warning. Promised safeguards are eroded over time, leaving the elderly, disabled, and seriously ill at risk of feeling their lives are a burden to others. The subtle, and sometimes overt, pressure this creates threatens the very fabric of a society built on care and protection for the weakest.

Legalising assisted suicide also undermines the essential trust between patients and healthcare professionals. Those who dedicate their lives to healing and comforting the sick are being placed in an untenable position. Conscientious objection — the right of medical practitioners, nursing and care staff, and institutions to refuse to participate in practices that violate their deeply held ethical or religious convictions — must be upheld and protected. Without this assurance, the ethos of our healthcare system and the integrity of those who serve within it are at serious risk.

Instead of moving towards assisted suicide, we must commit to improving palliative care, ensuring that expert pain relief, emotional support, and spiritual care are available to all who need them. No one should feel alone or abandoned in their suffering.

As we face this challenging moment, I call on Catholics and all people of goodwill to advocate for the protection of life at every stage and to stand in solidarity with those who are most vulnerable. Let us also turn to the Lord Jesus, who shared in human suffering and revealed the depth of his love through his death and resurrection. Through him, we find the strength to defend the dignity of every person and to build a society that values the gift of life from conception to natural death.

Archbishop John Wilson

29 November 2024

THANK YOU

Sun, 01 Dec 2024 13:12:34 GMT

To everyone who came to clean and tidy our church, the place where the Lord dwells in a wonderful way. To do this humble work is a beautiful prayer to the Lord.

To everyone who came to learn how the new coffee machine works. Thank you to these great people who act as Hosts in our Evangelisation Cafe, ‘The Olde Forge.’

OLDE FORGE CAFE - NEW COFFEE MACHINE TRAINING FOR HOSTS, NEXT SATURDAY

Sun, 24 Nov 2024 21:45:29 GMT

The Insurance policy on our first Coffee Machine expired recently. We have now leased a new and up-graded machine. The Company from whom we received the machine, kindly trained several members of our parish in its use. However, all our Cafe Hosts need to know how to use the new machine. May I invite all our present Hosts and anyone who is willing to become a Host in our Cafe, to please join me next Saturday morning, 30th November, at 11.00am, in the Cafe, to learn how the new machine works and to sample a good coffee (or tea!). Only after this training, can we open the Cafe once again. Thank you to all the wonderful people who work in our Cafe as Hosts and those who bake or provide delicious cakes. The Cafe was mentioned by our Archbishop as a great example of the real Evangelisation which he is trying to develop in each of the 170 parishes of our Archdiocese. The Cafe is not so much for our own use but is much more for people who rarely if ever come to a church. Please keep inviting members of your own family who do not usually come to holy Mass, as well as your friends, neighbours and colleagues to come with you to our Cafe and thereby to get to know us better. The Lord will then work through you, drawing people into his love and into his Church.

‘DEALING WITH ANGER’: ONE-DAY COURSE AT THE LONDON JESUIT CENTRE

Sun, 24 Nov 2024 14:11:05 GMT

Anger is a normal human emotion but it must be understood as a part of our lives that needs to be lived in a healthy, wise way. When this happens, Anger is a great force for good but when it is misunderstood and allowed to express itself in destructive ways then it can cause fear and chaos. This short one-day course, which I have been invited to deliver at the LJC on Saturday 7th December , from 10.00am until 2.00pm, will be helpful for anyone who wishes to better understand Anger in themselves or in someone else and will give suggestions about how to live this powerful human emotion in a good, life-giving way. Please check the LJC website for more details and to book a place on the course.

URGENT MESSAGE FROM BISHOPS ON ASSISTED SUICIDE

Sun, 24 Nov 2024 13:21:37 GMT

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR MP, AGAIN, IN ADVANCE OF DEBATE AND VOTE IN PARLIAMENT

Be compassionate As Catholic Bishops in England and Wales, and in Scotland, we believe that genuine compassion is under threat because of the attempts in Parliament to legalise assisted suicide. 'Compassion' means to enter into and share the suffering of another person. It means never giving up on anyone or abandoning them. It means loving them to the natural end of their life, even if and when they struggle to find meaning and purpose.

Compassion means accompanying people, especially during sickness, disability, and old age. This kind of genuine compassion is witnessed through the care and respect we show to people with terminal illness as they complete their journey in this life.

We appeal to those who share our Catholic belief in human dignity and sanctity of life, including fellow Christians, other religious people, and people of reason and good will, to join with us in defending the weakest and most vulnerable who are at risk through this proposed legislation.

Life is a gift to be protected, especially when threatened by sickness and death. Palliative care, with expert pain relief, and good human, spiritual, and pastoral support, is the right and best way to care for people towards the end of life. More adequate funding and resources for hospices and palliative care teams authentically serve and honour our shared human dignity. In the discussion around assisted suicide, so much is made of freedom of choice and autonomy; but autonomy is not absolute and must always be placed within the context of the common good of society as a whole. People who are suffering need to know they are loved and valued. They need compassionate care, not assistance to end their lives.

Assisted suicide raises serious issues of principle. The time given for Parliament to consider the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which will permit assisted suicide is woefully inadequate. Although the Bill indicates safeguards will be in place, the experience of other countries where assisted suicide has been introduced shows that such promised safeguards are soon forgotten. In Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada, and parts of the USA, the criteria for assisted suicide have been expanded significantly, in law or in practice, often to include people with mental illness and others who have no terminal diagnosis. It is not always easy to predict the length of time a person with a terminal illness has to live, making this Bill unworkable.

We are alarmed by the impact that legalisation will have on the most vulnerable members of our society. The option to end life can quickly, and subtly, be experienced as a duty to die. Some may well feel their continued existence is a burden to others, and, implicitly or explicitly, be pressured into assisted suicide. This includes people who are elderly, infirm, and living with disabilities. The protection of such people is the foundation of civilised society. It is at the heart of good government.

We are also concerned that this Bill will fundamentally damage the relationship between medical practitioners and their patients. It will potentially lead to pressure on medical staff to recommend or facilitate such procedures. Will the right to conscientious objection for individuals and institutions be guaranteed? The impact on hospices, care homes, and those who work in social and community care cannot be underestimated. It will radically alter the ethos of trust and support which underpins our service to those in need and their families.

We urge all people of good will to oppose this legislation and, instead, to advocate for better funded palliative care which is consistently available to everyone in need in England, Wales, and Scotland. Please inform yourself and others about this issue and contact your Member of Parliament to make your opposition known, asking him or her oppose or not support the Bill.

As Catholic Bishops, we call upon all Catholics, and invite all those who share our Christian faith, to turn in prayer to God our Father. Please pray that the dignity of human life will be protected and defended. On the cross, Christ united Himself to every form of human suffering and every person who suffers. In Him, life is changed, not ended. He shows us, in His own crucified and risen body, that love is always stronger than death.

BLESSING OF PETS SERVICE

Sun, 17 Nov 2024 13:14:26 GMT

‘Welcome to our new friends’ Woof Woof

SERVICE OF HEALING AND SACRAMENT OF ANOINTING OF THE SICK

Sun, 10 Nov 2024 13:49:47 GMT

On Sunday afternoon, 17th November , at 2.30 in the afternoon, we will have a short Service of Healing and the Sacrament of the Sick. If you are 65 years or over, or if you are suffering from an illness of any kind, please come to this Service. I will pray a Prayer of Healing over you and offer you the great Sacrament of the Sick. This wonderful, powerful Sacrament brings healing of body, mind and Soul. After the Service we can enjoy refreshments in our Cafe. Please invite your family, friends and neighbours to join you at the Service of Healing.

QR CODE AND THE CARD READER

Sun, 10 Nov 2024 13:05:57 GMT

The practical way in which you kindly and generously support your parish is changing. It is very helpful if we can please no longer put small coins in the Basket Offertory Collection! Notes are fine but far better still is to use our Card Reader. However, we have had problems with our electronic Card Reader - sometimes it works well but sometimes it doesn’t work at all! I’m sorry about this and the confusion it causes. We are working hard to resolve the problem with the help of the Archdiocese! There is a simple solution! Whenever the Card Reader isn’t working or as an alternative to the Card Reader, please use the CR Code! You will find a laminated copy of the QR Code attached to the glass partition behind the Card Reader machine. Simply scan the Code using your mobile phone and you will be automatically able to make your contribution to the upkeep of the parish, on your phone, if you have previously registered your details on the Card Reader. At the same time if you haven’t yet registered your details, you can very easily do so using your phone and the QR Code. Please remember to register for Gift Aid as well

Thank you for all your generosity. Our bills have to be paid, as I’m sure you know only too well!!

RETIRING COLLECTION NEXT WEEKEND - ARCHBISHOP’S APPEAL

Sun, 03 Nov 2024 21:19:38 GMT

The Archbishop’s Appeal is a Diocesan second collection that funds key areas of ministry: Youth and Evangelisation, Our Faith in Action (Caritas) and Clergy Care and Formation. Your support will enable the Archdiocese of Southwark to support innovative projects taking place within Catholic parishes and Schools throughout South London and Kent that seek to invest Faith, Hope and Love into the communities they serve. Please be generous to the Archbishop’s Appeal 2023. Every gift is welcome. Find out more, or donate online: www.rcaos.org.uk/archbishops-appeal

NEW LECTIONARY - MEETING ON 9TH NOVEMBER

Sun, 03 Nov 2024 21:14:14 GMT

From the 1st Sunday of Advent (30th November/1st December), all Catholic Churches in England and Wales will be using a new Lectionary. The ‘Lectionary’ is the book which contains all the Bible Readings used in every holy Mass and in the celebration of the Sacraments.We will be using a slightly different English translation of the Scriptures, the English Standard Version (ESV). The new Lectionary is a continuation of the process of revising liturgical translations. It is intended to make biblical translation more faithful to the original languages and biblical scholarship. Pope Francis writes:

“We urgently need to grow in our knowledge and love of the Scriptures.” In them, the risen Lord “continues to speak his Word” to us.

May I especially invite all our ‘Lectors’, those who proclaim God’s Word to us in holy Mass, to join everyone at our Adult Formation meeting on Saturday 9th November, at 12.00pm, which will be held in our Cafe, to learn more about the new Lectionary and to try the new translation that we will be using from the 1st Sunday of Advent.

THANK YOU

Sun, 03 Nov 2024 21:07:50 GMT

To John for helping to fix the electricity problem in our Cafe.

To everyone who came to support our ‘Blessing of Pets’ Service.

To Bridget for liaising with the clients of our Food Bank.

FAIR TRADE

Sun, 03 Nov 2024 13:47:46 GMT

“Be the Change” is the Fairtrade Foundation’s theme this year to encourage us to choose Fairtrade every time we shop by looking for the FAIRTRADE MARK. The Fairtrade Foundation is celebrating 30 years of the Fairtrade Mark and their role in pioneering fairer trade globally. To find out more, visit their website – www.fairtrade.org.uk . There is also guidance and help for where to buy Fairtrade products. We will celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight in the Olde Forge Café on Sunday 10th November after the 11am Mass. Please come and sample some Fairtrade products and find out more about Fairtrade.”

PRAYERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE DIED AND BLESSING OF THEIR GRAVES

Sun, 03 Nov 2024 13:45:25 GMT

During this month of November, we remember and pray for all our loved ones and indeed for all who have left this world. We pray that after their brief stay here and through the connection they made with God, they may soon experience the joy of Eternal happiness. Our prayers assist people on their final journey. Please let me know if you would like me to bless the local graves of the members of your families, your friends and neighbours. I could do this on the afternoon of Sunday 10th November

SAFEGUARDING; DBS CLEARANCE; HOLDING HANDS; HAND-SHAKE

Sun, 27 Oct 2024 16:10:08 GMT

‘Safeguarding’ is the way in which children and vulnerable adults are kept safe at all times, in our churches and parishes. Everyone in a Teaching, Leading and/ or Caring role in our parish has to obtain a Clearance document from the Government Disclosure and Barring Service. This document advises that there is no public record of offences involving the abuse of children or vulnerable adults committed by a specific person and therefore this person is now free to take up a teaching, leading and/or caring role in our parish. Angela, as our Parish Safeguarding Representative, assists in obtaining this document.

We need to be serious about protecting our children and vulnerable adults. May I please mention to you that it is perfectly right and good and proper and most acceptable if anyone in our holy Mass congregations does not wish to touch or be touched by another person at either the Sign of Peace or when we pray the Our Father together. A simple bow, instead of a handshake, at the Sign of Peace, is fine. However, if you are happy to shake hands/hold hands with another person in the congregation and if parents are happy for their children to do so, during the Sign of Peace/ Our Father, then that’s fine too. It is entirely your own choice. Please only do what you feel is comfortable and right for you.

Golden Rose, Queen of Ireland for 3 days our cares and troubles ceased. Lady of Knock truly our Queen of Peace

Sun, 27 Oct 2024 13:46:43 GMT

‘There is always a rainbow in the storms….look close enough and you will see”

‘Golden Rose, Queen of Ireland for 3 days our cares and troubles ceased. Lady of Knock truly our Queen of Peace’

Knock October 2024 Holy Family Sanderstead

The song below was written by our Pilgrims which tell the story of our photos which follow.

On the West Coast of Ireland, It really is so grand

With Father and Adrian and friends old and new

We've come here to Knock, and had quite a shock

Cos' the weather is tricky, it rains quite a lot!

Chorus It rains and it shines, it rains and it shines

Will we let it stop us? Oh no! we will not.

Our start wasn't great, we got to the gate

But where was our Cathy? She couldn't be found

Poor Geraldine was worried, then up Cathy scurried

And wondered what all of the fuss was about!