MEETING ON THE OUTCOME OF THE FIRST PART OF THE SYNOD
Webmaster • December 11, 2023
TUESDAY 12th DECEMBER, AT 6.00pm, IN THE OLDE FORGE CAFÉ
You probably remember that, over a year ago now, we held two extremely well-attended meetings in preparation for a Synod of the whole Catholic Church throughout the world which was called by Pope Francis. The aim of the Synod is to review the way our Church lives and proclaims the Good News of God’s saving love, in the world today. Thanks to the very good work of Marian and Lorenza, who were our Parish representatives for the Synod in our Archdiocese, we made a number of suggestions and comments, in the light of the discussions at our two meetings. These were forwarded to the Archdiocese and in turn formed part of the Archdiocesan report in preparation for the Synod. Our own Archbishop John was one of the three Bishops from England and Wales who represented the United Kingdom in the one-month meeting of the world-wide Synod itself in Rome which recently ended. Archbishop John has written a report and given his reflections on this first part of the Synod. The second part will be next year, after the whole Church throughout the world has had a chance to pray and ponder the outcome of the first part. I had the pleasure, last week, of being with the Archbishop when he spoke about the Synod and what it has produced so far. I’d very much like to share with you what he spoke of and of what the Synod has so far achieved and listen to your views. I’ll then be able to feed back to Archbishop John exactly what we think and what we hope for. Please come to this hour-long meeting so that we can all play a prayerful, reflective part in shaping our future church, built on truth and love. The Holy Spirit who guides the Church has often spoken through people like you and I, in the last two thousand years. What you feel and what you say must be spoken and must be heard.
To Lorenza, who, with help from the Finance Department of the Archdiocese of Southwark, has brought all our parish accounts up to date, including four years of Gift-Aid details.
July 4/5: 5pm Paul Mould; 9am Lizzie; 11am Lorenza, Patrick, Regina(H) 11/12: 5pm Patricia Keating; 9am Maggie; 11am Ross, Marian, David(H) (NB NO 9AM HOLY MASS ON SUNDAYS; 10.30AM HOLY MASS ON SUNDAYS, INSTEAD OF 11AM) 18/19 : 5pm Marian; 10.30am Angela, Margaret, Phil(H) 25/26 : 5pm Simone; 10.30am Mary, Lisa, Jim(H) August 1/2 : 5pm Paul; 10.30am Paul Donovan, Giannina, Gaberielle(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.
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.
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.
4/5: 5pm Claire; 9am Richard; 11am Paul Donovan 11/12: 5pm Phil; 9am David; 11am Patricia (NB NO 9AM HOLY MASS ON SUNDAYS; 10.30AM HOLY MASS ON SUNDAYS, INSTEAD OF 11AM) 18/19: 5pm Maggie; 10.30am Gerry 25/26: 5pm Jim; 10.30am Chinwe 1/2 August: 5pm Lisa; 10.30am Mutsa
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.
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.
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. JULY 2026 2: Marlene and Gwen 9: Elaine Clark 16: David
OLDE FORGE CAFE BAKERS/PROVIDERS ROTA JULY 2026 4: Lizzie 11: Maggie Bowes 18: Giannina 25: Chinwe 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 JUNE 2026 30th June: Gaberielle, Maggie JULY 2026 4: Ross, David 5: Jim, Patricia 7: Jenny, Collette 11: Phil, Mary 12: Regina, Patrick 14: Lorenza, Marian 18: Maggie, Simone 19: Emmanuala, Giannina 21: Gaberielle, Paul 25: Jenny, Lizzie 26: Lorenza, David 28: Marian, Ross 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