Our Parish Clergy

APRIL 2024 6/7: 6pm Angela; 9am Simone; 11am Lorenza, Patrick, Regina(H) 13/14: 6pm Gabriella; 9am Carolyn; 11am Lizzie, Patricia, Marian(H) 20/21: 6pm Mary; 9am Tony; 11am Dinah, Gabriella, Jim(H) 27/28: 6pm Paul; 9am Margaret; 11am Ross; Maggie; Coral(H) MAY 2024 4/5: 6pm David; 9am Phil; 11am Angela; Carolyn; Gabriella(H) 11/12: 6pm Patrick; 9am Lizzie; 11am Paul; Lisa; Lorenza(H) 18/19: 6pm John; 9am Simone; 11am Tony; Regina; Dinah(H) 25/26: 6pm Marian; 9am David; 11am Margaret; Coral, Patricia(H) JUNE 2024 1/2: 6pm Phil; 9am Lisa; 11am Dinah, Gabriella, Mary(H) 8/9: 6pm Angela; 9am Lorenza; 11am Ross; Lizzie; Paul(H) 15/16: 6pm Regina; 9am Coral; 11am Marian; Carolyn; John(H) 22/23: 6pm Simone; 9am Dinah; 11am Tony; Lisa; Maggie(H) 29/30: 6pm Margaret; 9am Jim; 11am Patrick; David; Ross(H) Let us pray for our Ministers of the Eucharist that they may be increasingly aware of God’s gift to them as they strive to grow in holiness, living in faith and conduct.

PILGRIMAGE TO THE SHRINE OF KNOCK, CROAG PATRICK, WESTPORT, BALLINTUBBER ABBEY - 9th JULY OR 15 OCTOBER, FOR 4 DAYS - £550 On the evening of the 21st August 1879, a heavenly apparition occurred at the gable end of a parish church in the West of Ireland. Our Lady appeared with St Joseph and St John the Evangelist. This place has become an international pilgrimage centre, like Lourdes and Fatima, with many, many thousands of people, each year, visiting the spot where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a group of very poor people. Flying from Stanstead to Knock, for a pilgrimage of four days, we would visit the Payton Centre and hear about the life of the ‘Rosary Priest’ who devoted his life to praying the rosary, holy Mass on the very spot where Our Lady appeared in the parish church, holy Mass in the great basilica, visit to the holy mountain of Croag Patrick where St Patrick fasted and prayed before beginning his missionary work in Ireland, visit to the lively town of Westport for shopping and a little ‘craig’( fun!), visit to Ballintubber Abbey, where St Patrick baptised his converts to Christianity. Holy Mass and rosary each day We will stay in a very comfortable hotel on a part-board basis (breakfast and evening meal) Please put your name on the ‘Knock Pilgrimage’ sheet you will find in the porch of the church, if you would like a little more information about this possible pilgrimage.

Thank you to everybody who came to share their views on our present Sunday holy Mass schedule. It was a most helpful meeting. The clear consensus was that a change or changes in the number/times of Sunday holy Masses in our parish, needs to be made. Before any change does or doesn’t take place, may I ask anybody who didn’t come to last Saturday’s meeting, to please let me have your views, in the next two weeks. No decision will be made before then. Many thanks.

For over half a century, St George's Cathedral has been the Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Southwark, home to 175 parishes and over 50,000 Roman Catholics. For many Catholics living and working across London and the South East of England, St George's has been a beacon of light. Today, St George's Cathedral continues to attract thousands of worshippers and visitors each year, as well as serving a lively local parish community which proudly reflects the rich cultural and ethnic diversity of South London. The Cathedral frequently hosts important Diocesan and national celebrations, as well as concerts and events for various Catholic charities. There is a rich musical tradition, maintaining a choir of boys and men, as well as a girls' choir, both of which sing at Sunday Masses and on major feasts. In many respects, St George's Cathedral serves as a spiritual home and 'beehive' for Catholic evangelisation and mission across the Archdiocese of Southwark. St George's Cathedral is entirely reliant upon the generosity of its parishioners, volunteers and the Archdiocese of Southwark to keep its doors open. It does not receive Vatican or government funding, nor has an endowment to rely on. Your support can enable the Cathedral to remain open daily to those seeking a place of peace, prayer and worship.  Thank you!

OLDE FORGE CAFE BAKERS/PROVIDERS ROTA 1st April: Coral Shirto 8th April: Lorenza Bellavia 15th April: Caroline Hinks 22nd April: Leigh Radford 29th April: Fr Malachy 6th May: Lizzie Mould 13th May: Roselinda Kryulule 20th May: Bridget Sanders 27th May: Ann David 3rd June: Marian Lee 10th June: Kim Zenao 17th June: Kinga Vajlz 24th June: Vanessa Zanule 1st July: Giannina Rowell 8th July: Mary Lawlor 15th July: Rodger McIntyre 22nd July: Geraldine Truss 29th July: Chinw 5th August: Linda O’Callaghan 12th August: Dee and Veronica 19th August: Millie Lewis 26th August: Gerry Murphy 2nd September: Lauren Andrews 9th September: Margaret Fuller 16th September: Odette 23rd September: Sierra Koyama 30th September: Helen Mallows Thank you to everybody who is helping to provide cakes. When it is your turn, please could you bring your non-perishable cakes to the Cafe on the previous day which is a Sunday. The cakes can be stored and kept fresh in the Cafe for use during that week. The more people who kindly offer to provide cakes, the more and the better the work of the Lord is shared. If you are not very successful at baking, like me, then buying a cake to share, at a local supermarket, is the answer! Thank you very much to Coral for coordinating the Baker’s Rota OLDE FORGE CAFE - HOSTS ROTA APRIL 2024: Thur 4: John Ducker; Gerry Murphy Sat 6: Elaine and Tony Charlton Sun 7: Rosamunde Wood; Dinah Sackey-Addo Thur 11: Maggie Bowes; Carolyn Hopson Sat 13: Jannine Stebbings; Bridget Saunders Sun 14: Marian Lee; Giannina Powell Thur 18: David Johnson; Patrick Fernandez Sat 20: Lorenza Bellavia; Lizzie Mould Sun 21: Geraldine Truss; Antonia Ugbaja-Omezie Thur 25: Coral Shirto; Regina Fernandez Sat 27: Jim Keating; Vanessa Zanuto Sun 28: Paul Mould; Kinga Vajsz 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. Dear Hosts, please remember to put the Cafe Notice Board outside, near the pavement. How great it was to see the initiative of some Hosts who put outside, a table with a plant and chairs with cushions and a near-by water bowl, to attract local dog-walkers.

SATURDAY APRIL 27TH FROM 7.30PM A note from Lynda, Bridget, Jeannine and Lisa: Spring is coming and to celebrate the end of a very cold Winter, we would like to invite you to a Quiz Night. Join us for lovely homemade bread and soup, delicious puddings, Quizzing, fun and friendship. Bring your own refreshments. We have calculated 7 teams of up to 6 people on each team. There are still places available so please sign up if you haven't already done so. You can then pay on the night. £10 per person. Please could people pay by cash on the night and bring a little extra for a raffle.  If anyone has dietary requirements, gluten free, lactose intolerant etc could they please indicate that on the team signing up sheet that has been left in the porch.

The Cafe is slowly but surely developing very well, thanks to our wonderful Hosts and Bakers. I noticed last Saturday, for example, that the Hosts had set a table outside for Dog Walkers, with cushioned seats and dog treats! What a great initiative that was which may attract people to the Cafe. One Visitor to the Cafe suggested the sign be placed further towards the pavement.  Please remember, dear Hosts to: Empty the trays of the used coffee grounds when you finish a session, otherwise it will not work next time it is switched on! Please do not put rubbish bags in the presbytery bins if the bins are are already full - the foxes have had a good time recently, with rubbish strewn everywhere! If using the bins, please ensure the rubbish goes in the correct bin! Please do not seek a ‘stand in’ if you do not intend to be a Host on your appointed day. The Cafe can function with one Host but if not, then it simply doesn’t open! Our wonderful work for Evangelisation is a Vocation.

Next Saturday we begin again our meetings for adults to help us all to grow in understanding our Catholic Faith. Please join me at 12.00 midday, in the Parish Room, for an hour, to discuss anything at all that you may wish to speak about. We meet in a very relaxed, informal, enjoyable way. I know there will be many other calls on your time but do come and give yourself permission to keep growing in your Faith.

The priesthood has always been essential to the life of the Church, from the time of Jesus until today. Good Shepherd Sunday is the day we pray for vocations, for our priests, and take up the Priest Training Fund second collection. This fund pays for the formation of men to become priests in our Archdiocese. After their ordination, our priests dedicate their lives to serving Christ and His people in our parishes, hospitals, schools, chaplaincies, prisons and in service to the needy, throughout South London, Kent and Surrey. We are blessed to have 5 men in formation to the Priesthood for our Archdiocese. However, it costs £30,000 a year to sponsor each seminarian. They study for 6 years before being ordained a Catholic priest. We therefore rely on your generous support and prayers. Please support our priests of the future with a gift today. Thank you!