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

OCTOBER 31: 5pm Mike NOVEMBER 1st 10.30am Chris 7/8: 5pm Phil; 10.30am Gerry 14/15: 5pm Lisa; 10.30am Mutsa 21/22: 5pm Collette; 10.30am Jim 28/29: 5pm David; 10.30am Chinwe

Vision for our Parish and Church - 13 members of the parish attended this meeting last Friday week and initially wondered why so few had attended. The session raised my awareness that the Church is changing and that it is the Holy Spirit who is prompting, nudging, and inviting each one of us to change and better understand who we are as Christians and to contribute to and be involved in the way the Church develops and functions especially here in Sanderstead. We are being invited to copy and do what those first Christians did as described in the Acts of the Apostles who prayed together, worshipped together, looked after those in need together and supported each other and felt able to tell others about Jesus. How do we achieve this or feel motivated to engage in the process? What do we, as a community, need to do or change in order to better respond to this call? There are no quick answers…it raises several challenging issues and questions.  Let’s ponder and discuss the meaning of this invitation for ourselves and others during our time in the parish Café and amongst ourselves at home. (Paul Donovan)

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

October 31: 5pm David 1st November 10.30am Angela, Margaret, Phil(H) 7/8: 5pm Simone; 10.30am Mary, Lisa, Lesley(H) 14/15: 5pm Jim; 10.30am Paul Donovan, Gaberielle, Giannina(H) 21/22: 5pm Regina; 10.30am Andrea, Paul Mould, Patrick(H) 28/ 29: 5pm Lizzie; 10.30am Lorenza, Patricia, Maggie(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.

Tue: Patricia Wed: Collette Thu: Paul  Fri: Jim

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

Please note that our Evangelisation Cafe opens on Tuesdays immediately AFTER holy Mass, at about 10.15am so that our Hosts may be able to celebrate holy Mass before opening the Café. The Café will then be open until about 12.00midday. The Café is also open on Sundays immediately AFTER our final Sunday holy Masses until about 1.00pm The Olde Forge Evangelisation Café can only open thanks to the great generosity of our wonderful Hosts and Bakers/Providers.  Thank you so much to them. If you are not yet an active member of our Parish Faith community, please offer your help as a Host or Baker/Provider. Presently it would mean that your help is needed only about once every month. The more Hosts we have the less often your good help is required. We will be very pleased to show you how the Coffee machine works and you will soon be able to be one of our very own ‘Baristas’!

OLDE FORGE CAFE BAKERS/PROVIDERS ROTA OCTOBER 2026 31: Kinga NOVEMBER 2026 7th: Patricia 14th: Giannina 21st: Lizzie 28th: Maria H 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 OCTOBER 2026 27: Paul, Marian 31: David, Vanessa NOVEMBER 2026 1st: Giannina, Maggie Bowes 3rd: Gabrielle, Marian 8th: Phil, Maggie Bailey 10th: Jim, Lorenza 15th: Lizzie, Lesley 17th: Paul Mould, Collette 22nd: Patricia, Simone 24th: Regina, Ros 29th: Emmanuela, Vanessa 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

On Sunday 7th February 2027, Bishop Gerard will be joining us for our 10.30am holy Mass. During that holy Mass, Bishop Gerard will celebrate the great Sacrament of Confirmation for us. Please would anyone who has not yet received the Sacrament of Confirmation in her or his life, speak with me. This is a great opportunity to receive the gifts of God’s Holy Spirit in this Sacrament. The Holy Spirit comes upon us to give us gifts, like Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Self-Control, Perseverance, Wisdom, Generosity, Humility and Courage and many more. These are the gifts that we all need to live real, adult, mature lives of Faith in this world. We will shortly begin a series of meetings to help those who will be preparing to receive this Sacrament. Please let know in the next few weeks if you would like to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation on Sunday 7th February next year, when Bishop Gerard visits us.