TIMES OF SUNDAY HOLY MASS
Webmaster • July 26, 2026
We now know that there is no obligation on any parish within the Archdiocese of Southwark to lose a Sunday holy Mass. The Archbishop and his Advisors are simply suggesting that some parishes may wish to reduce their number of Sunday holy Masses during the Summer months. Some of our local parishes are taking this option. My feeling though is that since there is now no obligation upon us to reduce our Sunday holy Mass schedule, we simply continue with our normal three Sunday holy Masses - i.e our Sunday Vigil holy Mass on Saturdays at 5.00pm and then two holy Masses on Sundays at 9.00am and 11.00am. I know this will please some of the members of our parish. I will continue to do my best to celebrate three Sunday holy Masses for you, for as long as I can. So, our Sunday holy Mass times will be as normal next weekend and going forward into the future.
May I ask everyone, in return, to please offer to become a Host in our Olde Forge Evangelisation Cafe which would be a great help. In fact, it would be very helpful indeed if someone offered to help us to manage the Cafe, to handle the day to day practical arrangements. Please let me know if you would do this.
SEPTEMBER 5/6: 5pm David; 10.30am Gerry 12/13: 5pm Maggie; 10.30am Mutsa 19/20: 5pm Paul; 10.30am Lisa 26/27: 5pm Phil; 10.30am Mutsa
We will soon be using the Olde Forge cottage for Retreats. People who wish to spend a few days in quiet and stillness, to understand themselves better and to deepen their relationship with God, will live in the cottage. The cottage is self-contained. Each day, I will meet with the person ‘on retreat’ for counselling and direction. You might well see somebody new at holy Mass on weekdays. Please don’t try to engage with them in conversation. An extended experience of silence is a part of the ‘Retreat.’
AUGUST 29/30: 5pm Simone; 10.30am Lesley, Jim, Lisa(H) SEPTEMBER 5/6: 5pm Paul Donovan; 10.30am Gaberielle, Regina, Giannina(H) 12/13: 5pm Patrick; 10.30am Paul Mould, Lizzie, Lorenza(H) 19/20: 5pm Patricia; 10.30am Ross, David, Maggie(H) 26/27: 5pm Marian; 10.30am Jim, Angela, Lesley(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.
We cannot keep quiet while the question of Assisted Suicide is being debated, in our name, in Parliament (Friday 11th September). Please contact your MP, as soon as you can and before the 11th September, expressing your opposition to this cruel and mistaken response to human suffering and death which would reduce so much of our United Kingdom’s respect for the dignity and value of human life. Look on the website of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of England and Wales for clear reasons to oppose this Bill. Please click on this link to find out more: https://www.cbcew.org.uk/opposing-assisted-suicide/ Look on the UK Parliament website to find various ways of contacting your MP. Our MP for this Constituency of Croydon South is Mr Chris Philps who supports this appalling Bill!
OLDE FORGE CAFE BAKERS/PROVIDERS ROTA AUGUST 2026 29: Soph SEPTEMBER 2026 5: Giannina 12: Sophie G 19: Gabriella Storey 26: Andrea Sumaria 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 AUGUST 2026 25: Paul Mould, Collette 29: Jim, Gaberielle 30: Patricia, Maggie Bailey SEPTEMBER 2026 1: Lizzie, Tony C 5: Maggie Bowes, Marian 6: Maggie Bailey, Collette 8: Patricia, Gabrielle 12: Phil, Lesley 13: Emmanuella, Jim 15: Ros, Lizzie 19: Mary, Phil 20: Gabriella Storey, Lorenza 22: Regina, Patricia 26: Patrick, Simone 27: Paul, Vanessa 29: David, Maggie Bailey 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.
I would like to make you aware of a new type of scam that is now targeting individuals within our parish communities through WhatsApp. Cyber criminals are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) to create convincing videos, voice messages and written communications while impersonating members of the clergy. Their aim is to deceive unsuspecting individuals into believing they are communicating with a priest, bishop, or other Parish representative before requesting money or donations. • Never assume that a WhatsApp message or video is genuine simply because it appears to come from a member of the clergy. • Never send money, gift cards or bank details in response to unsolicited requests received via WhatsApp or other messaging platforms. • Always verify the identity of the sender by contacting the priest or parish directly using a known telephone number or official email address before responding to any request. • Report any suspicious messages and the phone numbers to Action Fraud https://www.reportfraud.police.uk/.
The Coffee Machine in the Olde Forge Evangelisation Cafe has a number of controls that govern amounts of coffee and the temperature of the coffee. These amounts and temperatures are set. Please, dear Hosts, do not attempt to alter these settings. Overflowing/Under-filling cups are the results of changing the set controls. Please don’t force anything on the machine. If you are not sure what to do, please seek help, perhaps especially about cleaning the equipment after a session. An engineer visited the cafe last week to make necessary repairs and to check all settings.
