Newsletter

SUNDAY 8^th January 2023

BAPTISM of the LORD, YEAR A 

Readings: Isaiah 42:1-4,6-7 Psalm 28 Acts 10:34-38 Gospel: Matthew 3:13-17

 

Sat    7^th Jan        17.30       Confessions

                            18.00       DRF Harrington+Sheehan families(Sheehan)

 

Sun   8^th Jan           BAPTISM of the LORD       

                             08.30      For the Parish

 10.30       David Brailsford RIP (Brailsford)

 

Mon   9^th Jan        09.15       Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

                            10.00        Keith Uren RIP (Cannon)  

 

Tues 10^th Jan       09.15       Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

10.00        Dr Juliette (Harris)

 

Wed  11^th Jan       09.15       Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

                             10.00       Frank O’Rourke RIP (O’Rourke)   

 

Fri    13^th Jan        09.15  St Hilary, Bishop   Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

                             10.00       Those in Need of our Prayers (B.Gillespie)

 

Sat    14^th Jan       17.30        Confessions

                              18.00       For the Parish

 

Sun   15^th Jan         SECOND SUNDAY, Peace Day               

                              08.30       Intentions of Bernie King (M.Fitzpatrick)

                              10.30       Private Intention (Sullivan)

                                    

LIVE STREAMING OF MASSES ON THE WEBSITE

All masses are streamed live and can be viewed on this website, via the link. 

Recordings are available. The Sunday sermon is also on the website in printed form.

 

FINANCES   

Many thanks for your offertory collection last week       £1047.07 Incl. S.O.s 

 

Direct Bank Payments to RCAS Bexley, Sort code 51 70 14, Account 01831763

Please put your name and if you use envelopes, your envelope number, as the code.

Card Payment Machine – located in the porch, is easy to use. Select a donation amount by pressing one of the amounts.  The card reader screen will read “Please Tap”, and you tap your card or phone on the card reader.  

Gift Aid Please join the GIFT AID scheme – Forms are at the back of the Church. For every £1.00 donated the Parish will receive 25p from the Tax Office. Standing Orders are best for us. Thank you

 

OUR PARISH HALL

Our hall is available for hire. Please email bexley@rcaos.org.uk at ANY time for enquiries and our hall secretary will get back to you. 

 

Please join us in the Hall for refreshments after the 10.30 mass

 

Newsletter: Please copy notices to Fr Doug by previous Wednesday

 

Happy 2023

Dear Parishioners,

The great feast of the Baptism of Jesus marks the end of the Church’s season of Christmas. So decorations can come down now, Christmas trees can be removed, and so on. But I have always kept one card or one bit of decoration in view for the year ahead. I am interested to see if anyone notices it, and if so, it gives me a chance to say that while we celebrate Christmas within its own season, we can give thanks to God for the birth of Jesus all year round! 

And once again, on a personal note, let me thank you for the Christmas offertory collection which by custom is your gift to me, for other gifts besides and especially for the greetings cards with which I decorate my home. They all mean a great deal to me. 

Let me offer you the beautiful prayer that the year can begin with:

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:

‘Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown’ and he replied:

‘Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God.

That shall be to you better than light and safer than any known way

 

                                                                                                God Bless,                  Fr Doug

FIRST HOLY COMMUNION 2023

Application forms are now available for the First Holy Communion Programme 2023.  Children eligible for First Communion must be in Year 3 or above.  Application forms can be collected from the church foyer. The programme will commence late January/early February 2023.  Completed forms are to be returned by 9^th January 2023.                                                 Angela Underwood

 

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 

Churches Together in Old Bexley warmly invite you to celebrate our first joint service since 2019 to pray for the great gift of Christian Unity.  This can be achieved by joining in the ANNUAL OCTAVE OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY taking place from 18-25 January.  Bexley United Reformed Church, Hurst Road (opposite the War Memorial), is hosting a service at 3pm on Sunday, 22^nd January.  This will be followed by refreshments and a chance to catch-up and meet new friends.

  Kathy Fogarty. Parish Unity Contact: 07963 454480.

 

ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY

Members of the St. John Fisher Conference would like to make parishioners aware that anyone who is feeling lonely and would like a visit or a phone call can contact the Parish Office. One of us will then contact you.  We’d also like to recruit new members. If you can help with visiting and fund raising to support the more vulnerable in our area, please contact the Parish Office.

 

SCRIPTURE STUDY

‘The Bible in a year programme’ has just begun. It is led by Fr Michael Schmitz. This is freely available on YouTube or Spotify as a Podcast. It follows the format of Jeff Cavin’s Bible Timeline which many of us followed a year or two ago and is in 20-minute daily episodes. 

 

CAFOD – the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development 

… are looking for people to give some time and join them in their mission.  This could be achieved by visiting local schools or raising a voice and campaigning for justice or perhaps speaking for CAFOD throughout the diocese.  We believe everybody has unique gifts and talents and we can support you to use these gifts to serve the parish community and our brothers and sisters across the world.  Training and support are provided.  See cafod.org.uk/Volunteer for more information or get in touch with Celeste and Sarah: southwark@cafod.org.uk and let’s transform the world in 2023 together!