Newsletter

SUNDAY 5th January 2025,

EPIPHANY OF THE LORD YEAR C

Readings: Isaiah 60:1-6, Psalm 72, Ephesians 3:2-6, Matthew 2:1-12.

 

Sat      4th Jan     17.30                                      Confessions

18.00                                      Catherine Fitzpatrick RIP (Staden) 

 

Sun     5th Jan           EPIPHANY OF THE LORD YEAR C 

                            08.30                                      Rhona McIlfatrick (Cannon)

                            10.30                                      David Brailsford RIP (Brailsford)

 

Mon    6th Jan     09.15                                      Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

10.00                                      Maria & Bianca Nucera RIP (Highland)

Tues   7th Jan     09.15                                      Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

                            10.00                                      Veronica & Paddy (Kilcullen)

 

Wed    8th Jan     09.15        Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 

                            10.00                                      Maureen Fitzpatrick (Hughes)

                                       

Fri     10th Jan     09.15     Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 

10.00                                      Sadie McLaughlin RIP (Hagen)

 

Sat    11th Jan     17.30                                      Confessions

18.00                                      Colette Hunt RIP (Linthorn) 

 

Sun    12th Jan         BAPTISM OF THE LORD YEAR C 

                            08.30                                      Delia Willis RIP (Wilkes)

                            10.30                                      Maureen Fitzpatrick (Wheatley)

 

The Last day of Christmas!!! “Ordinary time” from now till Lent.

 

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

 

LIVE STREAMING OF MASSES ON THE WEBSITE

All masses are streamed via the link:

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

 

FINANCES   

Many thanks for your offertory collection           Last Week:                           £ 1078.22 incl S.O.

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 foyer. Very easy to use!

Gift Aid Please join the GIFT AID scheme – Forms available in the foyer. 

            

OUR PARISH HALL

Our hall is available for hire. Please email bexley@rcaos.org.uk at ANY time and our secretary will get back to you. Prices: £35 per hour weekdays, £40 per hour weekends

 

Newsletter: Please copy notices to Fr Doug by the previous Wednesday

 

Dear Parishioners, 

                                     HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

As we begin this New Year together, let me look ahead and wish you and your families every blessing and also look back to the year past and thank everyone who has given so much to the parish: 

To the parish council, and to all the groups and activity that they lead or coordinate – including our AIC, our M.C. and altar servers, the teams for baptism, first holy communion, confirmation, and children’s liturgies, our hard working finance team, our premises committee; our offertory collection counters, our welcome teams at masses, our coffee morning organisers, our events committee, the SVP team, the liturgy committee, the representatives for diocesan and national charities, our hall staff, our meeting point helpers, the church care team, the flower arrangers, the crib and Easter garden builder, the Christmas tree team, the organists, the choir and their leader, our Eucharistic ministers, shop staff and sacristans, the parish secretary, our readers, the parish registers keeper, the safeguarding team and the person who runs our website and offers other technical support, and indeed everyone who has taken part in our parish activity and helped to carry our mission forward. On behalf of the whole parish I say a big thank you to you all. 

 

On a personal note, I also wish to thank you for all the Christmas cards and gifts that I received and especially for your very generous Christmas Offering. I am most grateful. 

 

And oh yes, hasn’t our sanctuary looked spectacular over this Christmas period. We hope to repurpose the Christmas tree later in the year when we hope to join a Cafod campaign to “Live Simply”, but more about that in due course.   

                                                       God Bless,                                       Fr Doug 

 

CRIB COLLECTION:  This year we are collecting for Friends of the Holy Land.

This charity, endorsed by Cardinal Vincent Nicholls, actually has workers based in Bethlehem and is therefore able to help the Christians there survive even under the current siege conditions imposed by Israel. They assist with emergency aid, with counselling and with a limited amount of development.

 

MAUREEN WATKINS, CATHERINE FITZPATRICK, LESLEY DOYLE RIP

May they rest in peace and rise in glory.

Cath’s funeral will be in church at 10.00 on Monday 20^th January

Lesley’s funeral will be at Eltham Crematorium at 1.00 on Wednesday 22^nd January 

 

FESTIVE PARTY :  Huge congratulations to all those involved in the event – to the organisers and to the participants. An enjoyable festive time was enjoyed by all and £230 was raised for parish funds.



 

CHURCH CLEANING:   A big THANK YOU to the parishioners who give up time to help keep our church clean. The 2025 rota is now available for collection from the cupboard. We would be grateful if more volunteers came forward to either join an existing group or make up a new one.  Currently, each group cleans once every 12 weeks for about one hour.  Please ring Carole Hughes on 07762 731303.

 

MARLENE BURT:  Congratulations to Marlene who has been awarded the British Empire Medal in the New Year Honours List for her services to education.