SUNDAY 28th December
Holy Family Year A
Readings: Ecclesiasticus 3:2-14, Psalm 127, Colossians 3:12-21, Matthew 2:13-23
Sat 27th Dec 17.30 Confessions
18.00 Zoe Baker (Duff)
Sun 28th Dec HOLY FAMILY YEAR A
08.30 Margaret Northover (Cannon)
10.30 Tony Speed RIP (Speed)
Mon 29th Dec 09.15 Thomas of Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
10.00 Canterbury Sean Staden (Staden)
Tues 30th Dec 09.15 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
10.00 Tony and Margaret Deacon (Staden)
Wed 31st Dec 09.15 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
10.00 Kathy Connolly (Wheatley)
Thu 1st Jan 09.15 Mother of God Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
10.00 The Back Family
Fri 2nd Jan 09.15 Basil & Gregory Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
10.00 Holy Souls (Jeyaseelan)
Sat 3rd Jan 17.30 Confessions
18.00 Des Mendes (Jeyaseelan)
Sun 4th Jan 2ND SUNDAY AFTER THE NATIVITY
08.30 Alan Harrison RIP (Bowman)
10.30 Jacqueline Downey (Downey)
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.
MASS INTENTIONS
Do have masses said for your intentions. Use the envelopes in the foyer to name the intention and to enclose an offering. Give them to Fr Doug or post them through the presbytery door.
FINANCES
Many thanks for your offertory collection £ 1135.66
Bank Payments to RCAS Bexley, Sort code 51 70 14, Account 01831763
Card Payment: Machine located in the foyer.
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 on weekdays, £40 per hour at weekends
Newsletter: Please copy notices to Fr Doug by the previous Wednesday
Dear Parishioners,
As we prepare to begin a New Year let me look forward and wish you and your families every blessing and 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 altar servers, the teams for baptism, first holy communion, confirmation, and children’s liturgies, our hard working finance team, our premises officer; our offertory collection counters, our welcome teams at masses, our coffee morning organisers, our events committee, the SVP team who will be sadly missed in the future, the liturgy committee, the mass intention coordinator, our newsletter team, 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 organist, the choir and their leader, our Eucharistic ministers, our shop staff, our sacristan, the parish secretary, our readers, the safeguarding leader, 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.
Let me also, on my own behalf, thank you all for the generous Christmas Offering that you gave me along with all the Christmas Cards and gifts. I am humbled, touched and grateful.
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.
CHURCH CLEANING
A big THANK YOU to the small group of parishioners who give up their free time to help keep our church clean. The rota for 2026 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. If you think you might be able to help, please ring Carole Hughes on 07762 731303.
WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY – 18-25 January
Churches Together in Old Bexley invite you to a service on Sunday 18 January at 3pm at URC, Hurst Road. We are all invited to celebrate, draw strength and encouragement from the gift of our shared faith. In these turbulent times, we can take heart from the endurance of that faith.
NEW AUXILIARY BISHOP FOR OUR ARCHDIOCESE OF SOUTHWARK.
Our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV has appointed Canon Gerard Bradley as Auxiliary Bishop for our Archdiocese of Southwark. Bishop-Elect Gerard’s Episcopal Ordination will be on Monday 2 February in our Cathedral. The Holy Father has assigned him the Titular See of Beverley, the birthplace in Yorkshire of St John Fisher, loved by us all as a former Catholic Bishop of Rochester.
POPE LEO XIV, AMOR SED AMOR, (LOVE BUT LOVE) – a new book
This book explores today’s most pressing questions—from AI and LGBTQ+ issues to individualism, relativism, and more.
A clear Catholic response for our time. In a world shaped by Artificial Intelligence, individualism, and moral relativism, this book presents Pope Leo XIV’s compelling call to the Church: to love with truth, to evangelise with courage, and to remain faithful to Christ in a changing culture.
HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS
A reminder that if you (or a family member) are admitted to hospital, you need to ask that your record indicate you are a Roman Catholic if you would like a visit from the Chaplaincy or to receive Holy Communion. The Chaplaincy cannot approach you unless your religion is recorded.
stjohnfisherbexley.org 
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