Newsletter

SUNDAY 1^st June 2025

SEVENTH SUNDAY of EASTER Year C

Readings: Acts 7:55-60, Psalm 96, Apocalypse 22:12-20, John 17:20-26

 

Sat    31st May            17.30     Confessions

18.00                          Angela Gillespie (Wheatley) 

 

Sun    1st June         SEVENTH SUNDAY of EASTER Year C 

                                    08.30                           Matthew Bhalla (Bhalla)

                                    10.30                           John Ellis RIP (Ellis)

                        12.00 NOON PARISH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

 

Mon    2nd June       09.15 Philip Neri           Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 

                                     10.00                            Maureen Fitzpatrick RIP (King)

 

Tues   3rd June            09.15  Charles Lwanga   Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament  

10.00  & Companions         Dorothy Cima RIP (Connolly)

 

Wed   4th June             09.15                         Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 

                                     10.00                                 John Bowman RIP (Bowman)

 

Fri      6th June             09.15                         Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 

                                    10.00                          Sylvie and Victor Jeyaseelan RIP (Jeyaseelan)

 

Sat     7th June             17.30    Confessions

         18.00                           Holy Souls (Jeyaseelan) 

 

Sun     8^th June          PENTECOST SUNDAY Year C 

                                    08.30                            For the Parish

                                    10.30                            Anthony Moffat RIP (Moffat)

                        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                    £824.48     

Retiring Collections: Last week: Communications        £109.03 

This Week:    Padre Pio Rehabilitation Centre

 

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

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 on weekdays, £40 per hour at weekends

 

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

 

Dear Parishioners,

This is the last week of Easter. The great season of celebration ends next Sunday with the feast of Pentecost. The liturgical colours will return to green and our Easter Garden will be packed away. So, that will be the last chance to contribute to our ongoing collection for the people of Palestine through the “Friends of the Holy Land”. The backdrop of the atrocious scenes in Gaza in the Easter Garden has highlighted the terrible suffering in the world, into which Christ immersed himself fully. 

 

PADRE PIO REHABILITATION CENTRE or “AHOTOKUROM” in Ghana 

We welcome Sebastien Santhiapillai and Trudy Kilcullen who will be speaking on behalf of leprosy survivors and others who are cared for by this wonderful Mission near Cape coast and Elmina in Ghana. Many of you know that I have been part of this mission since the early 1990s. For more information on the project see www.ahoto.org

  

                            God Bless,                                                Fr Doug

 

PARISH AGM

Our annual parish meeting will be on at 12 noon in the hall following the 10.30 mass. Please come along if you can. Those in leadership roles will appreciate your interest and your scrutiny!

 

PARISH BBQ 

Sunday 29th June. Please join us for food and entertainment for young and old. £8 adults / £5 Children with the BBQ included in your entry price. Bouncy castle / Face painting / Live singer.

This annual event has been greatly enjoyed over the years but it does take a bit of organising! Team of Volunteers needed – Please add your name to the sign-up sheet as you leave.’



 

JUBILEE YEAR PILGRIMAGES

Deanery Pilgrimage to St. John Vianney        Saturday 5^th July

Our Pilgrimage Opening Service will be here at 10.30. We then make our pilgrimage journey on foot (or by other means) to the designated sacred Jubilee Year Site, St. John Vianney in Bexleyheath, where we will join with the other parishes of Bexley deanery/borough for our concluding service at 1.00. We will have maps and instructions available for everyone. There will be time to stop for refreshments on the way. You may choose to bring a picnic for lunch or try one of the many restaurants on the Broadway or simply leave after the service. It will be a day to bring before the Lord any special or long-term issues in your life or the lives of your loved ones.

 

A pilgrimage is essentially a personal activity whereby a physical journey or quest helps us focus on our inner journey or quest. Jubilee 2025 encourages us to undertake one.

 

Diocesan Pilgrimage to Aylesford on Sat 7^th June – There is a coach arranged from St Mary of the Crays. £15 each £30 family Contact Vanessa Barker 01322 551257

Diocesan Pilgrimage to Walsingham on Sat 28^th June

 

SANCTUARY REFLECTION DAYS

Filled with the Spirit – 14th June 11am to 3pm – offers an invitation this Pentecost, to cooperate with the Spirit in reflecting on the need for HOPE in our time.

For more information or booking: email sanctuaryakwaaba@gmail.com or call/ text 07977 978536

 

SOUTHWARK CATHOLIC YOUTH SERVICE

Our Youth Days offer a blend of faith formation, prayer, sports, crafts, and, of course, pizza! They present a wonderful opportunity for young people aged 10 to 14 to deepen their faith, make new friends, and have a lot of fun.  You can reserve places by emailing youth@rcaos.org.uk.

 

SUNDAY 25th May 2025

SIXTH SUNDAY of EASTER Year C

Readings: Acts 15:1-29, Psalm 66, Apocalypse 21:10-14, John 14:23-29

 

Sat   24th May      17.30    Confessions

18.00             Tony Frake RIP (Newton) 

 

Sun  25th May  SIXTH SUNDAY of EASTER Year C 

                            08.30              Mary Conlan RIP (Kilcullen)

                            10.30               Fiona Boome RIP (Howie)

 

Mon  26th May    09.15  Philip Neri     Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 

                            10.00                    Maureen Fitzpatrick RIP (King)

 

Tues 27th May     09.15 Augustine of    Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 

                            10.00  Canterbury John & Eileen Hollis (Wheatley)

 

Wed 28th May     09.15                   Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 

                            10.00                    Dorothy Cima RIP (Bowman)

 

Thurs 29^th May    09.15         ASCENSION      Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 

10.00                     Hilda Tuohy RIP (McCarthy)

                            19.30                     Holy Souls

 

Fri     30th May    09.15                   Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 

                            10.00                     Kathleen Bowman RIP (Bowman)

 

Sat   31st May     17.30   Confessions

18.00                     Angela Gillespie (Wheatley) 

 

Sun  1st June   SEVENTH SUNDAY of EASTER Year C 

                            08.30                     Matthew Bhalla (Bhalla)

                            10.30                     John Ellis RIP (Ellis)

                   

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

12.00 NOON Parish AGM

 

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:                       £946.10                                        

Retiring Collections: Last week:                                      £337.50

This Week:        Communications Network 

 Next Week:       Padre Pio Rehabilitation Centre

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

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 on weekdays, £40 per hour at weekends

 

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

 

Dear Parishioners,

We continue to pray for peace all over the world but especially in Gaza. The military action there is truly atrocious. We rejoice that our government has finally come out against the dreadful action taking place there. It can never be right to starve innocent people as a tactic of war. The stand our government has taken may seem relatively insignificant, but the sharp response that it has brought from the Israeli government at least shows that the message was received loud and clear. We must continue our prayer and thank God for any small step taken in the right direction.

 

In this Jubilee year let me encourage you once again to consider the notion of pilgrimage. A pilgrimage is a physical journey that helps us reflect on an inner journey, a journey of the soul. Our Deanery Pilgrimage on July 5^th will offer an opportunity to carry a spiritual intention to the Lord – maybe to do with mourning the loss of a loved one, praying for a personal concern, seeking the courage to make some decision, or simply travelling with the Lord. We will carry these intentions (symbolized in a stone or pebble) from our church and we will join pilgrims from all the other Catholic churches in our deanery of Bexley in a final service at St. John Vianney in Bexleyheath. The Archbishop has made the church a sacred site for the Jubilee Year. There’ll be route maps for walkers and walkers from our parish will travel mainly through green space, avoiding roads. 

God Bless,                                  Fr Doug 

 

COMMUNICATIONS SUNDAY:  The retiring collection this weekend is for the Catholic Communications Network, the media office of our national conference of bishops, which provides news releases, features and podcasts.

 

PARISH AGM:  Our annual parish meeting will be on Sunday June 1^st at 12 noon in the hall. Please come along if you can. Those in leadership roles will appreciate your interest and your scrutiny!

PARISH BBQ:  Sunday 29th June. Please join us for food and entertainment for young and old. £8 adults / £5 Children with the BBQ included in your entry price. Bouncy castle / Face painting / Live singer. Team of Volunteers needed – Please add your name to the sign-up sheet as you leave.’



 

JUBILEE YEAR PILGRIMAGES

Deanery Pilgrimage to St. John Vianney        Saturday 5^th July 

Diocesan Pilgrimage to Aylesford on Sat 7^th June – There is coach arranged from St Mary of the Crays. £15 each £30 family Contact Vanessa Barker 01322 551257

Diocesan Pilgrimage to Walsingham on Sat 28^th June

 

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT 

CRY: Liam Morgan would just like to thank the parish for your amazing support and sponsorship for his marathon run. With your help he managed to raise around £3000 for his charity, “Cry”. He managed to complete the marathon in just over 4hrs.

THE PASSAGE:  AIC Passage Friends wish to thank all who sponsored our 10km walk in Battersea Park on Sunday.  With your help we raised £1282 for The Passage. 

 

SANCTUARY REFLECTION DAYS:  Filled with the Spirit – 14th June 11am to 3pm – offers an invitation this Pentecost, to cooperate with the Spirit in reflecting on the need for HOPE in our time.

For more information or booking: email sanctuaryakwaaba@gmail.com or call/ text 07977 978536

 

SOUTHWARK CATHOLIC YOUTH SERVICE:  Our Youth Days offer a blend of faith formation, prayer, sports, crafts, and, of course, pizza! They present a wonderful opportunity for young people aged 10 to 14 to deepen their faith, make new friends, and have a lot of fun.  You can reserve places by emailing youth@rcaos.org.uk.

SUNDAY 18th May 2025

FIFTH SUNDAY of EASTER Year C

Readings: Acts 14:21-27, Psalm 144, Apocalypse 21:1-5, John 13:31-35

 

Sat    17th May    17.30 Confessions

18.00                     Molly Aldridge (Wood) 

 

Sun   18th May       FIFTH SUNDAY of EASTER Year C 

                            08.30                    Maureen Fitzpatrick RIP (Connolly)

                            10.30                   Anthony Moffat RIP (Moffat)

 

Mon   19th May    09.15      Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 

                            10.00               Maureen Fitzpatrick RIP (King)

 

Tues  20th May    09.15         Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 

                            10.00                    John & Eileen Stanton (Wheatley)

 

Wed   21st May    09.15   Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 

10.00                     Special Intention (Bosser)

                                    

Fri      23rd May   09.15       Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 

                            10.00              Serse Cima RIP (Foundation)

                            11.00          Funeral Service Patrick O’Brien RIP

 

Sat     24th May   17.30       Confessions

18.00                     Tony Frake RIP (Newton) 

 

Sun     25th May       SIXTH SUNDAY of EASTER Year C 

                             08.30             Mary Conlan RIP (Kilcullen)

                            10.30                    Fiona Boome RIP (Howie)

 

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        £923.40                                                        

Retiring Collection: Previous Week: MSP        £237.30

                                                                                                                              

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 on weekdays, £40 per hour at weekends

 

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

 

Dear Parishioners,

Our late Holy Father, Pope Francis called on us all during this Jubilee Year to try and engage in a pilgrimage of some sort. Sometimes the essence of pilgrimage is diluted. It becomes a trip, often by plane to a site of religious interest, a religion-based holiday, in a way. But the essence of pilgrimage is really in the journey. We make a physical journey that helps us reflect on an inner journey, a journey of the soul. Centuries ago such pilgrimages were often made in penance with the rigours of the journey reminding pilgrims of their need for forgiveness. But people can make pilgrimages with other spiritual intentions – to mourn the loss of a loved one, to pray for a concern of personal significance, to seek the courage to make some significant decision, or simply to enjoy travelling with the Lord.

We are, as a deanery of Bexley preparing a joint pilgrimage on July 5th to St. John Vianney in Bexleyheath. Pilgrims from every parish will have an opening ceremony in their own church and then walk or travel by other means to St. John Vianney and gather there for a closing ceremony. The Archbishop has made the church a special sacred site for the Jubilee Year. There’ll be route maps for walkers and walkers from our parish will travel mainly through green space, avoiding roads. It will be a great opportunity to take part in a Jubilee Pilgrimage – heartily recommended!

 

Our Live Simply Easter Tree has been discarded this week. It held an amazing 347 pledges—including 20 from children—each one a step toward a more mindful way of living. From reducing meat consumption and walking to church, to lowering thermostats and turning off taps, our small changes added up. Together, we saved emissions equal to 9,000 miles of car travel, recycled over 50kg of electronics, and conserved enough energy to run a washing machine for over 60 cycles. Even our youngest parishioners joined in, saving energy equivalent to 500 phone charges!

We also stood in solidarity with those in need. Forty-nine parishioners supported foodbanks more than 130 times—enough to feed a family of four for over five weeks. These acts of care and compassion made a real difference—to our planet, to others, and to our spiritual journey. Thank you to everyone who took part. We look forward to celebrating together later this year—and to continuing this journey as a parish. (Live Simply Team)

 

God Bless,                                                Fr Doug 

 

PATRICK O’BRIEN RIP

The funeral Service for Patrick O’Brien will be on Friday 23^rd May at 11.00

 

PARISH AGM

Our annual parish meeting will be on Sunday June 1^st at 12 noon in the hall. Please come along if you can. Those in leadership roles will appreciate your interest and your scrutiny!

 

JUBILEE YEAR PILGRIMAGES:  Pope Francis encouraged us all to make some kind of a pilgrimage in this Jubilee Year of Hope

Deanery Pilgrimage to St. John Vianney           Saturday 5^th July 

Diocesan Pilgrimages to Aylesford on Sat 7^th June and Walsingham on Sat 28^th June

Augustine Camino: Rochester Cathedral to Minster Abbey – for Mary’s Meals Mon 1 – Sun 8 Sep 

 

WALK TO END HOMELESSNESS:  On Sunday 18 May, four members of our AIC Passage Friends group are walking 10km in Battersea Park to raise money for the Passage.  If you would like to support them, please see either Carole Hughes, Maria Ward or Alice (Ann) Harris. Thank you for your continued support.

 

SANCTUARY REFLECTION DAYS:  Up in Hope – 24th May 11am to 3pm – offers time for personal reflection, space and peace as we consider the HOPE offered each of us through Christ’s Ascension.

Filled with the Spirit – 14th June 11am to 3pm – offers an invitation this Pentecost, to cooperate with the Spirit in reflecting on the need for HOPE in our time.

For more information or booking: email sanctuaryakwaaba@gmail.com or call/ text 07977 978536