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.

 

 

SUNDAY 29th December 2024

HOLY FAMILY YEAR C

There are 2 sets of readings available this Sunday. Archbishop John has elected to use these:  Readings: 1 Samuel 1:20-28, Psalm 84, 1John 3:1-24, Luke 2:41-52.   Page 105

 

Sat   28th Dec   Please welcome Fr Luke who is saying mass this evening.

18.00                                           Tony Speed RIP (Speed) 

 

Sun  29th Dec   HOLY FAMILY OF MARY, JOSEPH AND JESUS, YEAR C 

                            08.30                                     Matthew Bhalla (Bhalla)

                            10.30                                     Jamie Cowdell (F)

 

Mon  30th Dec     09.15                               Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

10.00                                    For the Parish

 

Tues   31st Dec   09.15                              Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

                            10.00                                     Sonny Sheehan RIP (Sheehan)

 

Wed     1^st Jan     09.15  Mary, the Mother     Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

                            10.00         of God                  Bishop John Hine RIP (Kilcullen)

                              

 

Fri     3rd Jan       09.15                             Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 

10.00                                          Agatha Sant (East)

 

Sat   4th Jan         17.30       Confessions

18.00                                     Kathleen Fitzpatrick (Staden) 

 

Sun  5th Jan     EPIPHANY OF THE LORD YEAR C 

                            08.30                                     Rhona McIlfatrick (Cannon)

                            10.30                                     David Brailsford RIP (Brailsford)

 

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:                         £ 1012.35 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

 

From Archbishop John Wilson’s 2024 Christmas message

Dear friends,

As I began to reflect on the year gone-by, I was hit, sadly, with a sense of ‘haven’t we been here before’. Just like the year before, the world seems so troubled, so divided. The conflict in the Holy Land is ongoing. The conflict in Ukraine is ongoing. The conflict in Sudan is ongoing. Sadly, this is not an exhaustive list. The need for peace in countries experiencing war and violence is vital. We know too there are attacks on the dignity of life at home, through the proposed legalisation of assisted suicide. And so many people in our communities face poverty and inequality. In a world that seems so divided, it can be easy to lose hope; even to lose faith.

 

But in times of darkness, in times of pain, in times of division, instead of giving into the temptation of losing hope we must turn to our one, great living hope – the Lord Jesus. In Him, and in His message of Good News, we see the possibility of a different and better world. This is what the truth of Christmas is all about. It’s a story of hope triumphing over darkness. It’s God’s love story towards our world and each one of us. On a cold night in Bethlehem, our hope arrived in the form of a tiny baby, a new-born Prince of Peace, a king of love. God became man for us. A Saviour was born out of love: love of you, love of me, and love for our world. This love in action fills our hearts us with so much hope. Not just at Christmas, but also for the year ahead.

Next year is a Year of Jubilee for the Catholic Church worldwide. We are called to be pilgrims of hope. It’s a chance to renew and deepen our faith, our hope and our love, as we journey together as disciples of the Lord Jesus. The account of the birth of the Lord Jesus inspires our journey as pilgrims of hope. When the Angel Gabriel appeared to Our Lady, she was troubled by the Angel’s message. It can’t have been easy for her when they were turned away at the inn. But Mary, the Mother of the Lord, never despaired or gave up hope. She put her faith and trust in the Lord. Mary is the timeless example of what it is to follow Jesus. No matter what, to trust, hope and believe that God is with us in everything. That we are never abandoned or alone. 

This hope, like Our Lady’s resounding yes to God’s plan for her, must be an active one. This means putting our faith into practice, speaking out for justice and against war, hatred, and poverty, and in defence of human life and all creation. We need to speak the truth that every human life is made in the image and likeness of God. That every human life is to be protected, nourished and nurtured. We must be a people who promote life, not death. We need to be active in making the case for peace. The Lord Jesus is the Prince of Peace and we are duty bound to follow his commands and call for peace in our troubled world. This is all rooted in actively placing our hope in the Lord Jesus. How do we do this? By coming to Him in prayer and in adoration of his Eucharistic presence, by reading the Gospels and praying the rosary. My brothers and sisters, seek out and deepen your friendship with the Lord Jesus. Prayer is the most active expression of our love and hope. And there is no more hopeful and active prayer than when we place ourselves before the Blessed Sacrament, the Real Presence of Jesus. Our Lord Jesus told His disciples to remain with Him, and keep watch with Him. This is what He invited us to do. To stay with Him in prayer. As you spend time in adoration, kneeling before our Lord – truly present in the Eucharist – you will feel your heart fill with peace and hope. Because He is there, waiting for you, yearning for you, just as your heart yearns for Him.

Friends, in this coming year, continue to seek the Lord Jesus in prayer and, as often as you can in Eucharistic adoration. Pray for peace within yourself, for peace in our world, with the hope of Christ in your hearts. Please be sure of my prayers for you and your families and loved ones. And please pray for me. I wish you a holy and blessed Christmas. May God, be with you and strengthen your hope. And may God bless you, and those your love, and our world, with peace in the year to come.

 

FIRST HOLY COMMUNION 2025

Application forms are in the foyer for the 2025 First Holy Communion programme, commencing in January. Children in year 3 or above can apply.  Completed forms must be returned by 31st Dec. 

 

 

SUNDAY 22nd December 2024,

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR C

Readings: Micah 5:1-4, Psalm 80, Hebrews 10:5-10, Luke 1:39-45.

 

Sat   21st Dec      17.30     Confessions

18.00              Patrick Corcoran (Rogers) 

 

Sun  22nd Dec FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT YEAR C 

                            08.30              For the Parish 

                            10.30              Hollis Family

                            16.00       CAROL SERVICE 

 

Mon  23rd Dec      09.15       Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

10.00         TG Jordan Biott (Biott)

  7.30       RECONCILIATION SERVICE

 

Tues   24th Dec     CHRISTMAS EVE – No Morning Service

                            18.00                     Kay Gillespie (Gillespie)

                            22.00                     Robert Lasrado RIP (Lasrado)

 

Wed          25th Dec   CHRISTMAS DAY                       

08.30                      Colette Hunt RIP 

                            10.30                     O’Neill Familly (O’Donnell)

 

Fri     27th Dec      09.15        Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 

10.00                      Helen & Family (Morris)

 

Sat   28th Dec      17.30         Confessions

18.00                      Tony Speed RIP (Speed) 

 

Sun  29th Dec   HOLY FAMILY of Mary, Joseph and Jesus, YEAR C 

                            08.30                    Matthew Bhalla (Bhalla)

                            10.30                    Jamie Cowdell (F)

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:                         £ 1026.87 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. OUT OF ORDER – Sorry for the inconvenience!

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,

          I look forward to celebrating Christmas with you during the week but if you are 

          travelling may I wish you every blessing and especially, a safe journey.

                                                          God Bless,                                  Fr Doug 

 

MASSES AT CHRISTMAS – straightforward this year!

CHRISTMAS EVE – Tues    24th Dec: 6.00 p.m. and 10.00p.m.

CHRISTMAS DAY – Wed 25th Dec: 8.30 a.m. and 10.30 a.m.                          

 

CAROL SERVICE:

Our Carol Service will be this Sunday at 16.00. The children will remind us of the Christmas Story and we will anticipate the great day itself as we sing our Christmas carols. Children (young or old) are welcome to dress up as shepherds, kings, angels etc. All are welcome! Refreshments of a traditional nature to follow in the hall.

 

SERVICE OF RECONCILIATION

Our celebration of the sacrament of reconciliation will be on Monday 23^rd December at 7.30.

Fr Luke from Bexleyheath and Fr Oliver from Blackfen will be joining us. 

 

MAUREEN WATKINS RIP

Maureen died during the week. May she rest in peace and rise in glory.

 

BUILDING A BETTER MARRIAGE 

Saturday 25^th January 2025 9.30am – 4.30pm at St Stephen’s parish hall, Welling, 

A day in which married couples can privately explore their relationship more deeply and gain valuable insights into the communication and the call of the Church to the married. There is no charge for this course.  Booking is essential – please contact Carole on mflkent@rcaos.org.uk  or phone 07983 524 727 Refreshments will be provided but please bring a packed lunch.

 

ST PETER CHANEL PRIMARY SCHOOL

We are open for 2025 Reception applications for children born between 1^st Sep 2020 and 31^st Aug 2021. The deadline for applications is 15^th January 2025. We also have places in our outstanding Pre-School available, with an immediate start, for children from the age of two. 

Please contact 0208 302 6029 or email admin@st-peterchanel.bexley.sch.uk.

 

FIRST HOLY COMMUNION 2025

Application forms are in the foyer for the 2025 First Holy Communion programme, commencing in January. Children in year 3 or above can apply.  Completed forms must be returned by 31st Dec. 

SOUTHWARK ARCHDIOCESE ROSARY PRAYER PROJECT
Everyone is warmly invited to join this Archdiocese-wide prayer initiative, praying a decade each day for priests and parishes in Bexley deanery. Details from southwarkrenewal@gmail.com

 

FESTIVE PARTY – SATURDAY 28^TH DECEMBER 2024
Please join us from 1pm for an afternoon of Music and Games for all the family., £5 Adults / £3 Under 12’s. Children’s Games / Face painting / Music throughout and live singer to finish. Free Pizza for those on Santa’s good list.  Tickets are on sale after mass 



 

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.