With a UK general election due sometime this year, politicians will be looking for our votes. We have a responsibility as Catholics to make sure that parties commit to tackling issues such as poverty and injustice. Raising our voices and contacting parliamentary candidates as a parish community will send a strong signal to those standing for election in our local constituencies. A Year of Encounter is a joint initiative between CAFOD and St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP), equipping Catholics to ask key questions of local candidates at the key moments. Please see // cafod.org.uk/encounter for more information, including online sessions on Thursday, 25 th April and Saturday, 4th May to learn more.
It was a pleasure and a privilege to accompany twenty-eight of the children on the pilgrimage to Rome last week. There were many highlights for them and I am sure they will remember the experience for a long time to come. Some of the people staying with us at the English College villa outside of Rome commented on how well behaved and polite the children are. They were a credit to themselves, their parents and carers and to the school. The teachers were quite well behaved as well!
Understanding why Catholics in the Diocese of Brentwood no longer come to Church. Last summer Bishop Alan invited Catholics who no longer regularly come to Church to get in touch so that he could seriously listen to their stories and experiences and begin to understand why so many Catholics no longer feel as though they belong in the Church. This report presents a moving and challenging insight into how our Church and the covid-19 pandemic have contributed to a movement away from a regular practice of faith for many Catholics and offers our Church a rich repository of wisdom that might enhance and inform our ongoing journey of renewal in the diocese. Thank you to all those who so generously and thoughtfully participated in this research. Please share this link/report with those whom you know have participated in this research. Go to the home page of https://www.dioceseofbrentwood.net/ to see the responses of hundreds of Catholics across our diocese and hear what Bishop Alan heard.
The new boxes of envelopes are available at the back of the church in alphabetical order by surname. Please pick them up as you leave today. The Giftaid scheme raises over £8000 a year for the parish at no extra cost to the donor. The parish simply reclaims the income tax on the amount you already give to the parish. One simple form is all it takes. Please see me after Mass with any questions. You must, of course, pay income tax to be eligible for the scheme.
This takes place at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday [28 th March @ 7.30pm]. If you would like to volunteer [men and women] please put your name on the list at the back of the church.
The dates for the First Communion programme have already been circulated to the parents/carers of those children already registered. The proposed dates for the Confirmation programme are 23rd & 30th April and 7th & 14th May, 7 – 8.30pm. The rehearsal will take place on Saturday, 1st June at 10am in the church. The Bishop is conferring the Sacrament this year so the Confirmation Mass will be on Wednesday, 5th June at 7.30pm.
Join Bishop Alan on the Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes (Friday 19 – Friday 26 July). To book, please go online: Brentwood Lourdes - Lourdes - Tangney Tours (tangney-tours.com) If you wish to discuss any aspect of the pilgrimage, please e-mail Kathryn Young or Suzanne Reeves at Lourdes@brcdt.org
