CHRISTIAN UNITY SERVICE
From 18 - 25 January the Church observes eight days of prayer for Christian Unity.
As part of this a short ecumenical service will be held at St Christopher’s on Tuesday 21st January at 7pm for prayer and reflection. Refreshments will be served afterwards in the hall.
YOUTH MASS - DATES:
Saturday 25th January 2025 and Saturday 1st March.
As always if your young person would like to be involved with the musicians, taking up the offertory or by reading please let the Parish Office know.
**PARISH QUIZ NIGHT 12TH FEBRUARY 7PM**
This is a great opportunity to meet up for a fun evening whilst testing your general knowledge.
Please bring your own snacks and drinks. Soft drinks will be provided.
Teams sorted out on the night. A charity donation of £3 will go towards a charity supported by the Parish.
RCIA PROGRAMME
We have started a Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) programme. Anyone who is interested in exploring their Catholic faith and becoming a Catholic should contact the Parish Office for more details.
RACIAL JUSTICE SUNDAY - 16TH FEBRUARY 2025 - 10AM MASS - ST GEORGE’S CATHEDRAL, SOUTHWARK SE1 7HY
As we journey through the Jubilee Year 2025, themed “Pilgrims of Hope”, we are invited to walk together in faith and solidarity, seeking justice, dignity, and peace for all. In this spirit, the Racial and Inclusion Commission, led by Canon Victor Darlington, warmly extends this invitation to you and your Parish Community to join us for Racial Justice Sunday as we reflect on the theme: “Pilgrims of Hope: Our Journey Together Towards Racial Justice”. This special celebration will be led by Archbishop John Wilson, who will preside over the Mass. Optional national attire or bring a flag to represent your heritage. Refreshments will be served in the Amigo Hall afterwards.
***RECRUITMENT DRIVE***
We are looking for volunteers for the following roles within the Church:
Children’s liturgy - do you have a few hours to spare and join the rota for Sundays at 10am? Please contact Violet de Souza on violet.des@outlook.com
Eucharistic Ministers - If you are interested in becoming a Eucharistic Minister at one of the weekend or daily Masses please contact Jane Devereux on 07802 277122 or email jane@devrx.org for further details.
Cleaners - do you have up to an hour to spare on Thursday’s after Mass? Please come and join our friendly volunteers on a rota to keep the church looking it’s best. Tea and coffee are provided.
Altar Servers - Altar Servers perform an important role in the celebration of Mass. It is an important responsibility and requires commitment. Children need to have received their First Holy Communion to become an altar server. If your young person is interested in applying please contact the Parish Office to collect a registration form.
ASSISTED DYING BILL
Parishioners are reminded that Cardinal Vincent Nichols has asked Catholic to contact their local MP to lobby against these changes. Please use the link below to find out more and ways to oppose the bill.
www.rcsouthwark.co.uk/news-events/news/how-to-oppose-the-assisted-suicide-bill
PARISH LEADS—AN OPORTUNITY TO SERVE YOUR PARISH
Parish Leads will be key members of their parish community who have accepted their Parish Priest’s request to be a principal point of contact in their parish for either Evangelisation (proclaiming Christ and his gospel by word and example), Catechesis (handing on the faith to children and young people) or Adult Formation (supporting continuing growth and development in the faith). Information about the role of Parish Leads is available from the Sacristy, and to find out more about ‘Some Definite Service’, the Archbishop’s vision to develop and grow as a missionary archdiocese, please visit https://aec.rcaos.org.uk/sds
ST RAPHAEL’S WELLBEING CENTRE
Have you been diagnosed, or are you caring for someone with a life limiting, progressive or chronic illness or are you recently bereaved?
The Wellbeing Centre offers social, therapeutic and advisory support for residents of Merton and Sutton, over the age of 18.
Come along to our bright, modern centre based in St Bede’s Conference Centre located in the same grounds as St Raphael’s Hospice.
We are open for morning and afternoon activities on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Our sessions are fun and friendly and are designed to empower you to live well with your diagnosis, offer peer support, promote independence and offer respite and relaxation.
The services are free of charge although donations are most welcome.
To find out more or to have a look around our Centre please call our Wellbeing Centre Team on 020 8099 1722 or email us on wellbeingcentre@straphaels.org.uk
You can also visit our website
for further information www.straphaels.org.uk/wellbeing-centre
Diocesan Directory
A searchable PDF of the 2024 Diocesan Directory can be found here: https://www.rcaos.org.uk/diocese/diocesan-directory/
Mass Online & Daily Liturgical Resources:
A weekly schedule of live-streamed Masses can be found on Church Services tv
Each day, Vatican News live-streams Pope Francis' 6am (GMT) Masses at Casa Santa Marta on
Facebook and YouTube
The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham’s schedule of live-streamed Masses and services
The Bishops' Conference of England and Wales’ directory of churches streaming Catholic Mass on line can be found at cbcew.org.uk
Children's Liturgy can be watched on CAFOD’s website