Parish Life
There’s just so much going on in and around the parish, so keep checking back here for the latest articles.
Friday 3 April 2020: Why not give this a go if you are whiling away the time in lockdown? Courtesy of our friend Allegra Mutanda who participated in the Sion Community Retreat and Mission here.
LET’S SEE HOW OBSERVANT YOU ARE.
There are names of sixteen (16) books of the bible hidden in the paragraph below. Let me see how many you can find. A preacher found 15 books in twenty minutes; it took him 3 weeks just to find the 16th one. I found 11 in 10 minutes. Still looking for the other 5!
I once made a remark about the hidden books of the Bible. A certain Luke, kept people looking so hard for facts, and for others, it was a revelation. Some were in a jam, especially since the names of the books were not capitalized. But the truth finally struck home to numbers of our readers. To others it was a job. We want it to be a most fascinating little moment for you. Yes, there will be some really easy ones to spot. Others may require judges to help find them. I will quickly admit it usually takes the preacher to find one of them, and there will be loud lamentations when it is found. A little lady says she brews a cup of tea so she can concentrate better. See how you will compete. Relax now, for there really are sixteen books of the Bible in this paragraph. LET ME KNOW HOW MANY YOU FOUND. HAPPY SEARCHING!!!😄
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Wednesday 1st April 2020: Father Jean-Patrice writes: ‘After evening devotions with Father Jose, I took the opportunity to take my one walk a day in fairly deserted streets. At the junction of Milford Road with Chelston Avenue, you get a good view of the District Hospital. I started the Divine Mercy Chaplet here in praying for our Town, Hospital and Parish. Why not make your daily walk an opportunity for prayer, in praying the Chaplet, Rosary or some other prayer? In this time, it is important to keep body and soul in good health’.
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Tuesday 31st March 2020: Father Jean-Patrice writes: ‘Please remember in your prayers our very dear parishioner Audrey Vertannes who passed away peacefully at home with her family this morning at 4.30am. I was able to visit Audrey at home yesterday and offer her the Sacrament of the Sick (under the current conditions, this involves using a cotton bud to anoint with the Oil of the Sick, laying on of hands at a distance, and any other people present at a safe distance) and the Prayers for the Dying. We pray for the repose of her soul, and for her family, particularly her husband Tony’.
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DIAMOND MASS CELEBRATIONS FOR FATHER DAVID O’REGAN
On Friday 25th September 2019, we were delighted to welcome Bishop Patrick Lynch, Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark to our Ma
ss of Thanksgiving for Father David’s Diamond Anniversary of Ordination. Bishop Pat is a great friend of Father David from their time together in South London.
Our different cultural communities participated in Father David’s by singing part of the Mass. The Keralan and Polish Communities sang in their own language, while the Filipino Community sang the well known hymn ‘Here I Am, Lord’ at the Offertory, fitting for Father David who has offered his life for the service of the Church of The Lord.
The Polish Community sang the traditional “Sto Lat” (May you live a hundred years). It was a fitting end to this wonderful Mass of thanksgiving for a great priest.
FLAME 2019 – ‘#SIGNIFICANCE’:
Zuzana Mesarova writes: On the 2nd of March 2019, Sonia and I joined Bristol youth group in our Clifton Diocese and went to the biggest Catholic youth event in England and
Wales, in the SSE Arena in Wembley, London. There were more than 8,000 people there, as well as multiple speakers, which included Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Robert Madu, Emma Borquaye, Guvna B, Tim Hughes, Archbishop Eamon Martin, and Jean Vanier. All of these people each spoke from their experience about different topics, which linked back to the reoccurring theme of Significance.
Significance is defined as “worthy of attention,” “with meaning” or something “important.” According to Flame ‘in terms of Scripture, it is a word which resonates deeply with God’s words from heaven at the Baptism of Jesus, and the Transfiguration, “You are my Beloved.” Many of the speakers spoke about the issue of growing up in such an environment surrounded by social media, of how easily we can compare our lives to others, which may impact us deeply, as we may gain a growing distant perspective of who we really are, as we can sometimes forget our significance in God’s eyes.
One of the speakers who I significantly remember is Robert Madu, who shared his experience and especially spoke this through this certain topic. Robert is from Dallas, Texas and for 10 years he has travelled the globe, preaching the Gospel and encourages the spread of love of Jesus
Christ. He came to the UK to talk to us young people about the influence of comparison – his speech was powerful and passionate. Although his speech was very humorous, it stuck with me for different reasons, about the messages he spread to us. He finished by saying “In the race of life we should stay in our lane and focus our eyes on Jesus”.
The music was very uplifting – singer Tim Hughes sang about our love of Jesus and rap artist Guvna B, his lyrics about his struggle and stress throughout life, as well as how we become stronger with Jesus.
He also had a speech with Emma Borquaye, the founder of ‘Girl Got Faith’, which is a wonderful girls’ guide to a faith fulfilled life. They spoke about the difficulties they faced growing up, especially how comparison on social media can make us feel insignificant. However, their faith helped both of them to discover their true potential and how to lead a fulfilling life. The Flame choir sang ‘Amazing Grace’, but it was not long before 8,000 more voices sang along – it was beautiful.
A great inspiration to us, was when the Congress started with the message from Pope
Francis encouraging the Youth of the Church to ‘dream great things’ inspired by Jesus’ example. Another highlight was the speech of Jean Vanier – he is a Canadian philosopher, writer and the founder of two major international community- based organizations, ‘L’Arche’ in 1964 and ‘Faith and Light’ in 1971. In his speech, Jean gave so much power and meaning, as he explained that as we accept our weaknesses and grow in love, our true value is revealed. Although he was in hospital, Jean was determined to present a speech to everyone at Flame, therefore, his speech was filmed, and we watched on the screen. Even though he didn’t present it live on stage, it was equally moving and captivating.
We thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience – I’m looking forward to going again!
Strawberry Tea – Sunday, 6th August 2017.
Luckily, it was a pleasantly warm afternoon, so everyone was able to enjoy a bowl or two of delicious strawberries and cream whilst sitting out in the Parish garden. There was a constant buzz of conversation rising from the groups of parishioners gathered around each table. We were also very pleased when Fr. Jean-Patrice and Fr. Jose came along to join us.
Many thanks to Kath Brown for her help on the day and for providing some very pleasant background music.
Thanks to the generosity of all those who joined us on the day, a total of £110 was raised for Parish funds.
MBH