Parish News

Please note that our Parish Office, now closed on Wednesday mornings, will re-open on Wednesday 21st January from 10.15am until 12.15pm.

How inspiring it was to see so many people celebrating holy Mass on New Year’s Day, beginning the New Year in the best possible way. Whatever may come your way in this New Year, allowing the Lord to be close to you guarantees you will have peace and joy and love in your heart and also the strength and resilience that you may require to face any difficulties. HAPPY NEW YEAR, DEAR SISTERS AND BROTHERS

JANUARY 2026 4/5 : 5pm Margaret; 9am Simone; 11am Mary 11/12 : 5pm Lisa; 9am Carolyn; 11am John 18/19: 5pm Jim; 9am Angela; 11am Marian 25/26 : 5pm Gabrielle; 9am Giannina; 11am Lesley Thank you to our wonderful Ministers of the Eucharist who have accepted the Lord’s invitation to this awesome, sacred ministry, by their willingness to give up their own plans and convenience in order to do God’s will rather than their own. Let us pray for them because they too fight the same personal weaknesses we all have to fight against and they too have to fight the same temptations we all have to fight. God be with them.

The Crib Offerings this year will be for ‘The Manna Society’, an organisation working in Central London which provides food, clothes, medical care and much more to homeless people living on the streets of our capital city.

4/5: 5pm Lisa; 9am David; 11am Paul 11/12: 5pm Phil; 9am Mike Guckian; 11am Chinwe 18/19: 5pm Patricia; 9am Gerry; 11am Mutsa  25/26: 5pm Claire; 9am Chris Mallows; 11am Lorenza

Our First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion preparation programme for children and their parents, begins on Friday 16th January , at 5.00pm in the Parish Room. Our programme to help parents to prepare their children for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist will begin early in the New Year. Meetings for Parents and meetings for their children will be on Friday evenings at 5.00pm. The parents will meet with Fr Malachy in the Parish Room and the children will meet with our Catechists in the Sacristy of the church, at the same time. Each meeting will last just 30 minutes.  The dates of the meetings are flexible but we are planning to have the first six meetings on: 16th, 23rd, and 30th January 2026, then the 6th, 13th and 20th of February 2026. First Reconciliation for Children and their parents will be during the Season of Lent 2026 and First Holy Communion during the month of June 2026. If you have a child who you think is ready to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion in 2026, please let me have details as soon as possible so that we can begin our planning.

It is wise to write a Will so that the resources you have when the time comes for you to leave this world, goes to the people and organisations you wish. May I suggest that you might consider leaving a Bequest in your will to our parish or to our diocese or to our priest as well as to other causes. A gift in your will can enable us to continue to help people to know the Lord Jesus and his saving love. What a wonderful legacy you would be leaving behind.

Thank you to the thousands of people who took part in the Called to Bear Fruit consultation. We are grateful to you all for sharing so openly your hopes for the life of the Church in our Archdiocese. The consultation response, which includes 15 actions points for renewal, is available at https://rcaos.org.uk/calledtobearfruit and hardcopies will be sent to every parish. The consultation revealed a burning desire within our parishes to be missionary and evangelising disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, who work together to help people encounter His love. So, as we move forward on the next steps together, let’s build up the Body of Christ in Southwark with faith and confidence, becoming ever more a community of missionary disciples filled with joy and hope for the future. As an Archdiocese, we will continue to discern the process of renewal, and further updates will be provided in due course. There are hard copies of the ‘Report on the Consultation’, in the porch of the church. I’m afraid they are rain-damaged but hopefully still readable.

31 December: Lizzie 1 January: Paul  2 January: Giannina