Author: Jacky

St George’s Celebration of Life and Faith – Sunday 26^th September 9am Mass, will be a special Mass of remembrance of those we have lost, especially those lost during the Covid-19 pandemic, but it will also be a celebration as our community returns to be together again.  We hope as many parishioners as possible will be able to attend.  After mass we will all gather in the remembrance garden where Father will bless the recently planted rose bushes in memory of all those whose lives we have celebrated during the service.  This will follow with a celebratory breakfast, raffle and tombola. 

Don’t let the celebrations end there – our children and their families are hoping you will join them to spend the rest of the morning and afternoon enjoying family games, bingo, quiz, and a lunch.  More info to follow but please do put the date in the diary and let others know.  All are welcome. 

Please RSVP – For catering purposes we would benefit from knowing numbers so please RSVP via the list at the back of church or call/text Sandra on 07791 627368. 

– we are asking all parishioners to continue to support our local foodbank by bringing donations and leaving in the basket at the back of Church.  The September offerings will be taken away following Harvest Sunday on 26^th September and we hope to have plenty to give.  Items urgently required are: Tinned Meats/Fish, Jam, custard/rice pudding, Tinned fruit (not peaches), Crisps and Shampoo/Conditioner

We desperately need someone to look after and maintain our altar servers albs here at St Wilfrid`s.   If you can help with this please see David Hoad.

Sunday 26^th September 10:30am Mass. So far we have raised £65.50 towards our Harvest Festival and one of our charity’s – CAFOD. Thank you for all those who contributed so far, there will be a donation basket at the back of the Church. Please don’t forget to bring fresh produce before Sunday for our colourful display, which will be sold after Mass for our charities.

On Friday 8^th October at 12 noon we will be having a Parish Lunch at the Kings Head in Horsebridge. Two course OAP lunch £10. Buy your own drinks at the bar. MUST know numbers by Mon 4^th Oct please.  If you need a lift, please contact Joan – 07873390944. Thank You

Margaret Gearing’s Ashes will be buried at St George’s on Thursday 28th October after Mass.

St George’s table sale is being run by Children’s liturgy, suitable second-hand items to sell are needed, books, toys, puzzles, China etc. Please leave donations at the back of church clearly marked. Fundraising will be used for Church groups and social activities for the parish.

At St George’s we are getting into gear for this year’s Love In A Box campaign. There are leaflets and a small number of ready wrapped shoe boxes for collection at the back of the church, please help yourself.  For the month of October the sale table will have a range of little extras for you to take to “bolster your box” and add to your shoebox.  These are NOT for sale, help yourself. All boxes to be returned by Sunday 14th November please.  If you’re not able to make up a box yourself, you might consider making a donation towards the cost of transport as each lorry costs £4,000.

Thank you for your continued support, we are really able to make a great difference to the children in Romania who get our Christmas presents.

Are you a Snoopy fan? Sometimes he gives us a really good message. I have just read a message which I thought was really helpful. He said: ‘Keep looking up …….that’s the secret of life.” In the Book of Proverbs verse 25 says: “Keep your head up, your eyes straight ahead, and your focus fixed on what is in front of you.”

In Psalm 121 King David says in the first line: “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” When David became king, he wanted to remember that even in the darkest places, God was still there, leading him, protecting him, fulfilling the promise He had given him when he was a youth, even when it seemed impossible. There are other examples in the Bible where individuals lifted up their eyes and saw God. Three examples to illustrate this: First for the apostle Peter, the “hills” he looked to might have been a memory of the problems he had when he followed Jesus as a disciple, knowing that Jesus loved him and protected him and eventually filled him with His Holy Spirit to do miracles and preach with power. Secondly: For Jesus, the “hills” He looked to were the cross of Calvary that He had to endure for the joy that He knew was set before Him on the other side. Third: For Joseph of the book of Genesis, the “hills” he looked to in Chapters might have been a memory of his years in the dungeon, waiting for God’s purposes to be fulfilled.

Now I invite you to do something yourselves: Lift up your eyes to your own “hills.” What are your own hills? They might include your times of greatest darkness and despair, when it seemed that God had forgotten you, but when afterwards you could look back to see that He was really holding you. He was there.

There is no doubt, however, that if any one of us lifts up our eyes to the heavens we would see the same events that have always been there for us to see: the sunrise or sunset, the moon and the stars, clouds drifting across. Jesus saw them as did all people during their lives. King David wrote about 1000 years before Jesus “The heavens declare the glory of God”, so, wherever we live and whatever we are doing, always try to remember to do as Snoopy says “Keep looking up!”