Author: Jacky

St George’s Mill Hill Red Boxes:

I think the boxes are all in and being counted. The next count is December.  I thank you all for your contributions. Those of you who are using alternative ways to pay, these will all be counted for St George’s grand total next year.  The alternative ways to pay are in the special report book given out after Mass a week ago.  There will be more leaflets later with ways to pay in them.  Also, I think it is a good idea to have a red box at home as a reminder of your commitment to the Missionary’s, they are at the back of the church in the porch.  Many thanks for your patience and cooperation.  Cathy your new local secretary for Missio.
 

6th July 2025

New Parish Update:

I want to update you on where we are in the journey towards becoming a New Parish, joining together all the 8 parishes of our Eastbourne – St Leonard’s Deanery. There have been, over the past 6 months, fruitful meetings of a Parish Leadership Group of the clergy and some lay reps from our parishes. There have also been plenty of meetings with the Diocese and those involved across the other Deaneries in this process. Our 11 Deaneries will become 11 large parishes in the coming months. We have realised as the months have passed that this is a “long haul” journey, not a sprint, that must not be rushed but instead, step by step and with everyone playing their part, we can build together a vibrant and mission centred “Community of Communities”. We are now ready for more concrete work to be done and will begin in July working in 2 X Hub Leadership Groups, at the 2 ends of what will be the New Parish (Eastbourne and St Leonards). These Hub Leadership Groups, clergy and lay reps from each church, will work with you all in implementing changes that will allow us to use our many good resources in a way that best serves everybody, and also reaches out to those many people who are searching for Christ and faith. The first 2 important areas we are working on, ready for the autumn, will be [1] coordinating a joined-up approach to our Sacramental Programmes (Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, RCIA etc), and [2] working on coordinated new Hub Mass Schedules that provide all our churches with a better thought-out and sustainable range of Mass times. In the coming days we will be launching a New Parish Website that will provide lots of detail of what’s happening and how you can be involved [https://eastbourne-stleonards.org.uk]. Please continue to keep all this important work in your daily prayers.   Many thanks. Fr Kevin Dring (Moderator – on behalf of the Clergy Team)

Deanery Newsletter

Deanery Newsletter – Latest Edition Now Available

The latest edition of the Deanery Newsletter has been emailed to all parishioners for whom we have email addresses. If you haven’t received a copy, you may need to complete a Parishioner Contact Form, available at the back of church, to ensure we have your current email address.  A small number of printed copies are also available to read over tea and coffee after Mass—please do not take these home, so that others can enjoy them too.  This edition is packed with news and reflections from across our Deanery. It also     includes an important update on the journey towards becoming a Single Parish, and details of a temporary Deanery website, where further updates will be shared.

CAFOD

In this Jubilee year, CAFOD is working with our sister Caritas organisations around the world to call for  urgent action on the global debt crisis. Many of the world’s poorest countries are suffering huge debt burdens with devastating impacts on ordinary people . Pope Francis spoke about this many times,  saying,” More than a question of generosity, this is a matter of justice ” . Please sign the worldwide Church petition on the way out from mass. Thank you.
 

Parish Charity Breakfast

Our monthly Parish Charity Breakfast takes place this Sunday in St George’s Hall, following the 9am Mass –   breakfast will be served from 9.45am.

Please make a special effort to come along and invite friends or family—even if they’re not attending Mass. These mornings are a wonderful way to enjoy time together as a parish community, while also supporting important         causes. This month’s breakfast will raise funds for Youth Pilgrimage in our Parish – we hope lots of our youth will join the walking Pilgrimage so these funds will help support this.

We look forward to seeing you there!

29th June 2025

“Most important thing for our future.

Sure foundations for what we build”.

This week I present you with a clean sheet.  It represents the space in which our future story will or maybe told.

So far so good, but now the most important time is here, and please God, we will have a great story to tell.

Most important, let us work and pray.

Canon Paul Jennings’ Golden Jubilee

Jubilee of Hope 2025 – Parish Afternoon Tea Party & Celebration of Canon Paul Jennings’ Golden Jubilee

Saturday 12th July at 3.30pm – A short Service of Thanksgiving followed by Afternoon Tea with music
Venue: St George’s Church, Polegate

All parishioners are warmly invited to this joyful afternoon of          thanksgiving, music, and community as we celebrate both the Jubilee Year of Hope and Canon Paul Jennings’ Golden Jubilee of Ordination.

Canon Paul, who has lived in Polegate since his retirement, has been a great support to our parishes—kindly celebrating Mass at St Wilfrid’s and St George’s whenever Fr Rory is on holiday. Now it’s our turn to say thank you!  Everyone is welcome!
To help us cater appropriately, please sign up at the back of church with your name and the number attending from your household.

If you need more information, please speak to Angela/Anne at St George’s, or Lesley/Maeve at St Wilfrid’s. Alternatively, you can call or text Sandra on 07791 627368

A Special Day for St Wilfrid’s in this Jubilee Year

A Special Day for St Wilfrid’s in this Jubilee Year

We are honoured that St Wilfrid’s is the only parish in East Sussex selected to host a reliquary from Carfin Grotto in Scotland, as part of the National Relic Tour organised by the Knights of St Columba.

The reliquary contains sacred relics of three revered saints:

· St Andrew – Apostle, Patron of Scotland, and also Patron of Ropemakers (fittingly, as Hailsham has a strong historical link with rope-making)

· St Columba of Iona

· St Margaret of Scotland

The relics will be available for veneration at St Wilfrid’s Church on Wednesday 27th August, following 10am Mass, and throughout the day until an Evening Mass at 7pm.

A steering group, made up of members from the Parish Pastoral Council and the Knights of St Columba, is now inviting parishioners from both St Wilfrid’s and St George’s to get involved in helping organise this special day.

If you’re able to assist in any way, please contact:

· Martin Falkner – in person or on 07946 700366, Bob – 07752 043009, Teresa – text 07951 082592

Let’s come together as a parish to honour this blessed occasion in our Jubilee Year.

22nd June 2025

“Food for the journey and early guidance.

To fresh pastures to nourish and develop our communities of faith”.

I have collected all the left over newsletters from the past weeks. I believe our two communities have real foundations to build upon as we address the future.  Last weeks newsletter addressed this situation by saying:

“A certain parish priest frequently reminds his congregation that our God is community, friendship, love, unity: Three Persons who POPE FRANCIS’ ENCYCLICAL FRATELLI TUTTI are One. The human race is made in His image: made to be     community, love, friendship, unity. Because of the fall of Adam and its consequences, this has become a huge challenge, as we see in the war in Ukraine and as we have experienced so often in the past. Yet we do see signs of what should be, when we hear of or see, great acts of generosity or courage on the part of individuals or groups. Our God is not a God far off. As Moses put it, “What great nation is there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call to Him?” It is something that Our Lord makes clear in today’s Gospel passage: the Spirit of Truth will “guide you into all truth”; and, “He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine” and the Father’s, “and making it known to you.” “He will guide you.” We are not left alone. God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are there for us; invite and call us to put our faith and trust in Them.. They will renew in us, individually and as a people, the image of Themselves.”

Soon we will return to that journey as we again celebrate what we call “the ordinary”, the cycle leading us to our salvation and the fulness of life in God’s Kingdom.  It is through the ordinary cycle that we grow in faith and faithfulness; the great challenge .  As a priest it will be my fifty first cycle, and while on earth, sadness is part of our experience.  In my earliest years I was full of hope and purpose, it was shortly after the Second Vatican Council, and there was a great focus on it.  Our Professor of Theology, Fr Seamas Ryan, was truly inspirational, and continues to inspire me and I hope all of us, as we face the new challenges, our emphasis will be on communities of faith.