To all our Ministries and all who have responsibilities for the organisation,
support and wellbeing of our Parish. All our love and blessings
at the joyful season of Christmas.
Many thanks for all your kindness and generosity over the year. This especially includes your Christmas offerings, gifts and cards. I am most grateful, but my biggest thanks is for all that is done to celebrate and enhance the life of our community. This is the best expression of our hope, trust and confidence in God.
“Gaudete Sunday; Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say Rejoice”
Often much easier said than done, so we constantly return to the First Advent Candle; the Candle of Hope, it gives great purpose to our Sunday liturgy. Now the work that is being put into our communities is beginning to bear fruit, so the more we rejoice is essential. This world will constantly bombard us with evidence that there is a Kingdom of darkness, so it is so important to give expression to the Kingdom of Light.
As you would expect in the natural order, we find greatest expression of this. Evidence and examples of this great importance; the Aurora Borealis gives great expression of this. We are provided with great evidence from their experience, because there is so much evidence recorded. Now in the light of God’s Holy Spirit at work in us, when from our parishes a joint meeting took place at OLR for a meeting with people in different ministries, sharing their experience and trying to establish a plan and a pattern for us to work together. In my heart I could only say this is what we should have been doing 30 year ago.
“Lighting the First Candle of the New Week
The Candle of Hope; hope springs eternally”.
Please God, hope is one of the realities that endures all the trials and tribulations that life brings. Sometimes it is the only thing that stands out as a beacon of light. On Saturday last, the workshop prepared and lead by our children’s liturgy groups was simply outstanding – a true godsend, but also reality. We are so dependant upon a small overworked group crying out for help.
As part of their liturgical commitments, they had prepared a prop reminding us of the homeless sleeping rough. When I was in the church saying a quiet prayer of my own, I was so, so moved, the figure in the tent appeared to be breathing.
This is where I appear to never learn, because they had put so much work into it, I took it for granted that they would leave it there for Sunday morning. Their understanding “the sanctuary”, the sanctuary would be too full, cluttered up. But what a powerful statement; what a powerful reminder, putting the homeless, the deprived at the centre of our concerns …… the heart of Christmas.
We are blessed to have this team.
“Christmas is coming”
A very fading memory from Christmas in my “childhood”.
Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat, please put a penny in the old man’s hat. If you haven’t a penny half penny will do, and if you haven’t half a penny, well God bless you. When I was a child there were people who didn’t have a penny and the poem applied to them. The focus was upon the crib in the stable; very sincere and very much the heart of Christmas. Since last Christmas the focus on Palestine and the people of Palestine highlights the message of the children who lost their lives during the time of the flight of the Holy family into Egypt. This was brought about by the forces of Herod. The truth is the same today as the forces of evil always seek the opportunity to inflict death and destruction upon the innocent. Our constant need remains for God’s salvation, otherwise the constant power of evil continues to prevail.
In our preparation for Christmas, so we are presented with the challenge that is bringing upheaval to our parishes. Bishop Richard has been preparing a plan for our Diocese, which is a work in progress. A lot of progress has been made and now it is our time to respond to this situation. We need to adapt. Our present situation has been impacted by the limited number of priests. This is not likely to change, so the priests will cover the different church communities. Each community will have much more responsibility to develop and grow.
For ourselves I think we are as prepared and ready, so it is time to implement this. The challenge presented to us is that we are expected to provide the results of an audit this coming Friday, so priority must be given to this. Jackie is ready to work to provide this audit, but we need to have names and contact details (email & phone number).
Deacon John Writes:
On Saturday November 2nd, All Souls Day, after Mass, I blessed the Memorial Garden at St George’s and all the graves in the garden. I then went to Willingdon cemetery and blessed the graves there. A good gathering came to the Church garden and a much smaller group accompanied me to the cemetery. Thank you to all who supported me and a special thank you to Anne who transported me.
Last Sunday I preached about Remembrance Sunday and included two poems. I found it quite emotional reading these poems. I was in Plymouth when war broke out. My father was an air raid warden during the war. I remember the air raid shelter at the bottom of the garden and I remember having to move from one shelter to another several times one night as bombs fell around us. In the chaos of movement I got separated from my parents but was safely returned home the following day. I was 5/6 at the time. My father was a schoolteacher and his school was evacuated in its entirety to Penzance for the rest of the war. The poems I referred to were:
Laurence Binyon’s poem ‘For the fallen’:
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
John McCrae wrote the poem “In Flanders Fields” In the spring of 1915, shortly after losing a friend in Ypres, after seeing poppies growing in battle-scarred fields.
In Flanders’ fields the poppies blow Loved and were loved, and now we lie Between the crosses, row on row In Flanders’ fields.
That mark our place: and in the sky Take up our quarrel with the foe;
The larks, still bravely singing, fly To you from failing hands we throw
Scarce heard amid the guns below. The torch; be yours to hold it high, We are the dead. Short days ago If ye break faith with us who die
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders’ Fields.
That poem inspired the use of the poppy as a symbol of Remembrance.
St Wilfrid’s and St George’s Writes:
“Our Communities planning the way ahead”
From the minutes of St Wilfrid’s Parish Meeting held on 3rd November, and from the Moderated Communities Council here is an important synopsis. Full minutes should be available in the church porches. Diocesan Pastoral Plan 2024. Gerry wrote to Fr Kevin at the end of September with a list of questions to help with a Q & A session for the next open meeting. Diocesan representatives are meeting with clergy in November to outline plans for development of the Moderated Parish, it is anticipated that the process will take at least two years to implement.
Ministries & Formations – Father would like to rotate the Ministers more frequently, all whilst recruiting more Ministers. A Baptism Formation has been established with two Catechists, one for each Church. Angela & Mary.
The Sacristy needs an updated inventory, with additional resources that reflects the needs of the Parish moving forward. This to be carried out by Lorreta & David St Wilfrid’s, and Martin & Angela at St George’s.
Given that in our limited understanding of the Moderated Parish timelines, it was decided that we should look at updating the Parish website. Possibly looking at website revamp and a maintenance contract, that will assist the Parish in changing content on a regular basis.
Christmas Mass times to be agreed by Father, hopefully by the 1st week in November.
The Diocese sent out a “keep in touch form” that we can use to ask all the Parishioners to fill out.
“God is love, let us love one another”
At a time like this when there is so much strife and stress in our world, this focus can have great value. Our council meeting at St George’s reflected this. We continue to wait for more decisions and guidance from the diocese; but the focus of our responsibility is to bring leadership and guidance to our communities. Spotlighting two particularly important events. The first was the mass for healing which took place at St Wilfrid’s and the second which takes place here at St George’s this Saturday, the Service of Remembrance. From these events, acknowledging our need for developed communications, the need is to establish more coherent communication, particularly within the ministries as we move forward developing and growing.
Focusing upon our ministries as the best way to move ahead. The ministry of welcomers and hospitality has a key part. Knowing more and more the members and deepening awareness, particularly of sacrament preparation, and co-ordinating ministries of the eucharist, readings, website and a growing number of activities to develop the life and lives of our community. This relates particularly to the housebound, sick, social activities and those enquiring how to belong and share more fully in the needs of the church.
Over one billion Catholics all over the world observe last Sunday as World Mission Sunday. This annual observance was instituted 98 years ago in 1926 by Pope Pius XI’s Papal decree. Every year since then, the universal Church has dedicated the month of October to reflection on, and prayer for, the missions. On World Mission Sunday, Catholics gather to celebrate the Eucharist and to contribute to a collection for the work of evangelisation around the world. This annual celebration gives us a chance to reflect on the importance of mission work for the life of the Church. It reminds us that we are one with the Church around the world and that we are all committed to carrying on the mission of Christ, however different our situations may be.
Pope Francis’ theme for 2024 World mission Sunday is rooted in the Gospel of Matthew: “Go and Invite Everyone to the Banquet,” reflecting the inclusive and urgent call to bring God’s love to everyone. Let us join in this universal mission to spread the Gospel and invite all to experience the joy of Christ’s message!
With my love and prayers for all of you this week.
As mentioned last week, we will need to read the minutes of the deanery meeting, and here goes:
PREPARING TO BE A NEW PARISH TOGETHER: On 19 November the Deanery Clergy will meet with the Diocesan Team, who will begin guiding us into the formal process towards our becoming a new Parish, from Eastbourne to Rye. There’s no denying it sounds a daunting task, but together all of us will be able to start taking steps to get in place what will be needed for this to work. Already behind the scenes good conversations and meetings are beginning and we have had well attended open meetings across the deanery. The most important task is for us all to PRAY with OPEN and POSITIVE HEARTS. I am confident that if we do this, we will not just be pleasantly surprised but even AMAZED at the good that can be done together to build the Church and share the Gospel in new and exciting ways. There are inevitably many “unknowns”, but we will move at a pace that allows us to do things well and properly, and always for the upbuilding of people and community, and for the welcoming and inclusion of people who are distanced from their faith or who have never yet heard the call of the Gospel.
Regular updates will come through in the weeks ahead and opportunities for everyone to play their part in the journey we will be on together. As well as in our communal gatherings, please keep this intention very much in your personal prayer. God bless, Fr Kevin
“So far so good, maybe, so good, so far”.
We will need to read the minutes of the deanery meeting, which will move us on to the usual November meeting, when we gather to say mass for the deceased priests from our deanery. We will be visited by the diocesan team, who have been mandated by Bishop Richard to see his plan for the diocese implemented by all the deaneries.
The time schedule to get all this done may be extended. My overriding concern at the moment is when we would be rostered to say mass at the different churches in the deanery. Needless to say it was echoed at the meeting and I am more at ease, that it will not begin immediately. So for the moment all our attention is drawn to Deacon John’s piece in the newsletter on Sunday 29th. This was excellent and deserves a lot of further attention. He focused our attention on Martin’s appeal for volunteers to help with the ministry of the church. It takes all kinds of roles that are helpful, possibly critical for any parish to function in the future. It serves as a reminder that a parish is not just a priest. St Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians makes this quite clear to all of us. Everyone has a role but not the same role. We are not all called to be ordained priests. Neither are we all called to be prophets. But we all do have one thing in common. We have all been baptised into one Body, and because of this we each have a necessary and relevant role that contributes to the well being of the whole.
