Category: Latest News

His Majesty King Charles III has expressed the wish that all in the Catholic community know of his gratitude for the many prayers that have been offered for the late Queen and for the Royal Family during these past weeks. 

Deacon John Writes:

Speaking at a Requiem Mass for the Queen celebrated at Westminster Cathedral on Friday 9 September, Cardinal Vincent Nichols said: “Queen Elizabeth took so many opportunities to explain her faith, gently yet directly… She saw, as [St Paul did], that it was her duty to proclaim her faith in Jesus Christ. And, she said, among the treasures that flowed from that faith was her readiness not to judge others, to treat people with respect and without unnecessary criticism, to make them welcome.”

Prayer for the Royal Family — Almighty God, source of all consolation, we pray for the members of the Royal Family who mourn the loss of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. Uphold them in your love and pour out on them the consolation of your healing Spirit.

Let them find in your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ comfort in their sadness, certainty in their doubt and courage to live through this hour. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Prayer for the King — O God, to whom every human power is subject, Grant to your servant His Majesty the King wisdom in the exercise of his high office, so that, always revering to you and striving to please you, he may constantly secure and preserve for the people entrusted to his care the freedom that comes from unity and peace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit God, forever and ever, Amen.

Would all APF Mission Box Holders kindly bring their boxes to church on their next visit.  This will be the last collection of the boxes. So a very big thank you to all Box holders who over 20 years have supported the APF in this way. Doris

Please be aware of any emails that may be coming through that look like they have come from Fr Rory, if in any doubt please just give Fr Rory a call to check, and do not respond to the email.

Songs of Praise on Saturday 17th September 2022 at 4.00pm at St. Wilfrid’s Church,  Broad Road, BN20 9RA.

There will be refreshments after the Service.

“Back on the road again”.  This year, please God, will be an important and fruitful one.  The work that is in progress for the Synod has paved the way, and the images that we have used begin to bear fruit..

The reference to renew is significantly important.   We planted the renew acorn at St Paul’s, Haywards Heath, we can now see a fine good tree has come into being.  Up and down the Diocese there are certainly not a lot of other trees to be seen.  Some parishes did put in a lot of work; and all parishes had available to them the resources to bear the expected fruit.  I am sure many would tell their story.  I am convinced the vision we are trying to develop and grow is promising.

The awareness of the two communities working together.  The call for a new generation for the new generation.  We are blessed by the work that is in place.  St George’s first initiative was extremely fit for purpose and provides an outline that we can build upon.  At St Wilfrid’s some great work has been done and lots of preparation for the future.  I am really looking forward to the outcome when the two teams get together.  Streaming and website are major looks for the future and the nourishment that they will provide will dictate the outcome.  Please God, it will be great.

The Relics of St Bernadette will soon arrive in England for the very first time. They will be at Arundel Cathedral from 9am on Saturday 22 October until 2pm on Sunday 23^rd when they travel to Worth Abbey and remain there until 6pm on Monday 24 October. To ensure the comfort and safety of pilgrims, visitors are asked to register their attendance, online, choosing a dedicated timeslot for either the  Cathedral or Abbey, at https://stbernadette.org.uk/registration/  For those people who do not wish to travel by car, the Knights of           St Columba are booking a coach to visit Worth Abbey on Monday 24 October, arriving for the 1pm booked slot. The cost will be about £25 per head. Further details from Bob on 07752 043009.

The catering team would like to thank everyone for their generous donations towards the centenary celebrations, which enabled us to provide an abundant variety of food and drink.  We have received a lot of feedback, which enables us to review and improve food choices for future events.

Many thanks to those who were involved in the planning, sourcing shopping, preparing and distributing food and also cleaning and decorating the hall inside and out.  About a dozen people were involved and worked tirelessly to achieve the outcome.   So, thank you to all those who chopped, cut, filled food and wielded cocktail sticks all day long; washing up seemingly forever in the recesses of the  kitchen; collected the sandwich order from Eastbourne; stored the food in various fridges throughout the parish to ensure a safely prepared and attractive display.

Finally, for all of you who appreciated the efforts, may we ask you to consider the following:

We desperately need fresh pairs of younger legs to assist us on any event day, as a number of the team find that their legs and feet throb unmercifully after the day’s event!  So, please, if you can possibly help us out next time, put yourself forward now, to find out what it all involves.  You will be strengthening our parish community and saving overtired legs.

Thank you for your kind response.

Last Sunday, one of our mass-goers asked me to help her find a 2 bedroom property, in the Hailsham area.  She is a care worker. Please contact me if anyone can help. Fr Rory.

Greetings and best wishes for the holiday season.  Thanks be to God there has been many reasons for celebrations.  So we must keep as positive and helpful as possible, as indeed times can be difficult.