Category: Saint George’s latest news

The month of the Holy Souls’ is November and traditionally people have Mass offerings for the repose of the souls for friends and family.

Many of you will have heard that St John’s Seminary in Wonersh is to close in its present form. The Seminary has served the Church for 130 years and there is great sadness that formation must now end at the site.

Unfortunately there was no new intake this September. With the seminarian body numbering just 17 the community is small, with the building and staffing costs too high to sustain. Arrangements have been made for the remaining seminarians to join the community at Allen Hall, Chelsea in September 2021.

Archbishop John Wilson and Bishop Richard are committed to providing priestly formation that will serve the people of our Dioceses and parishes into the future. St John’s will remain a legal entity so that consideration can be given to the ways in which the tradition of priestly formation established at Wonersh in 1891 will continue.

The Trustees of St John’s are extremely grateful to rectors, staff and seminarians, past and present, and to all those who have supported the Seminary over the years. We ask our Diocesan church family to pray for vocations to the priesthood, keeping our seminarians in their thoughts and prayers over the coming months.

Monday Nov 2nd is All Souls’ Day and Mass at St George’s will be 10am followed by Deacon John blessing graves in the Memorial Garden and then at Willingdon Cemetery.  Mass at St Wilfrid’s will be 11.30am.  Fr Rory will celebrate the Mass for St Wilfrid’s Community.   Please inform Margaret Piegrome on 870990 if you wish to attend the 10am Mass at St. George’s On All Souls’ Day.

Recently we listened to a reading from the Book of Ecclesiastes about time.  It included the lines: “There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for everything under the heavens.” 

Time is a gift from God.  In a little booklet called Living Faith, with a reflection for every day of each year,  Sr. Melanie Svoboda suggested a simple activity as a means of appreciating this gift: “Find a ticking clock.  If you do not have a ticker and if you have access to the Internet Mr Google will find you one if you search “ticking clock sound” Listen to the ticking for several minutes. Do nothing else. Just listen. Do no work of any sort.  Be aware of the ticking sound and the silence between each tick.  Remember, every tick indicates the passing of a moment of time and a moment of your life.

After listening, ask yourself how the experience felt.  Was it calming? Irritating? Boring? Interesting?  Assuming that every tick represents one second, how many ticks have you lived so far? (One year=31,536,000 seconds) How many ticks do you estimate that you have left to live? How have you chosen to spend your ticks so far: sleeping, working, eating, relaxing, talking, listening, reading, playing, praying? Now ask yourself this question: “Is there something you would like to devote more ticks to in the future?”

Sunday 18th October 2020 – Today is World Mission Sunday

World Mission Sunday supports missionaries who work alongside communities that are poor or in need, regardless of their background or belief.  By supporting Missio, the Pope’s charity for world mission, you will help missionaries like Sr Nilcéia share the love of Christ with those most in need.  Please pray for the mission of the Church throughout the world and give what you can to this very important collection which will sustain the future of our Church. Please call 020 7821 9755 (office hours) or visit Missio’s website to give a single gift, set up a Direct Debit and Gift Aid your donation, if possible: mission.org.uk

In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives a list of lame excuses from the invited guests which they used as reasons for not attending.

The Toronto Star invited teachers to submit excuses they had received from their students as part of a competition. They received these examples: A student explaining why he was late: “I was kidnapped by aliens and interrogated for three hours.” Another student, telling why he had failed to turn in his essay: “The bus driver read it and liked it so much he kept it to show to his passengers.” Another: “I got mugged on the way to school. I offered him my money, my watch, and my penknife but all he wanted was my essay.” Mike, a 14-year old, came up with a “watertight” excuse for arriving at school an hour late with his pants soaked to the knees: “I was just about to board the bus when I found I’d lost my ticket. Since it would take too long to walk to school, I hopped a fence onto a golf course. I headed for a creek that criss-crossed several fairways until I found a likely spot for lost balls. Retrieving three balls from their watery graves, I then made for the clubhouse where I sold the balls for bus fare! And that’s why I’m late.” Mike’s entry won.

We have all been given our wedding garment through our Baptism.We need to keep wearing the wedding garment of holiness. This means we must do good for all the people we know and meet in our everyday lives. We are helped in our efforts through the graces which receive through the other Sacraments. When we attend Mass either through live streaming or in Church and receive Holy Communion we are strengthened in our lives. Our personal prayers at any time of day or night help us to recharge our own spiritual batteries and guide us in our efforts of doing good for those we meet. Listening to God’s Word when we hear the readings nourishes us and help us in our actions. 

Yes, we have all been given our wedding garment ready for the banquet waiting for us in heaven so we must take care to wear it at all times in preparation for the event. Just remember that we do not have automatic entry. We can, however, succeed through our actions.

The St George’s Children’s Liturgy group enjoyed a, Covid-safe, extended session on Sunday 27^th September when they went Rosehip picking.  A glorious crisp sunny day in the fresh air was had by us all and Rosehip Syrup has since been made and will be placed at our altar alongside other delicious homemade conserves for our Harvest service on October 11^th. During this pandemic, and within the Covid guidelines of the National Youth Association there are still activities that can continue, and this was one of them thankfully.  All the children involved will carry memories of these types of days out for many years to come, an invaluable way of sharing our faith together during such difficult times.

This year the Mustard Seed Mission is going ahead with Love In A Box donations, but things will have to be organised slightly differently. There are leaflets at the exit from church for you to use if you are intending to make up a box.  However, we will not have the table of little extras in the hall for you to bolster your box; you will have to fill it yourself.

If making up a box is tricky, we can still help in a couple of other ways.  Perhaps you would be able to make a donation towards the transportation costs? £3,000 is needed for each lorry that makes the long journey across Europe to the areas in most need.  Also, our parish has a team of knitters and sewers who work all year round to provide blankets which join the convoy too.  You may wish to donate some money or double knitting wool towards keeping that good work going.

If you choose to make a donation, please leave your money in an envelope marked LORRY or WOOL and we will make sure it goes to the right people.   However you feel able to, do please help our parish to continue to support the great work that the Love In A Box team does.

Sunday 11th October 2020 – Next Sunday is World Mission Sunday

Next Sunday is World Mission Sunday, when the Holy Father invites all Catholics to contribute to a special collection for Missio, his charity for world mission.  Please support Missio in helping missionaries to work alongside communities throughout the world that are poor or in need, regardless of their background or belief.  Join in on this special day, that unites Catholics all over the world in prayer and celebration of our Church’s mission to share God’s love with all people – ‘Here I am, send me’.  Please call 020 7821 9755 (office hours) or visit Missio’s website to give a single gift, set up a Direct Debit and Gift Aid your donation, if possible mission.org.uk

St George’s Parishioners Harvest Service – Sunday 11^th October offerings requested – FOODBANK DONATIONS please place them in the basket at the back of church at whichever mass they attend this week.