Category: Saint Wilfrid’s Latest News

As I am sure many of you are aware, Catholic Priests do not receive a salary and rely on your generosity at Christmas and Easter as a thank you for all they do for us. It is also possible to claim gift aid on your donation if you are a UK taxpayer and that extra 25% will go directly to the clergy. If you aren’t part of a planned giving scheme then please use the “one off” gift aid envelopes located in the porch. You can also contribute via the digital collection plate at St Wilfrid’s or via the QR code or donations website link  (https://donate.mydona.com/st-wilfrids-church-hailsham )  using the “Easter Collections” tab. 

 

25th April 2026 at 7.30pm, St Wilfrid’s Hall, Andy Saunders will give a talk on the recovery and restoration of a Battle of Britian Spitfire.  Tickets cost £15 available from www.civilaviationtrust.org or at the door.
 

All ladies are warmly invited to join us for a Cheese & Wine evening on Wed 8th April, 7pm, Christ the King Church Hall, Langney.

Come along for an enjoyable social evening together – share good company, delicious refreshments and discover more about the League, what we do in support of one another, our parish community and wider charitable mission.  Contact Sandra for more information 07791 627368

The first issue of our new Single Parish Magazine is now available and includes news and interesting articles from across the churches in our deanery.  It also includes a full list of deanery holy week services.

A small number of printed copies are available at the back of the church. Please take one to read, but please also kindly return it afterwards so others may also enjoy it.

You can also read the magazine on the parish website: https://saintsgeorgeandwilfrid.co.uk from Sunday 22nd March 2026.

Join us for a family friendly Stations of the Cross at St Wilfrid’s on Good Friday, 3^rd April at 10:00am. After the service, enjoy hot cross buns and refreshments in the hall.
 

CAFOD: Thank you to everyone who has generously sponsored us as we work towards our 200km target as part of the CAFOD Big Lent Walk.  Your donations have kept us motivated and we are now over halfway into the challenge and have already completed 155km. We’re hoping for a bit of sunshine to carry us through the final stretch.

If you would still like to support us, sponsor forms are available at the back of the church, or you can donate online. Every penny raised goes directly to CAFOD.

Thank you again for your kindness and encouragement.

Gerry & Teresa Palmer

Parish Spring Fair on 28^th March

Our Spring Fair is only a matter of days away, so many thanks to all who donated their goods or time to make this day a success.

We are still looking for donations for specific stalls, most notably;

Bottles and Gifts for the Tombola

Nearly new toys and games

Jams and Preserves

Spring Items such as Easter Cards, plants, bulbs, gardening gloves and small garden tools etc

Homemade cakes (on the day)

Please bring donations to church this Wednesday (after 10am mass) or on Friday 27^th March (12.30 to 2.30). Perishable items (homemade cakes and plants etc) can be brought on the Friday afternoon or before 9.30 on the day of the fair.

Our parish fair is not only a wonderful community event but also an important fundraiser for the life of the church — but it can only happen with your support. Thank you to everyone who has already offered help. 

One of the really fruitful areas of work in recent months has been that of small Focus Groups, bringing together reps from the larger Hub Leadership Groups. We have Focus Groups looking at: Prayer & Worship, Formation & Mission, Communications, Pastoral Care, Finance & Stewardship. They are identifying lots of tangible ways we can work across our churches to enhance the service we want to provide to parishioners and to reach out to those who are not (yet) part of our communities. Soon you will all be invited, through ministries you’re already exercising or as brand-new volunteers, to help in rolling out the fruits of the work of these Focus Groups. We are also just about to launch a new quarterly Parish Magazine spotlighting good news from across all our churches.

now we are without a Bishop, some are wondering how this affects the journey of change we are all on in the Diocese to become new larger Parishes. Already, before Archbishop Richard left us, 3 of the 11 Deaneries of the Diocese had legally become new Parishes (Brighton & Hove; Guildford, Weybridge). For the rest of us we are asked to keep momentum on our journey of preparing, so that when a new Bishop is appointed, we will be in good shape.  Certainly, a new Bishop will bring “fresh eyes and ears” to some of the detail of how we come together as new Parishes, but he will no doubt be committed to keeping the spirit of the Pastoral Plan. In our own Deanery (Eastbourne to Rye) we have lots of work underway to help us share and collaborate together in good and helpful ways.
 

The New Parish will be overseen by a Clergy Team, moderated by Fr Kevin Dring. The team will work closely with Hub Secretaries, Hub Leadership Groups and lay representatives to support pastoral planning, governance and the shared mission of the Parish. The West Hub covering Eastbourne, Polegate,      Hampden Park, Hailsham and the East Hub; St Leonard’s, Hastings, Bexhill, Battle and Rye.                                                                           

East Hub Secretary: Elizabeth Fitch [email protected]   01424 602077           

West Hub Secretary: Cheryl Wood [email protected]   01323 723222

New Parish Website:  www.eastbourne-stleonards.org.uk