News and Notices

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Noticeboards

LENT 2008

"The Season of Lent is a preparation for the Easter celebrations. We are asked to pray for these intentions: candidates for the sacraments, the needy and hungry of our world, for Women’s World Day of Prayer on Friday 7 March and for penitents and wanderers." (from the A&B Diocesan Directory page 198)

SUNDAYS

4.00pm Rosary and Benediction

This Sunday our prayer focus is the sick and suffering and next Sunday it will be vocations to the priesthood.

WEDNESDAYS

7.30pm Stations of the Cross

Why not try to come to an extra Mass during the week? Fr Bruno will be away this week, but from Friday 22 February we will have the 8.15am Mass on Fridays.

CHANGES TO THE PRE-SCHOOL LITURGY GROUP

The catechists and parents met a couple of weeks ago to discuss arrangements for this ever expanding group at our 9.30am Mass. Because the group has become so popular it was felt that its needs might be better met by splitting it into two new age groups which would allow them to provide more appropriate activities.

As from 24 February the groups will be as follows:

Reception age children (who normally join Jenny’s group) will be encouraged to join one of the new groups with the older nursery children (those starting school in September). They will meet in the main section of the Canon Christall Hall. Parents of the nursery children must stay; the parents of the reception age may stay if they wish.

The younger children (three years and under) will meet in the Canon Christall Hall behind the dividing doors. Parents must stay with their children.

We will be looking for additional catechists to help lead these groups on a rota basis. It doesn’t take much time, there is plenty of support and it’s not every week. A more detailed explanation of this new system is on the notice board. If you have any queries please contact the Parish Office

Thank you

Our thanks go to the person who has kindly donated a microphone and speaker so that our Pooh Corner and Children’s Liturgy leaders can make their voices heard over those attending our ever growing numbers attending these groups.

Lent Lunches

St. Martin’s, Church Street, will be hosting their Lent Lunches as usual this year and would welcome others from different churches to join them. They are to be held in St. Martin’s church hall at 12noon, discussion from1-2pm, subject: ‘The Lord’s Prayer’.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT?

Pick up your free copy of the A& B News and turn to page 8. There’s an article on how Merstham, Redhill and Reigate parishes are planning the steps to come together as just one parish.

CAFOD Lent Fast Day: Friday 15 February:

Special CAFOD Fast Day envelopes are available in church. There will be a retiring collection at all masses next weekend. Please share what you can with some of the poorest communities worldwide. Don’t forget to fill in the Gift Aid details is you’re a taxpayer.

Pooh Corner

Pooh Corner is fundraising by holding a sale of nearly new baby equipment, toys and good quality clothes on Sunday 16 March. Items for sale may be brought to church at any 9.30am Mass before this date (NOT at other times please).

NEW SELECTION OF CARDS FOR SALE

- AFTER ALL MASSES NEXT WEEKEND 16/17th February

It is now so easy to see these beautiful hand-made cards on our new display board. Come and stock up with cards for birthdays, anniversaries, thank-you notes or get well messages for the month ahead. The large cards are £1 each and the smaller ones only 75p - very good value compared to shop prices. Remember, every card you buy will help AIDS orphans in Zambia.

LENT 2008

The Season of Lent begins this week on Ash Wednesday. Lent is a time of preparation for the Easter celebrations. It is the traditional season of renewal and repentance in the Church and it provides us with opportunities here in the parish to deepen our faith and fulfil our Lenten obligations of prayer, penance and almsgiving.

ASH WEDNESDAY

Mass and imposition of ashes at 10.00am (when we will be joined by the pupils and staff of our primary school) and at 7.30pm.

Today is a day of fasting (“a considerable reduction in the amount of food we eat”) for adults aged between 18 and 59. Everyone over 14 is asked to abstain from a particular kind of food, drink or form of amusement. SUNDAYS

4.00pm Rosary and Benediction

WEDNESDAYS

7.30pm Stations of the Cross (NB not Ash Wednesday)

Why not try to come to an extra Mass during the week? Remember, we have an 8.15am Mass on Fridays which finishes in time for the start of the school day.

Why do we pray to God?

We pray because he is God. It is therefore right to adore him, thank him and repent before him. We also pray because he listens and will act on our behalf when we pray, and because we come to know God, our greatest happiness, through prayer.
from "CREDO The Catholic Faith Explained"
this CTS book is available at £2.95 in the narthex

Chernobyl Children Life Line - Information Evening

16 children from Belarus will be visiting the Epsom and Ashtead area for a four week respite break, from 18 July to 15 August. Could you host two children for two or four weeks, or provide support to one of our hosts? To find out more, please come to an information evening on Thursday 7 February at 8.00pm at St Giles’ Church Hall, Dene Road, Ashtead, ring 01372 741 228 or visit www.midsurreylink.org

RITE OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION OF ADULTS (RCIA)

Next Sunday (10 Feb) the ceremony called the Sending of the Catechumens and Candidates for Election takes place at Arundel Cathedral. Bishop Kieran will receive candidates from the Diocese, including four from our parish. Please pray for our candidates as they prepare for Reception into the Catholic Church at our Easter Vigil.

Welcome

We welcome into our Parish Family all who were baptised last Sunday (27 Jan)

Catholic Children’s Society

Next weekend (3 Feb) the annual collection for the Catholic Children’s Society will take place. The Society provides care for some of the most vulnerable children and young people in our community. Their work includes providing subsidised breakfast and homework clubs and pre-school care, counselling for school age children experiencing stress and exclusion, adoption, post-adoption and fostering placement and support, residential care for young people with special needs and catechetical programmes for children and young people with disabilities. The Society relies on the generosity of the catholic community to continue its work in the diocese. Please pick up a gift aid envelope if you’re a tax payer.

COMING IN THE SPRING. . .

"At Home" event for parishioners and their families who have joined our parish community over the last two years. More details to follow. In the meantime, if you are new to the parish and you have not filled in a parish registration form, would you please do so. Forms are available in the narthex and should be returned to the Parish Office when completed.

The Repository Profit in 2007 was £1,522.99 - the best year ever!

Thank you for your continued custom and support. Remember, our cards and gifts are cheaper than in the shops and the profit goes to the church. Please keep buying and recommending us to your friends! Look out for Mothering Sunday, St Patrick’s Day and Easter cards available, all at very reasonable prices. (Our thanks for the hard work of all those involved in running the Repository).

Social Information on Disability - SID

SID is looking for a new trustee with experience of caring to join its forward-thinking management committee. SID is a registered charity established three years ago, providing information to disabled people and carers across Surrey.

If you would like to be instrumental in helping develop this organisation further, please contact us on 0800 0439395 for an informal chat or email info@asksid.org.uk for more information or look at our website www.asksid.org.uk

Today is Education Sunday

Education Sunday (20 Jan) is a national day of prayer and celebration for everyone involved in the world of education. Catholic schools and colleges have a particular contribution to make to the formation of their pupils and students. They are committed to helping children and young people to know "themselves, their attitudes and their interior resources, educating them in spending their lives responsibly as a daily response to God’s call. Thus, the Catholic school [and college] accompanies its students in conscious choices of life: to follow their vocation to the priesthood or to consecrated life or to accomplish their Christian vocation in family, professional and social life.”=" (Congregation for Catholic Education, Educating Together in Catholic Schools 2007).

There will be a collection today for the Catholic Education Service which helps develop and represent the Bishops’ Conference Collegiate policy on education to government agencies.

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 18-25 JANUARY

2008 marks the 100th anniversary of this special Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and Christians across denominations are asked to pray as Christ prayed "that they may be one".
Trinity in unity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, grant us the grace to pray without ceasing for the unity of your Church. May we reflect in your Church the unity in diversity that is yours. Amen
The next Churches Together in Epsom meeting will take place at 8:15pm on Monday 21st January at the Baptist Church, Church Street, preceded by a short act of worship at 7.30pm. All welcome.

THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE

On Saturday (19th), 13 couples from this parish and other parishes in the Deanery, attended a course here at St Joseph’s in preparation for their weddings later this year. Our thanks go to our team of catechists for organising the day. Please keep these couples in your prayers as they prepare to receive the Sacrament of Matrimony.

Our Christian Meditation Group

meets here in the Lady Chapel at 8.00pm each Thursday. For more information visit www.christian-meditation.org.uk

READING GROUP

The Pope recently published his second encyclical, ‘Spe Salvi, Saved by Hope’. It is fairly short, accessible and worthwhile to read. If you would like to read and discuss it together with others, please come along to the church on Tuesday evening 22 January at 7.45pm. The intention is to spend three consecutive Tuesday evenings reading it. Fr Bruno has copies of the encyclical available.

ADULT FORMATION AT ST JOSEPH’S - RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults)

The group continues on Wednesday 23 January at 7.30pm in the Chatterton Room.
Weekly sessions are held until April 2008.
Please keep the group in your prayers.

NEW SELECTION OF CARDS FOR SALE THIS WEEKEND

It is now so easy to see these beautiful hand-made cards on our new display board. Come and stock up with cards for birthdays, anniversaries, thank-you notes or get well messages for the month ahead. The large cards are £1 each and the smaller ones only 75p - very good value compared to shop prices. Remember, every card you buy will help AIDS orphans in Zambia.

HUMAN FERTILISATION AND EMBRYOLOGY BILL

There are documents issued by The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales available in the narthex concerning this important Parliamentary Bill. The Bill raises four key concerns:

Do take the time to read these documents and, if you feel able, write to our local MP voicing your concerns.

HCPT Group 24 - CD "Hymns of Our Youth"

As part of its fundraising to raise £7,000 to take 12 children to Lourdes this Easter our local HCPT Group is selling a unique CD of traditional hymns through our repository. The group had its origins 43 years ago through the Jesuit school, Beaumont College, which closed in 1967. Twenty of its alumni have recorded a CD of the hymns that were sung in the school Chapel and one of the charities to benefit will be HCPT. The cost inclusive of an illustrated booklet is £15. Orders (and further donations if desired) can be made at the repository or to John Flood at john@group24.org.uk or on 01372 725951.

CONFIRMATIONS 2009

We have a new catechetical group meeting for the first time on Tuesday 22 January at 4.30pm. This is for those young people in Year 9 or above who are not attending a Catholic secondary school and who may wish to enrol for Confirmation next year. Fr Bill sees these classes as a necessary requirement in preparation for Confirmation. Please contact Sr Margarite for more information.

OUR FIRST COMMUNION/RECONCILIATION FAMILIES

We have over 50 families preparing for First Communion and Reconciliation this year. Commencing Saturday 9 February they will start coming each week to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, 4 in the morning at 10.30am and 4 in the evening at 5.00pm. There may therefore be a longer wait than usual if you are coming to confession on these days. Fr Bill and Fr Bruno are always happy to hear parishioners’ confessions at a time other than the usual Saturday slots if you so wish. Please keep these families in your prayers.

If parents haven’t done so already, could they please sign the chart on the Sacramental Preparation noticeboard in the narthex indicating which date they will attend.

The Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity is from 18th - 25th January

The word 'Ecumenism' comes from the Greek oikoumene, meaning 'the whole inhabited world.' The 'Ecumenical Movement' is the effort, under God, to bring the whole, Christian world visibly and convincingly into one community, one Church.
John 11:52
The pamphlet produced for 2008 by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland covering each of the eight days of the Octave, is entitled ‘Pray Without Ceasing.’ A limited supply has been purchased by our own Churches Together in Epsom and circulated among Epsom’s church communities, to be followed in groups of two or three. Parishioners are most welcome to add their prayers as individuals during this week especially, and trust The Holy Spirit will guide us all, in truth and wisdom.

The next Churches Together in Epsom meeting will take place at 8:15pm on Monday 21st January at the Baptist Church, Church Street, preceded by a small act of worship at 7.30pm. All welcome.

Dovecote Bookshop

Winter sale now on
Crown Books catalogue available in narthex

Our Preschool Liturgy Group is growing

Parents and all those interested in the preschool liturgy group are invited to come and join the team for coffee and a discussion about changes to the group on Sunday 20 Jan, after 9.30 Mass in the Hall. See you there.

UPDATE ON PARISH FINANCES

Very many thanks to you all for your contributions in December which amounted to £10,482.03
David Carpenter, Parish Treasurer

Beda College - Rome

The Beda College in Rome is offering men who might be considering the priesthood the opportunity of spending Easter in Rome from Wednesday 19th to Friday 28th March 2008. There is no charge for accommodation at the college and it is open to all those eligible for formation, not just older men. Those participating will have the opportunity of attending the Chrism Mass in St Peter’s, celebrating the Triduum in the college and also seeing something of the city of Rome. It is also an opportunity for them to experience something of seminary life and priestly formation. If there is anyone you know who might benefit from this opportunity, please ask them to contact Fr Paul Turner on 01293 603773.

SCHOOL ADMISSIONS / FREE TRANSPORT / SCHOOL REFERENCES

Our new scheme for recording the attendance of families applying for places at our Catholic schools is now in place. Full details of how the system works are on the noticeboard. The forms and box are on a table in the narthex. You only need to complete a form if you have a child aged 3 or 4 and you are seeking a place at St Joseph’s School, or a child in years 5 or 6 for Catholic secondary school places. We hope this will result in a fair and just system for all. If you have any queries please contact the Parish Office.
(Please note the registers for the Children’s Liturgy groups are to conform to our Child Protection Policy - not for Mass attendance.)

OUR SUNDAY MASS BOOKS

We have very few Mass books to cover this present liturgical season. We have therefore purchased Mass sheets giving the readings and prayers for each Sunday from Redemptorist Publications. It is difficult at this stage to judge the quantity needed. You are most welcome to take them home if you would like to re-read the scripture passages and the reflections. If you are unlikely to do so, perhaps you could kindly return them to the boxes provided ready for the next Mass.

Noticeboards

All information for the noticeboards should come through the Parish Office. It would be useful if any information in electronic format could be forwarded to our voluntary Parish Webmaster. Nothing should be affixed to the brickwork. Do please take time to have a look at the Noticeboards, and encourage others to do the same. (July 2006)