There will be Mass on Friday 11th June at 9.30am, in the garden, to celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart. The Mass will be celebrated jointly with the school.
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Author: Parish Secretary
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Sunday 30th May 2020
Today was Trinity Sunday. It was also Fr Martin’s Birthday and this called for a celebration!
The 10.30am Mass was celebrated outside as usual (weather permitting) and for the music, we were able to incorporate a small orchestra and an equally small choir! The Deer’s Cry, beautifully sung by Clare and Ave Maria, played by Clare on the cello and Catherine on the flute. Looking around many parishioners were deep in thought, enjoying the music and at peace with nature!
This was beautifully rounded of with birthday cake and a glass of Prosecco, in the sunshine!
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Private Prayer
Dear Parishioner
I thought that you would like to know that the Church is now open for private prayer on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm. If you visit please wear a face covering, sanitise your hands and use the anti-viral spray to clean the area you have occupied. This will help to keep the Church safe for everyone.
Focus Magazine
Many of you already subscribe to Focus which is a monthly magazine published by the Churches in Wadhurst, Stonegate & Tidebrook. For those of you who don’t, it contains a huge amount of local information about church services, activities and events in our area. It also includes adverts from local trades supplying services in and around Wadhurst.
It costs £1 per copy or £6 annual subscription and can be delivered to your home or collected from Carillon Cottage. If you would like to subscribe please contact Carillon Cottage on 01892 785658 or info@carillon-cottage.org.uk.
Christian Unity Service – Sunday 23rd May at 6.30pm
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity takes place between 18th and 25th January and includes an evening service in one of the local churches. As we were unable to celebrate the event this year, we plan to hold a service of Christian Unity on Pentecost Sunday at 6.30pm in the Parish Church of St Peter & Paul. The theme of which has been chosen by the Community of Grandchamps in Switzerland ” Abide in my love and you shall bear much fruit”
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Easter Sunday
We celebrated our Easter Sunday Mass outside on the lawn as we have been doing most Sunday’s, weather permitting! This comes as second nature to Father Martin as he was a Missionary Priest for twenty five years. We were very fortunate with the weather as we had a hundred present and ran out of chairs!
Here is a beautiful reflection from Glenstall Abbey for Good Friday. See YouTube link below.
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Easter Sunday
Easter Sunday 4th April
I am writing to let you know that the weather forecast for Sunday looks good so the 9 o’clock Mass has been cancelled and the 10.30 Mass, with space for everyone, will take place outside on the lawn.
Good Friday
The Churches Together Walk of Witness cannot take place this year but there will be an on-line service reflecting the Walk of Witness. This will take place at 10am and can be accessed via the Parish Church website www.wadhurstparishchurch.org.
Weekly Masses from Saturday 10th April
Saturday Vigil Mass 6pm
Sunday Mass 10.30am (outside weather permitting)
For services in the Church COVID regulations will need to be followed. These include 2m social distancing, sanitising hands on arrival and departure, providing details for Track & Trace purposes and the mandatory wearing of face coverings.
For services inside and outside the Church you are reminded that no household mixing is allowed so please keep your distance from others on arrival and leave without lingering when Mass is over.
If you are unable to join us you can find information about the locations of live-streamed celebrations of Mass on the Diocesan Website at: https://abdiocese.org.uk/livestream.
Tuesday 23rd March has been designated as a National Day of Reflection to mark the anniversary of the first national lockdown. Please see the attached statement from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference for more details.
The church will be open from 10am to 12pm that morning. If you can, please drop in, for all or some of the time, to reflect and pray in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament.
Statement from the Presidency of the Bishops’ Conference on the National Day of Reflection for COVID-19 Tuesday 23rd March 2021.
We welcome the designation of Tuesday 23rd March as a National Day of Reflection to mark the anniversary of the first national lockdown with a minute’s silence at midday and doorstep vigils of light at 8pm.
We ask you all to make this not only a Day of Reflection but also a Day of Prayer. In reflection we ponder on all that has taken place; in prayer we bring this to our Heavenly Father. For all who live by faith in God, reflection and prayer always go hand in hand. Prayer completes reflection. Reflection informs prayer. Prayer opens our life to its true horizon. Without prayer we live in a foreshortened world and are more easily swamped by its clamour and tragedy. Throughout this difficult year, so many have been inspired by prayer, so much effort sustained in prayer, in every place. So let us make the 23rd March truly a day of prayer.
March 2020 was the first time our churches had to be closed. It is our hope that on this day, every one of our churches will be open. We invite everyone to enter a church on this day, to reflect and pray in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. We know this will involve an extra effort, but this can be part of our important contribution to a significant moment in the life of our country. Indeed, we ask that you might invite a friend, neighbour or colleague to come to church with you as you make this visit.
There is so much on which to reflect and include in our prayer.
We reflect in sorrow on all those who have died, whether family members, friends or those unknown to us personally. We pray for them, asking our Father to welcome them into their heavenly home, the destiny for which God first gave us the gift of life.
We reflect with compassion on all those who have suffered during this last year, whether through illness, stress, financial disaster or family tensions. We pray for their ongoing resilience, courage and capacity to forgive.
We reflect with thanksgiving for the generosity, inventiveness, self-sacrifice and determination shown by so many in this most difficult of times. We pray for them, thanking God for their gifts and dedication, whether they are scientists, politicians, health workers, public servants of every kind, community leaders or steadfast family members and friends who continue to show such love and compassion.
We reflect in hope that, as the pandemic is controlled and we open up our lives again, we will gather in the lessons we have learned and build our society into a better shape, more compassionate, less marked by inequalities, more responsive to needs and deprivation. We ask for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to guide and strengthen us in this endeavour, whether we are focussing on overcoming family breakdowns, economic recovery, or building political consensus.
Christian prayer is, of course, centred on Jesus Christ, the one who is “lifted up” before us “so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him” (John 3.13). We pray with Jesus, in him and through him, for he is the one who carries us, and our prayers, into the embracing presence of his Father. He is our comfort in sorrow, our strength in the face of need, our rejoicing in the gifts we celebrate and our hope in the face of the weighty darkness of death.
May Tuesday 23rd March be a great day of prayer that this pandemic comes to an end and that the gift of God’s Holy Spirit will carry us all forward to a new and better life, both here and in the world to come.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols Archbishop Malcolm McMahon OP President Vice-President
We ask you all to make this not only a Day of Reflection but also a Day of Prayer. In reflection we ponder on all that has taken place; in prayer we bring this to our Heavenly Father. For all who live by faith in God, reflection and prayer always go hand in hand. Prayer completes reflection. Reflection informs prayer. Prayer opens our life to its true horizon. Without prayer we live in a foreshortened world and are more easily swamped by its clamour and tragedy. Throughout this difficult year, so many have been inspired by prayer, so much effort sustained in prayer, in every place. So let us make the 23rd March truly a day of prayer.
March 2020 was the first time our churches had to be closed. It is our hope that on this day, every one of our churches will be open. We invite everyone to enter a church on this day, to reflect and pray in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. We know this will involve an extra effort, but this can be part of our important contribution to a significant moment in the life of our country. Indeed, we ask that you might invite a friend, neighbour or colleague to come to church with you as you make this visit.
There is so much on which to reflect and include in our prayer.
We reflect in sorrow on all those who have died, whether family members, friends or those unknown to us personally. We pray for them, asking our Father to welcome them into their heavenly home, the destiny for which God first gave us the gift of life.
We reflect with compassion on all those who have suffered during this last year, whether through illness, stress, financial disaster or family tensions. We pray for their ongoing resilience, courage and capacity to forgive.
We reflect with thanksgiving for the generosity, inventiveness, self-sacrifice and determination shown by so many in this most difficult of times. We pray for them, thanking God for their gifts and dedication, whether they are scientists, politicians, health workers, public servants of every kind, community leaders or steadfast family members and friends who continue to show such love and compassion.
We reflect in hope that, as the pandemic is controlled and we open up our lives again, we will gather in the lessons we have learned and build our society into a better shape, more compassionate, less marked by inequalities, more responsive to needs and deprivation. We ask for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to guide and strengthen us in this endeavour, whether we are focussing on overcoming family breakdowns, economic recovery, or building political consensus.
Christian prayer is, of course, centred on Jesus Christ, the one who is “lifted up” before us “so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him” (John 3.13). We pray with Jesus, in him and through him, for he is the one who carries us, and our prayers, into the embracing presence of his Father. He is our comfort in sorrow, our strength in the face of need, our rejoicing in the gifts we celebrate and our hope in the face of the weighty darkness of death.
May Tuesday 23rd March be a great day of prayer that this pandemic comes to an end and that the gift of God’s Holy Spirit will carry us all forward to a new and better life, both here and in the world to come.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols Archbishop Malcolm McMahon OP President Vice-President
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Holy Week & Easter Services
Holy Week Services
Thursday 1st April at 8pm The Solemn Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper
Friday 2nd April at 3pm The Celebration of the Passion of the Lord
Saturday 3rd April There will be no Easter Vigil Mass this year
Easter Sunday 4th April Mass at 9am and 10.30am
Due to social distancing space will be limited in the Church so we are asking you to let us know which Mass you would like to attend on Easter Sunday. Please email or phone the parish office with your choice of Mass time and the number of people in your household group.
In the event of fine weather, the 9am Mass will be cancelled and 10.30 Mass for everyone will take place on the lawn outside the Priest’s Cottage. If this happens we will contact you in advance to let you know the new arrangements.
Weekly Masses from Saturday 10th April
Saturday Vigil Mass 6pm
Sunday Mass 10.30am (outside weather permitting)
For services in the Church COVID regulations will need to be followed. These include 2m social distancing, sanitising hands on arrival and departure, providing details for Track & Trace purposes and the mandatory wearing of face coverings.
For services inside and outside the Church you are reminded that no household mixing is allowed so please keep your distance from others on arrival and leave without lingering when Mass is over.
If you are unable to join us you can find information about the locations of live-streamed celebrations of Mass on the Diocesan Website at: https://abdiocese.org.uk/livestream.
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News from Sacred Heart Church
Dear Parishioner
You will be pleased to hear that the 10.30 Sunday Mass will re-start on Sunday 14th March.
If the weather permits we will have Mass outside. Please come warmly dressed and bring a rug for extra protection if desired. Seating will be set out to accommodate social distancing and you are reminded that no household mixing is allowed so please keep your distance from others on arrival and leave without lingering when Mass is over.
If the weather is bad and we have to move into the Church numbers will be restricted, so please bear this in mind before coming to Mass. We are still required to follow COVID regulations (even if you have been vaccinated). These include:
- 2m social distancing must be maintained
- sanitise your hands on arrival and departure
- an attendance register must be kept for Track & Trace purposes
- face coverings must be worn.
- no mixing of households before or after Mass
- stay in your seat until called forward to receive Communion
Hopefully it won’t be too long before some of these rules can be relaxed. In the meanwhile we know that you will understand the need to comply with them so that we can keep everyone safe and well.
We will be in touch again soon with details of Holy Week and Easter services.
Kind regards
Parish Secretary
The Deer`s Cry
I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun, Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning, Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea, Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.
I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me;
God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me, God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield to protect me,
God’s hosts to save me, Afar and anear,
Alone or in a mulitude.
Christ shield me today
Against wounding,
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through the mighty strength
Of the Lord of creation.