R E F L E C T I O N
FESTIVAL 50
On 5th July a small group from the Parish met in Godalming to board our mini bus to drive to the Amex Stadium near Brighton to celebrate the Diocesan Golden Jubilee. We arrived amid a huge number of coaches.
At the stadium entrance everyone was offered a plastic bag containing a Festival guide, giving a plan of the stadium and a list of events and times. There was so much going on all day. There was no way one could see and hear all, so we made our individual choices. Some stayed in the main arena to hear the keynote speakers: Dr Rowan Williams, who spoke about our common brotherhood in Christ; followed by Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP, who talked about the family - the Catholic church as our family; and Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, who spoke fondly of his time in the diocese.
Some of us went to the theatre to see a brilliant performance by three actors from the Rise Theatre Company - “from Soldier to Saint”. After that four Catholic school choirs took turns to sing most beautifully. Then came “The Good Samaritan” by a wonderful disable group with their helpers.
On the ground floor of the West Stand were many stalls manned by different organisations and also a fascinating art and handiwork display showing paintings, sculpture, embroidery, etc,
After lunch we met up again in the main stadium for the climax of the day - the Golden Jubilee Mass, a really uplifting celebration with all the words, readings and music set out in our booklets.
The Mass began with a grand procession of over 200 priests and deacons, led by their parish banners. There were over 11,000 Catholics present. The Celebrant - Bishop Richard Moth - in his thoughtful sermon gave thanks for the past and present life of our diocese and prayed for God’s blessing on its future. The theme was the mission of each one of us to go out and spread the Good News.
It was a day we will long remember. It was good to experience a wider world than found at Parish level.
Yvonne Cove & Pat Wilson
PLEASE REMEMBER IN YOUR PRAYERS
The Holy Father’s Intention for July that political responsibility may be lived at all levels as a high form of charity; Europe; Leon Agbor baptised last week; the sick of the Parish, Audrey Burke, Julie Lodge, Michael Polack, Clare MacNamara, Betsy Bawdelly-Smith, May Easterling, Ann Connolly, Christine Weston, Carolyn Horner, Alan Berry, Michael Durkan and Patrick Duffy; Margaret Ellul, Joan Matthews and Annette McGuckian recently deceased; and Stella Holmes, David Dixon, Josefa Orlinska, Jock McKenna and Peter Casey whose anniversaries occur around this time.
FEASTS/MEMORIALS THIS WEEK
MonSt Apollinaris, Bishop & Martyr
TueSt Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest & Doctor of the Church
WedSt Mary Magdalene
ThuStBridge, Religious, Patron of Europe
FriSt Sharbel Makhluf
SatSt James, Apostle
NEXT SUNDAYSpecial Collection for
A Day for Life
Please help the Godalming Foodbank
Throughout July, the SVP is putting out collection boxes in our churches for produce for needy families in this area. Thank you for your generosity; please continue to donate what you can of the following: 500ml/1pt cartons long-life milk; tinned meat products, e g meat balls, mince, ham, corned beef; tinned fish;sauces for pasta, e g tomato and basil; tinned vegetables/ potatoes/fruit;cartons of long-life fruit juice; fruit squash/cordial; tea; biscuits;washing-up liquid; shampoo.
ST EDMUND’S PARISH DAY
This year our Parish Day will take place on Sunday, 27th September. The venue will be at The Old Farmhouse, in Elstead (home of Richard & Hilary Grey). The day will commence at 12 noon with a shared lunch. There will be sign up lists at each Mass centre detailing the various types of help required before and on the day, and also food requirements for the shared lunch. Please do come along and support this very enjoyable event for the whole Parish. For further details please contact Sandra (01428 684766 ) orNatasha (860464 natashaabrown@yahoo.
com.
THANK YOU
Sheila Smith would like to thank everyone for the flowers and in particular for the welcome and kind wishes that she and Charles were given at Farncombeon the occasion of the celebration of their Golden Wedding on 12th June.
FLOWER FESTIVAL
At St Mark's, Ockford Ridge tomorrow, Sunday, 19th July, from 10 a m to 4 30 p m, St Edmund's and St Joseph's flower ladies will be exhibiting on the theme of anniversaries. St Edmunds will be commemorating WW1- 100 years and St Joseph's Dunkirk - 75 years since the "little ships" set out to rescue the British Expeditionary Force. As well as flowers, there is a tombola and raffle, and refreshments are available. Please do try and pop in to support this event.
‘Staycation’ lunch + talk on China
St Edmund’s SVP invites you to lunch at St John’s, Farncombe on Tuesday, 25th August. There’ll be coffee/tea from 11 20 a m, a talk on some sites and sights of China by the globe-trotting Honeysetts, followed by lunch. Parishioners and friends are invited, but it is essential to book in advance. For further details or to reserve places contact Francis/Janet Quinlan 01252 702156 or .
FROM ST FRANCIS TO POPE FRANCIS
You are invited to a celebration at Holly Barn, Wintershall, Bramley on how St Francis speaks to us today through the words of Pope Francis. The celebration will be led by Dorothy Harte OSS on Saturday, 22nd August and will consist of : 10 30 a m Gather & Welcome; 11 a m Opening Prayers; 11 15 a m Introduction anddividing into groups to consider various Franciscan themes; 1 p m Lunch ; 2 p m Feedback; 3 30 p m Closing Liturgy and 4 p m Disperse. The day is organised by the Southern Region Order of Franciscans Secular. Lunch and refreshments are provided and all are welcome. There is no charge. You don’t need to pre-book – just turn up. For further details, please contact Robert Millar on or telephone 276902.
ASSISTED DYING BILL : URGENT APPEAL
Please write to our MP (Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, House of Commons, London, SWIA 0AA) today, asking him to oppose the Assisted Dying Bill. There will be a vote in the House of Commons on 11th September. It is urgent to write before 21st July, as that is the last day before the summer recess.
The Assisted Dying Bill would allow doctors or other health professionals to provide help such as lethal drugs for dying people to commit suicide. Assisted dying gives the message to sick, disabled and elderly people that they don’t have lives worth living. Vulnerable people can feel under pressure to choose death. Evidence of how this happens in other countries where assisted dying has been legalised and other arguments against the bill are available from SPUC.
One Parishioner has received the following response from Jeremy Hunt: have a lot of sympathy for this Bill in principle - who would not want to help someone who is terminally ill if they wanted to make a decision that would save them a lot of pain? But I am concerned about unintended consequences, particularly the risk of pressure on people with a terminal diagnosis from potentially having to wrestle with another horrible decision on top of all the other worries they have. I am also concerned about the impact on the hospice movement.
I will consider all these issues carefully before I vote on 11th September.
A NEW PARISH GUIDE!
Have you ever wondered just how much is going on in our Parish? And, perhaps, even asked yourself: "How can I get more involved?" Well, wonder no more as we have produced a brand new Guide to our Parish. It tells you who's who: on the F&GP (it also explains what these initials stand for!), who are the Co-ordinators and what do they do; and whom to contact if you do want to get more involved. It even has an A to Z of Parish groups which has 67 entries ranging from Acorn Christian Healing and Afternoon Tea through to Prayer, Prisons and Pro-Life to the SVP, Teams of Our Lady and Wintershall. It's available in full colour on our Parish website at which will be regularly updated.
We will also be emailing a copy to everyone who gave us their details in the recent Parish survey (though we have identified a number of email addresses which no longer seem "live". If you have changed your email address since the Parish survey, please let Ian Honeysett know by emailing him at . If you have no access to the internet, though, we can print a copy for you. We will have lists for you to complete after Masses and will arrange to have named copies available within a few weeks to collect after Mass. So, as Pope Francis would surely say, read it, enjoy it and, above all, get involved!
FESTIVAL 50
In celebration of our diocesan Golden Jubilee, A&B Vocations has produced a film celebrating 50 years of priesthood in the diocese. It features 10 of our priests speaking powerfully and movingly of their joy in the priesthood. The Latin title 'Gaudium' means 'Joy', and in the short film we hear powerful testimonies of the deep deep joy that priests experience in serving the Lord. All you need to see the film is an internet connection (but hard copies will be available soon).
To see the short film:
* Go to YouTube and type "Gaudium priesthood"
* Go to Google (or any search engine) and type "I will give you shepherds blog"
* Carefully type the following in the address bar of your search engine, "
* If onFacebook, link to Vocations A&B page;
* If on Twitter, follow @AandBVocations.
OPEN AIR SERVICE
As part of Staycation Week, there will be Worship @ The Bandstand on Sunday, 2nd August from 10 a m to 11 a m. All welcome. Just take something to sit on