Parish Groups
You are most welcome to get involved please contact the office.
You are most welcome to get involved please contact the office.
Flower Arranging
The flower arrangers are a fairly informal group. We have a core membership and others who help out as and when. We are about 9 in total (and sometimes 11 or 12) and we've been able to call on the help of a local professional florist. We organise ourselves around the liturgical year on a rota but as many as are able help out for the big feasts and other occasions (weddings and the heritage open day). The rota is drawn up so that people aren't doing the flowers too often and those with less experience are paired with someone who has being doing it for a while. We are very happy to welcome new people, especially more men. We can give a certain amount of instruction and are planning to do some introductory events.
Church Cleaning
The church cleaners are a friendly group of people who work in pairs to clean the church. Each week, one pair does the cleaning, at a time that suits them. New members of the group are always welcome.
SVP
The St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) is an international Christian organisation. Locally we are involved with the visiting of individuals in their own homes or care homes and visit the hospital once a week. We provide financial help and food parcels on occasions where there is the need. New members are always welcome.
Youth Group
A new youth club is starting up, Year 9 upwards. 7.30 - 9 in on Tuesdays in the parish hall. Please contact Hannah for more information [email protected]
Brass Polishing
The group meets four or five times per year usually on Monday or Saturday mornings for about an hour and a half. Over cups of coffee and chat , we apply elbow grease to the large number of candlesticks and other items. We try to make sure that everything is gleaming for the major feasts especially Christmas and Easter. New members are always welcome.
Justice and Peace
Justice and Peace is about working for a better world.
If we are truly people of faith, we should be scandalised about injustice in our world and want to bring about lasting change. So, a concern about justice and peace cannot be a fringe interest but should be at the heart of our faith.
Our Justice and Peace group was re-launched in 2017.
Our objectives are to raise awareness of justice and peace issues in the wider parish communities of St Mary Immaculate and St Charles Borromeo and following this, to act to bring about change. We are concerned with local, national and global issues.
The Justice and Peace group works across both parishes.
Both parishes have recently been awarded Live Simply parish status in recognition of all our efforts to work towards:
Living Simply, Sustainably and in solidarity with the poor. Further Information Action Plan
Book Club
The parishes have an enthusiastic group of readers who meet (pre lockdown) once a month. The books we read are chosen together and the discussion is free and uninhibited! Whether the book was loved, hated or unfinished, all views and opinions are welcomed! As with most book groups we also share a glass of wine (or fruit juice) and snacks! New members are always welcome!
Choir/Music
The choir sing on Sundays at the 11am Mass. We sing the Psalm, liturgical music and hymns and encourage the congregation to join in with singing in order to take part in praying & praising God.
We meet at10.45 am on Sundays to have a practice. Sometimes we may meet a bit earlier or have a short practice of 10-15 minutes after Mass to learn some new music. Attendance is flexible, there is no pressure to come every week. Members come when they can, and their attendance is very much appreciated. Before Easter, we have four rehearsals at set times to practise for Holy Week.
We try to have a variety of traditional and more modern music, recently we have included chant for singing the Introit. We hope eventually to be able to sing more of both the Proper (texts proper to a particular Mass) and the Ordinary (texts common to every Mass) of the Liturgy.
We are always looking for more choir members. If you‘d like to join in, you are very welcome! Just come up to the organ loft on a Sunday morning!
We have been fortunate to be able to enhance the music with instrumentalists at Christmas and Easter. If any more instrumentalists would like to join in at those times or with our Sunday Mass, they would be very welcome, too!
Rosary
There are currently two Rosary prayer groups that have started in our parish this year. That means that between the 40 people, our parish prays 2 rosaries a day!!!
The prayer is not demanding. It does not require going out, meeting people outside of your home, going to church or other people’s homes.
You can pray it at your home, your garden, at any the most convenient time of the day.
Every person receives a mystery to pray. The same mystery is assigned for the whole month (to which is assigned an intention), and it changes every month to the subsequent Mystery. It doesn’t take a long time to pray one decade but it builds up relationship with our Holy Mother and her Son.
Also, a spiritual connection exists within the prayer group. This is an additional motivation, knowing that there are other people praying with you. You feel that you cannot fail! Also, many people admitted that praying Rosary every day in this lock down time brings them peace and consolation.
Sunday Morning Coffee
On a rota basis every few weeks, make and serve coffee in the Parish Hall after the 11am Mass. (coffee is provided).
The flower arrangers are a fairly informal group. We have a core membership and others who help out as and when. We are about 9 in total (and sometimes 11 or 12) and we've been able to call on the help of a local professional florist. We organise ourselves around the liturgical year on a rota but as many as are able help out for the big feasts and other occasions (weddings and the heritage open day). The rota is drawn up so that people aren't doing the flowers too often and those with less experience are paired with someone who has being doing it for a while. We are very happy to welcome new people, especially more men. We can give a certain amount of instruction and are planning to do some introductory events.
Church Cleaning
The church cleaners are a friendly group of people who work in pairs to clean the church. Each week, one pair does the cleaning, at a time that suits them. New members of the group are always welcome.
SVP
The St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) is an international Christian organisation. Locally we are involved with the visiting of individuals in their own homes or care homes and visit the hospital once a week. We provide financial help and food parcels on occasions where there is the need. New members are always welcome.
Youth Group
A new youth club is starting up, Year 9 upwards. 7.30 - 9 in on Tuesdays in the parish hall. Please contact Hannah for more information [email protected]
Brass Polishing
The group meets four or five times per year usually on Monday or Saturday mornings for about an hour and a half. Over cups of coffee and chat , we apply elbow grease to the large number of candlesticks and other items. We try to make sure that everything is gleaming for the major feasts especially Christmas and Easter. New members are always welcome.
Justice and Peace
Justice and Peace is about working for a better world.
If we are truly people of faith, we should be scandalised about injustice in our world and want to bring about lasting change. So, a concern about justice and peace cannot be a fringe interest but should be at the heart of our faith.
Our Justice and Peace group was re-launched in 2017.
Our objectives are to raise awareness of justice and peace issues in the wider parish communities of St Mary Immaculate and St Charles Borromeo and following this, to act to bring about change. We are concerned with local, national and global issues.
The Justice and Peace group works across both parishes.
Both parishes have recently been awarded Live Simply parish status in recognition of all our efforts to work towards:
Living Simply, Sustainably and in solidarity with the poor. Further Information Action Plan
Book Club
The parishes have an enthusiastic group of readers who meet (pre lockdown) once a month. The books we read are chosen together and the discussion is free and uninhibited! Whether the book was loved, hated or unfinished, all views and opinions are welcomed! As with most book groups we also share a glass of wine (or fruit juice) and snacks! New members are always welcome!
Choir/Music
The choir sing on Sundays at the 11am Mass. We sing the Psalm, liturgical music and hymns and encourage the congregation to join in with singing in order to take part in praying & praising God.
We meet at10.45 am on Sundays to have a practice. Sometimes we may meet a bit earlier or have a short practice of 10-15 minutes after Mass to learn some new music. Attendance is flexible, there is no pressure to come every week. Members come when they can, and their attendance is very much appreciated. Before Easter, we have four rehearsals at set times to practise for Holy Week.
We try to have a variety of traditional and more modern music, recently we have included chant for singing the Introit. We hope eventually to be able to sing more of both the Proper (texts proper to a particular Mass) and the Ordinary (texts common to every Mass) of the Liturgy.
We are always looking for more choir members. If you‘d like to join in, you are very welcome! Just come up to the organ loft on a Sunday morning!
We have been fortunate to be able to enhance the music with instrumentalists at Christmas and Easter. If any more instrumentalists would like to join in at those times or with our Sunday Mass, they would be very welcome, too!
Rosary
There are currently two Rosary prayer groups that have started in our parish this year. That means that between the 40 people, our parish prays 2 rosaries a day!!!
The prayer is not demanding. It does not require going out, meeting people outside of your home, going to church or other people’s homes.
You can pray it at your home, your garden, at any the most convenient time of the day.
Every person receives a mystery to pray. The same mystery is assigned for the whole month (to which is assigned an intention), and it changes every month to the subsequent Mystery. It doesn’t take a long time to pray one decade but it builds up relationship with our Holy Mother and her Son.
Also, a spiritual connection exists within the prayer group. This is an additional motivation, knowing that there are other people praying with you. You feel that you cannot fail! Also, many people admitted that praying Rosary every day in this lock down time brings them peace and consolation.
Sunday Morning Coffee
On a rota basis every few weeks, make and serve coffee in the Parish Hall after the 11am Mass. (coffee is provided).