News & Events - Weekly Notices

Purchase of this year’s Paschal Candle

The Paschal (Easter) Candle is the primary symbol of the presence of the Risen Lord at the Easter Vigil. It burns at all services during the fifty days of Easter, and at baptisms and funerals throughout the year. Each year we invite members of the congregation to contribute towards the purchase of this candle, perhaps in memory of departed loved ones. This year’s beeswax candle, together with its wax relief and markings, costs £114.98. Given the cost, it is very appropriate that this is a shared community offering, and contributions of any size would be most welcome. If you would like to contribute, please speak with Anita or contact the parish office. Thank you for your generosity.

Off Duty Notice

Please note that Fr Nicholas will be off duty from 15–21 February, though he will be at the evening Mass on Wednesday 18th.

All Age Mass

Sunday 1 February 2026 at 10.15am

Our next All Age Mass for the Parish Family takes place on Sunday 1 February, the Fourth Sunday of Epiphany, at 10.15am. The Gospel reading (John 2:1–11) tells the story of the Wedding Feast at Cana. We will be reflecting on Mary’s interaction with Jesus and on his transformation of water into perhaps 180 gallons of the finest wine – a powerful sign of God’s generosity to us in our need.

Candlemas - The Presentation of Christ in the Temple

Monday 2 February 2026 at 7:30pm

The Presentation of Christ in the Temple

We keep the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple (Candlemas), forty days after Christmas Day, on Monday 2 February. The Parish Mass will be at 7.30pm. Candlemas is a pivotal moment in the Christian year: it allows us one last look back to Bethlehem while also inviting us to look forward to all that lies ahead as we journey towards Lent and Holy Week. Please do come if you possibly can.

Walsingham Cell

Wednesday 11 February 2026 at midday

Walsingham Cell

Since its inception, our Walsingham Cell has met on the second Saturday of the month at 9.30am. It has become clear that this timing is not convenient for everyone, and in particular it prevents potential new members from attending the monthly Mass of the Holy House. To make our gathering more accessible, we have decided to vary the day – and therefore the time – during the second week of the month for an experimental period, after which we will review how well this approach is working. The February Walsingham Mass will therefore take place in the Lady Chapel on Wednesday 11 February at midday. Please do come.

Service of Preparation for Lent

This service is a valuable way of turning our spiritual focus towards the themes of Lent: faith, our need for repentance, restoring a right relationship with God, the importance of spiritual discipline, and the value of spiritual reading, fasting, or eating less – always with a clear spiritual intention. As this falls during school half term, the service will be congregational rather than choral, though the content will otherwise remain unchanged.

Return of Last Year’s Palm Crosses

Many of us may not realise that the ash used on Ash Wednesday is made by burning the palm crosses from the previous year. This ash is a powerful symbol of our mortality and marks the beginning of Lent, when we are invited to strip away our self-deceptions about who we are and all that separates us from an intimate relationship with God. Please return your palm crosses and place them in the basket provided in church. It takes a great deal of palm to make a very small amount of ash, so do please be thorough – even returning crosses of some antiquity. They all count! A Palm Cross Amnesty is hereby proclaimed.

Ash Wednesday

Wednesday 18 February 2026

The Parish Mass with the Imposition of Ashes will take place on Ash Wednesday, 18 February, at 7.30pm. Please note that the calendar has once again not been kind to us, as this falls during half term, when the choir and Fr Nicholas are usually on holiday. There will therefore not be a midday Mass. Ash Wednesday is a holy day of obligation, when the committed are particularly encouraged to be present at Mass so that together we may begin our Lenten journey faithfully, walking with one another through these forty days and forty nights.

Junior Church

A New Junior Church Schedule

Junior Church now takes place every Sunday during term time, except on All Age Mass weeks. All Age Mass dates can be found on the All Age Mass page.

The Crucifixion by John Stainer

Please make a note in your diaries that our choir will be performing The Crucifixion by John Stainer in church on Passion Sunday, the Fifth Sunday of Lent, beginning at 4.00pm. Stainer’s work, first performed in 1887, is a deeply devotional setting of the Passion narrative, combining congregational hymns with choral and solo movements, and has long held a special place in Lenten worship.

House Group & Lent Course

Our next House Group will take place after Easter and details of our Lent Course will be advertised in due course.

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