News & Events - Weekly Notices

Off Duty Notice

Please note that Fr Nicholas will be off duty from Friday 26 December 2025 until Saturday 3 January 2026 inclusive. He will, however, be present on New Year’s Day.

New Year’s Day

The Holy Name of Jesus

We begin the new year spiritually on Thursday 1 January 2026, celebrating the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. The Parish Mass is at 10.15am, after which all worshippers are warmly invited back to the vicarage for refreshments and further spiritual conversation. Please do join us as we begin the year in fellowship and prayer. 

Healing Mass

Our next monthly Mass for Healing and Wholeness will be held in the Lady Chapel on Monday 5 January 2026 at 7.00pm. This quiet and prayerful service concludes with intercessions for the sick offered before the Blessed Sacrament, followed by a simple Benediction. The liturgy lasts approximately thirty minutes. This Mass provides a gentle and hopeful space to bring our hurts, anxieties, and needs before God, as well as the needs of those on our hearts. It is encouraging that the Monday evening Mass is experiencing a real renaissance, with attendance regularly in double figures from our own congregation and neighbouring parishes. You would be most welcome to join us.

The Epiphany of the Lord

Tuesday 6 January 2026 at 7.30pm

The Feast of the Epiphany takes place on Tuesday 6 January 2026. The Parish Mass, including the Offering of the Magi’s Gifts, begins at 7.30pm.

For St Matthew, the story of the Magi anticipates the future of the good news of salvation, written in light of the resurrection. God revealed himself to the Jews through the Scriptures and to the Gentiles through nature; thus Matthew depicts the Magi (Gentiles) receiving revelation through astrology. The story highlights the paradox that those who possess the Scriptures reject Jesus, while the Gentiles, with the help of the Scriptures, find and adore him. Speculation about the Magi’s origins or the nature of the star gains us little: the star is simply the means by which a great mystery is revealed – Christ manifested as the Saviour of the Gentiles as well as the Jews. Light is therefore the central theme of Epiphany, as it is of Christmas. 

Parish Cell of Our Lady of Walsingham

Members of the Cell are reminded that our next Mass of the Holy House will be celebrated on Saturday 10 January 2026 at 9.30am, followed by our Cell meeting in the Parish Centre. All Cell members and visitors are warmly welcome.

The Baptism of the Lord – All Age

Sunday 11 January 2026. at 10.15am

We celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord on Sunday 11 January 2026. at 10.15am, our first All Age Mass of the year focuses on Jesus’ baptism by John in the River Jordan, the descent of the Holy Spirit like a dove, the Father’s declaration that Jesus is his beloved Son, and the inauguration of his public ministry, including his time of discernment in the desert. We reflect on our own baptism – what it means to us, and the responsibilities and privileges we bear as members of Christ’s Body, the Church. Please do come. 

Monthly Requiem

We offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the souls of the faithful departed on Friday 12 January 2026 at 12 noon in the Lady Chapel. If you have loved ones to remember, please make a special effort to attend and participate in this act of loving prayer, rather than leaving it to others.

House Group

Our next House Group gathering will be on Wednesday 14 January 2026 at 2.00pm at the Vicarage.

 We usually reflect on a recent homily as a starting point for open and enriching conversation. Those who attend have found these sessions deeply nourishing. Why not come and see for yourself? You would be most welcome.

Next Junior Church

Sunday 18 January 2026

Join us during the 10:15am Sunday Mass in the children's area for adult-led stories and crafts linked to the Church Year.

From January 2026, Junior Church will take place every Sunday during term time, except on All Age Mass weeks.

Epiphany Carol Service

Sunday 18 January at 4.00pm

The third in our series of Carol Services explores the themes of the Epiphany season and marks the conclusion of our festive observances. Epiphany celebrates the appearance of God’s glory in the world through the birth of Jesus, our Emmanuel, and the revelation of the Incarnation to the Gentiles and to all creation. Observed since the 3rd century on 6 January, it is celebrated in both East and West in various rich traditions. In the Western Church, emphasis rests on the nativity and the recognition of Christ’s kingship in the visit of the Magi with their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. This revelation is echoed in Simeon’s words in the Nunc Dimittis at the Presentation in the Temple (2 February), which marks the close of the Epiphany season. The Greek word epiphany means ‘appearance’ or ‘manifestation’, and refers to the unveiling of Jesus as more than teacher or moral guide, but truly God made man, the Word made flesh. Simeon proclaims him ‘a light to lighten the Gentiles’, and Jesus later names himself ‘the Light of the World.’

The symbolism of light permeates this season and our service: Christ calls us out of darkness into his marvellous light, that we may recognise his divine imprint in all creation and respect every person made in the image of God. Please do join us. Refreshments afterwards in the parish centre. 

The Conversion of St Paul

Sunday 25 January 2026

This year the feast of the Conversion of St Paul falls on a Sunday. We recall the dramatic ‘Damascus Road’ encounter through which Saul – formerly an opponent of the Church – was transformed into Paul, apostle and evangelist. As we celebrate his conversion and wholehearted turning to Christ, we ask what within us needs to change so that we may be committed disciples, fulfilling our spiritual potential.

This feast also marks the final day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The Week began in 1908 as the ‘Octave of Christian Unity’, founded by Fr Paul Wattson. In the 1930s it gained support from the Faith and Order Movement, and since 1968 it has been jointly promoted by the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. It invites Christians of every tradition to join in prayer that all may be one, as Christ himself prayed, and we remember in particular the people of Kingsley Park Methodist Church and St Gregory’s Roman Catholic Church with whom we have particular connection.

Candlemas – Date for your diary

Monday 2 February 2026

The Presentation of Christ in the Temple

The Presentation of Christ in the Temple, also known as the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, falls forty days after Christmas, on Monday 2 February 2026. This feast marks a turning point, as we take one last look back to the Christmas crib and begin to look forward toward Holy Week. In accordance with Jewish custom, Mary and Joseph present Jesus in the Temple with an offering of two doves, their modest means. Into this ordinary moment steps Simeon, a devout man awaiting the Messiah. In this encounter another Epiphany takes place: Jesus is revealed as light for both Jews and Gentiles, though not without destined opposition.

On Candlemas we rejoice in the light of Christ, the light that scatters the darkness of sin and death and leads us to eternal life. May we place our lives in that light each day and live by it. 

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