WELCOME TO THE WEBSITE

This Parish website and our Facebook page will continue to be updated as regularly as possible to keep our Parish Community alive with news, information, scripture readings and updates from Fr Frank.

Scroll down this page to see all our latest news posts (& click 'older posts' at the bottom of the page to look back over the previous news.)

CHURCH OPENING: 

We are open for private prayer during the week and for our public Masses. 

February 2022 - Following the easing of restrictions here is the main update. 

*The MAIN defense we have is to be fully vaccinated–The Bishops of England & Wales support & encourage us ALL to be vaccinated to protect ourselves & each other. 

*PLEASE do not attend church if you have symptoms of covid or have tested positive. 

*Transmission is mainly through the air so we will continue to ventilate the church & we still encourage mask wearing when inside and whilst singing. 

*We will keep a small socially distanced seating area at the front of the church for those who are vulnerable or concerned & we ask people to be sensitive to others’ space around them. 

*Touch transmission is now seen as a much smaller risk but we still encourage you to sanitise your hands on arrival & Ministers will continue to sanitise their hands before Holy Communion. 

* We are now able to reduce our sanitising regime between Masses. 

*Communion under one form will continue for the time being & we will not reintroduce the holy water stoops until the risks are much lower. 

*Lighting of votive candles will now be brought back. 

All these decisions are in order to add that extra layer of safety for the good of our whole community.

Let us pray for the world to recover from this pandemic and pray for those whose lives have been lost. God bless you all. Fr Frank.

* Although there is still no Sunday Obligation we feel it is a safe place to visit, with all the measures in place, so please attend the Mass each week that best suits your circumstances. Thank you.

If you are continuing to shield or cannot return to Mass quite yet, you can visit the Church Services website to watch Mass from our Cathedral each day at 9.30am.

PARISH OFFICE: Please note that the Parish Office is open a few days per week so emails will be checked periodically. In the event of an urgent query, please call Fr Frank at the presbytery on 0117 9833939. 

Current Parish Rotas

Please click on the link for the Rota you would like to view (as a pdf)

Sunday Rota - April 2022 until August 2022

Saturday Rota - April 2022 until August 2022

Soup Run Rota April 2022 - 2023

Latest News

Sunday Obligation

This weekend the following message from the Bishop's Conference of England and Wales was read out in all Churches.

It discusses the 'identity' of the church; participating in the Eucharist, whilst enabling us to worship God together and support each other on our journey in faith.

Attending Mass on Sundays and Holy Days is the greatest privilege of all... known as the "Sunday Obligation", which was lifted due to the pandemic.

So, from the feast of Pentecost, all Catholics are now invited to attend Mass in person once again as the pressing challenges of the pandemic have lessened significantly.

Please see the full details in the letter below.

CAFOD is running a Fix the Food System Campaign - Look it up at cafod.org.uk/food.

Around ONE-THIRD of all food produced globally is lost or wasted. That’s 1.3 billion tonnes of food every year being thrown away globally.

The land it takes to provide just the food that we throw away is bigger than the size of India, and the water it takes is equivalent to 300 million Olympic swimming pools.

One study found that, in the UK, 9 per cent of strawberries and 19 per cent of lettuces grown ended up as waste.

To feed the current global population, we need to produce 3.7 billion tonnes of food per year. We are currently producing 4 billion tonnes per year.

Truly food for thought!

Thanks to Deacon Vincent for your Reflections for 5th Sunday in Easter Year C

1st Reading from the Acts of the Apostles 14:21-27.

This passage follows directly behind an incident where Paul had been stoned and the perpetrators thought he was dead, but the disciples gathered around him, and he stood up and so we enter this passage. He seems to have been re-energised by his experience, and even goes back into the city the next day, then they travel on to churches they had already visited only this time they set up the ecclesial structures to maintain, educate and attract new disciples. Paul illustrates his organisational skills in setting up whole new communities of faith to function without his presence. They, then return to Antioch to recount their mission so far and relate the great things God had done with them, and how the door of faith had been opened for the Gentiles. This tells us that great things can be achieved, but that there is always a cost and a risk to life and limb in preaching the Word. We should always remember our former priests and teachers who have passed on the faith to us.

Psalm144: 8-13.

This song rings out the goodness and greatness of God. We sometimes forget to ring out our thanks and appreciation of all that God does for us, day in and day out. The great miracles he achieves through his Holy Spirit enlightening specialists, doctors and nurses. We should always be thankful.

2nd Reading from the book of the Apocalypse (Revelations) 21: 1-5.

A truly beautiful vision of God with his people in a very intimate relationship and a whole new creation where all that threatens is removed. A tranquil new creation in harmony with God. It is one for us to ponder over. We sometimes forget the great good things that await those who are loyal and struggle along the Gospel Way. We are a truly Blessed people who follow the Lord to the Father, helped by His Holy Spirit.

The Holy Gospel according to John 13: 31-35.

The departure of Judas into the night, signals the glorification of Jesus. His glorification is interpreted in his absence from them, and they are to survive this traumatic absence by loving one another. It is in this love for one another that we will be known as disciples of Jesus. This is indeed a part of our life that we tend to skip over far too lightly. Jesus tells us quite emphatically that it is by our love for each other that his Gospel will be preached. St. Francis always used to say “Preach the Gospel day in and day out and if necessary use words.” This is a profound truth that we need to dwell on more and more and educate ourselves to really live out the Gospel message of “Love”; love for our neighbour as for ourselves.

This was Jesus’ answer to the greatest commandment “Love God above all things, and our neighbour as ourselves for his sake. On these two commandments hangs the whole of the Law.” So let us begin anew, with these words ringing in our ears.

God Bless us in this New Creation.

Deacon Vincent

Latest News

..ok... so it is not anything like this but I hope it got your attention!

SATURDAY 21ST MAY – 10AM - CLEAR OUT DAY!

Are you free & fit to help?

As we start the clear out of some overflowing storage areas of the Presbytery & Church, in readiness for Fr Frank’s retirement, please let us know if you can join us & you will be rewarded with refreshments & a warm feeling of helping thy neighbour! (The "God bless you system" as Fr Frank calls it!)

We can then offer good items that are no longer needed by the church for free to anyone who would like them.

Many hands make light work... please let us know if you can help. Thank you so much.

St Nicholas Church in Easton, once again, welcomes all Catholics from the LGBTQ+ community, their friends, families, and allies, to celebrate Mass together on 22nd May at 3pm.

Latest News

LIVE SIMPLY PARISH: 'Stitch it, don't ditch it'!

Thanks to Bella Harding and team who are starting a new group to meet up & stitch, mend or knit any projects you might have & to learn together some new methods.

It is called 'Stitch it, don't ditch it'.

Please come at 2.15pm on Thursday 12th May to the parish hall for just over an hour. Bring anything you like to do. And please come from the school if your children are curious about mending and sewing.

All are welcome to help make, reuse or recycle items that might otherwise be thrown away - plus, it is lovely to meet up with others, learn new skills and have a cuppa and a chat!

Confirmation 2022 - can you help?

On Thursday 9th June at 7pm St Augustine's Church is delighted to be hosting the Mass of Confirmation, with Bishop Declan, for the 37 candidates who have been preparing for this wonderful Sacrament for many months.

We would love to ask for help to be able to offer refreshments to people after the Mass - please message me on here or by email to the office if you are able to help out in a team to provide lovely welcoming hospitality!

Our Next Community Event.... You are all invited!

On Saturday 28th May we will be delighted to welcome the Unity Singers to entertain us with Musical Melodies!

7.30pm in the Church with refreshments during the interval.

Please come along to support this wonderful event, all in aid of your 2 parish projects, Grassroots Suicide Prevention and The Patrick Wild Centre.

James Nash, who passed away last year, was a member of the Unity Singers and so we thank them for coming to our church to help raise money for our projects as The Patrick Wild Centre was a cause so close to James' heart.

Tickets on sale next week - suggested donation £5 per ticket.

Thanks to Deacon Vincent for your Reflections for 4th Sunday in Easter Year C

1st Reading from the Acts of the Apostles 13: 14, 43-52.

This is the first of a pattern we shall come across frequently in Paul’s Ministry. In the passage before the one we are reading today, Paul preaches first in the synagogue and it is accepted but then it is rejected by them, after the opposition works on them, so Paul turns to the Gentiles and meets with great success as they are really excited by the Gospel. His fellow Jews became jealous of his success and tried to disrupt the meeting, then Paul quotes Isaiah 49: 6, which right at the beginning of Luke’s Gospel is quoted by Simeon in the Temple, “I have made you a light for the Gentiles,” This delights the Gentiles and angers the Jews who then work on the upper class ladies and men of the city, so both Paul and Barnabas are expelled from the city. The Disciples expect persecution, which fills them with, “Joy and the Holy Spirit”, these are closely linked in Luke’s view. Preaching the Gospel has never been easy, and it is constantly attacked both at the beginning and now. We are not loved by the world, but we have the Holy Spirit to fill us with joy, and that is priceless.

Psalm 99: 1-3, 5.

This very short hymn is full of references to the covenant, and it contains seven responses to what God has done. Seven reasons to praise God, and so there is always a reason to praise God.

2nd Reading from the book of the Apocalypse (Revelations) 7: 9, 14-17.

Clearly these people come from all over the world and are obviously martyrs, then we have this mysterious reference to blood being a bleacher and we all know that blood is the opposite of a bleach, so we are beginning to realise that God has turned everything upside down. This is exactly what the Gospel does for us, it turns worldly expectations upside down. To be befriended by God’s Son is priceless and worth sacrificing anything to retain it; even life itself.

The Holy Gospel according to John 10:27-30.

This passage happens in the Temple at the Feast of Hanukkah, which celebrated the dedication of the Second Temple after the Maccabean revolt against the Greeks. He is confronted and asked why he just doesn’t come out and say he is the Messiah. He answers that even if he told them they would not believe because they are not his sheep and so he expounds this wonderful description of his flock. We, who have been chosen, can never be lost, unless they choose to be lost. If we truly want to be one of his flock, then we cannot be stolen from him because Jesus and the Father are one and what is God’s cannot be taken from him. We are safe to eternal life, if we choose to listen to him and follow him to green pastures, allowing him to feed and water us. We are his flock, and he needs many helpers to feed and water us, so we must pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send many more labourers into his fields. There will be troubles as we see from the first reading and much opposition, and we face ridicule, but like St. Francis, let’s be “Fools for God”.

God Bless you ALL.

Deacon Vincent...

or as St. Francis would say, “Pax et Bonum” which translated means “Peace and all Good.”

Latest News

Easter 2022

After a break, away at his 2nd love (the snooker), Fr Frank has been reflecting on how wonderful the Holy Week and Easter celebrations were.

Covid tried to spoil it, of course, but the various parish team members were lucky to have gotten through the virus with mild to moderate symptoms and were able to change plans around, as and when needed, to keep things running as smoothly as we could.

There were great numbers attending the Holy Week services and the music provided beautifully enhanced the liturgies. Thank you to our talented volunteers!

On Good Friday morning it was lovely to see people of all ages at the Children's Stations of the cross. There were children helping to lead the people from the congregation by reading and bringing up symbolic items as part of the interactive retelling of Jesus' passion. Thanks go out to all those involved in the planning and running of this special service for kids ~ the future of the church.

And on Easter Sunday morning Fr Frank invited the children up to have an Easter Egg - the little ones first and then a stampede by the older kids!

Thank you to everyone involved over Easter who helped make it as special as possible for those who were able to come to church, some for the 1st time in over 2 years.

Everyone, as ever, is always welcome when they are ready.

Fr Frank couldn't have wished Easter to have gone any better.

God bless you all.

CHILDREN’S LITURGY OF THE WORD ~ "CLOW"

CLOW starts back this weekend after a long time away!

So, if your child would like to join our trained & DBS cleared team to learn about the Gospel message in children’s language during Sunday morning Mass, please come up when invited to do so by Fr Frank at the start of Mass.

Then we will come back into church together for the Eucharistic prayers.

All children are welcome to come along to listen, join in, have fun & show respect for everyone there.

If your child would like to come & try it, or if you would like to see what we do, please feel free to come out with them to start with. For children who are not of school-age or not yet settled in at school, they are very welcome indeed - we just ask for a grown-up to accompany them to join in the fun. Then, when you feel they are ready, they can start to come out with the leaders.

We look forward to sharing this time and God's messages with the children.

With love from the CLOW Team.

Thank you Deacon Vincent for your Reflections for 3rd Sunday of Easter Year C.

1st Reading from the Acts of the Apostles 5: 27-32, 40-41.

This is a very short section of a much larger setting with Luke detailing the irresistible work of the Spirit. The Apostles have been imprisoned but released by an Angel of the Lord, and they went into the Temple preaching in the name of Jesus, so the High priest came, and the Temple guards brought them before the Sanhedrin. This is where we commence our reading, as they demand an explanation of why the Apostles continue to defy their ruling to stop talking about Jesus and blaming them for having Jesus killed. Peter and the Apostles state they must obey God over human jurisdiction. Our reading leaves the part where a Pharisee, Gamaliel, advises the Sanhedrin to leave the Apostles alone stating if their teaching is man made it will fail, but if it is God’s work then they could find themselves fighting against God himself, so the Sanhedrin listens, has them flogged and released. We then take up the final part where they leave full of joy at having suffered for the Word. Luke has presented this as a comparison with how Pharaoh opposed God and became demonised and failed; with the irrational opposition of the Sanhedrin; in order to remove any sympathy for their position. It is something to remember that God, is the one really in charge of the outcome of events.

Psalm 29: 2, 4-6, 11-13.

A song of thanksgiving and was used at the service of Hanukkah, after the Maccabean restoration, but the psalm is much older than 165BC.

2nd Reading from the book of the Apocalypse 5: 11-14.

This passage has the Angels and thousands of Elders singing, using language that would normally be addressed to God, except the Lamb is obviously Jesus, these people are going to be a challenge for the Roman imperial powers. The whole setting ends with the massed choirs of Angels praising both the Lamb and God, and with the great “Amen”; the elders bow down in silent worship. This is a picture for us to ponder in wonder. Jesus and God are awesome, and we need to remember this when we come into this presence.

The Holy Gospel according to John 21: 1-19.

This episode is about Peter, who right from the beginning has always been very outspoken, since the moment when his brother Andrew brought him to the Lord. We begin with Peter again exercising leadership and says he is going fishing and the others follow him. He is effectively returning to his previous profession. However, they work all night and catch nothing, and somehow, we are not surprised. Jesus shouts from the shore enquiring how they had got on, but they do not recognise him. Then when he hears they have caught nothing he shouts out to cast their nets out on the starboard, and they have a huge catch. It is John who recognises the Lord. They arrive at the shore and Jesus is cooking breakfast for them. This is a wonderful picture of how caring Jesus really is. Later after the meal, he sits quietly and talks with Peter and we are faced with a triple enquiry as to whether Peter really loves the Lord, and we are taken back to Jesus’ arrest and Peter’s denial three times at the house of Annas, the High Priest’s father-in-law. After each question and answer he is given his task by the Lord to feed his lambs and his sheep. There is an important point to note here that Jesus commissions Peter whilst a sinner, challenging him to follow him closely, so closely that Jesus warns him of his future execution. His final request is to, “Follow me”. It is also a request for us to follow Jesus. There is so much in this Gospel for us to really study over the coming week and beyond.

God Bless you ALL. Deacon Vincent.

Jesus Christ is truly Risen. Alleluia, alleluia!

Canon Frank's Easter Message

Canon Frank's Easter Message:

"Dear Friends in Christ.

Greetings & Peace to all people of goodwill.

The last 2 years have been difficult for many people & the virus is still with us (a fact I know all too well having recovered from it myself recently.) We continue to pray for all those affected by the pandemic in our parish and all over the world.

We must be optimistic about the future as we celebrate, once again, the Easter Mystery of our Lord’s Passion, Death & Resurrection.

This is Good News, indeed it is Great News!

Without the gift of faith our lives would be empty.

As we celebrate Easter, we thank God the Father for sending His Son into the world to redeem mankind from the slavery of sin and we remember that to be a good Christian we need to love Jesus Christ and we need to love our ‘neighbour’. There is no shortcut to the Kingdom of God.

I hope you all have a great Easter as we continue our journey in faith together.

Happy Easter to all God’s people!

God bless you all - Canon Frank"

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A Reminder of the service times for this Holy Week.

~Thurs 14th April – 8pm – Maundy Thursday Mass

~Good Friday 15th April

11am - Children’s Stations of the Cross

with cuppa & hot cross buns after, in the hall

3pm – Celebration of the Passion of the Lord

~Easter Saturday – 8.30pm – Easter Vigil Mass

~Easter Sunday – 9.30am – Mass of Easter Day Celebrating the Resurrection of Our Lord.

You are all very welcome to attend all/any of the services, celebrating the mysteries of Holy Week and the Celebration of The Risen Christ at Easter!

May God bless you all.

Canon Frank