May I, on behalf of all the clergy team wish the parishioners of St Edmund’s a happy and blessed Christmas and a peaceful new year. Thank you to everyone who has had a part in preparing our church and our services for Christmas. I am grateful to you all.
Fr Steve
Christmas Offerings to our Priests
The offerings from all Christmas Masses are your personal gift to our priests and are separate from any standing orders or regular giving you may have already set up. Gift Aid can be claimed on these Christmas offerings but is retained by the parish itself (the priests do not benefit from this element). As the Christmas collection is always so generous we urge our Gift Aid donors to ensure their offering is given in an envelope showing their Gift Aid number or their name and address. Christmas Offerings can also be made online here. Please check that ‘Christmas Offering for Priests’ is selected from the dropdown menu and continue by following the on-screen prompts.
Crib Offerings 2023
This Christmas our crib offerings are for the Catholic Children’s Society. This fund provides emergency grants for children and families in our Archdiocese who are facing a crisis in their lives. Every penny donated to the crib will be given out via these grants. Donations can be placed in the wall safe marked CRIB in the narthex. We will have a second collection for the Catholic Children’s society on 14 January.
Parish Advent Carol Service
Thank you to all who attended our Parish Advent Carol Service last Saturday and to anyone who joined in online. Special thanks to all the singers, musicians and readers who participated. The collection came to £511.35 in aid of St. Christopher’s Hospice.
It is not too late if you wish to donate to this worthy cause. The JustGiving page will be open until 31st December 2023.
Our Church Fair
A huge thank you to everyone who attended our Christmas Fair last Saturday: to those who helped set up and run stalls, contributed items to sell, baked cakes, cleared up, and to Santa for dropping in to visit. Together with proceeds from the Money Mountain we raised a magnificent £3242.07. Congratulations to Christine Parker for winning the money mountain.
APPY ADVENT
There are many resources online to help you prepare yourself for the coming of Christ and our new Catechesis, Formation and Evangelisation team has taken a look at them and recommends the following:
- ‘Ascension’ app – ‘Rejoice’ 5 minute daily audio reflections (Google Playstore) (Apple Store)
- Southwark Spirituality Commission daily reflections (southwarkdsc.org.uk)
- CAFOD online advent calendar (Interactive online Advent calendar 2023 (cafod.org.uk))
- Hallow app – Pray25 with C.S.Lewis
- ‘Pray as you go’ app – ‘The Cry From the Manger’ advent retreat
Please take a look at them and find one that helps you.