Recent Events . . .

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CONFIRMATION

How heartening to see the future of our parish already with us on the afternoon of Pentacost Sunday, when 78 young people received the Sacrament of Confirmation. They brought family and friends with them making over 500 present for the celebration.

Thank you, all of you, for choosing to be confirmed and for accepting the responsibility to share actively who the Holy Spirit will challenge you to become for others. Thank you parents, sponsors and families for the support you gave during this year’s programme. As you saw on Sunday it was truly inspirational in its fruits. A special thank you to Franca, Fr. Michael and the whole team—it is a daunting task to work with 78 young people creatively. We do need more help—all that is needed is a willingness to help and an enthusiasm for the youth of our parish. If you would like to help, please leave your name with the Parish Office. I can assure you of a warm welcome.

Fr. Austin, OFM

Follow this link to the Friar.org website for a further report with photographs.

PHOTOGRAPHS
Photos and certificates will be available after all Masses next weekend. The photographs this year are extremely good and will be on sale £10 each.

Confirmation Catechists
Please make a note in your diary of the following. Introducing the new Diocesan Policy for Confirmation for the parishes of Waltham Forest Deanery Thursday, 10th June 8pm at Our Lady & St. George’s Parish Centre, Walthamstow. Facilitator Sr. Nuala Gannon IBVM

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FAIRTRADE WORLD (CUP)

It's finally here, the first ever World Cup to be held on African soil! From the glittering new stadia to the dusty pitches of rural South Africa, eveyone's ready for kick off. Click here to test your footy skills, win wine and learn about fairtrade in South Africa with Fairtrade Foundation's highly addictive game, "Use Your Head".

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GARDEN FETE - SATURDAY 12TH JUNE

HELP REQUIRED
The Committee are looking for people to help on the day setting up in the morning or covering for stall holders even for an hour. Maybe you fancy running a stall; we can give you ideas and help set up if you wish. Also why not have a clear out, we need any toys, children and adult books (goodish condition please) and Dvd’s. Leave in back of church please. We look forward to hearing from you.

PLANT STALL
For all those who “grow your own” perhaps you could spare a few plants for the plant stall. I will be in the Friary grounds from approx 10am and would appreciate if you could drop off your donations between then and the start of the Garden Party.  Last year’s response was fantastic.

BOTTLE STALL
We desperately need bottles, all shapes and sizes, for our Bottle Stall. Please bring to the Parish Office. Grateful thanks.

AUCTIONS
A Tottenham Hotspur leather football signed by all the players will be auctioned at the Fete. Bidding to start Monday, 7th June and will end on Saturday, 12th June at 5pm. If you would like to place bids for one or both of these prized items please contact the Parish Office. On the day of the Fete, please look out for a member of the Fete Committee who will be taking bids and updating the board which will be placed by the bar in the marquee.

The Parish Fete Committee is also offering an unbelievable opportunity to own a Chelsea shirt (pictured) signed by the team in a presentation frame, all bids welcomed, please contact Mick Whelan (07875-115462) or John Andrews (07875-115950).

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FOR THE PEOPLE OF HAITI

At this time of darkness for the people of Haiti
We remember all those who have died in the earthquake,
And the thousands who are injured, homeless or afraid.
God in your love and compassion, you are with us always.

You understand the devastation of bereavement,
May your spirit comfort those who mourn.
God, in your love and compassion, you are with us always.

You are a light that shines in the darkest times,
Guide, support and strengthen all those in need.
God in your love and compassion, You are with us always.

We ask this in the name of Christ your son,
Who became flesh and lived among us.
Amen.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Our grateful thanks to all parishioners for their most generous offerings.

To date, supporters in Brentwood Diocese have sent over £200,000 to CAFOD. The total raised by CAFOD is over £2,600,000 – thank you! If you still wish to donate please do so. If donating by Gift Aid please ensure your name and address is on the envelope.

 For the latest report on the CAFOD Brentwood website click here>>

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PRAYER
From the Bishops' Statement

“Now, we believe, is a time for deep prayer of reparation and atonement. We invite Catholics to make the four Fridays in May 2010 special days of prayer. Even when we are lost for words, we can place ourselves in silent prayer. We invite Catholics on these days to come before the Blessed Sacrament in our parishes to pray to God for healing forgiveness and a renewed dedication. We pray for all who have suffered abuse; for those who mishandled these matters and added to the suffering of those affected.”

St Thomas’ Church is always open for private prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. There is Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament each weekday from 6pm to 6.30pm.

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A busy Bank Holiday Monday for Telco!
There are three events being held this Monday, 3rd May.
You are invited to join as many as you like.

Mass in honour of St. Joseph the Worker and in support of Migrant Workers in London.
10.30am Westminster Cathedral, Victoria, London SW1. Come and celebrate the significant economic contribution of London’s migrant working population in a Mass of Thanksgiving. It promises to be a lively and vibrant celebration of our diverse community and a great start to a bank holiday in London. No tickets needed but if you want a seat, get there early!

Picnic in St. James’ Park following the Mass at Westminster Cathedral
You are invited to bring a pack lunch to a fellowship picnic in St. James’ Park from 12.30pm where we will also be sharing reflections and insights from Austen Ivereigh’s Book, Faithful Citizens - A Practical Guide to Catholic Social Teaching and Community Action. No tickets needed and plenty of space on the grass!

Citizens UK Election Assembly
Join the largest gathering of organised civil society to meet Party Leaders ahead of the General Election. London Citizens and CITIZENS UK will be holding an Election Assembly at the Methodist Central Hall, Westminster on Monday, 3rd May 2010 from 3pm—5pm. Key Leaders (David Cameron and Nick Clegg confirmed) from the three main parties will be given the opportunity to respond to our agenda on the Living Wage; Safer Streets, Community Land Trust and Affordable Housing; Interest Rate Cap; Earned Citizenship and Mutual Lending. Admission is by Ticket ONLY. We have only been allocated 20 tickets, if you would like to attend this unique event, please speak to one of the Telco group after Mass.

For more about TELCO visit the website here>>

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CHOOSING THE COMMON GOOD

The Bishops of England and Wales have recently produced a statement in preparation for the General Election. Free copies of the statement may be obtained by going to www.alivepublishing.co.uk.

To take a look inside The Common Good statement follow this link>>

You may also order a free copy of a new magazine called “Faith Today” which is published by Alive Publishing and the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.

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EASTER THANK YOU

Almost 3,000 people attended the Easter liturgies, a truly remarkable number. That
everything went so smoothly is due to a lot of hard work and generous time given by so
many. Liturgies were well-prepared and supported by the Choir and Music Group. It
is heartening to discover things already in hand, whether it be preparing the Easter fire,
or the refreshments following the Vigil. It was good to see so many of our loyal altar
servers rallying round. We had an equally generous response to the appeal for readers,
ushers and ministers.

On the Wednesday of Holy Week our church cleaners made everything ready,
despite their dwindling numbers. If anyone - male or female would like to join
them please let the Office know; we need to try to build up our numbers and so relieve
the burden that falls on the few at the moment. A big thank you to Suzanne
and Michael Fox, Srimathie and Shanthini who came together to help Barbara with the floral displays.

The Friars would like to thank all parishioners for their very generous Easter offerings
 and for personal gifts received over Easter. To everyone, many thanks and a peaceful Eastertide.

Austin, OFM

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The biggest Fairtrade Fortnight ever. Thanks to everyone for taking part in The Big Swap and making this year's Fairtrade Fortnight the best yet. From human tea bags to producer meet and greets. To see some of the highlights follow this link>>

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WHY GO TO MASS? - LENTEN LECTURES 2010

On Wednesday, 24th March at 8pm in the Becket Centre, parishioners and guests gathered to hear Fr. Austin give his fourth talk on the subject "Why go to Mass?" A transcript of this series of talks is available here.

Grateful thanks to the CWL for providing the refreshments each week.

In a survey carried out of those attending in previous weeks, interest was expressed in further talks being given on a range of subjects on, say, a monthly basis. Watch out for notice in the weekly newsletter.

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PAPAL VISIT

During the recent Ad Limina visit, the Holy Father announced his forthcoming trip to the UK, possibly sometime in September 2010. Sadly there is already opposition headed by the Secular Society of Great Britain to this visit. The Secular Society have an online petition which has already attracted over 20,000 signatures and yet a petition supporting the visit only has 1,200* signatures. You are asked to visit the website and sign the supporting petition as we welcome the Holy Father to our country. (*26,943 signatures as at Monday, 22nd March). www.petitiononline.com/PopeinUK/petition.html

FAMILY

"It is becoming a social and even economic necessity once more to hold up to future generations the beauty of marriage and the family, and the fact that these institutions correspond to the deepest needs and dignity of the person.

In view of this, States are called to enact policies promoting the centrality and the integrity of the family founded on marriage between a man and a woman, the primary vital cell of  society and to assume responsibility for its economic and fiscal needs, while respecting its essentially relational character."

(Pope Benedict XV1 in ‘Caritas in veritate’).

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IAIN DUNCAN SMITH

- MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY

On Friday, 19th March 2010, the Feast of Saint Joseph, the Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith, Member of Parliament for Chingford and Woodford Green, spoke in the Becket Centre on the role of marriage and the family in repairing our society.

Follow this link to the Friar.org website for a fuller report.

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EIGHT-HUNDREDTH YEAR OF THE FRANCISCANS (OFM)

FR. WALTER HOBSON O.F.M.

   Messages from Fr Austin

Dr PAUL DOHERTY IS AFFILIATED TO THE FRANCISCAN PROVINCE

To recognise his devotion and as a fervent supporter of the Franciscans, on Friday, 27th November in a ceremony in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, Dr Paul Doherty, head of Trinity Catholic High School (pictured with wife, Carla) was affilated by the friars into their Province. As an affiliate, he will become part of the fraternity of the Province and share in all the friars' Masses, prayers, sacrifices and other good works. Read more on the friar.org website here >>

Uniformed Groups at 10am Mass at St Thomas'

The students of Trinity Catholic High School on the eve of the Feast of Saint Francis, presented a dramatic retelling of the story of the passing or transitus of the Saint drawn from the early sources.

Grateful thanks, £3014.43 was raised.

60yr ANNIVERSARY - FRS AUSTIN AND BRIAN

At the 10am Mass on Monday, 21st September Frs Austin McCormack and Brian McGrath celebrated the 60th year of their profession.

Following the service lead by Fr Michael Copps, parishioners were invited to join them at Mass and afterwards for refreshments in the Becket Centre.

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FR. GERVASE CONGRATULATIONS

Fr. Gervase celebrates his Platinum Jubilee (70 years) as a Franciscan on Saturday, 5th September. The 10am Mass on Saturday will be for Fr. Gervase and there will be a reception in the Becket Centre immediately afterwards. All are very welcome.



Also, congratulations to Sr. Josephine (Holy Family) who celebrates her Platinum Jubilee this weekend.

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PARISH PICNIC ENJOYED BY ALL

The day before the rains came . . .  The annual Parish Picnic on a lovely sunny Sunday afternoon, 5th July, was hailed a great success by young and (not so) old alike.

The event began with some fine music with a fun "jigs'n'jazz" flavour from TenStingFever (accompanied at one point by Fr Michael, see picture below, top right). This was followed by a great serving of Fairtrade tea and coffee, strawberries and cream, ice cream and cakes to supplement the various family picnics enjoyed all around the Friary Garden.  With a range of fun activites for the children, the afternoon drew to a close with the now famous St Thomas "Tugs-of-War".

Our thanks to Caroline, Damon, Jenny, Michael and David for making it happen - and all those who attended to make it such a happy afternoon.

A MESSAGE FROM FR AUSTIN

Last weekend marked the close of our major celebrations for the year, when 76 members of our parish community received Confirmation. So good have been all our parish celebrations that there is the danger of running out of epithets to honour what has happened.

Last Sunday’s Confirmation Mass was a truly inspiring celebration - it ran smoothly, joined-up in every possible way, so much so that it would be easy to miss what has made this possible. First, to our newly confirmed - thank-you for keeping faith with what is, necessarily a demanding programme; to parents and sponsors for impressive support and encouragement; and a very special thank-you to our team of Catechists and helpers. I have only been peripherally involved, this year, but enough to appreciate the generosity of such voluntary and skilful help; thanks also to your families for lending you to us so frequently. To each and to all - many thanks.

Click here to see photos on the Friar.org website of the celebration and Bishop Thomas' pastoral visit (third item on page visited).

On the previous day, Fr. Antony Jukes, from our fraternity in Canterbury, was ordained by Bishop Thomas - again, in the presence of a packed church. Thank-you to all who rallied round to make this also a memorable day. Antony had spent 3 months in USA gaining pastoral experience, as Alvydas did with us. It is a credit to his commitment and example to the parish concerned that 21 members of that parish travelled to be with him and us on Saturday.

Austin O.F.M.
5 July 2009

To view a full photographic account of Fr Antony's ordination click here to go to the Friar.org website.

Pictures by Chris Curtain.
For more pictures click this link.

The total profit for 2009 was £5,030.98
Our grateful thanks to all who worked so hard to make this event such a success.

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On Friday, June 19, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI declared the coming year a Jubilee Year for Priests. The Holy Father marked the occasion by sending a letter to the priests of the world.

He begins by noting that the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus has been "traditionally devoted to prayer for the sanctification of the clergy," in part because of its connection to the Feast of Corpus Christi (the Feast of the Sacred Heart is celebrated on the octave, or eighth day, of Corpus Christi). It is through priests, of course, that the Body and Blood of Christ are made present to us in the Mass.

Click here for more . . .

 

25th ANNIVERSARY SPONSORED WALK

CONGRATULATIONS to all who worked hard to make the Strangers into Citizens Mass a great success on 4th May. Over 25 of our people were amongst those who packed Westminster Cathedral . . . and a lot of you joined the march down Victoria Street and Whitehall to Trafalgar Square. The BBC estimate was 20,000 people there—a massive turn-out. The issue is getting more and more followers including Mayor Boris! A good and enjoyable day. The Cardinal was unwell but our own Bishop stepped in to preside and Bishop Patrick Lynch (Auxiliary in Southwark) preached very effectively.

Follow this link to the Telco page on this website to learn more - and check www.strangersintocitizens.org.uk for more information on this important issue.

Messenger newsletter system re-instated



Fr Brian writes:

"Woodford like any other Catholic parish is about people, the community sharing our Christian word. Often nowadays, despite fantastic advances in technical communication, we do not take the time to talk face to face with our neighbours, fellow parishioners or new community members. We hope you enjoy the newsletter. If you have any questions please ask your 'messenger', who actually lives on your street or just round the corner. They will be praying for you."

Jesus said, whenever two or three are gathered in my name, I am in the midst of them

St Thomas' supports CAFOD 'phone recycling scheme

There are 60 million redundant mobile phones in the UK - potentially causing serious damage to the environment as they contain arsenic and mercury. Now you can recycle your old mobile 'phone safely - and help CAFOD tackle global poverty at the same time.

St Thomas of Canterbury parish is joining with CAFOD to take part in their mobile phone recycling scheme that donates £3 to their work for every 'phone received. £3 could pay for a full course of immunisation for a child in Nigeria.

Help the environment and help CAFOD by picking up a recycling envelope from the porch.

To learn more about this scheme, which is operated in conjunction with Greener Solutions, follow this link.
 

Feast of St Thomas of Canterbury

The patronal feast of St Thomas of Canterbury, which occurs on the 29th of December during the Christmas season, was marked this year by an evening lecture by Dr Paul Doherty who talked about the mystery of the remains of Thomas Becket.

For more about the deceptions and secret machinations on which Dr Doherty threw some light follow this link to the Friar.org website.

A sum of £500 was raised at the lecture . . . to assist Fr Tony Baya with his work in Rwanda.

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  £1m CONGO CRISIS APPEAL


Renewed fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo between Congolese government troops and rebels has left an estimated 250,000 people homeless. CAFOD has already given £450,000 to help people forced to flee their homes in the region, distributed food to more than 47,000 people and will provide basic items such as blankets, pots and pans and plastic sheeting to those in need.

Grateful thanks to all those that responded so generously to the recent appeal to help these people in their plight. £658 was raised. If you were unable to make a donation - or would like to make a further donation - you can do so directly, online, HERE.

For more information about CAFOD's response to this humanitarian disaster follow this link.

Assisi Lunch Christmas special

Christmas came early this year for Assisi Lunch club members who gathered on Friday, 12th December to enjoy traditional seasonal fare rounded off with carols presented by students from Trinity.



Click here to find out more about the Assisi Lunch Club.

Parishioners at St Thomas' who joined over 1,200 other members of The East London Communities Organisation (TELCO) at their 12th Annual Assembly on 13 November were delighted to hear Tower Hamlets Council leader, Luftur Rahman, make firm commitments on combating drug dealing, securing a living wage for Council workers and an earned amnesty for undocumented migrants.

Civic Mass celebrated at St Thomas'

On Sunday, 12th October 2008, a rather unusual event took place at St Thomas', namely a Civic Mass in honour of parishioner the Worshipful Sheila Smith-Pryor, Mayor of Waltham Forest. An impressive and colourful array of Mayors from several of the other 31 London boroughs were present at the Mass and the reception which followed in the Becket Centre.

The Three Jubilees

20th September 2008 brought together three jubilees into one celebration.

Walter Hobson celebrated his PLATINUM JUBILEE (70 years) of Religious Profession (he made his first vows in the Order on 5th September 1938); Boniface Kruger celebrated his DIAMOND JUBILEE (60 years) of Religious Profession (he made his first vows in the Order on 19th September 1948; and Austin Kinsella celebrated his GOLDEN JUBILEE of Priesthood (he was ordained a priest on 20th September 1958).

A large number of parishioners were present in the church and afterwards in the Becket Centre to make this a memorable occasion.