Fr. Aaron Writes 4th December 2022

Advent – My brothers and sisters, may we continue to live this season of hope in the spirit of prayerful expectation. We not

only prepare for the advent of the celebration of Christ’s birth, we await the advent of his future return, and of course we pray

and live that daily advent of Christ in our lives as we celebrate the sacraments.

Fr Michael Creech RIP – Fr Michael’s Requiem Mass will take place at St Mary’s Church, Clapham Common on Tuesday 6th

December at 12:30pm. All are welcome to attend. I shall be attending with Deacon Tom. May Fr Michael rest in peace and rise

in glory.

Gaudete Sunday – Next weekend, we will have the blessing of crib figures and Nativity sets at all Masses. There will also be the

distribution of blessed straw to be placed in your home Nativity scenes.

Advent Confessions – These will be celebrated on Tuesday 20thDecember at 7pm. We will welcome a number of visiting priests

to assist us make our reconciliation.

First Holy Communion – Please can I kindly remind parents and carers that it is an absolute must that you bring your children

to Holy Mass on Sundays. Attendance has been poor and this will not help the children in their preparation to receive two

important sacraments of the Church.

Baptism Preparation – I would like to meet with our current Baptism catechists and anyone in the parish who would like to join

a new team, with a view to forming a new and updated programme for parents who bring their children for this sacrament. An

informal meeting will take place this Tuesday, December 6th, at 7pm in the Hall, with refreshments.

Preparing Adults for Reception into the Church and/or Baptism – We are looking to restart a programme of formation for

those who wish to join the Catholic Church. I really need catechists, and parishioners who have an interest in the area of

formation, to join a new team. If you feel that this may be something you’d like to be involved with, then email me, please.

International Carols – There will be an international carol service this Advent which will involve all the different nationalities

that worship at St John’s. If you would like to be involved, for example singing in your own language or helping with

refreshments, then please email the Parish Office your name. This event will take place on Monday 19th December in the early

evening.

Signing School Forms – I will be holding two afternoon sessions when I will sign school forms (SIFs – Supplementary

Information Forms) These will be on Monday 5th December from 4pm to 5pm and on Tuesday 6th December between 4.30pm

and 5.30pm. It will be open house, so no need to make an appointment, just turn up!



School Governorship- Both our parish schools are in need of more Foundation Governors. I would kindly ask parishioners to

reflect prayerfully on whether they could take on this important role. If you feel you could help, then please contact me in the

first instance.

With every prayer and good wish,

Fr Aaron