News and notices for 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus speaks to his disciples in our gospel reading today about the need for a follower of his to renounce himself and take up his cross. Our scripture readings invite us to think this Sunday about the cost of our Christian discipleship and how it will not always be easy to follow Jesus.

Our society may not be one in which we are persecuted or arrested for our Christian faith, but it is one in which those with faith are sometimes viewed with suspicion, or dismissed as irrelevant. We see in the words of the prophet Jeremiah from our first reading the perennial truth that those whom God calls to prophetic ministry frequently have to suffer for telling the truth.

Let us ask God to give us the strength to follow Christ no matter what, and to be given charity, fortitude, and courage when we find being his disciples difficult or challenging.

Recording of this Sunday’s Mass
A recording of this Sunday’s Mass (22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time) with a homily will be available here on our parish YouTube channel from the evening of 29th August.

Monthly Mass in German
Next week will see the resumption of our monthly German Mass at 4.00 pm on Sunday 7th September. Our Mass will be followed by the opportunity to chat in German in our parish garden in a socially distanced context.

Fr Nigel
It was announced recently that upon completion of his curacy, Fr Nigel will be moving to be the assistant curate at St Michael’s, Croydon. Fr Nigel’s last Sunday with us will be Sunday 20^th September. Please make an effort to attend Mass on that occasion so we can bid Fr Nigel farewell. We wish him well and assure him of our prayers for this next stage in his ministry.

Online Theology Seminars
Because of the continuing Coronavirus crisis, and the high likelihood that Covid restrictions may be in place for much of the autumn, our programme of Christian formation in the second half of 2020 will take the form of a series of online Zoom seminars. This means that they can take place whether people are able to meet physically or not.

Each seminar will begin at 6.00 pm be no more than an hour long, and will be led by Fr Peter. There will be a presentation, followed by a time for questions, and then discussion. In order to participate, simply be in touch with Fr Peter to get the password needed to access the Zoom meeting.  Topics to be covered include:

“What is Anglo-Catholicism?”
Wednesday 16^th September

“Reflecting theologically on lockdown through literature”
Thursday 8^th October

“What do Christians believe happens when we die?”
Tuesday 3^rd November

“What do the gospels tell us about the birth of Jesus?”
Thursday 3^rd December

For full details of topics and dates to be covered, see the relevant pages on our website, under the section, “Online Theology Seminars.”

Theology Book Club
In addition, there will also be a theology book club organised through the autumn. The purpose of the St Benet’s Book Club will be to offer a forum for theological reflection, debate in the light of a book that we agree to read together. The Theology Book club will also meet by Zoom.

The idea is that a book is discussed each time we meet at 7.30 pm on a Tuesday evening. It would be ideal to have read the book before the seminar, but if you are still half way through or just starting, don’t let that stop you joining us. The books we will look at this autumn include, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, (Tuesday 22^nd September); Ghost Ship: Institutional Racism and the Church of England by A.D.A. France-Williams (Tuesday 27^th October); and The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni (Tuesday 24^th November).

It is expected that participants acquire their own copies of the texts to be discussed. All of the books proposed are currently in print as paperbacks and can be obtained cheaply on Amazon.

For full details of topics and dates to be covered, see the relevant pages on our website, under the section, “Theology Book Club.”

Confirmation classes   
Confirmation classes will begin again in September for a confirmation on Sunday 13^th December. These will be a mixture of Zoom classes and meeting in person. Details to follow, but if you would like your child to be confirmed, please let Fr Peter know.

Services for the week beginning 30th August 2020