Seniors Tea

Thank you to St. Edward's Club, parish volunteers and who who contributed to make this afternoons Seniors Tea such a great success. A big thank you to all the musicians and entertainers. It was particularly good to see such a large number of the young people of the parish contributing in so many ways: THANK YOU

Latest A&B News

The latest edition of our Diocesan Newspaper is available, free of charge, in the porches this weekend. Its' cover story is the ordination of our own Fr. Andy Moss.

Friary Fundraiser

Thank you to Paul Shortall, of Ballard & Shortall, and his colleagues for organising the Race Night at the Royal Oak to raise funds for the Friary Re-Development. A big thank you to Min for arranging the sponsorship of the horses and to all who supported the event - both in advance and on the night.

Parish Bereavement Support Group

If you have lost a loved one and would an opportunity to talk and share your experiences with someone also bereaved, please do come along to our next meeting this afternoon, Tuesday 26th January, 2-4pm in the Parish room at Our Lady’s. A very warm welcome awaits you.

The Removal Van cometh...

The Conversion of St. Paul

Today the Church marks the experience Paul had on his way to Damascus – commonly known as his conversion. It was on the road to Damascus, at the beginning of the 30’s in the 1st century and after a time when Paul had persecuted the Church that the decisive moment in Paul’s life occurred. The Risen Lord spoke to Paul, made him a true Apostle, a witness of the Resurrection, with the task of proclaiming the Gospel to the Gentiles. This turning point in his life, this transformation of his whole being was the fruit of this encounter with Christ.

So too for us: ‘We are only Christians if we encounter Christ – in reading Scripture, in prayer, in the liturgical life of the Church. We can touch Christ’s Heart and feel him touching ours. Only in this personal relationship with Christ, only in this encounter with the Risen One do we truly become Christians. Let us pray the Lord to grant us an encounter with his presence in our world, and thus to grant us a lively faith, an open heart and a great love for all, which is capable of renewing the world.’ (Pope Benedict XVI

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Thank you to all those, particularly from the community of St. Bernadette's, Tilgate, who gathered for an Ecumenical Gathering during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Thank you to the Tilgate and Furnace Green Churches Together group for organising and to the Holy Trinity Church Tilgate for hosting it and making everyone so welcome.

"Crawley has made my priesthood"

It was with great sadness and great gratitude that the parish said thank you & farewell to Fr. Simon on Saturday evening. It began with a tremendous celebration of Mass in the Friary Church during which Fr. Simon preached reflecting on his vocation and telling the parishioners that Crawley had made his priesthood. Following the mass a packed Friary Hall applauded as Sr. Hannah spoke of the gratitude of the people of Crawley for the holy and personal way in which Fr. Simon has served us over the last four and a half years. Fr. Simon responded by thanking the parish for all it had given him before cutting the largest cake imaginable.

Thank you to Crawley's Young People

Today some of the young people of the Parish had organised a soup lunch after Mass at St. Edward's to help raise funds towards their World Youth Day trip in 2011. Having heard the news of Haiti they decided that CAFOD's need was greater and they gave all the proceeds, over £100, to the Haiti Appeal. Thank you - you are an example to us all.

Peace Sunday 17 January 2010

The theme for 43nd World Day of Peace message by Pope Benedict XVI is: If you want to cultivate peace,protect creation.

The theme aims to raise awareness about the strong bond that exists in our globalized and interconnected world between protecting the creation and cultivating peace
... "If the human family is unable to face these new challenges with a renewed sense of social justice and equity, and of international solidarity, we run the risk of sowing seeds of violence among peoples, and between current generations and those to come... ecological questions must be faced," From Vatican Press Notice

The full text of the Pope's Message can be found here: http://www.paxchristi.org.uk/PeaceSunday.html

Urgent Message from CAFOD

As you know Haiti has suffered a massive earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale which has devastated the capital. We fear that more than three million people could be in need of shelter, food, clean drinking water and medicine.

We know that you and your parish will be concerned about the people affected by this disaster and will want to do what you can to help.
Because the need is so urgent, we would like you to hold a special collection in your parish this weekend (we will have a second collection at each of the Masses) for the CAFOD Haiti earthquake appeal. We appreciate that there are many appeals throughout the year but we hope that many would want to help and would appreicate being given the opportunity to give.

The earthquake was so strong that it destroyed many buildings including the cathedral, the National Palace and the UN headquarters, as well as hundreds of thousands of homes. It is believed that tens of thousands of people have died including the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Monsignor Joseph Serge Miot.

We are in a strong position to respond on the ground in Haiti through our church partners, including Caritas Haiti who are assessing the situation right now and finding out what is most needed. Because the earthquake has been so destructive, most of the roads are impassable so our partners are travelling by motorbike or on foot to reach the most vulnerable people.

We will be working closely with Caritas International - a group of Catholic agencies from around the world - to get help to those who need it most. The money you raise will help our partners supply water, food, medicines and shelter to people in the worst affected areas and help people to rebuild their lives in the long term.

We know that you are busy preparing to support us during the season of Lent, but hope that you will understand the people of Haiti need our help urgently. We greatly appreciate your continued support and ask you to keep those affected by this disaster in your prayers.

Below is a prayer of intercession for the people of Haiti which we hope you will be able to use in your parish.

We pray for the people of Haiti, struggling with the devastating effects of the recent earthquake: that despite the destruction around them they may not lose hope and may find the strength to rebuild their lives. Lord in your mercy...

View a prayer for the people affected by the earthquake in Haiti and find out more about our response at http://www.cafod.org.uk/haitiappeal

LG, GG & Pound Hill Core Group

This evening the Langley Green / Gossops Green and Pound Hill Core Groups are meeting to discuss local issues. If you have any items to add to the their agendas please email them to Tony.Barry@dabnet.org or ring the parish office on 01293 524176.

Vocations

A reminder from Fr. Paul: "'The Priesthood – Alter Christus' DVD has been produced for our diocese during this 'Year for Priests'. The launch events to promote the DVD will take place this evening Tuesday 12th January at St John's Seminary, Wonersh (8pm) - Weather permitting! "
If your wondering about the snowman - actually it is a snow sister: she is the latest vocation to the Fransician Community at Copthorne introduced after the early morning Mass this morning.

Fr. Simon

Fr. Simon has been in Crawley for four and a half years and Bishop Kieran has been in discussion with him about his next appointment. They have agreed that, in order to allow time for a short sabbatical before the September moves, Fr. Simon should leave Crawley on the 24th January.
Fr. Simon will celebrate his farewell Mass farewell at 6pm on Saturday 23rd January in the Friary followed by a celebration in the Friary Hall.
Fr. Rafal, a young Polish priest, who has been working in Eastbourne will join the team on January 18th and we know you will make him very welcome.

Limited access / parking for cars

Unfortunatley it is not possible to clear the Car Parks at each of the churches: the car in the picture belongs to one of the priests - moved to the front because of the difficulties of the access road. Car Drivers may want to consider alternative arrangements / Car Parks.

The Long Goodbye

Having thanked Fr. Anthony for his help over Christmas and bid him farewell as he headed back to Rome it was a surprise to find him back in the house. Unfortunately he is among the many who find themselves stranded by snow. He will try to leave again this afternoon with a different airline and we wish him well: in the nicest possible way we are hoping not to see him again for a while (if you find him supplying on Sunday who will know what has happened!)

A warm welcome in Gossops Green

Congratulations to the all those who managed to get to St. Theodore's for Mass this morning. As you can see the windows of the convent overlook the side windows of the Church - well done to the Dominican sisters for resisting the temptation to stay in and watch from the warm. Their courage was rewarded: thank you to Roy for ensuring the Church heating was on when we got there.

Farewell Father

Following his ordination to the priesthood in Crawley Parish last Saturday Fr Andrew returned to his Canon Law studies in Canada this week - where he will probably find less snow! He thanks the parishioners for the many gifts and best wishes received, and looks forward to being with us again in April.

Friary Cut Off

This morning the road leading to the Friary was closed as one of the huge trees in the neighbouring church yard had fallen across Haslett Avenue West - the Friary can be seen peering under the now horizontal fir. The good news is that the local authorities responded with incredible speed and the tree was cut up in time for the 12.15pm Mass - thank you.

Fr. Andrew's 'First Mass'

The parish is very grateful to Fr. Andrew Moss for celebrating the midday Mass today and afterwards offering his First Blessing to members of the parish who had gathered to celebrate with him. Fr. Andrew is pictured with Janet Bailey one of the key organisers of the Ordination Celebration on Saturday.

Ordination of Fr. Andrew Moss

The Ordination to the Priesthood of Andrew Moss by Bishop Kieran was a tremendous celebration for the parish and for the diocese. A packed church prayed and sang with great Joy. Fr. Andrew wrote in the booklet:
Thank you to Bishop Kieran for coming to oradin me today. Thank you to the deacons; to the MCs and servers; to the readers; to the musicians and the choir; to all who have helped in the preparation of this Mass. Thank you to all those who have helped me to reach this day, especially my parents and family, spiritual directors, friends and formators. A special thanks to Vocation Director Fr Paul Turner for his support and encouragement over the years.Thank you once again to all at Crawley parish for their generosity and hospitality.
Pictures of the Ordination can be seen at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/crawley-parish/sets/72157623005271887/show/ (with thanks to Francis Fernandes: the Photographer.)

End of Jubilee Year

Thank you to the Dominican Sisters who hosted a reception, following the evening Mass, to mark the end of the Golden Jubilee Year Celebrations for St. Theodore's. Gossops Green. Thank you also to Sheila and her co-workers for organising the drinks and nibbles.