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The SVP team would like to wish all of you a very holy and peaceful Christmas and the very best of wishes for 2025! Please accept our sincere thanks for supporting and sustaining us throughout 2024. It has been another busy year on all fronts for us, as need continues to be part of the fabric of our society.

During this season of Christmas, and as we head into another 12 months, maybe it wouldn’t go amiss to pray to the Holy Spirit that the world acts with gentleness – the same gentleness that Mary, our Mother, must have exercised when caring for her newborn baby Jesus.

Christmas time is always a very humbling time for the SVP Team. The generosity of the parish continues to be an inspiration to us. The SVP team is in a very privileged position to pass on this generosity to those in need. The team is rewarded umpteen times over by the beautiful, and sincere, words of thanks from the recipients, as well as by their hopeful and cheerful smiles! These smiles need to be reflected back on to you, the parish, though, as you are the source!

The SVP would like to say a huge thank you to all who picked up an SVP food bank Advent calendar last weekend. It was very encouraging to see that none were left after the 6pm mass on Sunday. If you did miss out on one, and you wish to respond to the appeal, then please note that an advent calendar is on display on our noticeboard in the church porch. Simply take a photo of it and then you’ll have a list of what is needed whenever you go shopping. Remember, too, that we also have a list of the items we generally need on our website. Have a browse of it sometime and you might even find some other useful information.

With the noticeable shortening of the days, and the recent cold snap in the weather, the approach of winter is becoming more tangible. These changes act as a good reminder to all of us to keep an eye on our vulnerable neighbours. Just a simple knock on the door, or tap on the window, can make all the difference to a person living with loneliness. Don’t underestimate the value of these little acts! Just let yourself become an instrument of the Holy Spirit and then your little acts will work magic by giving a sense of hope and love to a person feeling cut off during the winter.

Wednesday is the UN’s World Children’s Day. Please research what this means for you and then raise awareness of the issues among your friendship group. When social justice is lacking, the first victims are usually those already defenceless, such as those suffering from poverty, illness and loneliness. A child in the midst of these issues must be even more vulnerable. The SVP’s mission is to seek out the vulnerable and to bring practical aid to them, with compassion.