Posts

The SVP at St Gregory’s is a very active group. Our activities include the food bank, bereavement care, the SVP shop, home visits and support for refugees. We meet on the first Monday of every month, at 8pm in the church hall. If you would like to see what we are about, please join us at our December meeting on Monday. We try to be finished by 9pm.

The SVP shop, Gifted, will be open this weekend after every mass. We have a selection of Christmas cards, decorations and the St Gregory’s calendar, as well as other religious items.

Winter is a desperate time for anyone living on the streets. The St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) is tackling this crisis by producing thousands of packs of essential items for homeless people. The kits, known as Vinnie Packs, contain a thermal hat, two pairs of thermal socks, thermal gloves, toothpaste, toothbrush, wet wipes, a pen, a Pavement magazine and an information sheet.

Our B-Attitude group along with some of our SVP members spent Sunday afternoon putting some of these packs together. In four hours, they managed to make 750 packs – a great achievement! In total the SVP will make 11,500 Vinnie Packs to be distributed to the homeless across England and Wales.

The SVP has partnered with HSBC on a few occasions this year: Staff members of the bank have volunteered at the food bank and participated in both of our gardening days with the B-Attitudes, providing equipment such as gloves, forks and trimmers. They have again been generous and have funded the re-carpeting of the small room adjacent to the parish hall. This has been a great partnership and we only see it going from strength to strength in the future. Please join us in thanking HSBC for their generosity.

As the nights draw in and the weather is getting colder, please remember to keep a look out for your elderly or vulnerable neighbours. It is the time of year where we do not venture beyond our front door. There are many people who live alone and may not have many visitors. If you have time, please knock on their door from time to time and make sure they have everything they need.

The SVP Bereavement Care group meets on the first Wednesday of every month, so why not pop into the hall after mass on Wednesday morning for a cup of tea and a chat with Bridget and her team? If you cannot make it and you would like to chat about a loss, then you can contact Bridget on 07562475720.

Next weekend, Nov. 6-7, the SVP shop will be open in the porch. We are excited to let you know our first lot of Christmas stock has arrived and will be on sale – everything from cards to Advent candles.