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The Parish and the SVP are delighted to announce that we will be jointly hosting a “Christmas by Candlelight” concert on Sunday evening, Dec. 21, at 7.30pm in the church. We are thrilled to welcome Trio Carina, a music trio, who will perform a programme of seasonal music. During the interval, mulled wine and mince pies will be available for all to enjoy.

All proceeds from the evening will be shared equally between parish funds and the charitable works of the SVP. Tickets are £10 each and can be purchased at the back of the church after all masses this weekend. Children under 11 years old are free. We warmly invite you, your family and friends to join us for what promises to be a joyful and festive evening.

This wintry cold snap is a good reminder, if we needed one, that Christmas is on the way! Christmas is a season of giving. To that end, the SVP team have produced a ‘giving’ – sometimes known as a ‘reverse’ – advent calendar, to help replenish the stocks in our food bank. Each day of December has a different item allocated to it, which means that each donation will have a lovely collection of non-perishables by the time we reach Christmas.

Our fund-raising shop, which we call ‘Gifted’, is open for business this weekend, before and after each mass. Please take time to browse or to just say hello! It is always lovely to hear the buzz around the counter. Remember to let us know if you are looking for something in particular that is not on display. We’ll make every effort to source it for you.

And, if volunteering to run Gifted or, indeed, volunteering with the SVP in general is something that interests you then just speak to any one of us or contact us via phone or email. New members are always welcome! The more hands on deck, the more we can help those in need. We wold love to hear from you!

Home visits were traditionally a cornerstone of the SVP mission. Members would call in to see their elderly neighbours at home, and visit them in hospital when the need arose. Teams that were located near prisons would arrange to visit people held there. In more modern times, then, visits to care homes became part of an SVP team’s work and, more recently again, visits to institutions such as our local refugee detention

The SVP Team would like to thank everyone who has supported the bingo evening this weekend and, if you are reading this on Saturday evening, we wish you the best of luck with your numbers!

Also, we would like to thank you for your prayers for our B-Attitudes team who had a sleepout last Saturday evening in empathy for those who have no other choice but to sleep out. Please pray for the homeless in our parish and community. Rest assured that, as a result of your support for our fund raising events, your SVP team are in a good position to help them with essential winter needs such as warm clothing, sleeping bags and food.