14th January 2023
Join Friends of the Holy Land for an unforgettable evening of uplifting music on Thursday 16th February in Westminster Cathedral at a concert featuring the London Welsh Male Voice Choir supported by The Priests. The London Welsh Male Voice Choir has recorded with Charlotte Church, Aled Jones and Bryn Terfel. The Priests are three Roman Catholic priests from Northern Ireland who scooped the Guinness World Record for "Fastest-selling UK debut for a classical act" with their first album. The concert starts at 7:30 pm and tickets starting at £20 are available now through Eventbrite at - http://bit.ly/3i0ath2 or search LWMVC Concert at Westminster Cathedral, or by calling the office - 01926 512980. Friends of the Holy Land is a Christian Charity whose mission is to support the most in need of our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land https://www.friendsoftheholyland.org.uk/.
2nd July 2022
"Buy a Tile": You may remember the leaks that occurred in the winter through the old parts of our roof. Over the years we have had a number of repairs carried out but now it really needs to be renewed. The cost will be at least £13,500 and unfortunately we do not have the funds to cover this cost. We are lucky to have received some donations and further donations would be welcome. However we would also like parishioners to consider "buying a tile". The suggested price of these is £10 each. If would like to buy a tile then please either send your donation to the Parish bank account (sort code 40-13-22 account number 91082884) with the reference "buy a tile" or alternatively put your donation in an envelope marked "buy a tile" into the weekly collection baskets or through the Presbytery's letterbox. These donations can be gift aided so please remember to also add your gift aid number when making your "purchase". Many thanks for your generosity and support.
28th June 2022
The Saint Augustine's Annual General Meeting is taking place at 8pm on Wednesday 29th June at the church and everyone is welcome. The Agenda for the meeting can be found here.
25th June 2022
Bradwell Pilgrimage and Gathering, taking place on Saturday 2nd July under Churches Together Essex & East London, is a free to attend event to which everyone is welcome. Full details are given in the information poster here.
2nd April 2022
Mary's Meals Pray in May campaign: Since their humble beginnings, Mary's Meals has been built on a foundation of prayer and many little acts of love. The vision is that every child receives one daily meal in their place of education and that all those who have more than they need share with those who lack even the most basic things. The month of May is dedicated to Our Lady and you are invited to join with parishes across the UK to pray for the work of Mary's Meals using the prayers to be found here.
26th March 2022
Easter Poster with this year's Holy Week services can be found here.
Easter Sunday Mass and Easter Egg Hunt: There will be coffee after Mass on Easter Sunday at which we will welcome some of our Anglican/Free Church friends and at this time they will be hosting an Easter Egg Hunt for all our young children. Come and enjoy! Karin Seeman & The PPC
19th March 2022
BCYS Events 2022: An event poster for BCYS Events 2022 can be found here, with further details at http://staugustine-springfield.com/outside.html. Booking for all these events can be done online at http://www.bcys.net/events, where full information is also available.
A Caritas Lenten Giving Calendar, which is a great initiative supported by the Diocese, can be found here.
A Diocesan Catechist Training and Resources Day is scheduled for Saturday 5th November. Bookings will be open later in the year, but please keep it free now so that you don't miss out!
Click here to Email any questions on all the above.
12th March 2022
DEC Ukrainian Appeal - Will YOU Help? On Thursday, 3 March the Ukrainian humanitarian appeal was launched to alleviate some of the suffering within this country. The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), of which Cafod is a member, provides food, water, shelter & healthcare to people in Kyiv and surrounding areas and aims to meet the needs of all refugees - including 'internal' refugees and displaced people who have fled from their homes.
£30 could provide hygiene supplies for 3 people for a month. £50 could provide blankets for 4 families. £100 could provide emergency food for 2 families for one month.
Will you help by putting aside money / loose change each week during lent? This appeal will run until Sunday, 24 April on which date the money can be brought to the Sunday Mass or left at the Presbytery; the money will then be counted, collated and sent to the DEC. Many thanks, Karin (with the endorsement of the PPC).
30th January 2022
Saturday Vigil Mass From 12th February: Following the recent survey of preferences regarding an extra weekend Mass, we will be initiating a 5pm Mass on Saturdays at St Augustine's from the 12th February. I hope this is welcome and look forward to seeing a good turnout! Fr Jijo.
19th December 2021
Second Sunday Mass Survey: At our recent PPC meeting, attended by Fr Jijo, it was proposed that there should be a second Sunday mass at St Augustine. Two mass times were put forward, one at 5pm on Saturday and one at 6.00pm on Sunday. If you support the idea of a second Sunday mass, would you please indicate which mass time you prefer by clicking here to Email Roger Sclater or by phoning him on 01245 469458. If there is sufficient demand, the more popular mass time will be introduced. Also, if you know of any former parishioners who might be interested in attending one of the extra masses, would you please forward the above information to them.
Synodal Pathway: Pope Francis has acknowledged the need for change and has initiated a 'synodal journey' for the universal Church, the Synodal Pathway. This began in October 2021 and culminates in the 16th Synod of Bishops in Rome in October 2023. Between October 2021 and April 2022, there is a diocesan listening phase and every diocese is asked to consult as widely as possible, listen, reflect and discuss, "How does this 'journeying together' allow the Church to proclaim the Gospel in accordance with the mission entrusted to her?" Anyone interested in participating in the listening phase at parish level should approach Fr Jijo or click here to send him an email. Further details on the Synodal Pathway can be found by following the diocesan link https://www.dioceseofbrentwood.net/synod-2021-2023/.
26th November 2021
The Brentwood Catholic Children's Society invites you to light up an angel on a virtual Christmas tree, their Tree of Angels, by posting a message of remembrance or a Christmas greeting during November and Advent. Through your donation, you will be supporting the work of the bccs. More details can be found at https://www.bccs.org.uk/christmas/tree-angels. You can also support the bccs at this time by buying their Christmas cards with more information at https://www.bccs.org.uk/christmas/christmas-cards.
11th September 2021
Mass Seat Bookings suspended from the 5th September, as a result of Covid restrictions being lifted, but please note the following:
St John Payne's Open Evening, for families considering a Catholic secondary school for their children, is from 5.30-8.30p.m. on Thursday 30th September. The full invitation letter from Tom Coen, the Headteacher, can be found by clicking here. The letter contains a promotional video which can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/user17292630/review/582542050/5dd0e33f4e.
20th August 2021
Changes to the Mass Booking System come into effect from Sunday 22nd August. Details can be found by clicking here (http://staugustine-springfield.com/massbooking.html)
12th August 2021
SVP Summer Treasure Hunt
Want to get some exercise, explore unchartered parts of Chelmsford and support the SVP fundraising for the Activity Weekend at Skreens Park, for disadvantaged families?
Chris Thompson has kindly designed a new Treasure Trail route. It should take just over one hour to walk and an independent assessor has graded it as "not too difficult"! You have the whole of the summer holidays to complete it, so hopefully there will be at least one dry afternoon.
To obtain a copy of the clue sheet, please click here to Email Chris. Submission details for the completed entries are included on the entry form.
There is no entry fee, but donations can be made via:
If you are able to Gift Aid your donations (electronically via Just Giving page, using your Parish Gift Aid number if placing your donation into the church plate or please follow this link to an SVP Gift Aid declaration form if making a payment direct to the SVP) that would be very much appreciated.
Many thanks for your generous support.
The SVP Team
6th July 2021
Online Donations: The diocese has arranged a new option to pay in directly to parish accounts at the following website: https://stream.seccomgroup.com/donations/saoc.
12th June 2021
The BCCS Summer Newsletter can be found by clicking on the link https://www.bccs.org.uk/application/files/5916/2315/2865/bccs_Newsletter_Summer_2021.pdf. Among other articles, this edition contains a reflection from Catherine Munns, our Head of Schools Services, outlining the effects of the pandemic and lockdowns on children and families in our Diocese. Our Director Bernadette writes about how we are re-committing ourselves to our work at this time and invites our diocesan community to join in with our Relay 100 sponsored walks this summer.
28th February 2021
STATIONS OF THE CROSS Would you like to join other parishioners to pray the Stations of the Cross
together during Lent? This will take place every Friday at 6:30pm. Please join in. Details as follows:
Topic: Stations of the Cross
Time: Feb 19, 2021 06:30 PM London
Every week on Fri, until Mar 26, 2021
Mar 5, 2021 06:30 PM
Mar 12, 2021 06:30 PM
Mar 19, 2021 06:30 PM
Mar 26, 2021 06:30 PM
Click here to download and import the iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar.
Click here to join
the Zoom Meeting.
Meeting ID: 869 0015 6400 Passcode: p1waGz
10th February 2021
SVP Quiz: SVP are running another of their popular on line quizzes, on Saturday 20 February. This one is for the South Sudan Appeal, who are facing enormous need with very limited resources. Start time is 19.30, and we suggest a donation of £5 per person, but if you want to contribute more, it will all be well used. Click here to Email for the link to join. Bring your own drinks and refreshments.
8th February 2021
From Fr. Sabu: Please find here a resource that you may like to use. It is the 33 days consecration taken from Fr Don Calloways' 'Consecration to St Joseph'. God Bless, Fr. Sabu.
17th January 2021
Important Update from Fr. Sabu
Dear parishioner,
Wish and pray that you all are keeping well and staying safe. It is a challenging time and we are hopefully in the final
phase of that. It has been a great challenge for our parish community to keep our churches open for private prayer and
public worship during the various phases of this Pandemic. It was possible only with the great generosity of various kind
hearted stewards. A big thank you to all of them. It was always a fear that we reach an exhausting point and seemingly that
has come now. For various reasons many of our stewards are not able to extend the help they used to extend for our parish
community. It is taking over all of us emotionally, mentally and physically. So for the time being WE ARE FORCED TO
REDUCE OUR PUBLIC WORSHIP TO SUNDAYS ONLY. So we will not hold any weekday masses at our church until further
notice. Watch this space for any changes. Keeping you all in my prayers and daily masses which will be said privately for
your intentions. Stay strong and hopeful. May God bless you all.
Fr. Sabu Pariyadan RCJ
10th January 2021
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity takes place from Monday 18th January to Monday 25th January. The midday prayer group will be hosting on the Friday. The timetable for the week together with links can be found here and background material together with the order of service can be found here. There is also a poster to be found here.
8th December 2020
Drive-In Carol Service at St Augustine's: You are warmly invited to a drive-in Christmas carol service joint with the RC and Anglican/Free Church communities. The service will take place at 6.00pm on the 20th December (and not Christmas Eve as suggested in the Newsletter) in St Augustine's car park. Spaces will be limited, so booking is necessary. Further details and the booking link are to be found by clicking on https://www.tickettailor.com/events/saintaugustineofcanterbury/461916/
5th December 2020
From Fr. Sabu: We are holding two Christmas competitions this year. Details can be found here.
CHRISTMAS POSTERS: This year Christmas will be different. Everyone will still decorate at home, inside and out. Not so long ago lots of rainbows were drawn and put in the windows of houses. How great would it be to see Crib scenes (Nativity scenes) in windows around the district? As an inspiration, we have a black and white silhouette crib scene for you to download, decorate and colour (click here). Maybe add stars, some words e.g. 'Joy'. Then display. If you cannot print out at home, we will put some copies out in St Augustine's for you to collect. GROWN-UPS as well as children!
29th November 2020
Church Re-opening: we are about to move out of the lockdown 2.0. Therefore church will be re-opening once again for public worship from 03/12/2020 Thursday onwards. We will be back to our usual weekday and Sunday mass timings. See the mass timings for more details.
Christmas mass Bookings: given the new guidelines and the possibility of forming a festive bubble over Christmas, we are looking at the possibility of accommodating bigger household bubbles at our Christmas masses. We will have a vigil mass on the 24th at 8.30pm and the Christmas day mass at 9.00am. If you wish to book your place at the Christmas masses please click here to Email or call 07950924349 with the mass you wish to attend, your name, number of seats and contact details. (If the call ends up in the voicemail leave a message with the same details). If we have more people attending we will look into the possibility of an extra mass. So please try your best to make it to the church over Christmas.
SVP GIVING TREE: This year we are running a virtual Giving Tree, using the same booking system for seats at mass, if you would like to buy a gift just use the following link and select a gift: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/saintvincentdepaulsocietychelmsford. A member of the SVP will be at St Augustine's on the weekends 28th/29th November, 5th/6th and 12th/13th December at Private prayer between 10.30 and 11 o'clock or Mass at 9 o'clock. (We will wrap and distribute the gifts in time for Christmas). Thank you Springfield SVP Conference.
4th November 2020
Important message from Father Sabu: Due to the national lockdown public worship is not allowed in churches. But are allowed to have private prayer and funerals. So our church will be open for private prayer every day from 10:30-11:00 am.
31st October 2020
St John Henry Newman and the First Vatican Council: 2020 marks 150 years since the First Vatican
Council and the solemn definition of papal primacy and infallibility. In this live streamed event Professor John Morrill,
emeritus professor of history at the University of Cambridge, will take as his theme 'St John Henry Newman and Vatican
I'. John will explore the reaction to the Council in the writings of Newman and set it in today's context.
The study day will take place on Saturday 21st November from 11 am - see flyer here. Due to coronavirus this will only be a live streamed event.
To access go to www.ssppilford.org.uk and click on live stream
remote services.
BCYS information and updates: These are to be found at http://staugustine-springfield.com/bcys.html
21st October 2020
Thank you for using the Ticket Tailor system, which seems to have worked well, in general, so far. In the light of experience, a number of changes are being made from Sunday 1st November. Full details of the changes, how to make a booking, how to cancel a booking and other notes are to be found by going to the Online Booking System tab at http://staugustine-springfield.com/massbooking.html. Details can also be found in the Newsletter. To avoid confusion, the News Update of the 6th September 2020 has been removed from the website.
10th October 2020
Mary's Meals feeds over 1.6 million young children one good meal every school day and provides food in some of the world's poorest communities including Malawi, Liberia, Haiti, India & Niger. Further details on Mary's Meals, its work and how to donate can be found at www.marysmeals.org.uk. As part of keeping parishioners updated on Mary's Meals, please see the article and video here.
12th September 2020
Brentwood Catholic Children's Society Christmas cards are now on sale. Full details can be found at https://www.bccs.org.uk/christmas/christmas-cards.
26th August 2020
Change of Mass Times: As things start to get back to normal, with hall bookings commencing again, mass times are changing from Monday the 31st August. Mass times from Monday to Saturday change from 10.30am all days to:
7th August 2020
Face Coverings at Mass - Important Notice from Fr Sabu
Let me thank you all immensely for your wholehearted support in keeping our church open for public worship. I am sure it is difficult with the regularly changing guidelines. However we have to abide with all of them and so far we have done very well. So hereby I send you the latest updated guidelines from the diocese on the basis of changing circumstances with face coverings. So please carefully read what concerns to your role. Once again a huge thank you and stay safe.
Face coverings will be mandatory in Places of Worship from Saturday 8th August 2020. All those who are attending churches must wear a face covering unless they are exempt from doing so. This is for the good of all who gather in the Church for Mass as it is an enclosed public space where there are people from differing households who they do not normally meet.
Care should be taken by people in unlooping their face covering for the reception of Holy Communion and replacing the covering afterwards. This is to prevent contamination of the covering by the hands. However, the risk is regarded as minimal providing there is no hand-to-hand contact between the minister of Communion and the communicant.
If you are a Reader, Eucharistic Minister or Steward, additional guidance on face coverings can be found here.
17th July 2020
Lourdes Pilgrimage Liturgy Handbook: The "Lourdes in your Living Room" online pilgrimage is now just 10 days away. The latest PDF version of the liturgy handbook can be found here. A Microsoft Word version can be found here. Please do keep the whole venture in prayer - and if you spot any errors, or have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch; better that we can sort any problems out in the next ten days, rather than when we are livestreaming!
28th June 2020
Fr Sabu: It is with great joy that we have all listened to the news that the churches can now resume acts of worship from the 4th of July onwards. So from next Saturday, there will be a mass on Saturday at 10.30am, on Sunday at 9.00 am and at 10.30am during the week. If there is a greater need for Sunday Mass, we will have a Saturday vigil mass added to our mass schedule. But there will be a number of restrictions and health precautions and, above all, face coverings will be mandatory for anyone who wishes to attend the mass. We are expecting church capacity to be about half, and therefore we may need a booking system. If you are shielding or still not sure about going to mass, our bishop reminds us that the Sunday obligation is still not binding and virtual mass attendance or a weekday mass attendance is still allowed in its place. Full details are given in the Newsletter, including private prayer times as well as mass times and to be prepared for further updates.
24th June 2020
SVP Treasure Hunt: The excellent work of the SVP is in more demand than ever at the moment and so is the need for funds. Following Dee’s successful Springfield Treasure Hunt at the end of May, we are doing another one round Chelmer Village. The route and questions will be available on Friday evening and will have all the details: click here to Email for a copy of the questions and instructions. If you can not take part, please think about making a donation to "SVP - St Augustine of Canterbury", sort code 60-60-04, account number 46085602. Return the answers to the same address by 6 July.
21st June 2020
Fr Sabu: As you may know from the media, churches are allowed to re-open for private prayer from 15th of June. We were in consultation with the JMC for a possible date for re-opening as we have to respect the directions from all the members who share our church. The most awaited church doors will not be now happening until the first week of July. So we will be opening our church from this Tuesday, 23rd of June onwards for private prayer. Daily opening times are to be found in this week’s newsletter.
Covid-19 Notices: Fr Sabu has asked for the following police advice to be disseminated. By clicking here, you will find advice on how to recognise genuine NHS test and track contact services and avoid test and trace scams; and, by clicking here, advice on how to avoid phishing emails such as TV licence and HMRC phishing.
Virtual Lourdes Pilgrimage: The Summer Lourdes pilgrimage usually involves about 250 adults from across the Diocese, including many who are frail and ill, as well as 250 young people who travel to serve those who need extra help. This year, as the Diocese cannot travel to Lourdes, Lourdes is being brought to your Living Room. Details of this virtual experience of Lourdes, which it is hoped will enable a wonderful week of connection, prayer and inspiration for all ages, can be found here. For young people, ways to get actively involved can be found here. Further information can also be found in this week’s newsletter.
16th June 2020
Sacred Heart of Jesus: This coming Friday 19th June is the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (see also website message of 10th June 2020). In anticipation that the church would be open by that day, Fr Sabu prepared a small leaflet. Given church opening uncertainties, and to promote the solemnity, a copy of the leaflet can be found here. If anyone wishes a printed copy, please contact Fr Sabu.
14th June 2020
From Fr. Sabu: As you may know from the media, churches are allowed to re-open for private prayer from
15th of June. We are still discussing with the JMC a possible date for re-opening, as we have to respect the directions
from all the members who share our church. What is more the replacing of the most awaited church doors will be happening in
the coming week. Once that is done the JMC will set a date for re-opening which will be announced here.
The guidelines from our diocese require at least two stewards to be present at every time we keep the church open. When we
do open the church we will need volunteers to open the church, to be there whilst it is open and to clean the church (by
wiping down chairs, door handles etc.) at the end of each session. Thus it is possible only with the help of generous
hearts. So may I request anyone who is available to let the parish office know by clicking
here to Email or by ringing parish office at 01245 465333. In light of what we know about who may become most seriously
ill with Coronavirus, please can we have volunteers aged 69 yrs and younger.
10th June 2020
Family Consecration To The Sacred Heart: Friday 19th is the solemnity of the Sacred Heart. At 10am on that Friday an act of consecration to the Sacred Heart for families will be live-streamed (and available to watch later) on the diocese’s Marriage and Family Life Facebook page. In the days leading up to this and following, couples from around the diocese will be sharing via the Facebook page their own inspirations for living out their vocation as spouses and parents in the domestic church. Please visit https://www.facebook.com/BrentwoodMandFL/ , and you do not need to be signed up to Facebook to access this.
7th June 2020
From Fr. Sabu: A very special thank you to all for your calls and emails. Thank you everyone for your prayers and support in this season of pandemic. Keep up the good spirit and continue to stay safe and healthy and relax as per the new guidelines. I am regularly praying for you all and most especially for all those suffering with Covid-19. Let us look forward with hope to the new measures which will be discussed between the religious leaders and government officials for the safe reopening of the churches. Let us pray ardently for this intention.
3rd June 2020
The Association of Christian Counsellors (ACC) has set up a COVID-19 Crisis Counselling Support Service (CCSS) to give free telephone or online help to people who have been impacted by caring for people who have the virus (e.g. NHS and ambulance staff, care workers) or who have been bereaved whether by the virus or not. Further details can be obtained by clicking on the link https://www.acc-uk.org/news/hidden-holding-pages/covid-19-crisis-counselling-support-service.html or telephoning 024 7644 9694.
1st June 2020
Parishioners are warmly invited to join others via Zoom for daily prayer at noon. This involves the praying of a litany of supplication together followed by a time of silence and intercessory shared prayer. We are usually online for 20 minutes. If you would like to join in please click here to Email and you will be sent the current Zoom link.
30th May 2020
From Fr. Sabu: A very special thank you to all for your calls and emails. Thank you everyone for your prayers and support in this season of pandemic. Keep up the good spirit and continue to stay safe and healthy and relax as per the new guidelines. I am regularly praying for you all and most especially for all those suffering with Covid-19. Let us look forward with hope to the new measures which will be discussed between the religious leaders and government officials for the safe reopening of the churches. Let us pray ardently for this intention.
Rosary Relay: May is traditionally the month to pray the rosary and, this year, it is culminating on the 31st May in a rosary relay with national details given here and further details on our own participation by clicking https://www.dioceseofbrentwood.net/news/please-join-rosary-rally-11am-sunday/.
Springfield "Treasure" Trail: As a bit of fun/exercise we’ve got a Springfield "Treasure" Trail. If you would like a copy of the clue sheet please click here to Email with "Treasure Trail" in the subject title and make it clear who you are and what your connection to the parish is. It’s running this weekend and next - about 6km exercise and you may get to see some familiar faces along the way. Something that you can see at the each stop should help you to answer the question - just write down your answer and move on to the next site.
24th May 2020
From Fr. Sabu: A very special thank you to all for your calls and emails. Thank you everyone for your prayers and support in this season of pandemic. Keep up the good spirit and continue to stay safe and healthy and stay at home. I am regularly praying for you all and most especially for all those suffering with Covid-19. Let us look forward with hope to the new measures which will be discussed between the religious leaders and government officials for the safe reopening of the churches. Let us pray ardently for this intention.
Parish Collection Arrangements: A follow-up note from Chris Thompson on offertory payments and how to join the 200 Club is to be found by clicking here.
20th May 2020
From Fr Sabu: Tomorrow, Thursday 21st May, is the feast of The Ascension of the Lord and is a Holy Day of Obligation. My gospel homily can be found by clicking here.
17th May 2020
From Fr. Sabu: A very special thank you to all for your calls and emails. Thank you everyone for your prayers and support in this season of pandemic. Keep up the good spirit and continue to stay safe and healthy and stay at home. I am regularly praying for you all and most especially for all those suffering with Covid-19. Let us look forward with hope to the new measures which will be discussed between the religious leaders and government officials for the safe reopening of the churches. Let us pray ardently for this intention.
9th May 2020
From Fr. Sabu: A very special thank you to all for your calls and emails. Thank you everyone for your prayers and support in this season of pandemic. Keep up the good spirit and continue to stay safe and healthy and stay at home. I am regularly praying for you all and most especially for all those suffering with Covid-19. Let us look forward with hope to the new measures which will be released on this Sunday.
2nd May 2020
From Fr. Sabu: This Sunday 3rd May is also known as the Good Shepherd Sunday. This Sunday has been dedicated as the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. The purpose of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations is to publically fulfil the Lord’s instruction to "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into his harvest" (Mt 9:38; Lk 10:2). As a climax to a prayer that is continually offered throughout the Church, it affirms the primacy of faith and grace in all that concerns vocations to the priesthood and to the consecrated life. While appreciating all vocations, the Church concentrates its attention this day on vocations to the ordained ministries (priesthood and diaconate), to the Religious life in all its forms (male and female, contemplative and apostolic), to societies of apostolic life, to secular institutes in their diversity of services and membership, and to the missionary life, in the particular sense of mission "ad gentes". 2020 marks the 57th Anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations.
Good Shepherd Sunday Talks - Usually on Good Shepherd Sunday the seminarians travel to parishes to speak about vocations. This year three of them, Michael Barwick, Jonathan Burden and Deacon Paschal Uche, have recorded video messages in place of this. You can watch them with the following link https://bit.ly/3aGVQp9 (leads to YouTube playlist).
Pope on Vocations - For the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, an inspiring message from the Pope on vocations, on the challenges of vocation and how they can be overcome is to be found in his letter here or through the link http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/vocations/documents/papa-francesco_20200308_57-messaggio-giornata-mondiale-vocazioni.html
BCYS Livestreaming Events - To encourage and support young people during this time, Fr Dominic and those at Walsingham House have produced a one page guide to BCYS livestreaming events during May. The guide can be found here.
28th April 2020
An online quiz is being held to raise funds for the SVP in Springfield and surrounding areas. The quiz will take place on Saturday 9th May at 8pm and will be hosted on Zoom. Full details including a suggested donation and the link to the Zoom meeting can be found on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/events/558221234825024/.
25th April 2020
From Fr. Sabu: this Sunday’s gospel has an immense connection with what we are all missing in our church life. It is the mass proper. If we read well the gospel, we realize that there is a breaking of the word (liturgy of the word), followed by breaking of the bread (liturgy of the Eucharist) and finally going out to proclaim the risen Christ. In this period of pandemic, we miss the breaking of the word and breaking the Eucharistic bread together. But it can never stop us from reflecting on the word of god and connecting it to our own life experiences. May be, in this time it will connect us more and shed more light into our thoughts and experiences. We may find the word of God more meaningful and personally touching us as if we read again and again the same passage at different circumstances. So let us not fail to break the word of God ourselves with all the available helps at hand and connect it into our own personal lives. So that we may realize that God is speaking to us. Let that strengthen us until we meet again to break the bread and proclaim the good news again. May god bless us all.
Experiences from South Africa:
Our parish is twinned with the Diocese of Dundee and Fr Gerald Gostling shares here his experiences
of what lockdown is like there. He also directs us to the reflections of Raymond Perrier, originally from Chelmsford and
now a Director of the Denis Hurley Centre in Durban, who describes here his
insights into work with the homeless at this time. These two experiences are an essential read, especially in these
times.
22nd April 2020
A parish email friendship chain has been set up which allows parishioners to share news with one another. This is proving popular and, if you would like to be part of it, please click here to Email Margaret and you will be added to the email list.
19th April 2020
From Fr. Sabu: A very special thank you to all for your Easter cards and gifts and wishes. Thank you everyone for your prayers and support in this season of pandemic. Keep up the good spirit and continue to stay safe and healthy and stay at home. I am regularly praying for you all and most especially for all those suffering with Covid-19. If you know any of our parishioners or your neighbours, who live alone and who may not be using the new world media and communication technologies like internet and smart phones, it would be great if you have their telephone numbers, to give a call and offer words of support and make them feel connected.
From the Director of Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society (bccs): A letter, thanking parishioners for their financial support and telling us of their current work and the extra demands anticipated after lockdown, can be found here. The parish website link to bccs is at http://staugustine-springfield.com/bccs.html.
11th April 2020
From Bishop Alan: Please find the Bishop’s pastoral letter for Easter by clicking here.
From Fr. Sabu: thank you everyone for your prayers and support in this season of pandemic. Keep up the good spirit and continue to stay safe and healthy and stay at home. I am regularly praying for you all and most especially for all those suffering with Covid-19. Our Easter has now been confined to the walls of our homes. But the hope of Easter and resurrection assures us that we will break all the chains of sufferings and pains and come out victorious. So let us take these days as our days of joining Christ in his passion and death and let us await to join the glory of his resurrection at the right time. Wishing you all a very good Easter and let that be again a time for looking for our friends and neighbours as Mary came looking for Christ. As Christ came looking for his disciples, let us look after each other and support mutually to overcome all our difficulties. May the glory of risen lord shine upon you and fill you with hope and joy.
There is a Newsletter for this Easter Sunday which can be found by clicking http://www.staugustine-springfield.com/past/newsletter%202020-04-12.html.
8th April 2020
The Diocesan online donation facility has been updated in line with the stated intention to provide direct links to parish contribution pages. This avoids the need, under the original link (see 5th April 2020 update), to go to a dropdown menu to select your parish. To send an offertory/Easter/other donation to the parish, would you now use one of the two direct links for each of the two churches within our parish as follows:
5th April 2020
From our Bishop Alan Williams: By courtesy of Father Mark Reilly, the Diocesan Master of Ceremonies, I will celebrate the Easter Triduum (live-streamed) at Wickford Parish at the following times:-
You can join the bishop on the following link: http://wickfordcatholic.com/live-streaming/
The Diocese is pleased to announce that an online donation facility is now available, and can be accessed via the Diocesan link https://www.dioceseofbrentwood.net/donations/. Donations may be made to individual parishes, and to separate funds within those parishes. Just click on the link and choose Springfield, Chelmsford church from the dropdown list and follow the instructions. Parishes will receive their particular donations via the monthly parish statement. Direct links to parish contribution pages will be sent out individually in due course.
From Fr. Sabu: Dear friend, we are entering into quite an unusual way of celebrating the holy week. As things stand at the moment we will not be able to have a physical celebration together. So I invite you all to actively take part in the various liturgies of the holy week in the most spiritual way, making use of all the available virtual means and above all with your personal prayer, reading the word of god, meditating on the passion death and resurrection of our lord and above all by assimilating the grace of god into our hearts and minds. Let this be a time of personal spiritual renewal and enlightenment. Wishing you all a blessed holy week and happy Easter.
There is a Newsletter for this Palm Sunday which can be found by clicking http://staugustine-springfield.com/past/newsletter%202020-04-05.html.
4th April 2020
Some lighter relief, in the way of a Lockdown Poem by Fr. Richard Hendrick, OFM, can be found by clicking here. It was written on the 13th March 2020
3rd April 2020
The Norbertines have put together a schedule for Holy Week, https://www.norbertines.org.uk/blog/holy-week-2020, with services to be live streamed from the Priory chapel on their Facebook page. It is hoped to live stream Tenebrae and the liturgies of the Sacred Triduum. There will also be a talk each day on an aspect of the Passion of Christ. After the broadcast, all videos are available to watch again on YouTube (though there may be a delay with the upload).
The SVP is now starting to get a number of referrals for shopping from the elderly, and the link for volunteers to sign up online is now live https://www.svp.org.uk/crisis-help. Volunteers are being asked to join for a ’Knock and drop’ service - essentially doing shopping or picking up prescriptions etc and dropping them off -- and volunteering is open to anyone who can provide a reference from an existing SVP member or from Fr Sabu. Anyone wishing to apply will need to add a Conference Officer’s email address presidenta030408@svp.org.uk . A similar system for Telephone Befriending will be opened next week.
29th March 2020
There is a Newsletter for this 5th Sunday of Lent which can be found by clicking http://staugustine-springfield.com/past/newsletter%202020-03-29.html.
We are not able to run the Sycamore programme for the forseeable future. However, Sycamore have made their videos freely available for use and they can be found on https://www.sycamore.fm/videos/. Please download and view these, and think about the discussion topics.
We are aware that some people have been trying to pay weekly collection money to us, or set up a Standing Order. If the bank is not recognising the bank details, try the following as the account name "Cthlc Chrch of St Agstne of cn". The sort code is 40 - 13 - 22 and account number 91082884.
24th March 2020
In the light of the latest direction from the government (LOCKDOWN) and the request from our Anglican community as their bishop asks them to lock down their churches, we sadly take the decision to keep our church locked down until further notice. Please bear the inconvenience. Let us continue to pray hard that we will all soon come together to give thanks to the lord for his blessings to us in these moments of difficulty. May god bless us all and stay safe and healthy. Fr. Sabu Pariyadan RCJ
This coming Sunday 29th March is the day for the Christians of England (and Wales) to make a personal rededication to Our Lady (see link Behold2020.com). Because of the importance of this great event, and the desire to involve everyone from home at this dismal time, a set of prayers is provided here. At Mary’s Basilica in Walsingham, a very small group will be joining together to make The Rededication and it will be live streamed on Sunday 12 Noon so that all can join together by clicking https://www.walsingham.org.uk/.
23rd March 2020
Due to the Coronavirus, and to keep parishioners in contact with their Church and to share hope, a host of UK Catholic Diocesan newspapers have been published on the one website www.ChurchPaper.co.uk. There are over 600 editions available for free download, including the latest editions.
21st March 2020
Useful links on how to nourish your faith online and on TV, including recommendations for families with school-aged children, have been provided by Fr Sabu and can be found by clicking here.
The Parish Finance Team, contact Chris Thompson, would like to thank parishioners for all their financial support to date and to wish all well during these very unusual and difficult times. During these times, public masses are not being said and so there will be no plate collections. However the Parish still has its bills to pay and the normal weekly income is needed to pay these. For those not paying by standing order, would you please consider setting up a standing order (click here for a Standing Order Mandate form) or paying weekly by electronic transfer. The Parish’s bank details are: Account Name Catholic Church of St. Augustine of Canterbury; Account Number 91082884; Sort Code 40 - 13 - 22. Also please consider joining the 200 Club with details as per http://www.staugustine-springfield.com/200club.html. Your help is very important and would be greatly appreciated. Stay safe.
19th March 2020
A number of notices, covering a wide range of issues in response to the coronavirus, have been prepared by Fr Sabu. These relate to cessation of public services, alternatives to public services, when the church is open for private prayer (9.00am - 1.00pm Saturdays, 9.30am - 12.30 pm Weekdays) and a care volunteer and helpline number (01245 465333). Full details can be found by clicking here.
For diocesan information on what to do in the absence of public services, click https://www.dioceseofbrentwood.net/news/covid-19-can-parish/
18th March 2020
The following is an extract from a letter from Cardinal Nichols, the full text of which can be found by clicking here.
Also Parish activities such as the Sycamore Sessions are postponed until further notice.
More extensive information can be obtained from the Diocesan website https://www.dioceseofbrentwood.net/news/.
The Tablet has published a list of useful online resources: https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/12590/isolated-but-not-alone-resources-for-catholics.