Mass times and notices

Summary of notices for reading software

Week beginning Sunday, 2nd August, 2026.

Mass Times and Intentions

• Sunday 2nd August (18th Sunday in Ordinary Time): 10.00 AM Holy Mass at Holy Rosary (Intention: Henry and Winnie Rowden).

• Monday 3rd August (St Oswald): 10.00 AM Holy Mass at Holy Rosary (Intention: Russell Mullen).

• Tuesday 4th August (St John Vianney): 10.00 AM Holy Mass at Holy Rosary (Intention: For Vocations).

• Wednesday 5th August: Exposition and Evening Prayer at Holy Rosary at 6.15 PM, followed by 7.00 PM Holy Mass at Holy Rosary (Intention: Welch and Shipley Families).

• Thursday 6th August (The Transfiguration of the Lord): 10.00 AM Holy Mass at Holy Rosary (Intention: Priest’s Intention).

• Friday 7th August: 10.00 AM Holy Mass at St John’s (Intention: Cath Foley).

• Saturday 8th August: Confessions from 10.00 to 10.30 AM at St John’s, followed by 5.30 PM Vigil Mass of the 19th Sunday at St John’s (Intention: Fr Pat McKenna).

• Sunday 9th August (19th Sunday in Ordinary Time): 10.00 AM Holy Mass at Holy Rosary (Intention: Parishioners).

Prayers

Sick

• Maureen Braithwaite, Carol Brownlee, Fr Gerard Burns, Ann Christeson, Dorothy Davis, Bill Devine, Frank Donnelly, Judy Houchen, Sheila Hunt, Brian Kane, Mary Langsdale, Sarah McAllister, Christine McGhee, Rev. Dan Mckie, Ziggy Paczyński, Christine Rooney, Bill Simpson, Fr John Skivington, Peter Smith, Anne Ward, Margaret Wilkie, Kate Williams.

Recently Died

• Father Leo Pyle, Catherine Foley, Joyce Wordsworth, Alex Wilson, Edmund Ross, Sheila Allen, John Connell, Jack McCabe, Carol Stoves, Kathleen Grainger, Edith Robinson, Ernie Nardone, Sheila Holmes, Tony Canty, Thomas Peters, Roy Peacock, Lillian Gelder, Bridget McGoldrick, Georgina McQuilling, Peter Horan, Stephen Allison, Chris Allison, Helen Webb, Robert Dalton.

Key Notices

• Walsingham Pilgrimage: The coach leaves the Swan on Friday 21st August at 9.00 AM.

• The Medway, Building Works and Closure: The Medway is closed from Friday 17th July to Monday 24th August 2026 for refurbishment works. While it is closed, some weekly activities are suspended: Tea, Coffee and a Chat on Thursdays; the Friendship Group meeting on Tuesday evening, 4th August; and the SVP Food Hub, which will run in the church narthex, at the back of church, during these dates. Please see the web notices for updates.

• Friendship Group Macmillan Coffee Morning: Coffee, tea and cakes on Thursday 24th September in the Medway, from 10.30 AM to 2.00 PM, to help raise funds. Prizes for the tombola would be gratefully received. Please leave them at the back of church.

• Baptism Preparation Meetings: The next meeting is on 3rd September, the first Thursday of the month, in the Medway at 6.30 PM. There is no meeting in August.

• Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: The Bill returns to Parliament on 11th September. Healthcare and disability rights experts have condemned it. Parishioners are asked to write to their own MP requesting a vote against. It takes less than five minutes. Visit www.spuc.org.uk, click on ‘Campaigns’, then ‘Fight the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill’, and enter your postcode.

• All Our Yesterdays: Chris Devlin has spotted his mam, Mary Devlin, in a photograph that Liz Spencer submitted recently. Jane Kelly has since added a memory of her as well. Do have a look. If you have any photos, videos or cherished memories of parish life, we would love you to share them with Fr Adrian.

• Light a Virtual Candle: Please visit the Prayer Wall on the parish website, a place to post your intentions and pray alongside the rest of the parish. Someone has left a heartfelt request there this week, following a family bereavement. Please hold them and their family in your prayers.

• Little Joe’s Babies and Toddlers Playgroup: The playgroup restarts on Friday 11th September 2026, from 9.00 to 10.30 AM at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School. New families are welcome. For more information, contact the school office on 01642 560056.

• Fr Adrian’s Reflections: Fr Adrian has written up reflections on both of last week’s homilies, one from St John’s and one from Holy Rosary. The usual recording of his homily at Mass is there as well. Please have a look.

• RCIA Group: The RCIA Group will begin this autumn for those thinking about becoming members of the Catholic Church. There will be an introductory meeting on Wednesday 16th September in the Sacristy, after the 7.00 PM Mass.

• St John’s Meeting Room: While work proceeds on the Medway, the parish also hopes to refurbish the kitchen next to the meeting room. Ideas are needed for how this facility could be used. Please pass on any suggestions.

• Day for Life: On Sunday 21st June we marked the Day for Life under the theme ‘The Wonder of the Child in the Womb’, which also recognises the grief of losing a child before birth. The Bishops’ message, prayers and online donation options for the Day for Life Fund are on the website at www.dayforlife.org.

• Mass Schedule Updates: Weekday Masses occasionally have to be moved or cancelled after the newsletter has gone out. The new message service is how the parish will let people know when that happens, along with anything else that needs to reach people quickly. To subscribe, go to the website and look under ‘Keeping you informed’, within Community and News. You will get a message once the service is live. Anyone who has already subscribed to ‘Looking at our future’, online or on paper at one of the meetings, will be enrolled automatically and will keep receiving those updates too. You can unsubscribe at any time once it goes live.

• Parish 400 Club: Results for May and June 2026. In May, the £100 prizes went to number 99, F. Hutchinson, and number 394, M. Gamesby. The £50 prizes went to number 251, F. Nugent, and number 290, K. Dineen. In June, the £100 prizes went to number 484, S. Weatherall, and number 384, A. Tough. The £50 prizes went to number 105, P. Keane, and number 25, L. Harris.

• Bible in a Year (online notice): Fr Adrian recommends the Bible in a Year podcast, a fully approved free Catholic resource now available via the parish website. Often ranked as the number one podcast in the world across all categories, this 365-day journey is a way to deepen your daily prayer habit using your own Bible, including the New Catholic UK edition.