Dearest friends,
I’ve always thought of faith in God as something that needs to be rooted. There are lots of ways to be rooted, if we look to creation we see roots that run deep, roots that skit across the surface, roots that seek and spread wide. All of these root systems achieve the same thing in the same way – they feed the plant and make it stronger. In our case we want to be stronger in our faith and stronger in our ability to share our faith.
As we move towards our ten year planning meeting I wanted to outline some thoughts on how roots can help us think about our parish.
Firstly, we are rooted in our parishes. We exist to serve the souls of those who live in and serve in our parishes. We welcome all, and those who join us from outside the parish are as much part of us as those inside. That community then calls out to the parish to invite all inside.
Secondly, we are rooted in scripture and sacrament. We are a people who are fed by the sacrament and fed by the Word of God as revealed in scripture.
Finally, we are rooted in a love of proclaiming Christ in the world. We are sent out after each mass to love our brothers and sisters who do not yet know Christ so that they may have everlasting life.
Our aim should be to ensure that everything we do is somehow related to one of these ideas. In the parish, in Word and Sacrament, and in a love of proclaiming Christ.
If we keep these ideas central to our planning, then we’ll be running along behind the Holy Spirit!
Fr. Matthew
Notices
The future of our parishes
A meeting with the Bishop of Oswestry and the Archdeacon will take place on the 19th October at 4pm at Wickham Hall as we chart the next ten years for our individual parishes and for our joint work.
CALLING ALL EXPLORERS!🌟
📍 St Catherine’s Primary School, Heathfield
🗓️ Sunday 5th October 2025
⏰ 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Got questions about God ?Wondering about faith 🧐
Are you ready for fun, faith, snacks and friendship? 😄
Join us for an afternoon packed with fun, music, and more as we kick off Explorers 🎶🎯✝️
Open to all primary-age children – everyone is welcome! 🙌
Bring a friend and come discover what it means to explore life with God at the centre. 💛
📢 Don’t miss it – we can’t wait to meet you !
Sunday 28th September
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time 🟢
9am – Sung Parish Mass [SJ]
11:15am – Sung Parish Mass [SL]
Divine Office Psalter Week 2, C(I), Trinity 15, Proper 21
Upcoming Dates
September
25th – Autumn / Christmas Planning Meeting, 7pm, [WH]
October
1st – SL Ladies Group, 2pm
SL PCC, 7pm
5th – 1st Explorers, 3pm, St. Catherine’s School, Heathfield
10th – Bingo [SL], 7pm
12th – St. Luke’s Harvest Festival
St. Luke’s Parish Lunch
19th – St. Luke’s Patronal Feast
Mission Planning with +Paul, 4pm, Wickham Hall
St. Luke’s Men’s Group meets every Friday for mass at 10am anddiscussion afterwards. [SL]
Table Top Sale at Wickham Hall every 3rd Saturday at 10am.
St. Luke’s Women’s Group meets first Wednesday of every month.