When the office is closed please use the following contacts:
Email address – sittingbourne@rcaos.org.uk
Telephone 01795 555708
Dear Parishioners,
As I announced last week, I will be leaving Sittingbourne at the end of July, taking a break in August before starting my new appointment in Tunbridge Wells in September. Change is not easy for any of us but is an inevitable part of life, and for me as Priest is an exercise of obedience to our Mother Church.
I know I leave behind me a strong and vibrant community that I have been very happy to serve as your Parish Priest. Parishioners are back, gathered around the same altar to celebrate Jesus. Families are feeling welcomed with their children preparing for their sacramental initiation. The sick and housebound have been looked after to the best of my ability given the constraints of the pandemic.
Even with the pandemic we have also been able to make many improvements on the church premises and started new initiatives. Starting with the car park and finishing with the restoration of the baptism font. Some of these projects will continue when I have gone. I will have to return to see the work on the “toilet block” complete. I thank you all for your financial support enabling these projects to be completed.
I would like to invite you to join me in sharing a BBQ on 24 July at 2pm. This is not a farewell lunch it’s a celebration of our three years together. More details to follow nearer the time.
Please continue to pray for me as I will pray for the community of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. God Bless you all.
Fr Graziano de Palma
WHAT’S ON THIS COMING WEEK?
SUNDAY- THIRTEENTH SUNDAY
Saturday 25th June
4.00pm Confessions
5.00pm Mass – People of the Parish
Sunday 26th June
9.30am Mass – Children of the Parish
10.30am Tea & Coffee in The O’Sullivan Centre
11.00am Mass – Sick & Housebound of the Parish
Monday 27th June – St Cyril of Alexandria
NO MASS
Tuesday 28th June – St Irenaeus, Bishop & Martyr
6.00pm Mass – Nicholas & MaryAnne Murphy R.I.P
Wed 29th June – Sts Peter and Paul HOLY DAY
The 10am Mass will be at St Peter’s School
10am Mass – Children of the Parish
7.30pm Mass – Tasila Francesca Zulu R.I.P.
7.30pm FHC Parents Session – O’Sullivan Centre
Thursday 30th June
10am Mass – People of the parish
Friday 1st July
10.00am Mass – Sick of the parish
Followed by Adoration & Chaplet of the Precious Blood
SUNDAY- FOURTEENTH SUNDAY
Saturday 2nd July -
4.00pm Confessions
5.00pm Mass – People of the Parish
Sunday 3rd July
9.30am Mass – Tasila Francesca Zulu R.I.P.
10.30am FHC Children’s Session in O’Sullivan Centre
NO TEA & COFFEE
11.00am Mass – Catenians President’s Sunday
Mass for Catenian’s past and present
PARISH NEWS
Sunday 26th June 2022
MISSIO
Please can anyone in the possession of a Missio Red Box and who needs them to be emptied, please return the box to the Parish during Office hours or after Mass, please try to ensure your name is on the box when you return it. We have one box in the office returned by a collector some weeks ago, but it has no name on it. It has now been emptied so if this is yours, please come to collect it.
LUCKY NUMBERS
The June results are as follows:
1st - 89 , 2nd - 9 , 3rd – 1 , 4th – 150
BBQ – 24th July – 2pm
As announced by Fr Graziano, there will be a parish BBQ on the 24th July. Fr Graziano would like to provide the bbq meat himself, and you are invited to bring accomplishments to the meats. There is a list in the office and the porch for anyone who would like to add to it. It is useful to know who is bringing which dish, so as to avoid too much of the same thing and waste. Please email the office with what you would like to bring. Salads, breads, cakes, dessert, soft drinks etc
COLLECTION FOR FR GRAZIANO
Parishioners are also asking about a collection for Fr Graziano and a gift for him to take with him to Tunbridge Wells. The collection on the weekend of the 23rd/24th will be for Fr Graziano as a gift of our appreciation for his ministry over the last three years.
CORONAVIRUS PRECAUTIONS
UPDATED ANTI-COVID-19 GUIDANCE AGREED BY PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND AND THE BISHOPS CONFERENCE OF ENGLAND AND WALES (24 February 2022) – SUMMARISED AS FOLLOWS:
- Vaccines are encouraged but people with Covid will no longer be legally required to self-isolate, BUT guidance recommends for those who test positive to stay at home and avoid contact with others for at least 5 days and in consideration for other Parishioners we would ask that you do this.
- We will be maintaining the one way system currently in place. Please collect your hymn books and mass books as you enter and leave them on the bench nearest the exit at the side door as you leave.
- Transmission is through oral and nasal aerosol therefore the wearing of masks is encouraged but not mandatory.
- Sanitising hands is still on offer but readers don not need to use before reading.
- You are requested to not allow Children to wander around the church for their own protection and other people’s safety
- Holy water is now being used
- There is no need for social distancing but please be mindful of others.
- There is no need for bench cleaning between services.
- Good ventilation still recommended
- The Offertory Procession will be take place when music is available, with those involved sanitising their hands immediately before they touch the sacred vessel or other gifts
- The Holy Communion will continue to be under one kind and the Minister will continue to wear a face covering and it is permitted to announce “the Body of Christ” for each communicant. Clergy and extra-ordinary Ministers of Holy Communion should sanitize hands before distributing the Blessed Sacrament. Communion is recommended to be distributed in the hands, but if people wish to receive on the tongue, then they should wait until the end of the communion line and receive then. Communion on the tongue exposes the ministers’ hands to their aerosol and increases the possibility of viral infections. He will have to sanitize his hands again immediately after.
Click HERE for Angelcam and follow live stream of the Mass
(remember to switch volume on as default is mute)
Click down below for donations:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sacredheartsittingbourne
Now Accepting Contactless Donations
You will find our new DIGITAL COLLECTION PLATE, contactless terminal in the church. Just use your contactless debit/credit card or smart phone/ device to make a donation.
Simply choose the amount you wish to donate and hold your card onto the reader.
You can also opt-in for Gift Aid to increase your donation by 25%. If you are a UK taxpayer then donating with Gift Aid means that we can claim an extra 25p for every £1 received. Contactless donations are simple to administer, secure and convenient.
You can now also donate to The Sacred Heart just by scanning the QR code below with your phone and following the instructions that come up on your screen. Service provided by MyDona
You will find our new DIGITAL COLLECTION PLATE, contactless terminal in the church. Just use your contactless debit/credit card or smart phone/ device to make a donation.
Simply choose the amount you wish to donate and hold your card onto the reader.
You can also opt-in for Gift Aid to increase your donation by 25%. If you are a UK taxpayer then donating with Gift Aid means that we can claim an extra 25p for every £1 received. Contactless donations are simple to administer, secure and convenient.
You can now also donate to The Sacred Heart just by scanning the QR code below with your phone and following the instructions that come up on your screen. Service provided by MyDona
ARCHDIOCESE OF SOUTHWARK
SACRED HEART OF JESUS R. C. CHURCH
SITTINGBOURNE
INTRODUCTION
Pope Francis wants to hear from the whole Church about what is happening in local parishes. He and the bishops would like to know what individuals think we should all be doing to help make our parishes better. The way he has proposed doing this is a Synodal Process. Synod means “journeying together” and it involves listening to the Holy Spirit and to each other in order to discern the path we are called to walk together. The Synod "is intended to inspire people to dream about the Church we are called to be, to make people's hopes flourish, to stimulate trust, to bind up wounds, to weave new and deeper relationships, to learn from one another, to build bridges, to enlighten minds, warm hearts, and restore strength to our hands for our common mission.
PRAYER FOR THE SYNOD
We stand before You, Holy Spirit, as we gather together in Your name. With You alone to guide us, make Yourself at home in our hearts; Teach us the way we must go and how we are to pursue it. We are weak and sinful; do not let us promote disorder. Do not let ignorance lead us down the wrong path nor partiality influence our actions. Let us find in You our unity so that we may journey together to eternal life and not stray from the way of truth and what is right. All this we ask of You, who are at work in every place and time, in the communion of the Father and the Son, forever and ever. Amen.
Communion - What are the ways in which your parish most successfully brings people together? What else can we do?
Participation - What do you think each of us can do and what can we do collectively would make our parish better?
Mission - Are we looking in or are we looking out, as a parish community? What and how can we do both effectively?
SACRED HEART OF JESUS R. C. CHURCH
SITTINGBOURNE
INTRODUCTION
Pope Francis wants to hear from the whole Church about what is happening in local parishes. He and the bishops would like to know what individuals think we should all be doing to help make our parishes better. The way he has proposed doing this is a Synodal Process. Synod means “journeying together” and it involves listening to the Holy Spirit and to each other in order to discern the path we are called to walk together. The Synod "is intended to inspire people to dream about the Church we are called to be, to make people's hopes flourish, to stimulate trust, to bind up wounds, to weave new and deeper relationships, to learn from one another, to build bridges, to enlighten minds, warm hearts, and restore strength to our hands for our common mission.
PRAYER FOR THE SYNOD
We stand before You, Holy Spirit, as we gather together in Your name. With You alone to guide us, make Yourself at home in our hearts; Teach us the way we must go and how we are to pursue it. We are weak and sinful; do not let us promote disorder. Do not let ignorance lead us down the wrong path nor partiality influence our actions. Let us find in You our unity so that we may journey together to eternal life and not stray from the way of truth and what is right. All this we ask of You, who are at work in every place and time, in the communion of the Father and the Son, forever and ever. Amen.
Communion - What are the ways in which your parish most successfully brings people together? What else can we do?
Participation - What do you think each of us can do and what can we do collectively would make our parish better?
Mission - Are we looking in or are we looking out, as a parish community? What and how can we do both effectively?
A Faith Worshipping Community in Christ, in Church and Family
The Sacred Heart of Jesus is part of the Archdiocese of Southwark covering South London and Kent.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus is part of the Archdiocese of Southwark covering South London and Kent.
|
MISSION
We, the Parish community of the Sacred Heart, nurtured by the presence of God, and empowered by the Spirit of servant leadership, are committed to grow as a living Church of the poor responding to the spiritual and temporal needs of people to attain the fullness of life. VISION The Sacred Heart Parish, Under The Guidance Of The Sacred Heart Of Jesus, Her Patron, Is A Vibrant Community Of Faith, Hope And Charity, Ever Growing With Clear And Effective Programmes To Enhance The Spiritual And Temporal Lives Of Its Parishioners, Especially The Poor. 
Click on Logo for Diocese of Southwark News Update (Incl Rosary & Benediction around the Coast) 
Click on logo to visit Divine office website 
Click on logo to visit the Vatican Website 
Click on logo to visit Universalis Website |
Click on Image Above for Parish Mass Times
Click on Image Above for Recent Parish Newsletters & Parish Montages
If you have any news articles or information that you feel will be of interest to our Parish, then please contact us through the contact page.
|
