St Ann's Youth Art Exhibition . . .

Today saw St Ann's first parish Youth Art Exhibition.

Children of the parish were invited to present a piece of their own art work with a religious theme.

Entries were divided by age group; and certificates, and even prizes, were awarded to those judged to have produced the best art work in their category.

Although entries were open to all children with a connection to the parish, a large proportion of the entries came from pupils at our parish school of St Anne's.

We are very grateful to Mr Donovan  and the staff at St Anne's for encouraging the children in this venture and even to devoting some time in the busy school day for the children to produce their 'masterpieces'.

This is not to say that there weren't also some excellent entries from children in other schools and from children who have moved on to secondary school.

Here is just a selection of the very many entries.  If you'd like to see even more, please have a look at our parish Flickr stream.

Let the Little Children Come to Me . . .

'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them,

for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'

(Matthew 19:14)

Hooray! I have this week confessed all the children in Years 4, 5 and 6 in our parish school, and as always, what a delight it has been to do so.

Our children are now ready for Our Lord's coming at Christmas.

For those parishioners whose school days are but a dim and distant memory, (and those in between!) you may like to know that our parish Advent Penitential Service is on Wednesday 7th December at 7.30pm in St Ann's Church. All are welcome, not just our own parishioners.

There will be a short liturgy including an examination of conscience, followed by an opportunity for individual Confession. I will be assisted by several other priests from our Deanery. I hope many of you will follow the excellent example of our children and use this chance to prepare well for the feast of Christmas.

School Confessions . . .

Top marks to The John Fisher School in Purley!

This afternoon I spent an hour or so at the school hearing Confessions. This session had been arranged to give the boys an opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance before the end of the school year. How fortunate the boys are to have Mr Dan Cooper arranging this and other opportunities for Confession throughout their time at the school.

It's always a pleasure to visit the school and very encouraging to see that such care is taken to provide good pastoral and spiritual development for the pupils.

Happy holidays to staff and students alike!

Phew - What a Week! . . .

What an exciting week I've had. I've been visiting 0ur parish school of St Anne's to hear Confessions and also a local secondary school.

This is always a very joyful experience and also quite humbling to hear the simple, honest Confessions of our children. What an inspiration they are to us.

I've been visiting the care homes in our parish and the sick and housebound who are still able to live in their homes.

I am always greatly encouraged by the time I spend with the housebound. Their faith and prayerfulness is marvellous to witness and, I know I've said it before but they really do represent a powerhouse of prayer in our parish community.

I would like to thank them for their prayers on behalf of our parish family.

Our Lady, Health of the Sick,

Pray for us.

Back to school . . .

I hope you all had a good summer holiday whether you went away or just took things a little easier at home.

Now that we are in September, things are beginning anew for many of us in many different ways. I expect a lot of families have children moving on to a new school, beginning school for the first time or just going back to school to get to know a new teacher.

I would just like to remind everyone that I shall be offering Mass on the first and third Fridays of each month at 8am in our parish school. Everyone is welcome, of course. The first of these Masses will be tomorrow, 4th September. I look forward to seeing you there.

What better way to begin a new term than in prayer, placing the care of our children in the hands of Our Lord in a special way at Mass.

More School Confessions . . .

Today I was at the John Fisher School in Purley where I was assisting in hearing Confessions of some of the Sixth Form.

What a delight! I was reminded of priests of our diocese who are former pupils of the school; Fr Stephen Dingley, Lecturer at St John's Seminary, Wonersh; Fr Seán Finnegan, parish priest of Our Lady, Queen of Peace, Adur Valley.

The school has produced many good priests in the past and it is encouraging to see that the good work is continuing.

St John Fisher, pray for us.

"Let the Children Come to Me ..." (Mark 10:14)

Over the last three mornings I have had the great delight and privilege of confessing over 15o children at our parish primary school, and also some staff.

I was struck, as always, by their openness and honesty and their detail in confessing their sins. Children have none of the hang-ups that hinder some adults when it comes to Confession.

It is a marvellous example to the children when they also see members of staff taking the opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament.

I couldn't have expressed it any better myself when one of the children said to me, " I can't explain it; it really is better than a good example to me."

Some very energetic parishioners ...

Anyone walking past St Ann's on Sunday morning would have been excused for thinking that the Tour de France had taken a detour!

Chris Donovan, Headteacher of our Parish Primary School, St Anne's and three fathers of children at the school, Matt Carr, Richard McKenzie and Mark Sullivan were setting out on their sponsored cycle ride to Arundel cathedral. As you can see from the first picture two of the children came to cheer their Dads on their way.

A fourth parent from the school, Mark Oliver, accompanied the intrepid cyclists in his van to provide support if necessary (and also to bring the weary home in more comfort afterwards).

Ready for the off. How many miles did you say it was?!

Don't they look a happy bunch, and so they should be after achieving their goal. Well done all of you. We look forward to hearing how much you've raised for St Anne's School Building Fund. By the way, I'm sure it's not too late to make a donation if you didn't manage to sign the sponsorship form beforehand!

A farewell Mass of thanksgiving

This evening we celebrated a lovely Mass in thanksgiving for the many years of devoted service given by Christine Gilbert to our parish primary school. Christine is retiring at the end of term after 20 years at the school in various administrative roles and also as a Governor for some of this time.

Unfortunately I forgot to have my camera ready and the light in the hall was probably not bright enough for my phone camera but I hope you can see well enough to see what a marvellous spread the PTA laid on in the hall after Mass. It was a very joyful Mass and it was lovely to be able to continue the celebrations in the hall afterwards.

Of course, although Christine will be retiring from the school, she is not retiring from the parish and we look forward to seeing her busy around the place as usual.

Church schools

It is the practice amongst the clergy of the Banstead Five Churches to exchange church magazines with one another and this is very useful as it gives us a better insight into each other's churches and congregations.

Recently I was looking through the latest edition of 'The Steeple', the parish magazine of our local Anglican church of All Saints, and I was interested to read the Vicar's comments on local church schools, both primary and secondary.

He notes that the local clergy of all denominations have seen an increase in requests for refrences and how, ' Schools ask clergy to tell how often the applicant goes to church, and, in some casess, how frequently one or both of their parents. Regular attendance before the application and during the time that the student is at the school is required.'

So, we are not alone in this practice. It's interesting to hear about this from another perspective.

ST ANNE'S SCHOOL CONFESSIONS

I have spent three days in our parish primary school this week confessing the Junior School children.

I always find this experience very rewarding. The humble, simple sincerity of the children's approach to the Sacrament is very uplifting. I come away each day with a spring in my step. They have been well prepared by their teachers, catechists and parents - and it shows.

How encouraging it is too when members of staff also take this opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament, and what an excellent example this is to our children.

Congratulations and well done to all concerned.