Nine new Altar Servers were enrolled into the Order of St. Stephen during the Mass on 26th December for the Feast Day of Christianity's first martyr.  One server received a silver medal and seven received Certificates of Merit.  Fr. Sebastian was the celebrant.

Thanks to Joseph Chan for the photo.

All gleaming and new - the boiler house at St. Joseph's following the recent installation of new heating boilers.  Below: how it was before...

Thanks to Seán Evans for the photos.

Just in time for National Youth Sunday, join our Youth intern Pippa for her video diary showing two days in her hectic life.
Watch the video here.

Congratulations to Pippa and Aseel for a great job!

P.S:  Wondering what a 'vlog' is?  Don't worry, it just means you are probably a little older than Pippa.  It means 'video blog', or log, or something... :-)  

There was a full house in St. Pius' Hall for the latest Film Night.  This time the film was "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society",  set in occupied Guernsey during the Second World War.

Across the parish wreathes were laid on behalf of the Catholic Community.

A message from our friends Carole and David Hudson at the Project Peru charity:

Click here to see the full range of Christmas cards
and to learn more about
the amazing work of Project Peru.

Thanks to Alan Hughes and Michael Combes for this account of the fundraising dinner which took place in St. Pius Hall on 19th October 2019, and of the CPG Refugee Support Fund.

Why "Installation"?

This comes from the Latin installare, to put into a stall, referring to the solemn induction of a canon into the stall or seat which he is to occupy in the choir of a cathedral.

Why "Canon"?
"Canon" is from the Latin canonicus, itself derived from the Greek κανονικός, kanonikós, meaning "relating to a rule", or "regular".

The Feast Day of St. Pius X is celebrated each year on 21st August.  As this date fell on a Wednesday this year...

There was much excitement at the weigh-in of potato crops, planted in Holy Week and harvested on Sunday the 21st July after Mass at St. Edward the Confessor Church, Sutton Park.  The competition, the brain child of parishioner Terence Nagle, started nearly 20 years ago and each year raises money for the church’s Lenten projects.  This year the competition raised £206 for the Nutrition Centre Orphanage, Phom Penh, Cambodia.  No doubt over the years Terence’s inspiration and labour has raised literally thousands of pounds for those in need.
 
Seed potatoes are purchased from the parish at £3 each or two for £5 and planted during Holy Week. This year the potato variety was The Duke of York and it 

First Holy Communion Masses were celebrated in all four churches of the parish during June.  In all, 154 children received Holy Communion for the first time.  Congratulations everyone!

A group of 17 walkers from St. Pius Church gathered in Ashdown Forest, East Sussex, for the weekend of 5th-7th July 2019 for a series of walks planned by George Cranstone.  Ashdown Forest was the setting for the Winne-the-Pooh stories written by A. A. Milne; some of the walking group encountered “Poohsticks Bridge” where Winne-the-Pooh devised the game of “Pooh sticks”.  The game seems to have an enduring fascination!

The group had a most enjoyable weekend, although sadly George and Agnes Cranstone were unable to be there.

More about A. A. Milne and Ashdown Forest:
https://www.ashdownforest.org/winnie-the-pooh/AAMilne.php​

In his letter to the church at Collossae, Paul is at pains to encourage people's faith in Christ, who he tells them is the centre of all creation.  Warning against false teaching, he says to them:

Thanks to Michael Combes for bringing this account of the rally in London on Saturday 11th May to our attention:
​​https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/37083.

Rosaline Brothers reports on this year's Walk of Witness, which took place as usual on Good Friday.

A team of skilled flower arrangers under the direction of Jan Morris worked throughout Holy Saturday morning to dress the bare interior of St. Pius X Church with a blaze of floral colour.  The preparation of the Sanctuary for the Easter celebrations was completed by the arrival of an Easter Garden, which had been expertly assembled during Holy Week by Sophie Milton and her family.