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.

Thanks to John Williams for bringing these reflections to our attention.  John is a parishioner, a member of Pax Christi and the author of one of the seven reflections.

Thanks to Mandy Castellain of St. Peter's School for this account of the school's participation in Fairtrade Fortnight 2019.

St. Edward's parishioner Peter Ward was intrigued by this plaque and decided to research the story behind it.  He discovered not one but two poignant and parallel stories, from World Wars I and II.

Thanks to parishioner Michael Wheeler for bringing this forthcoming charity event to our attention.  The subject of caring is close to Michael's heart, as he explains:

St. Pius X Church was host to this year’s World Day of Prayer (WDP) in Guildford, on Friday 1st March.  WDP, previously the Women’s World Day of Prayer, is an international movement which prepares ecumenical services to mark the day – the first Friday in March each year.

Click on the image above or here for this great Lent resource from Cafod.  This Lent Calendar provides reflection, prayer and actions for each day of Lent.

PowerPoint calendars for children and young people may also be downloaded from the same page.

Were you there amongst the bunting?  Why not add your 'heartfelt' observations using Comments?

St. Joseph's was cast in a red hue on Wednesday 28th November last.  And it was not the only building in Guildford to turn red - but why?  Thanks to Rosaline Brothers, we have the answer...

Here is a story of a remarkable achievement, and although it appeared in the newsletter in December, I for one missed it and so am grateful to Rosaline Brothers for bringing it to our attention.

Rosaline comments...
'Climb every mountain’ says the song and a parishioner, Fergus McDonald certainly took this to heart and climbed and summited Everest.  Fellow parishioners took advantage of this feat to fund raise for CPG, raising £1120 at a celebratory evening. 

Bob Durston once again brings us the latest news from this dynamic charity.  This is the latest in a series of updates - to see the others just follow the WaterHarvest link under CATEGORIES, on the right-hand side of the screen.

Thanks to Una Corning for this account of last week's film night.

Last Friday’s Film Night welcomed over 80 Parishioners from across the whole Catholic Parish of Guildford to watch a special documentary about the life and work of the recently canonised Saint Oscar Romero.