The catechumens and candidates (along with their godparents and sponsors) who are in the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) were sent from the parish to Bishop Richard. He will enroll them next Saturday, and then begins the final, intensive period of preparation ahead of Easter, when they will be baptised, confirmed, and receive Holy Communion for the first time.

The RCIA group met on Tuesday to learn about Lent and prepare for the Rite of Election and The Call to Continuing Conversion, which they will celebrate with Bishop Richard in a few days' time.

On December 7th a team of parishioners from CPG and local Anglican Parishes, known as “Camino Guildford”, were delighted to welcome a Syrian family into their new home in Guildford. The family moved from Syria to Turkey 6 years ago fleeing from the war and has now moved to the UK via the Community Sponsorship Scheme whereby a local community group undertakes to support a refugee family and help them to resettle here.
 
The family comprises the two parents and their youngest son who is 16 years old. His 4 older brothers remain in Turkey and Syria. Thankfully they have not been affected by the recent disastrous earthquakes.
 
Since they arrived the team has been busy helping them to integrate into our education, health and welfare systems and to learn English. We will continue this process during the coming months.
 
This project has been co-funded by the CPG Refugee Support Fund and the Anglican Parishes.
 
If you would like to receive occasional updates by email on this project and the work of the CPG Refugee Support Fund, you can join our email group called “The Friends of the RSF” by sending an email to [email protected]

The priests of the Deanery gathered, at Ladywell Convent (Chapel pictured above), for 24 hours of prayer and reflection on ‘The Word who is Life’ - Bishop Richard’s reflection on the future life of the Diocese.

“Something which has existed since the beginning,
that we have heard,
that we have seen with our own eyes;
that we have watched
and touched with our hands:
the Word, Who is Life –
this is our subject.”
1 John 1: 1

A group of CPG parishioners attended the funeral of Sr. Stella Clifford at St. Thomas of Canterbury Church in Canterbury on Monday 6th February.  Sr. Stella and other members of the Vocation Sisters order, including Sisters Paula, Anne, Marian and Judith, moved to Guildford in 1997, where they lived for around ten years, before moving to Kent.  In a simple and moving tribute to Sr. Stella, Sr. Paula Foreman spoke of her love of music and singing, her lifelong struggles with pain and mobility, her constant cheerfulness and her devotion to Our Lady.  She also mentioned Sr. Stella's love of playing bingo, her habit of winning and donating the proceeds to a local charity!
Sr. Stella died in December at the age of 84.  May she rest in peace.

An audience of over 40 gathered in St. Pius X Hall to hear a talk on Modern Slavery by Olivia Darby of the Wonder Foundation, in support of the CPG 'Parish Aware' programme.
Olivia explained the concept of Modern Slavery and presented some of the shocking statistics associated with these crimes.  She also introduced the thought-provoking concept of a ‘grey area’ of responsibility, somewhere between the ‘innocence’ of what is sold – products and services – and the ‘obvious baddies’: the organised criminal gangs.
We as consumers are in the grey area, needing to make judgements about the consequences of our spending.  Do we look for the cheapest chocolate bar, or seek one whose contents are sourced ethically?  Olivia suggested that we are all involved in this ‘ethical minefield’.
Olivia concluded her presentation by talking about the work of her charity Wonder Foundation in West Africa, the UK and Europe, and the Philippines.

Links:
Wonder Foundation:  wonderfoundation.org.uk/
CPG Parish Aware:  www.cpg.church/modernslavery.html
Parish Aware interest group:  cpg.churchsuite.com/groups/gfcyltvw