Some parishioners have apparently received the impression that families with children must attend the 11.15am Mass. This is not true. Families and children are welcome at all Masses.

For all you Countdown addicts and anagram anoraks out there, here's the ultimate timewaster .

John Allen , possibly the most respected religion reporter today, has posted a fascinating article analysing Pope Benedict's aims. Here's a sample:

To put the story in a sound-bite, I would call it the emergence of “Affirmative Orthodoxy” as an interpretive key to Benedict’s papacy.

By “affirmative orthodoxy,” I mean a tenacious defense of the core elements of classic Catholic doctrine, but presented in a relentlessly positive key. Benedict appears convinced that the gap between the faith and contemporary secular culture, which Paul VI called “the drama of our time,” has its roots in Europe dating from the Reformation, the Wars of Religion, and the Enlightenment, with a resulting tendency to see Christianity as a largely negative system of prohibitions and controls. In effect, Benedict's project is to reintroduce Christianity from the ground up, in terms of what it’s for rather than what it’s against.

Click here to read the whole thing.

The minutes of the Parish Council meeting on 19 November 2007 are now up on the website.

Do you know anyone who is housebound and isn’t able to come to mass? Would they like to hear mass over the phone? 

The parish has a conference phone link scheme operating that allows our housebound parishioners to hear the 6.30pm Saturday mass in their homes over the telephone. This enables them to both feel part of our parish and fulfil their Sunday mass obligation.The scheme is open to anyone who is housebound either permanently or even temporarily. It is easy to set up, parishioners just need a phone and there is no charge, the parish covers the cost. If you know of anyone who would benefit from this scheme, please contact the parish office with their details.

 Why don’t you volunteer? We need volunteers urgently! 

The phone link scheme needs someone to set it up and greet parishioners joining the phone link. It is very simple and operates at the 6.30pm Saturday mass. Currently we only have 2 volunteers! This is not enough to ensure the scheme can continue.

This is a great service to our housebound parishioners; please help us to make sure it can continue!

If you would like to volunteer, please leave your details with the parish office.