Author: Fr. Matthew

Holy rest, why is it so important.

It is often said that Priests, when they preach, do so primarily to themselves. This may well be an example of me writing an article I need to read!

We have a packed Autumn Term planned, there is something happening every week and we’re all working super hard to bring new people to Jesus Christ here at St. Anselm.

As we come to the summer school holidays it’s a good time to reflect on our workloads and consider a time of rest and relaxation.

This isn’t being lazy, it isn’t running away – it is vital if we are to be in the best shape possible to welcome the people of Hayes as they discover us through the mission and evangelism work we are all working so hard on. 

What good will we be if, when children arrive for Sunday School we are so worn down and grumpy that the welcome they receive is anything less than loving and enthusiastic? 

What good will we be if, when people who come on Thursday evening to the 59 Club or Fun & Fellowship are faced with sourness and tired disciples?

God gave us the sabbath – our day of rest – as a model of His being, of His love. 

To love Him, is to accept His rest… to be like the disciple that Jesus loved and to recline our heads in His lap.

Thank you for all you have done this year. Rest now. Come back re-energised and full of Love for Him.

Fr. Matthew

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There is Sunday School THIS WEEK at 11:30am-12:30pm. Please invite and encourage your children to come.

Please sign up for Parish Giving (which is a wonderful way to support St. Anselm and helps us claim more money from the government) Go to stanselm.matthewcashmore.com/giving or call the Parish Giving Team directly on 0333 002 1271 quoting our parish number, which is: 230 623 503.

Fr. Josiah is launching the first Fun & Fellowship evening this Thursday at 7pm. It’s going to be a great evening of conversation, board games, all with tea, coffee & cake. Please be in touch with Fr. Josiah if you could lend a hand serving or having a chat with people. 

It’s mission, but not as we know it.

Last Thursday we launched the first of two new Thursday evening events designed to reach out into the wider community of Hayes and make people feel welcome. 

Last week we heard about our new initiative ‘Thursday Fun & Fellowship” and this week I get to share “Spanners and Coffee”.

Our new monthly meet of the famous 59 Club will happen on the second Thursday of each month.

This week we saw a huge diversity of people attend – people who rode Triumphs, Hondas, Harleys, Aprilias, BMWs – they were all represented!

We welcomed people who have lived in Hayes their entire lives and remembered the 59 Club from the 60s & 70s and came into the church for the first time in the lives.

We saw friends and family of people who come to church regularly but who were too afraid to step in themselves.

We saw bikes in the nave, at the font, and in the aisles. We saw 21 year old guys taking photos of their machines with the altar in the background and sharing the images to all their friends who now want to come to church.

We welcomed local business owners who have a connection with the biker family and wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

There were hot dogs, burgers, coffees, hot chocolates and fries. It was a huge success and I can’t wait until next month to meet new amazing people who had never thought of coming to church… but just maybe… this may work for them and they may come to know Jesus.

Fr. Matthew

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Readings for 16th July, 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

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Our new Sunday School is up and running and is an hour after mass every other Sunday. There is Sunday School NEXT WEEK at 11:30am-12:30pm. Please invite and encourage your children to come.

Please sign up for Parish Giving (which is a wonderful way to support St. Anselm and helps us claim more money from the government) Go to stanselm.matthewcashmore.com/giving or call the Parish Giving Team directly on 0333 002 1271 quoting our parish number, which is: 230 623 503.

We are planning a Bible Study Evening for Thursdays starting on 27th July, from 7:00pm to 8:30pm. We will come together to have informal discussions on interesting topics in the Bible, share ideas, experiences, have tea / coffee, pray, and play board games together. Let us pray about it for the will of God to be done.

An enormous thank you is owed to all those who helped host our very first motorbike meet with the 59 Club – but especially to Julie who manned the BBQ and Coffee Bike and then cleaned it all up afterwards! 

Please keep any eye on services during the week over the summer. With so many other churches to cover and with holidays there are often last minute changes.

Foundation stones, are built to last.

This week we celebrate the solemnity (a holy day of obligation where all Christians are expected to attend mass) of Saints Peter and Paul.

Solemnities are the most important days in the Christian calendar and when they come along we should pay particular attention to them (even if we don’t make it to mass).

Peter and Paul are the foundations on which Jesus built the Church as we know it. They were instrumental in creating the body of Christ here on earth.

Each year we are called to remember them, to remember their great sacrifices (neither met a particular wonderful end), but more importantly, to remember their great examples. 

St. Peter was a fisherman from Galilee. He (along with Andrew) were the first to be invited to follow Jesus. 

Peter was an enthusiastic disciple and very human – he would often get things wrong and make dreadful mistakes that Jesus had to explain. 

But his enthusiasm and love for Jesus is what led to him being given the keys of heaven, to him being the first Pope. 

Paul on the other hand was on the wrong path. Persecuting the followers of Jesus in the most horrible ways. But, he had his eyes opened and in that instant he followed Jesus and became one of the greatest evangelists of all time – baptising thousands of people at once.

St. Peter – our rock, St. Paul – our evangelist, are both examples that we are called to follow today. 

Are you a rock that someone can rely on to pray for them? Are you the evangelist that will bring your neighbour to Jesus?

Fr. Matthew

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We will be hosting Deanery Synod on Tuesday this week. If you could help by serving refreshments I would be grateful. 

Our new Sunday School is up and running and is an hour after mass every other Sunday. Our next Sunday school is THIS WEEK at 11:30am-12:30pm. Please invite and encourage your children to come.

We’ll be updating the prayer list on the first week of July. If you would like somebody to stay on the list, or if you’d like to add or remove somebody please do speak to Susan.

We’re looking for readers for the coming couple of months. Please see the rota at the entrance or speak to Susan. It’s been so lovely to hear new voices over the last few months and to hear from the children as well. Let’s do more!

Please sign up for Parish Giving (which is a wonderful way to support St. Anselm and helps us claim more money from the government) Go to stanselm.matthewcashmore.com/giving or call the Parish Giving Team directly on 0333 002 1271 quoting our parish number, which is: 230 623 503.

Live Streaming of Daily Prayer & Mass is now fully back – you can tune in live each day, or catch up, all via the dedicated page on our website. https://stanselm.matthewcashmore.com/live 

The most holy body and blood of Jesus Christ – a powerful tool.

This Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity (holy day of obligation) of Corpus Christi – The most holy body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It remains for me one of the most important days of the year because it hauls us back to the Altar and to the focus of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Mass.

Why on earth is it so important? 

The bread and wine we consume on a Sunday is not sustenance for this world – but a tool to prepare us for the next. 

What do I mean by that? The sacrament of the body and blood of Christ makes us one – quite physically – with Jesus. 

A small part of Jesus is joined with our body and in doing so we are strengthened against evil, we are brought to healing, we drive out of us things that should not be within us. 

Can you comprehend how powerful and awesome an act that is? It amazes me that I can get to my feet after receiving the holy sacrament and walk away! 

When we receive the sacrament we are made strong – and nothing the world can throw at us can deter us from the powerful command of Jesus Himself to go out into he world and bring people to His Good News.

You arrive at mass with many problems and concerns. 

You can – if you allow the sacrament to do its work – leave mass healed, loved and made strong ready to do battle in this fallen world for one more week. 

Come this Sunday and be made strong. 

Receive Jesus Christ and be healed.

Fr. Matthew

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Sunday School will be running for an hour after Mass each Sunday from this week.

The first 59 Club meet at St. Anselm will be on the evening of the 15th June starting at 6:30pm and running to 9pm. If you are able to come and help serve food, welcome people, talk to people, pray with people or just help move things around I’d be grateful of your help. If you can’t come please pray for this new way of brining people in our family and for them to come to know Jesus.

Please sign up for Parish Giving (which is a wonderful way to support St. Anselm and helps us claim more money from the government) Go to stanselm.matthewcashmore.com/giving or call the Parish Giving Team directly on 0333 002 1271 quoting our parish number, which is: 230 623 503.

We still need volunteers for the tea and coffee after church. The rota isn’t getting very much love and it often falls to Fr. Josiah, Fr. Matthew, Susan or Ruth to sort it quickly at the end of mass. It really needs some dedicated love! Please see Ruth or sign up on the sheet at the door.

Live Streaming of Daily Prayer & Mass. Our internet connection has stabilised after several weeks of disruption and so we are pleased to be able offer live streaming of the daily offices and mass again from Monday 12th June. 

Mary, Mother of the Church.

On Monday we celebrate an important date in the church calendar – The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.

It’s a new memorial – it was only inserted into the calendar in 2018 (by Pope Francis), although the title is much older. 

We call Our Lady mother of the Church because in the instant that Jesus said to John at the foot of the cross,

“‘Behold, your mother!’ and from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.” (John 19:27)

Mary became our mother – not just in an individual way – but in the broader sense of caring for the whole body of Christ on earth. 

We look to her because she gave brith to Jesus and for all those years attempted to understand how to relate to Jesus the man and Jesus our Lord.

Who better to help guide and steer the Church as we discern a path forward between a growing secular world and the divine glory of God our Father?

Our Lady helps us reach out to those who have fallen away from the church. St. Augustine referred to Mary as “‘the Mother of the members of Christ’ who co-operated in the rebirth of the faithful into the Church.” 

So, as we look to our parish and to those who once knew Jesus but have drifted away – let us ask Our Lady to pray for us – and them – and help them to find a way back home.

Fr. Matthew 

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This week Fr. Josiah and Susan will be leading the children as they lead us in our service for Pentecost. Expect great things as we hear about the coming of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives and why this is such an important day in the church calendar. 

Please sign up for Parish Giving (which is a wonderful way to support St. Anselm and helps us claim more money from the government) Go to stanselm.matthewcashmore.com/giving or call the Parish Giving Team directly on 0333 002 1271 quoting our parish number, which is: 230 623 503.

Thanks to everyone who has signed up to take Food Hygiene Training so we can offer our little coffee bike at various events and for the 59 Club evenings soon to be arriving at St. Anselm. Training will be after half term so there’s still time to sign up if you would like to be part of it.

We need volunteers for the tea and coffee after church. The rota isn’t getting very much love and it often falls to Fr. Josiah, Fr. Matthew, Susan or Ruth to sort it quickly at the end of mass. It really needs some dedicated love! Please see Ruth or sign up on the sheet at the door.

Holy Bikers, the 59 Club is coming.

As I’m sure you all know by now I am a keen motorbiker. I’ve travelled all over the world on two wheels and I love the freedom and joy it brings.

Some people are surprised that bikers are often Christian. But for me it comes as no surprise at all… I think I’ve prayed my hardest as I’ve come around a corner on the motorbike just a little too fast and I’m battling to get the front wheel to go where I want it!

Over the last year or so I’ve been involved with a London biker club called The 59 Club. 

The club was started as a youth project by Fr. Bill Sherwood in 1959. 

He was concerned that these rough lads racing around the North Circular at 100mph had nowhere to go, they were excluded from everywhere. 

He very nervously turned up at The Ace Cafe one evening and handed out leaflets for his youth group. The rest is history.

The club has had a few years in the wilderness but is being revitalised by some of the old boys and an injection of new young blood.

They’ve also been daft enough to make me their Chairman. 

In the coming months you’ll see The 59 Club coming to St. Anselm for monthly meets in the evenings – including a BBQ and the new coffee bike. 

We’ll be inviting the members to come to our services and will arrange special events for them over the summer. 

This is a great opportunity for us to reach out to people who would not normally come to St. Anselm and I know you’ll welcome them with as much warmth as I do.

Fr. Matthew

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Due to an administrative error the collation of Fr. Matthew as Vicar on the 21st May has to be postponed to the 24th September at 10am. The Bishop’s office are incredibly sorry, but the right paperwork wasn’t in the right place at the right time and so we can’t go ahead. Mass on the 21st May will be at the usual time of 10am with the APCM at 11:15am. 

We are launching a new Sunday School after mass on Sundays from this week. Fr. Josiah will be working with the children as they prepare to lead our Pentecost Sunday service. Please speak to Fr. Josiah for more details.

Please sign up for Parish Giving (which is a wonderful way to support St. Anselm and helps us claim more money from the government) Go to stanselm.matthewcashmore.com/giving or call the Parish Giving Team directly on 0333 002 1271 quoting our parish number, which is: 230 623 503.

Over the coming weeks we will be arranging various dates for our little coffee bike to be visiting events in the parish as well as opening one evening a month for 59 Club motorbike meets. We plan to offer basic food at these meets and if you’d like to volunteer to help we’d like to give you Food Hygiene training (at our cost). This training is valuable elsewhere and is recognised across the catering and hospitality industry. Contact Fr. Matthew for details.

God wants you, can you hear Him?

The fourth Sunday of Easter is often called ‘Good Shepherd Sunday’ and is a moment were we are asked to listen and hear God’s call in our life.

In particular we’re asked to listen to the voice of God to discern a calling to the Priesthood.

Being a Priest is a sacred path that God places on your heart. It involves sacrifice and hard work. It involves much love and happiness. It involves hurt and pain.  

As a Priest you are called to serve and to be a good shepherd. A good shepherd will ensure that his flock is taken to water, to good food and is always protected from those who wish harm them.

That means that a good Priest will take his people to the mass, will take his people to scripture and will pray for his people and protect them from evil. 

Does this sound like something that God is calling you to? 

You don’t need a university degree, you don’t need to know theology, you don’t need to be young – you just need to be able to hear the call of God and feel Him placing His call on your heart.

Be in touch with me if you’d like to talk more.

Fr. Matthew

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There is a PCC meeting this Sunday at 11:15am immediately after mass in the church hall. The APCM will be at 11:15am on Sunday 21st May.

We will be open on Saturday 6th May to show the Coronation service live from Westminster Abbey on the big screens at the front of church. There’ll be tea & cake and I’m sure much merriment! Come along and join in.

Fr. Matthew is to be made vicar of the parish at a special service with Bishop Jonathan on Sunday 21st May at 3pm here at St. Anselm’s. He will be organising a big party afterwards and the 59 club (and all their motorbikes!) are being invited as he will also be being commissioned as Chairman of the club at the same service. Please be in touch with him if you would like to help with organising the party afterwards.

Please sign up for Parish Giving (which is a wonderful way to support St. Anselm and helps us claim more money from the government) Go to stanselm.matthewcashmore.com/giving or call the Parish Giving Team directly on 0333 002 1271 quoting our parish number, which is: 230 623 503.

Ecumenical love, and ecumenical truth.

As many of you know I spent last week in Rome at a clergy conference organised by our Bishop, Jonathan. 

The conference was our annual chance to come together as clergy under our bishop; to pray together, learn together and share ideas and success from our parishes and to encourage one another in our mission.

We met with many inspiring people from all parts of God’s Church – and especially from the Roman Catholic Church. 

In this photograph you can see me with HE The Ambassador to the Holy See (Christopher Trott) and Archbishop Ian Earnest – who has become a dear friend and supporter of St. Anselm.

We also spoke with Cardinal Koch, who is in charge of ecumenical relationships, he shared with us the wonderful concept of ‘ecumenical love and ecumenical truth’. He told us that sometimes we have to sit and have tough conversations about what divides us and sometimes we have to sit and simply share our love for one another and DO things together. 

We have all come to Jesus in different ways and yet we all come together on a Sunday and DO our faith together. There is always a reason to disagree, but there is a far bigger reason to find common ground – Jesus.

Fr. Matthew 

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We have a PCC meeting next week (30th April) where I am hopeful we will be able to go through our annual accounts ahead of our APCM on the 21st May.

It’s that time of year to consider your giving to support the work of the church. To give you an idea of the increase in costs we are facing – our monthly electric bill is now over £1250 – quite a lot more that we receive via the envelopes and plate collections on a Sunday. This is not sustainable and whilst our commercial activities are starting to pick up some of this deficit we must look to being able to fund ourselves. 

If you currently give via the envelope scheme, please consider increasing your donation each week to help cover our costs. 

If you would like to sign up for Parish Giving (which is a wonderful way to support St. Anselm and helps us claim more money from the government) please go to stanselm.matthewcashmore.com/giving or call the Parish Giving Team directly on 0333 002 1271 quoting our parish number, which is: 230 623 503. It’s super simple to set up and keeps you in control of your donations.

Divine Mercy, Finding peace through mercy.

In the 1930’s a Polish nun called Sr. Faustina (now St. Faustina) experienced a series of visions of Jesus. Amongst her visions Jesus asked her to paint this very special image – an image of the Divine Mercy of God flowing from his Sacred Heart. 

Her visions were centred around Jesus bringing her to a place where she could see the mercy of God at work in the world around her. 

She wrote of her pain at her neighbours being badly treated, about their sufferings and how it physically hurt her. She prayed that their sufferings would fall on her, that she may in some way lessen their suffering in order to help them find a path to grace and peace. 

It is far from easy to love with a love so deep that it causes you physical pain when you see that person hurting. 

Some of us are lucky enough to have experienced a tiny portion of this love – the love we have for our sons, daughters, fathers, mothers – our husbands and wives. 

But what St. Faustina showed us is that Jesus wants us to love everyone with that much love. 

It is that love which must inspire us to try harder. To try harder to defend the weak, to feed the poor, to cloth the naked, to visit the prisoner, to lift up the wretched and say, ‘I love you!’ and to really mean it. 

St. Faustina gave us a gift,  a gift to see the power and depth of Jesus love for all of us. What do we do with that gift?

Fr. Matthew

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Lots of changes to the schedule over the next two weeks as Fr. Matthew takes some leave and attends a conference in Rome. Fr. Josiah is in parish as usual and is easily contactable for any pastoral needs on the number on the front of the pew sheet.

An enormous thank you to all who made the church so pretty for Easter – particular thanks must go to Susan and Mary who did the flowers. 

Susan and Fr. Josiah are advancing plans for a new Sunday afternoon children’s service and club – 4pm to 6pm on the last Sunday of each month. The first service will be on the 30th April. If you’d like to be involved, please speak to Fr. Josiah.