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Category: Announcements

Announcements and news from the parish of St. Anselm, Hayes.

  • News for Sunday 17th May

    Thank you for getting in touch and letting us know how you and yours are getting on. Your clergy are here for you to help in whatever way we can. Please don’t hesitate to be in touch if we can help. 

    We are thrilled to be able to broadcast from our parish Church once again. 



    The latest predictions are that nothing much will happen before July in terms of returning a congregation to Church in one way or another. 😰😰😰

    The daily mass, offices and other devotions are offered for you and with you. Numbers watching vary from 250 to 700 and we know that they span from Barbados to Lugano to York to Hayes to Kenton. 

    Being unable to receive the most Blessed Sacrament is the hardest thing for the devout soul. However The Good Shepherd will provide a pasture for his people. That moment of Spiritual Communion is an open and welcome heart saying YES to God, as Our Lady did, in a different way. 

    This Sunday will see our May Devotion at 4pm. Evening Prayer with devotions and a short  webcast homily from Fr Harri Williams the Vicar of Walsingham, who was due to preach for us before the lockdown. Let us honour our Patron in her month of May. 

    We then have Ascension Day  to celebrate. As a youngster it was always great to have time off from school to go to Mass on this great day. But more seriously, Ascension sees the culmination in the earthly ministry of Our Lord. ‘He who came down to earth from heaven’ now returns to the throne from whence he came. 
    But He promises not to leave the apostles desolate. They will NOT be left alone…

    This week we are grateful to receive the ACAT Monthly Newsletter which we attach below.

    We can only hope and pray that we will meet together soon. We miss you so much. However please remember St Augustine’s words  ‘ we are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song.’

    Please pray for each other and for us your unworthy servants. 

    Fr. Edward.

  • Giving during lockdown

    It was inevitable that at some point I would need to write to you about money. As you all know St. Anselm’s has very low monthly outgoings, especially whilst payment of the Parish Offer is suspended. At some point in the future we will need to revisit that – but for the moment our principle outgoings are utilities and insurance. This comes to about £600 a month at a very basic level.

    Whilst we’ve been away from the church building our income has dropped significantly – the primary method of giving remains the envelopes and cash on the collection plate. This is wonderful and the giving at St. Anselm’s is very generous. 

    I’m writing to you today to ask you to change the way you donate.

    Rather than use the envelopes or put cash in the plate – would you please take 10 minutes and set up a Direct Debit with the Parish Giving Scheme run by the Church of England? 

    This is hugely beneficial for us – and for you. Firstly, the scheme is backed, insured and run by the Church of England, meaning it’s 100% safe. The Direct Debit Guarantee means we can never take more than you’ve offered, and you can cancel it at any time with a quick phone call. St. Anselm’s can then automatically claim Gift Aid on your donation without having to fill out arduous forms and waiting a long time for the money to come in – we will get it every single month – meaning your donation instantly attracts 25p per £1 donated every single time – straight into our bank account. 

    Setting this up is ever so easy – in fact I’ve just done it and it took me 8 minutes on the phone! You’ll need the following information to hand.

    • Your own bank account number and sort code
    • The parish code, which is:  230 623 503

    …and that’s it! Just call 0333 002 1271 (local rate number) and set your donation up. From there on out the donation will come out of your account each month – automatically boosted with Gift Aid – and into our account. 

    This will make an enormous difference to St. Anslem’s and will put us on a firm footing before I join you properly in July. We’ll be able to pay our bills and open the church once again after this crisis. 

    With all my love, prayers & thanks,

    Fr. Matthew

  • News & Pew Sheet for Sunday May 3rd

    From Fr. Edward at St. Mary’s

    At last we were able to have the graveside funeral for beloved Trevor. Janet who is so full of faith wants to thank everyone for their cards, flowers, prayers and support during this time. We await Austin’s cremation and continue to keep, Ira, Janet and all who have lost loved ones in our prayers. 

    Sadly Fr Colin Tolworthy who often covered mass for us and loved coming to St Mary’s, died recently after a short illness. Jesu mercy Mary mother of priests pray. 

    Bishop Jonathan sends his love and prayers to all of you. He also thanks us for our perseverance with broadcasting from our homes. We want to be broadcasting from church as soon as we can,  so you can see our beautiful church and our spiritual home, once again. Please God we can all worship together sooner rather than later. 

    Keeping together is so important so do join the daily mass and other services as you can. Thank you for the kind comments you send in. Thanks to those who are contributing to the Sunday mass by reading. 

    Father John sends his love and prayers too. He is worshipping daily in his home and so we are very united in prayer and praise. 

    You will be delighted to know that we have at long last received the settlement from the nursery. The work to refurbish the hall and make it ready for the next nursery proceeds apace. I know that you will be delighted when you see it. Wojtek and his colleagues have done an amazing job and we must have a reopening party. I am very grateful to Fr Matthew for leading on the legal and contractor side. 

    The one certainty in the midst of so much uncertainty is Jesus Christ. He is with us and we go forward with our hand in His. We are here for you. If we can help you please don’t hesitate to ring or email Fr Matthew or Me. 

    You are in our prayers each and every day.

    May God richly bless you and as we enter her month of May let Our Lady’s prayers support and strengthen you. 

    With our love and prayers,

    Fr. Edward, Matthew, Mike & John

  • St. Anselm’s WhatsApp Group

    Our doors are now wide open, so step inside where a warm welcome is offered to all. Keep in touch with St. Anselm’s Church on your smart phone and iPad.

    Fr. Matthew has created the St. Anselm’s WhatsApp Group. This is open to anybody to join and belong to our ever increasing congregation.

    To join the group simply sign-up to receive updates from St. Anselm on our new sign-up page and you’ll receive an invitation to join the WhatsApp Group within 24 hours.

    We look forward to your joining, input and being part of us.