News and Events for week beginning May 2nd

Please note that the 6:00PM Mass will resume this Wednesday May 5th.

In today’s Gospel St John 15: 1-8, Jesus uses the powerful agricultural image of the vine and the branches. Jesus tells his disciples that he, Jesus, is the “true” vine and his Father is the vine grower. And if his Father is the vine grower, He is responsible for growing good grapes that will make good quality wine, and let us be honest, who does not want the best wine! Jesus also says that the vine grower will prune us. Painful as this seems, this pruning will enable us to bear more fruit.

However, who really wants to be pruned? Do you? For myself as your parish priest, I don’t like it when I am being pruned! I even feel that my surgery and enforced down time has been a kind of pruning. Typically, pruning entails loss and pain. Personally, I prefer to be left alone. However, if I am not pruned, the consequence is that I will not bear good fruit.

Life prunes us all the time. And most often, we do not like the pruning. Being pruned is typically painful and difficult. Yet, after some time, we may come to realize that this pruning has enabled us to bear fruit in new and different ways. We also may begin to experience the new life that has come from our pruning. We may have grown and changed for the better!

This pruning also works in Parishes and congregations! However, if we trust our vine grower and believe that growth and plenty will come from the pruning, we will bear abundant fruit in our lives. Today and always may we trust our Vine grower. He only desires what is best for us. And He will prune us in a gentle and loving way!

Ascension Day is May 13th. Sung Mass at Holy Trinity 7:00PM. This Sung Mass will be shared event with our friends from Deal joining us here at Holy Trinity. Two choirs!!!

The May Devotion – we will have our annual May Devotion to Our Lady on Sunday May 16th with the usual procession.

May 30th is The Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. This is our Patronal Festival. Festival Mass at 10:00AM.

Our Annual Parish Meeting will now take place in Church on Sunday June 6th due to further Covid restrictions and the Bishop of Dover has extended the time by law until June 30th for all meetings to have taken place and election results notified to the Diocese. Is God calling you to stand for election to office by the congregation, to serve and commit to working to make our church a place of deep Christian and Catholic apostolic witness? Official forms for the election of Churchwardens and PCC are now in Church.

The Blessing of the Sea – Bank Holiday Weekend MAY 31st. We have been invited by our neighbours at St Augustine’s and St Ethelbert’s Roman Catholic Church to be part of their celebrations for The Blessing of the Sea at 2:00PM. Watch this space for further information.

CORPUS CHRISTI FESTIVAL 2021 It is hoped that our two parishes of Holy Trinity and St Andrew’s Deal will come together for the annual Corpus Christi Mass and Procession on Thursday June 3rd at 7:00PM. This is quite a spectacle and a wonderful way to honour Our Lord Jesus.

ARE YOU INTERESTED? Until Sunday School begins again later in the year (September), Fr Paul is seriously considering offering a very short and child friendly Mass of about thirty five minutes duration on Saturday Evening at 5:00PM as a Vigil Mass for the Sunday. This would have age appropriate music, one Gospel reading and a special Eucharistic prayer for children. Our Good Friday Child friendly Stations of the Cross attracted a very healthy turnout of young families. Would you be interested?

It would also be hoped that this simple teaching Mass would encourage a group of younger children and their parents to consider being prepared for First Holy Communion in preparation for Confirmation at a later date.

Taking our Stewardship seriously!

Many people give regularly to charity by direct debit or standing order, but it’s a far less common mechanism for giving in churches. Standing Orders are a simple yet effective way to give. You can easily create a Standing Order or amend an existing one by logging on to your online bank account, or contacting your bank, and following the Standing Order instructions. You can make a payment whenever you wish, tell your bank how much money to pay and when and cancel the Standing Order whenever you wish.

If you are able to give by regular Standing Order, it enables us to plan much more effectively for the future and it also helps your PCC to budget for the work of the Church with greater confidence. Please speak with our Treasurer or Wardens for advice or assistance.

These are crucial days for us at Holy Trinity in terms of our financial health. Many Anglicans are reluctant to talk about money, and rarely do it. Stewardship is about more than asking for money. It helps people connect giving with their faith, seeing giving as a response to God’s generosity to us. It helps people understand that giving enables mission and ministry not only here but in the wider Church, rather than simply paying the bills and that they, and their gifts, are valued by the church.