You are very welcome!
Thank you for taking the time to visit our parish website. We are a very active Catholic community, seeking to share the gospel values as revealed to us by our saviour Jesus Christ. If you find yourself in the area, please do call in and celebrate Holy Mass with us. Our parish priest, Canon John Griffiths is very keen to meet with visitors to the parish.
You are very welcome!
St Joseph's is the Catholic Parish Church for Dorking and surrounding villages in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton.
We are an active welcoming community, offering spiritual and pastoral support for everyone, helping each other to grow in knowledge and love of our Catholic faith. We hope that you find the information on our Parish and its activities useful.
Our Parish Mission Statement
Together with our Priest, we are united in our Catholic faith.
We pray to the Holy Spirit to guide us in our service of God and our
service of each other.
As a parish we strive to be a warm, welcoming and forward looking community.
Parish Halls
St Joseph’s is blessed with having two interconnecting halls, a large kitchen and toilet facilities.
Either one or other of these halls is available for hire either on a regular or one-off basis typically at a cost of £35 per hour.
Special dispensation to this charge is available at the discretion of the Parish Priest.
If you are interested in using this facility please contact us or by phone on 01306 882433.
Our latest parish weekly news, notices and events below
Download the parish Newsletter Here
By Webmaster
•
October 19, 2026
A Message from Bishop-elect Stephen Wang (short film) Fr Stephen has recorded a short message reflecting on the last few weeks, sharing his experience of a new bishop’s course in Rome, a recent retreat with sisters in the Verbum Dei community on the Isle of Wight, and the significance of the chasuble he will wear on Monday. You can share the film online or in newsletters using the links below: • Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/1235744831/5f46c5a181 (you don’t need the Vimeo App or account) • YouTube: https://youtu.be/1YhcB7KL0Y4 There is QR code below linking to the Vimeo film should you wish to use it; the film is also available to watch at: https://www.abdiocese.org.uk/news/message Watching the livestream :The Mass of Episcopal Ordination will be livestreamed from Arundel Cathedral here: www.abdiocese.org.uk/livestream , with coverage beginning at 11am. Also, a short guide to the Ordination called “A New Shepherd for Our Diocese” introducing Fr Stephen and signposts the livestream. Further resources, including the Order of Service, can be found on the news page of the diocesan website: www.abdiocese.org.uk/news/episcopal-ordination
September 24, 2026
We are delighted to welcome our young people from Year 6 to Year 11 back for another term of friendship, faith and fun together in our Parish. Sessions will continue every fortnight from 6pm-8pm in the Church Hall. Please take note of the dates for this term: September 24th, October 8th and 22nd, November 12th and 26th, December 10th. To register, please fill in this form .
By Webmaster
•
September 5, 2026
St Joseph’s Church is an historic building in Surrey and the ‘Surrey Church Preservation Society’ was set up to help preserve such places of worship . A very successful Ride & Stride day on Saturday 12 September 2026 took place as a fundraising event. The groups walking were welcomed at the varoius Churches on the walk & we all appreciated their enthusiasm. Walkers from St. Joseph’s raised £1,470 , a tremendous effort and our thanks to all those who sponsored them.
By Webmaster
•
October 18, 2026
We now have available the ‘Mass attendance cards’ which will be required by parents as a record of weekly attendance at Mass. Initially the card needs to be filled in, a photo of the child attached to the card (c/o parents /guardian) and a parish register created. Once a card has been created for each child, the family will need to present themselves to the priest for the card to be signed and stamped each weekend. Someone suggested this would be somewhat like a loyalty card for a coffee shop! Well, it is, only you won’t get a free coffee after 10 stamps, but you will get a “Certificate of Catholic Practice” provided Mass has been attended weekly for two years, prior to making application to over-subscribed schools, such as St. Andrew’s, Leatherhead. A reminder then, to parents of the changes to school admissions policies where schools, such as St. Andrew’s, Leatherhead, are over-subscribed. PLEASE SEE THE DETAIL on the parish web-site at: https://www.sjcc.org.uk/schools A certificate of Catholic practice, will now be required, such certificate can only be given where there is weekly attendance at Mass for at least two years and the ‘attendance card’ has been stamped by the priest.
By Colin Hughes
•
October 17, 2026
Links to his Mass of Episcopal Ordination
By Webmaster
•
October 3, 2026
DEANERY WIDE: As has been mentioned, Fr. Charles Howell will be leaving Effingham and Fetcham for a sabbatical, and given there are no other priest to take his place, Mass times across all the churches in the Epsom Deanery are having to be adjusted to accommodate the situation, given the shortage of priests. Work is continuing to make the best provision possible, and it is hoped that details of adjustments will be available by the end of October, with the new Mass times coming into effect as of the first weekend of Advent. Two fundamental principles of the adjusted Mass times are that a priest will celebrate a maximum of three Sunday Masses over the weekend and there will need to be a two hour gap between the start of one Mass being celebrated by a particular priest and the next Mass he would be celebrating. The two hours between the start times affords time for travel from one church to another, but more importantly, for the priest to be available, even though, for only a short time, to speak with people of the parish.
By Webmaster
•
September 21, 2026
St Andrew's Catholic School is holding their Open Evening on Wednesday, 23rd September 2026 from 6.00pm to 8.00pm.The evening will give you an opportunity to have a tour of the school by the students and to meet staff in all departments. There will be an Address by the Headteacher at 8.00pm to give you a flavour of what St Andrew’s Catholic School is about, it’s expectations and vision for the education of the students. Mr. Brooks advises you to come between 6.00pm and 6.30pm to ensure you have time to have a good tour of the school before the 8.00pm Address. It is not necessary to book an appointment to visit on Open Evening.
By Webmaster
•
September 5, 2026
We think and pray for those who are making new beginnings, maybe leaving a first born at the school gate for the first time, for those starting at secondary school and the not so familiar surroundings, those going off to tertiary education and for those who are leaving their last born at an educational establishment. These are times of change, concern, even worry, upset and apprehension, both for youngsters and for their parents in these new circumstances, we commend them to the intercession of the Holy Family of Nazareth, that they be consoled, strengthened and inspired by Jesus, Mary and Joseph. To quote St. Teresa of Avila “Let nothing disturb thee, nothing affright thee, all things are passing, patients gains all. He / She who serves God wants for nothing, for He alone is sufficient.”
Fr. Ian Prayer requests: Please remember those who are sick in your daily prayers: please pray for our recently bereaved
You are very welcome!
St Joseph's is the Catholic Parish Church for Dorking and surrounding villages in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton.
We are an active welcoming community, offering spiritual and pastoral support for everyone, helping each other to grow in knowledge and love of our Catholic faith. We hope that you find the information on our Parish and its activities useful.
Our Parish Mission Statement
Together with our Priest, we are united in our Catholic faith.
We pray to the Holy Spirit to guide us in our service of God and our
service of each other.
As a parish we strive to be a warm, welcoming and forward looking community.
Parish Halls
St Joseph’s is blessed with having two interconnecting halls, a large kitchen and toilet facilities.
Either one or other of these halls is available for hire either on a regular or one-off basis typically at a cost of £35 per hour.
Special dispensation to this charge is available at the discretion of the Parish Priest.
If you are interested in using this facility please contact us or by phone on 01306 882433.
By Webmaster
•
October 19, 2026
A Message from Bishop-elect Stephen Wang (short film) Fr Stephen has recorded a short message reflecting on the last few weeks, sharing his experience of a new bishop’s course in Rome, a recent retreat with sisters in the Verbum Dei community on the Isle of Wight, and the significance of the chasuble he will wear on Monday. You can share the film online or in newsletters using the links below: • Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/1235744831/5f46c5a181 (you don’t need the Vimeo App or account) • YouTube: https://youtu.be/1YhcB7KL0Y4 There is QR code below linking to the Vimeo film should you wish to use it; the film is also available to watch at: https://www.abdiocese.org.uk/news/message Watching the livestream :The Mass of Episcopal Ordination will be livestreamed from Arundel Cathedral here: www.abdiocese.org.uk/livestream , with coverage beginning at 11am. Also, a short guide to the Ordination called “A New Shepherd for Our Diocese” introducing Fr Stephen and signposts the livestream. Further resources, including the Order of Service, can be found on the news page of the diocesan website: www.abdiocese.org.uk/news/episcopal-ordination
September 24, 2026
We are delighted to welcome our young people from Year 6 to Year 11 back for another term of friendship, faith and fun together in our Parish. Sessions will continue every fortnight from 6pm-8pm in the Church Hall. Please take note of the dates for this term: September 24th, October 8th and 22nd, November 12th and 26th, December 10th. To register, please fill in this form .
By Webmaster
•
September 5, 2026
St Joseph’s Church is an historic building in Surrey and the ‘Surrey Church Preservation Society’ was set up to help preserve such places of worship . A very successful Ride & Stride day on Saturday 12 September 2026 took place as a fundraising event. The groups walking were welcomed at the varoius Churches on the walk & we all appreciated their enthusiasm. Walkers from St. Joseph’s raised £1,470 , a tremendous effort and our thanks to all those who sponsored them.
By Webmaster
•
August 9, 2026
If you are going into hospital for elective surgery and having a general anaesthetic then you should celebrate the Sacrament of the Sick , or indeed in the case of old age, serious illness or great sickness. Remember also, that going in to hospital you have to request to see a priest during your stay. If you would like the Sacrament of the Sick, please speak to Fr. Ian to arrange this. (See also the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 1514 to 1521) A reminder also, that because of data protection , if you wish to see a Catholic priest while in hospital or, indeed, any other minister of religion, you have to tell the ward staff and make the request; in the case of someone not being able to express such a request, the next of kin or power of attorney can do so on the individuals behalf.
Please check the current newsletter for any changes to Mass times
By Webmaster
•
October 18, 2026
As our Bishop is new to the Diocese, at present the schedule for the Confirmation Mass has not yet been decided, so, better to begin the programme earlier rather than later! For the First Holy Communion programme there will be an initial parents meeting (which children DO NOT need to attend) on Monday 2nd November at 7.00 pm in the small hall. We will run through what is expected of parents and children and negotiate the best time and day for the classes. As the parish halls are hired out ‘commercially’ the options for the day and time of meeting are limited, so we will have to be mindful of this. Confirmation: - There will be an initial meeting for those whose have sent in application forms and a parent on Tuesday 3rd November, at 7 pm, again, so that expectations can be explained and an overview of the programme presented.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation / Confession
Available after the Saturday morning Mass and from 5.15 to 5.45 Saturday afternoon.
Each Saturday Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament & the Rosary follow on from Mass until 11.00am.
Our latest parish weekly news, notices and events
Keep informed about parish activities on a week by week basis. Our important activities can be seen featured below, and found on our Parish Newsletter - available online here, or in print at the back of the church.
Fr. Ian's Prayer requests:
Please remember those who are sick in your daily prayers.
If you would like to add someone to the list, please email the parish office through this link or email the parish direct (on the newsletter)
New Paragraph
By Webmaster
•
October 18, 2026
We now have available the ‘Mass attendance cards’ which will be required by parents as a record of weekly attendance at Mass. Initially the card needs to be filled in, a photo of the child attached to the card (c/o parents /guardian) and a parish register created. Once a card has been created for each child, the family will need to present themselves to the priest for the card to be signed and stamped each weekend. Someone suggested this would be somewhat like a loyalty card for a coffee shop! Well, it is, only you won’t get a free coffee after 10 stamps, but you will get a “Certificate of Catholic Practice” provided Mass has been attended weekly for two years, prior to making application to over-subscribed schools, such as St. Andrew’s, Leatherhead. A reminder then, to parents of the changes to school admissions policies where schools, such as St. Andrew’s, Leatherhead, are over-subscribed. PLEASE SEE THE DETAIL on the parish web-site at: https://www.sjcc.org.uk/schools A certificate of Catholic practice, will now be required, such certificate can only be given where there is weekly attendance at Mass for at least two years and the ‘attendance card’ has been stamped by the priest.
By Colin Hughes
•
October 17, 2026
Links to his Mass of Episcopal Ordination
By Webmaster
•
October 3, 2026
DEANERY WIDE: As has been mentioned, Fr. Charles Howell will be leaving Effingham and Fetcham for a sabbatical, and given there are no other priest to take his place, Mass times across all the churches in the Epsom Deanery are having to be adjusted to accommodate the situation, given the shortage of priests. Work is continuing to make the best provision possible, and it is hoped that details of adjustments will be available by the end of October, with the new Mass times coming into effect as of the first weekend of Advent. Two fundamental principles of the adjusted Mass times are that a priest will celebrate a maximum of three Sunday Masses over the weekend and there will need to be a two hour gap between the start of one Mass being celebrated by a particular priest and the next Mass he would be celebrating. The two hours between the start times affords time for travel from one church to another, but more importantly, for the priest to be available, even though, for only a short time, to speak with people of the parish.
By Webmaster
•
September 21, 2026
St Andrew's Catholic School is holding their Open Evening on Wednesday, 23rd September 2026 from 6.00pm to 8.00pm.The evening will give you an opportunity to have a tour of the school by the students and to meet staff in all departments. There will be an Address by the Headteacher at 8.00pm to give you a flavour of what St Andrew’s Catholic School is about, it’s expectations and vision for the education of the students. Mr. Brooks advises you to come between 6.00pm and 6.30pm to ensure you have time to have a good tour of the school before the 8.00pm Address. It is not necessary to book an appointment to visit on Open Evening.
Latest News
Prayers of the Saints
Important Notices
By Webmaster
•
October 19, 2026
As many of you will be aware, Anne has ‘looked after’ the sacristy for many years, however some help would now be appreciated. If you can help with the church linen, that is, the altar cloths, purificators, hand towels and corporal! This task requires washing the linen and ironing and creasing it in a particular way; instructions can be given. Occasionally items need repairing and so someone skilled in needle craft is also required. The church brass, candlesticks etc need polishing on an irregular basis, so help with this would also be appreciated. Thank you for giving consideration to helping with these tasks, and we look forward to hearing from some volunteers.
By Webmaster
•
October 19, 2026
As has been announced, with the decreasing number of priests, the schedule of Masses has been revised with new Mass times coming into effect as of the First Sunday of Advent, 29th November 2026. Mass here at St. Joseph’s, Dorking will continue to be at 6 pm on Saturdays, however, on Sundays Mass will be at 9.15. Details of other Mass times and places are listed on the church noticeboard. Additionally, as of the week beginning 1/11/26 Fr. Ian will be celebrating Mass on Thursdays at 9.30 at Fetcham, so there will be no morning Mas here in Dorking (the date, just to clarify, Thursday 5/11/2026). Various priests will regularly offer a weekday Mass at either Effingham and Fetcham to maintain the parish community and Fr. Ian’s day will be Thursdays.
NEWS ADDITIONS, UPDATES & FEEDBACK
We encourage parishioners to submit articles or information that you feel appropriate for our news section. Please send details to the parish office through the link below.
Parish Events
OUR EVENTS CALENDAR
Remember to check our events calendar for all of the activities happening within the parish
By Webmaster
•
October 19, 2026
An Induction Mass for Mrs Lize Claassen to welcome her as the new Headteacher at St. Joseph’s School, will be on Sunday 8th November . Please note: - The Diocese put out a note saying the Mass will be at 11 am! So, we will stick with 11 and NOT 10 am, however, refreshments will still follow in the hall after the Mass. Do come along and say ‘Hello’. We will also welcome members of the Diocesan Schools Commission
By Webmaster
•
October 18, 2026
The meeting for the parish, which was postponed for various reasons, will take place on Sunday 1 st November after the 10 am Mass, around 11.30; coffee will be available before hand, but we should like to begin promptly. The agenda will consist of a financial report for the year 2025, the work which our ‘core team’ have undertaken with the ‘Epsom Parish Leadership Team’ (which consists of ‘core team members’ from the existing parishes of the Epsom Deanery) and an explanation about the new deanery (super parish) Mass schedule. As the shortage of priests impacts more and more on the life of the Church, we should all pray daily for vocations in the broadest sense of the word, that is, for marriage and family, as well as for religious and priestly vocations, mindful that any and every vocation is nurtured first and foremost in the family home.
By Webmaster
•
October 18, 2026
As our Bishop is new to the Diocese, at present the schedule for the Confirmation Mass has not yet been decided, so, better to begin the programme earlier rather than later! For the First Holy Communion programme there will be an initial parents meeting (which children DO NOT need to attend) on Monday 2nd November at 7.00 pm in the small hall. We will run through what is expected of parents and children and negotiate the best time and day for the classes. As the parish halls are hired out ‘commercially’ the options for the day and time of meeting are limited, so we will have to be mindful of this. Confirmation: - There will be an initial meeting for those whose have sent in application forms and a parent on Tuesday 3rd November, at 7 pm, again, so that expectations can be explained and an overview of the programme presented.