Welcome to St Joseph's
The Resumption of Public Mass
It is with joy that we will resume public Masses this weekend (4/5 July).
We still need to take precautions to minimise any spread of COVID-19, and this will limit the number of people we can fit in the church. We can fit two individuals/couples or one household of 3+ on each bench. Using every other bench, and if I increase the number of Sunday Masses, we should be able to accommodate everyone who wants to come on a Sunday.
You must not come to the church if you are showing symptoms of COVID-19 or have tested positive for it in the past 14 days.*
The bishops have said that it is for each person and family to decide when is right to come back to Sunday Mass, bearing in mind that the obligation to come on a Sunday is still suspended. It may be easier or more appropriate to come on a weekday instead. Indeed that is recommended for the more vulnerable who wish to come to Mass and are able to come on a weekday.
So from 4th July there will be four Sunday Masses:
Saturday (vigil) 6pm,
Sunday 8am, 10am, 5pm
NB we have changed the Sunday evening Mass time
since last weekend's newsletter.
We recommend that parishioners wear face coverings at Mass, Entrance will be by the side door only in order to enable the stewards to keep track of numbers. There will be a ‘one way’ system in operation, please observe it. As we hope to be able to accommodate all who will come on a Sunday, we are not going to require you to reserve a space. However if we do reach capacity at any Mass we will have ask people to come to another Mass, so if you wish to be sure of a place, you can either reserve it via the the reservation form, or phone the parish on 01306 882433. If we find we cannot accommodate everyone we will review these arrangements.
We will continue to stream the 10 am Mass at for the vulnerable and others who cannot be there. We still need to work out the details of this, and those details will be sent to all registered for ‘Zoom’ mass. If you are not registered and want to know to be included, email me at tony.milner@abdiocese.org.uk requesting to receive details of streamed Masses.
Weekday masses, commencing Tuesday 7th July, will revert to a similar pattern as before:
Tue, Wed, Fri, 9:15 am (NB, Not 9:30, or 12:30)
Thursday 7:30 pm (with Holy Hour beforehand)
We will not be having reservations for weekday Masses.
We will need volunteer cleaners. If you can help clean the church please email Penny at saintjosephs@tiscali.co.uk. As before, volunteers need to be under 70 and not in a vulnerable category in respect of COVID-19.
*The symptoms are: a new persistent cough, a high temperature, or a change in the sense of taste or smell. Note that the cough and the change of taste/smell can persist long after the virus has gone. If you have isolated for 2 weeks after initially experiencing these symptoms you are safe to come. However if you are still coughing a lot we would ask you not to come, as that may cause high levels of anxiety for others.
Join us on for an online coffee morning
Every Wednesday at 11 am
Via Zoom. No need to sign up. Just click this link to join.
Keeping in touch
While not all of us can gather physically as a parish at present, it is important to keep in touch with what is going on. We continue to the publish the Parish Newsletter here on the website, and you can have it sent to you by email if you contact us. The A & B News is also available online from the publishers website, along with other newspapers from other diocese, As well as the Web Page we also have a facebook page on which we put things from time to time.
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.
Black Lives Matter
In the light of the killing of George Floyd, and the subsequent protests, the ministers of the Church communities of Dorking have issued a joint letter which you can read here.
Sometimes we hear the response "all lives matter". This is, of course, true. But the Christian call to have a 'preferential option for the poor' calls us to have a particular care for those who are marginalised and discriminated against, either individually or because of general attitudes and structures in our society.
St Joseph's is the Catholic Parish Church for Dorking 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.
If there is anything else you would like to know please do not hesitate to contact us via the Parish Office on 01306 882433 or email saintjosephs@tiscali.co.uk
Churches Together in Dorking
St Joseph’s is an active member of Churches Together in Dorking (CTD). Along with other churches in the town, St Joseph’s plays a full part in growing vision for interdenominational outreach and projects such as Soul Connect Youth Work and the food bank.
