Welcome to St Joseph's

Coming to Mass

Because we need to take precautions to minimise any spread of COVID-19, and this limits the number of people we can fit in the church, we have increased the number of Sunday Masses:

There are  four Sunday Masses:

Saturday (vigil) 6pm,

Sunday 8am, 10am, 5pm

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. Weekday Masses are Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 9:15 am and Thursday 7:30pm

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Booking Sunday Mass

You do not need to book to come to Sunday Mass, but if you wish to be sure of a place we recommend it. The 10 am Mass is the most popular, so we encourage those who can to choose another Mass if possible. The obvious choice is Sunday 5 pm. If you wish to come to the 6 pm vigil Mass or 10 am on Sunday you are strongly advised to reserve a place. If we reach capacity at any Mass we will need to ask people to come at another time

Click here to go to the online booking form or phone us on 01306 882433

Please book in by noon on Saturday

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Face coverings are now compulsory in church. For exceptions to this requirement see the government guidance here. Entrance for weekend Masses  will be by the side door only in order to enable the stewards to keep track of numbers. Exit is via either door. There will be a ‘one way’ system in operation, please observe it. 

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The 'Rule of Six' does not apply to church services, because other precautions are in place. However it applies in the church grounds, so please do not gather in larger groups after services, and please make sure you are well clear of the doors when leaving if you wish to stop and talk to someone.

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You must not come to the church if you are showing symptoms of COVID-19 or have tested positive for it in the past 10 days.*

We will continue to stream the 10 am Mass at for the vulnerable and others who cannot be there and those details will continue to 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.

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*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.

First Holy Communion
and Confirmation 2020

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Covid-19 restrictions forced us to postpone the First Holy Communion and Confirmation preparation and celebrations, so they will take place this autumn. 

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For First Holy Communion, we will be celebrating them in groups of two or three in Sunday Masses during October. That month will be a very good opportunity for all of us to deepen our understanding and love of the Eucharist.

Our Confirmation candidates will be confirmed by Fr. Tony at the 7:30pm Mass on Thursday 12th November.

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Please keep the young people and their families in your prayers

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What about 2021?

As there is still a great deal of uncertainty about the COVID-19 situation, we have not finalised any planes for sacramental preparation and celebrations for 2021 as yet. We will look again at the options later in the Autumn, but we don't envisage starting anything before the New Year.

First Holy Communion and Confirmation cards and gifts can be purchased from the church repository - click here for examples of what we have in stock.

Keeping in touch

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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. for particular ways you can participate in parish activities see our COVID-19 page 

Parish Giving

As a parish we accept cash and cheque donations and there is a collection basket out at each Sunday Mass, however if you would prefer to make a donation by bank transfer then please contact Penny via the parish office for details. If you are a tax-payer, Penny can also give you details of how to gift-aid your donation, which enables us to collect an extra 25% from the tax man. The Diocesan Just Giving page is also available just make sure your donation is for Dorking St Joseph’s! Click here for link

https:// www.justgiving.com/campaign/parishoffertory

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Second Collections

We have missed many of the Second Collections since the 'lockdown', and the charities and organisations still need our support, so there will be a second collection at the end of each Mass. The recipients of the collections will be announced in the newsletter in the usual way.

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