Martin Stebbings, on behalf of Group 17 writes:- “This Easter, I will be travelling to Lourdes with HCPT Group 117, whose helpers come from across A&B, including Crawley, Reigate, Merstham and Horley. I would be very happy to take prayer petitions or intentions from parishioners. If you would like me to carry an intention to the Grotto on your behalf, please feel free to pass it on. This year our group includes several sponsored pilgrims whose needs are considerable, and for whom the Lourdes experience can be profoundly healing and joyful. They include Daniel who is 8 and is recovering from leukaemia, Alex who is 9 and is autistic, George, who is 26 and has cerebral palsy and Jemil who is 24 who has a congenital condition meaning he requires 24-hour care. To support these pilgrims in being able to get to and access all Lourdes has to offer, with Fr Ian’s permission, I have set up a JustGiving page. Any contribution—no matter how small—would be received with real gratitude. I completely understand that times are tough, and our own parish already does so much, so please know that there is no expectation whatsoever—your prayers are what we need most of all. However, if anyone does feel able to help, the link to the page is here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/martin-stebbings-2?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL Please keep all our pilgrims in your prayers, and be assured of mine for you when I travel to Lourdes at Easter. Thank you . Martin Stebbings
We are currently exploring the possibility of starting a Youth Group for teenagers at St Joseph’s. Our hope is to create a safe, welcoming, and engaging space where young people can build friendships, develop a sense of community, and grow spiritually. To help shape this initiative, we kindly invite parents of teenagers to complete a short survey (approximately 5 minutes). Your input will help us understand interest, age groups, and the most suitable meeting times. Survey closes at 10 pm on Monday 23rd February. Thank you very much for your time and support. https://forms.gle/wbcb6vMi1wZ89BJx8
The programme is open to everyone, but especially those who wish to know more about the Catholic faith with a view to becoming a Catholic. Our programme continues after the half term break, on Monday 23rd February , when we give thought to Jesus as Saviour, which is distinct from His work and Mission as Redeemer. We begin at 7.30 and all are welcome.
If you haven’t already done so, but would still like to commit to praying a decade of the Rosary each day during February, then please do put your initial or a tick in one of the boxes on the ‘Rosary Circle’ chart in the church porch. The ‘Chart’ lists the 20 decades of the Rosary and a number of columns for people to put their initial or a tick in a box to indicate they will commit to praying the particular decade each day for the month of February, and hopefully, this will create a number of ‘circles’ praying for this intention. This is a very simple spiritual exercise many of us could join in with; at least 20 people praying one decade of the Rosary each day, so the whole of the Rosary is prayed for this particular intention, thus creating a ‘Rosary Circle’. Let it be said, however, that anyone can join the Rosary Circles at any time.
Next weekend there is a second collection to support the pilgrimage, for which ‘Lourdes Pilgrimage envelopes’ are available at the entrances to the church.
If you would like to contribute to the food bank, the Food Bank Box is by the side door of the Church and is for contributions of appropriate products as listed, which are gratefully received. The box is emptied regularly and the products are delivered to the local Food Bank Depot, where they are labelled and St Josephs Parish is acknowledged. Should you wish to help with the Food Bank a few more people are needed to assist occasionally with the weekly collection when the regular collectors are away. Please see our own parish website under the heading ‘Churches Together in Dorking at: https://www.sjcc.org.uk/churches-together-dorking Volunteers would need to have their own transport to get the products to the actual food bank depot. Please let Maria know if you’re willing to help. For further details about the foodbank, please see their website at: Dorking Area Foodbank | Helping Local People in Crisis