Divine Mercy Sunday – 27 April 2025

Third Sunday of Easter (4th May 2025)

🕊️ Stewardship & Planned Giving Drive – Week 1
This weekend marks the beginning of our three-week journey of Stewardship and Planned Giving. As a parish, we are invited to prayerfully reflect on how we can joyfully offer our time, talents, and financial support to strengthen our community.

• Week 1: A Call to Gratitude and Stewardship
• Week 2 (Next Sunday): Parish Finances & Mission – members of the Finance Committee will speak at all Masses.
• Week 3: Pledge Sunday – an invitation to renew our commitments.

🙏 Parish Mass Schedule & Intentions

• Monday: No Mass (Bank Holiday)
• Tuesday (7pm): Pilgrim’s Mass – Thomas Lloyd RIP
• Wednesday (10am): Stephanie Sions – Wellbeing
• Friday (7pm): Sr Ursula – Birthday Thanksgiving
• Saturday:

  • 12 Noon: Robelio Ferreol RIP (Pilgrim’s Mass)

  • 6pm: Felicity – Wellbeing

• Sunday (10:30am): Tom Ferncombe RIP

💚 Garden Care Teams – Volunteers Needed!
We’re forming three garden teams:

1. St. Francis Garden (front),
2. Our Lady’s Garden (right lawn),
3. St. Ann’s Front Garden (entrance).
   Please contact Fr. James if you’d like to join or lead a team.

🔔 Parish Gratitude
We sincerely thank the donor who gifted our parish a lawn mower, blower, and trimmer — making garden maintenance easier.

📸 Holy Cross School Visit
Thank you to Reception Class for visiting St. Ann’s, praying at the St. Francis Fountain, scattering seeds, and filling our space with joy and reverence.

💻 Share the Joy – Leave a Review!
Rate St. Ann’s R.C. Church, Kingston Hill on Google Maps or scan the QR code at church. Your kind words will help others find our faith-filled community.

📧 Email: kingstonhill@rcaos.org.uk
📞 Tel: 020 8546 8732
🌐 Website: www.stannskingstonhill.org.uk

Homily: “The Church is Our Heart – A Call to Give, to Grow, to Belong”

Planned Giving & Stewardship Drive – Weekend 1

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Let me take you back to my childhood. I come from a very simple, hardworking village. Life was modest — everyone worked hard each day, not for luxuries, but to put food on the table. Still, there was something sacred about how we lived: no matter how tired people were, the Church always came first.

Before every Christmas or Easter, the whole village would gather to clean, paint, fix, and prepare the Church. Fathers and grandfathers would return from a full day’s work and still offer to mend the roof or level the floor. Mothers would scrub the benches and sweep the yard. And we children — too small for the big work — were given our task: to brush between bricks and sweep corners.

We never thought of it as extra work. We saw it as honour. Because for us, the Church wasn’t a building. It was our heart. And that sense of reverence shaped us.

That same spirit lives here at St. Ann’s.

We are not here to build an empire — we are here to build a home for the Lord in our midst. A home for our children to grow in faith. A sanctuary for the elderly to find comfort. A refuge for the weary to meet Christ in the Eucharist. And that mission needs all of us.

Why We Give — and Why It Matters Now

As your priest, I am deeply grateful to serve in a parish that is full of generosity, love, and vision. But I must also share honestly: our parish does not receive funding from the state or the Vatican. Everything we do — the lights we turn on, the ministries we run, the roof we maintain, the candles we light — is made possible by you.

This Planned Giving Drive is not just about money — it is about ownership. It’s about asking:
“What does my parish mean to me?”
“What do I want it to mean for my children, for my neighbours, for those who come after me?”

In a world that often teaches us to “get,” the Church teaches us to “give.”
And not just give — but give joyfully, purposefully, and prayerfully.

The Spirit of Stewardship: A 3-Week Journey

Over these three weeks, we are walking together on a journey of stewardship — a time to reflect, to give thanks, and to recommit.

This week is about planting the seed — a spiritual moment to rediscover the joy of giving and the biblical call to stewardship.

Next week, during Weekend 2, four members of our parish Finance Committee will speak at each Mass. They’ll give a transparent picture of our finances, where we are, and where we hope to go — including important parish projects like maintaining the gardens, supporting our altar servers and catechists, and preparing for future improvements.

Then, in Week 3, we’ll invite you — not with pressure, but with prayer — to fill out a commitment form, pledging your time, talents, and treasure. Whether it’s signing up for a new ministry, setting up a standing order, or just re-evaluating how you give — your response will shape our future.

Give, Like God Gives

The Bible says in 1 Peter 4:10:

“Each of you has received a gift — use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s grace.”

God doesn’t look at the amount — He looks at the heart.
The widow who gave two copper coins gave more than anyone else because she gave with her heart.

So I invite you today — not to give out of guilt, but out of gratitude.
Not just to meet a budget — but to build a community.
Not because the Church needs something from you — but because God has given something to you, and you have something sacred to return.

Conclusion: This Is Your Home

Like my childhood village, we are not rich in gold — but rich in love, in faith, and in purpose.
This parish is your home. Your heart. Your legacy.
Together, let us build it — not with bricks alone, but with commitment, sacrifice, and joy.

Let’s give — not just to keep the lights on, but to keep the flame of faith alive.

Because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Amen.

Important Dates for the Diary

🕊 Lent & Holy Week 2025 at St. Anne’s Catholic Church 🕊

As we begin our Lenten journey, we invite you to walk with us in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, preparing our hearts for the joy of Easter. 🌿🙏

📖 Get your copy of the Lenten Journey Booklet from St. Anne’s to guide your reflections this season!

🔹 Key Dates

📌 Ash Wednesday – 5th March (Mass at 10:00 AM & 7:00 PM)
📌 Stations of the Cross – Fridays at 7:20 PM (after 7:00 PM Mass)
📌 Lenten Reconciliation Service – 5th April, 5:00 PM (followed by Vigil Mass)
📌 Palm Sunday – 13th April, 10:30 AM Procession & Mass
📌 Good Friday – 18th April, 2:00 PM Way of the Cross, 3:00 PM Passion Service
📌 Easter Sunday – 20th April, 10:30 AM Mass & Celebration 🎉

Join us on this journey of faith and renewal as we prepare for the Resurrection of Christ! 🌟