St. Ann’s Parish – Weekly Update (May 18, 2025)

Week 3 – Stewardship & Planned Giving Drive

This weekend, we invite all parishioners to complete their Pledge Forms as part of our Stewardship journey. Thank you for your prayerful generosity and for embracing the spirit of giving in our parish. Your continued support helps keep our church strong, welcoming, and vibrant for future generations.

Sacrament of Confirmation – Saturday, 25 May at 10:30 AM

Please join us in prayer and celebration as seven of our young parishioners receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, presided over by Canon Gerald Bradley. Refreshments will follow in the parish hall. Come and support our candidates and witness the Holy Spirit at work in their lives.

Summer Garden Party & Father’s Day Celebration – Sunday, 15 June

After the 10:30 AM Mass, join us in the garden for our Annual Parish Summer Garden party Gathering with food, music, games, and fellowship. If you’d like to bring a dish from your culture, please speak to Anne King, Julissa, or Carman.

Kids’ Gardening Day – Sunday, 8 June (After Mass)

Children and families are invited to take part in our 3rd Kids’ Gardening Day. Come and help care for our beautiful parish grounds!

Upcoming Parish Dates

•  1 June at 3 PM – Church Maintenance Meeting

•  8 June at 3 PM – Parish Synodal Meeting

•  22 June at 12 PM – First Holy Communion Mass (25 children)

•  22 June at 3 PM – Finance Committee Meeting

•  29 June – The Big Help Out (Outdoor Parish Clean-up)

Parish Garden Teams Forming

We are now creating teams to care for three garden zones:

• St. Francis Garden, St. Mary’s Garden, and St. Ann’s Front Garden
  If you’d like to join or lead, please speak to Fr. James.

Thanks to Charlie

Special thanks to Charlie, who guided and supported Fr. James in cutting the grass for the first time. Your kindness and spirit are deeply appreciated!

Baptism Welcome

We welcome Zoe Cruz into the Church through the Sacrament of Baptism. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

Welcome, Pope Leo XIV

We give thanks to God for the election of Pope Leo XIV, a humble and missionary-hearted shepherd rooted in Augustinian spirituality. May his leadership renew the Church in unity and compassion.

Parish Registration & Google Review

• Update your Parish Registration Form (paper or online).

• Rate our church on Google Maps (scan the QR code at the church or search St. Ann’s R.C. Church, Kingston Hill). Your feedback helps share our parish story with others!

Homily – Pledge Sunday: A Legacy Worth Sustaining

St. Ann’s Catholic Parish, Kingston Hill

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus,

Today I want to speak to you from the heart — not just as your priest, but as someone who has journeyed through different parishes and witnessed how faith, sacrifice, and stewardship keep the Church alive.

Before coming to St. Ann’s, I served in three other parishes — including English Martyrs in Streatham and St. Boniface in Tooting. At English Martyrs, the church was built thanks to the generous support of Robert Measures, prompted by the faith of his Catholic wife, Mary. At St. Boniface, it was Miss Frances Ellis and later Mary Allanson who gave not only their wealth but their hearts — and built something sacred for generations to come.

And now, here I stand with you at St. Ann’s — our beautiful church on the hill. It’s important that we remember the people who made this place possible. One such figure is Arnold Brenninkmeyer. In 1955, when there was no church building, he opened the doors of his own home so that Mass could be celebrated. Imagine that — our parish began in someone’s living room!

That kind of generosity is not just remembered — it is the very foundation of our mission. He later donated the land for the church, and in 1960, with contributions from the faithful, the church was completed. It was designed by F. G. Broadbent in a humble Georgian style, with a brick campanile rising gently like a hand lifted to heaven.

Since then, for over 65 years, parishioners — many of you and your families — have kept this parish alive. You have prayed here, served here, built memories here. You are the living legacy of this parish.

But if we are to sustain this church for the next 65 years or more, we must be realistic. A church is not kept alive by prayer alone — it also needs financial stability. It needs regular support to cover even the most basic needs. A church must provide for a parish priest, maintain the building, run catechism classes, support the sick and elderly, light candles, print newsletters — every small act requires provision.

I have seen, in other parishes, moments when the church nearly died. But someone — just one person — left a legacy in their will, a portion of their home or land, and the church was revived. I’ve witnessed it myself.

In my own village back home, we renovated our church a few years ago. It had remained unattended for decades. But now, after years of prayer and perseverance, the village is also renovating the school where we all studied — and slowly, the faith is blooming again. Growth takes time, but God blesses the long journey.

Even here, in our surrounding — churches in Teddington and Richmond — have undergone a renovation not because of wealth or grandeur, but because of faithful people like you.

At St. Ann’s, we operate under a transparent financial system. Every pound you donate — whether one pound or one penny — is logged and processed through a central banking system, managed by AIQ software and overseen by the Diocesan Finance Office.

Our bookkeeper, Mr Anniston, logs every transaction — whether it’s for altar flowers, new candles, or building maintenance. Each item is categorised, recorded, and verified. Mr Joseph Raj Mohan, from our Finance Committee, has faithfully maintained our records. Every detail is reviewed by the Diocese.

So, what am I asking?

I’m not just asking you to give — I’m inviting you to take ownership. This is your church. It doesn’t run on donations alone — it runs on hearts that care.

We need more standing orders. We need more Gift Aid declarations. We need people to say,

“This is my parish, and I will do my part to keep it alive.”

We are not asking for what you don’t have — we are asking you to prayerfully consider what you can give. Because when given in faith, even a little becomes a blessing multiplied.

Let us not be the generation that received the blessings of the past and failed to pass them on. Let us be the bridge — between the dreams of those who built St. Ann’s and the children who will one day kneel and pray here after us.

As Scripture says:

“Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
– 2 Corinthians 9:7

And in the words of Winston Churchill:

“We make a living by what we get. But we make a life by what we give.”

So let us give — not only from our pockets, but from our hearts.

Let us give in such a way that, one day, someone will look at St. Ann’s and say:

“This place still stands because of faithful people who didn’t just pray — they gave.”

Thank you. And may God bless you abundantly.

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! 🌟