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Divine Mercy Sunday (Year A)
This Sunday is known as Divine Mercy Sunday. The Risen Lord, Jesus came to bring mercy to the world. He empowered the disciples and through them the Church, to be the vehicle of His mercy. We will have Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Adoration from 3pm to 4pm together with the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Everyone is welcome to come and join us.
Very many thanks to all – from the young to the old, both male and female, visitors to the parish, the liturgy committee, the choir, the organist, the eucharistic ministers, readers, altar servers, flower arrangers, those who volunteered to have their feet washed, parking marshalls, and those involved in organizing the blessing of the Easter food. You all made the celebrations this Holy Week and Easter Triduum very special. I also want to thank everyone for your generous donations to the Holy Places of Palestine and for your Easter offerings to me. Also, I thought I would share with you some of the details of the upcoming Feast of St Simon Stock Weekend. We plan to make a parish pilgrimage to Aylesford Priory on Sunday the 10th May after 11am Mass. Those who do not plan to walk are invited to meet us at the Friars where we will pray together as a parish. There will be the normal 6pm Mass at the Church on the evening of the 16th of May. On Sunday, 17th May I will combine the 9:00am & 11:00am Mass, to a joint Mass at 10:00am. This will give us the opportunity to commence the Celebration on the Church Field earlier than normal. The one Mass will also help to foster Parish togetherness. I would very much like the Sunday Mass especially the homily, to include contributions from individuals from within the congregation, who are able to speak about their St Simon Stock experience, memories, and what our Church means to them. This can be someone who has been attending the Church for a long or short time, it’s the message that they convey which is important. Anyone who wishes to do this, speak with me or Deacon Martin for further details. There will be a BBQ, and the opportunity for everyone to bring desserts and drink, so please put the dates in your diary, further details will be supplied in due course. Finally, we have appointed a cleaner to clean the presbytery. Her name is Karen Hartland. She will be beginning work next week.
12 April 2026
Fr Joseph Donkor
Plant Stall
Can all our green-fingered parishioners please plant extra seeds/take cuttings for our Plant Stall this year on Sunday 17th May?
UCM Family Fun Quiz
Thank you to all who bought a Quiz Sheet, and to those who returned them! We had two outright winners and four runners up. They will all be receiving a prize of Easter Eggs. You have helped us raise £125 for Mary’s Meals. The Answers can be found below. A big thank you to Con & Pat Donavan for giving us this year’s quiz.
UCM Easter Crafting
The two sessions were successful with parents, grandparents, children & UCM members enjoying sticking, colouring & making. As well as great conversation, play & refreshments. Thank you to those who attended. We plan to hold sessions at Christmas, so watch this space for details nearer the time. Don’t miss out!
BIG KENT WALK
Please sponsor St Francis Class who are walking 200km over 40 days in solidarity with those who walk miles each day just to access safe water. On Wednesday the children walked with their teachers and Fr Joseph to St Simon Stock Church from St Benedict’s school with the Crucifix. Your sponsorship will help bring clean safe water to communities around the world. This Lenten challenge is very important to the children and your support would mean so much. To sponsor go to https://schools.walk.cafod.org.uk/fundraising/st-francis-class-big-lent-walk
KSC Easter painting competitions for all 7-18 yr olds. There are 3 age categories:
7-11yrs, 11-14yrs and 14-18yrs with cash prices for 1st 3 places in each category, and a donation of £200 to the parish/school producing the overall winner. Artworks are to be submitted to the Parish office. Closing Date 18th April 2026
This year’s Southwark Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes is 21 to 28 August 2026 – to refresh and renew our relationship with the Lord Jesus, with the help of Our Lady’s prayers. Details for booking travel and accommodation can be found at https://www.tangney-tours.com/diocese-pilgrimages/diocese-ca/ We also ask pilgrims to complete a form with details, including medical requirements (if any) at https://www.catholicassociation.co.uk/join2026. For more info, please contact Canon Edward Perera (edwardperera@rcaos.org.uk) or Deacon John Fogarty (johnfogarty@rcaos.org.uk) or Bishop Paul Hendricks (paulhendricks@rcaos.org.uk).
MEDWAY FOODBANK LENTEN COLLECTION WEEKEND MARCH 14th/15th
Our parish will be collecting items for the Medway Foodbank as part of our Lenten Almsgiving next weekend March 14th/15th. Our 2026 Shopping Lists are in newsletters this weekend and can also be found in our Parish Website along with the Give in Lent Calendar.
21 February 2026
Congratulations to Liz who went to Rite of Election on Saturday 21st February at St George’s Cathedral. Over the last year she has made the transition from enquirer, to Catechumen and is now Elect and preparing to receive the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil. The next stage of her journey to Easter will include the observance of the three Scrutinies celebrated on 3rd, 4th & 5th Sundays in Lent.
Please keep Liz and her family in your prayers 🙏
Supporting Medway Foodbank in 2025
During 2025 our Parish donated 1,364.1kg of food and everyday essentials to Medway Foodbank. A wonderful achievement! This enables them to continue the important work of providing three days of emergency food to individuals and families who find themselves in a time of crisis. Thank you all for your kindness and generosity towards others throughout the year.
15 February 2026
UCM Quiz This year the theme is UK Railway Stations. Sheets will be on sale after the weekend masses 28th Feb/1st Mar & 7/8th March. Answers need to be handed to a UCM Member or into Parish Office by 23rd March. Winners will be informed by 27th March and Answers will be available in Church and on Website by 28th March. Quiz Sheets cost £2 and all monies will go to the Charity Mary’s Meals.
Finance Committee Meetings
See also: Parish Accounts January- June 2025.
The Apostolate of Eucharistic Adoration
The Apostolate of Eucharistic Adoration is an Association of Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament, embracing God’s call to weekly Eucharistic Adoration, striving to be a people of prayer, vision and mission, and accepting the challenge to live the Good News of Jesus Christ. This Apostolate is organised, maintained and developed by lay people. For more information contact John Gillespie, the Chair of the Apostolate in our parish, on 07850 942024.
The Motto of the Apostolate is: “To Jesus through Mary”
In our parish, since Wednesday 7th November 2018, Eucharistic Adoration has taken place every Wednesday, from 2.00 pm to 10.00 pm.
(Please note that from 11th March 2024 vehicle access to Bleakwood Road will be restricted from 2.45 pm to 3.30 pm because it is part of “Medway School Street Scheme”.)
Many members of our congregation have already committed to spending one hour during those times with the Blessed Sacrament. However, we would welcome many more people to share this wonderful experience with us every week.
You are welcome to come in and spend some time with Jesus in Silent Prayer and Adoration.
THE HOLY ROSARY takes place on the Zoom App from the comfort of your home on Mondays at 6:00 pm. Everyone is welcome to join on Zoom a few minutes before 6pm so each participant can be allocated a prayer/Mystery.
Litany for Peace in Trouble Times
Litany to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
EVENING PRAYER takes place also on Zoom on Tuesdays at 6:00 pm.
Everyone is welcome to join.
Please contact Deacon Martin if you would like the Zoom meeting details for Rosary or Evening Prayer.
Looking forward to seeing you on Zoom soon.
Prayer for Peace in the World
Father in Heaven, have mercy on us and on the whole world! You sent Your Son, the Prince of Peace, for the salvation of the world. We pray that the Peace of Christ will reign in all the World. Please protect and send aid to all who are at-risk. We pray for peace – we pray for all who are working towards it and for all who are in danger from these conflicts. We pray for an end to violence and war – we pray for wisdom for all leaders who have a hand in this. Lord God, please help those in most need of your mercy. Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us! Saint Joseph, Protector of Mary, Jesus and the Church, pray for us! Lord Jesus, Prince of Peace, may your kingdom reign in all the world.
Amen.
100 Club – Parish Lottery
PARISHIONERS ARE INVITED TO JOIN THE PARISH LOTTERY/100 CLUB AT ANY TIME THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
Annual subscriptions are paid in advance at £12 per number and there is no limit to the amount of numbers to which you can subscribe.
Joining can take place any time, in which case the subscriptions due are calculated at £1 per number per month, starting from the date of joining, up to and including February of the following year.
To make payments online for your subscriptions, please use the following details. Thank you.
Nat West Bank
Sort Code: 60-50-01
Account Number: 79144055
Name of Account: St Simon Stock RC Church 100 Club
Please note that when paying online the account name will display as:
ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF SOUTHWARK DIOCESAN TRUST
To give your Financial Support to the Parish online, please use the details below:
Nat West Bank
Sort Code: 60-50-01
Account No: 79144020
Account Name: St Simon Stock Roman Catholic Church Charity No: 1173050
If you are a UK Tax payer, you may increase your donation by 25p for every pound you donate without it costing you any more than what you are already giving. So please sign a Gift Aid Declaration and we will be able to claim the tax you have already paid on that amount from the Tax Office. Thank you