Last Monday, we celebrated the beautiful feast of the Presentation of the Lord at Candlemas - the blessing of the candles which we will use throughout the coming year, symbolising Christ as the Light of the World, the light dispelling the darkness of sin. Our readings today call us to shine our own light of faith out into the world. In Isaiah, we read that “your light shall break forth like the dawn” and “then shall your light rise in the darkness” which will be echoed in our Gospel, “You are the light of the world.” What light are Jesus and Isaiah referring to? The light of life that shows compassion for the poor and the needy, a life that is fully committed to justice, to fairness, equity and the alleviation of poverty. Many, many times throughout the Old Testament, the prophets tell the people of Israel that all God wants from them is practical justice, practical, not half-concern – share your food with those who have none, cloth those you see naked, hospitality to those who cannot repay you, care for the sick, the elderly, the widow and the orphan. In short, live with integrity. Jesus tells us that our good works are not shining out for the benefit of ourselves, so others may praise us, but instead they shine for the glory of God. Jesus leaves no room for our egos here. What we have is given to us by our Father in heaven, for his purposes and for him to use through our lives, in our words and actions. St Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthians that it is through “the power of the Spirit” that he acts. It is a call to put aside our pride in our own knowledge, lay aside our ego once again, to use and to acknowledge the power of God to be what he calls us to be; “the Light of the World, giving light to others, so that they may see…. And give glory to the Father in Heaven”.
| First Reading | Isaiah 58:6-10 | Your light shall break forth like the dawn | |||
| Responsorial Psalm | Ps 112 | R/ A light rises in the darkness for the upright | |||
| Second Reading | 1 Cor 2:1-5 | I proclaimed to you the mystery of Christ crucified | |||
| Gospel | Matthew 5:13-16 | You are the light of the world |
| Saturday 7th February | 6:15pm | James Lloyd | ||||
| Sunday 8th | 9:30am | Stanislawa & Tadeusz | ||||
| Stanislaw & Alicja | ||||||
| Sunday 8th | 11:15am | Frank Stanley |
HOUSE BLESSING: House blessings (also known as house healings, house clearings, house cleansings and space clearing) are rites intended to protect the inhabitants of a house or apartment. It is also there asking God’s protection and blessing upon each member of the family. In Christianity, house blessing is an ancient tradition dating back to the early days, that is usually performed by a priest who sprinkles holy water and blessed salt as he walks through every room of the house, accompanied by the occupants of the house, whilst praying for the occupants. If you would like your home/apartment/room blessed, then please contact one of the priests and a time and date can be arranged. The blessing ritual takes about 20 minutes, and it is lovely if all occupants of the home are present.
ARE YOU NEW TO OUR PARISH? Thank you for your interest in our parish. Whether you're just visiting us for a brief time, looking for a new parish home, returning to the practice of your Catholic faith or are interested in finding out more about the Catholic Church, we are happy to answer your questions, listen to your comments and help you in any way that we can. We are a parish of the Diocese of Portsmouth, and are a very vibrant community, made up of ‘old’ Maidenhead families and relative “newcomers” from all walks of life. We hope that you find our Catholic parish a caring community that is loving, welcoming and supportive of all. Our mission is to grow in the image of Christ through the Holy Spirit, to be formed by the Word and our prayer, to use our gifts to welcome those who are here and reach out to those who are not. We invite you to join us as partners in the mission. Together, let us get to know Christ better and to make Him better known. May God Bless you wherever you are and thank you for exploring our website and newsletter. Please stop by the parish office to introduce yourself! We would love to meet you.
FIRST FRIDAY: The First Friday of the month is traditionally a time when a priest visits a home to anoint anyone who is house bound, with holy oil, and to administer the sacrament of Holy Communion. The parish has several people on this list. If indeed, you or someone you know would like a visit from a priest, then please contact Fr. Liam, Fr. Ephraim or Fr. Tom.
FIRST FRIDAY HEALING MASS These special Masses will take place on:
Friday 6th March 10am at St. Joseph’s; 7pm at St. Edmund Campion Church; 10am St Thomas More, Twyford
Friday 3rd April 10am at St. Joseph’s; 7pm at St. Edmund Campion Church; 10am St Thomas More, Twyford
WHAT IS A HEALING MASS?
Healing Masses are opportunities to directly seek physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual healing. These Masses include a homily that is focused on healing, prayers of the faithful that are directly asking God to heal us, and prayers after communion that are prayed by the Priest to help facilitate greater healing in our lives.
The Mass is the most powerful way that we can seek healing as Christians. Jesus is present in the Mass through the Scriptures, through giving Himself to us in His Body and His Blood, and through our worship of Him. He is the one who heals us. The Mass helps to facilitate the healing that Jesus wants to give to all of us.
BAPTISMAL COURSE The Baptismal Course is available for all Parents whose child is being Baptised at either St Joseph’s, St Elizabeth’s or St Edmund Campion. The course is a 90 minute preparation and guidance. It is held at St Joseph’s the first Tuesday of the month at 7pm. The next meetings are:
DIOCESAN NEWSLETTER: The Diocesan Mailing is produced every week and contains news, training opportunities and events from around the diocese and wider Catholic Church. The weekly newsletter is designed to bring you the latest information and events, straight to your email inbox. We try to keep it short and sweet (though, occasionally we can't help but get carried away with a great story or a brilliant opportunity). Click or go to the following site to sign up: www.portsmouthdiocese.org.uk
House Masses/Blessings: Father Liam is more than happy to celebrate a House Mass or a House Blessing for any family or group of families who would like it. If you are interested, then please email Father Liam or telephone the Parish Office.
Contact: If you wish to speak to Father Liam in confidence on any matter, please contact him for an appointment. He is always happy to visit your home if so desired. Email: lcummins@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk Telephone: 07776580596
Hospital: If you are going into hospital or know or someone that is, please inform the hospital chaplain on arrival. Please also let Father Liam know so that arrangements can be made for a visit. Please note that under the Data Protection Act, hospital staff cannot disclose patient information. We rely on Parishioners to keep us in the loop.
Housebound: If you know of anyone who is sick and/or housebound please let Ruth (Parish Office) or Father Liam know so that a visit can be arranged.
FIRST FRIDAY: The First Friday of the month is traditionally a time when a priest visits a home to anoint anyone who is house bound, with holy oil, and to administer the sacrament of Holy Communion. The parish has several people on this list. If indeed, you or someone you know would like a visit from a priest, then please contact Fr. Liam.
PARISH COLLECTION Please continue to support your parish, its activities and outreach programmes by contributing to the weekly collection via the 'baskets' and/or Contactless. It is very positive that a lot of our parishioners, over the course of the pandemic, switched their contribution from cash to Bank Transfer.
NB: If you want to set up a direct debit or standing order (or even make a one-off donation) the account details are:
Account name: CDP MAIDENHEAD ST EDMUND CAMPION
Sort code: 30-93-04
Account number: 00882551
PARISHIONER REGISTRATION We have a new self service registration form. Every parishioner will be required to complete a new form as we are no longer using the previous Parish Registration system. There are separate forms for adults and children.
Adult HFP Mhead Twyford Parishioner Registration Form
Child HFP Mhead Twyford Child Registration Form
MONDAY 9th FEBRUARY after 9:30am Mass “Dealing with life’s transitions with scripture and the spiritual masters” A talk by Dr Judith Thomas, in St Edmund Campion Church.
VISION GROUP Dry January: Many of us give up drinking for the month of January after the excesses of Christmas and the New Year. This year we are collecting any bottles that have not been drunk, together with unwanted Christmas gifts including Chocolates, for our church renovations. Please drop off in the large boxes outside the Parish office and Church porch.
CONFIRMATION Session 3 will be on Saturday 7th February at 4:30pm in St Edmund Campion church. Session 4 will be on Saturday 28th February at 4:30pm in St Thomas More, Twyford
FIRST HOLY COMMUNION Session 3 will be on Saturday 7th February at 4:30pm St Edmund Campion school.
NURSERY ADMISSIONS - Academic Year 2026-2027 Children are eligible to join our nursery once they turn three years old. This applies to children born between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024. Parents may submit applications at any time from now until 28 February 2026 for the 2026–2027 academic year. To apply, please visit https://www.st-edmund.org.uk/admissions-1/ to download the Supplementary Information Form (SIF). Completed SIFs should be returned to Mrs Powell in the nursery, together with a copy of your child’s baptism certificate or, if your child has not been baptised, a birth certificate.
THE BREAKFAST CLUB is starting again on Saturday the 28th of February at a *new time* of 10am – 12pm at St Edmund Campion. We will be offering:
Tickets will be available after Sunday Masses via Julie or Gareth. For the rest just pop down and we will be able to accommodate. We are also doing the Holy Family Walk afterwards at 1pm if you would like to join (and walk off the amazing breakfast!) Everyone welcome – see you soon
HOLY FAMILY WALK The next walk will be on Saturday the 28th of February and we will be doing the three greens walk in Maidenhead. Looking to take approx 2 hours. If attending, please arrive by 12.45pm for a 13.00pm start. Meet up/starting point will be St Ed’s car park SL6 4PY. We are holding a breakfast/brunch that morning at St Ed’s starting from 10am-12pm so will be nice to work off some calories after. It would be great for you to join us before. If you have any questions or would like to join our WhatsApp group, please WhatsApp Gareth on 07721 716567. Leaflets in reception.
19th MAIDENHEAD (HOLY FAMILY) SCOUT GROUP Our very active parish Scout Group provides fun and exciting activities for young people. We are currently in need of some more adults to join our volunteer leadership team for our youngest section. Squirrels are 4 and 5 year olds and enjoy the outdoors, stories, craft and many other activities. If you would enjoy working with young children and would like to know more about this opportunity please contact group@19thmaidenheadscouts.org.uk
OUT & ABOUT a service delivered by a local charity, Alzheimers Dementia Support, is urgently seeking new volunteers to join our bank of volunteers. We deliver outings for people with early-stage dementia whilst providing respite for their carer. We meet on Tuesdays at Cox Green Community Centre before going out for a planned day out. The role requires supporting those attending, helping them engage in the activities, whilst ensuring their safety. We are particularly looking for male volunteers to support the high number of men attending. No assistance with personal care or commitment to cover every Tuesday is required. We promise interesting places to visit along with much fun and laughter. An enhanced DBS is required. If you would like to know more, do get in touch with Sandra Williams our Out & About Service Leader; sandra.williams@adscharity.com Tel 07593 661848
ST JOSEPH’S VISION GROUP Quiz Night & Raffles Saturday 21st February 7:30pm in St Joseph’s Parish Centre. Doors open at 7pm. Light refreshments, BYO drinks. £10 per ticket - available from Ruth in the Parish Office.
LENTEN PROJECT CONCERT Saturday 14th March 7.30pm in the school hall. The 9.30am musicians will perform a wide range of music from pop to classical. Tickets £12 each includes a bread and cheese supper. Bring your own drinks and nibbles. To buy tickets, see the group after Mass, buy via the contactless machine in the porch or email mary@bluestring.co.uk.
THANK YOU Calum, Faith and Betsy are incredibly grateful for all the donations made to Helen and Douglas House Hospice in Bobby’s memory. The messages and well wishes have brought great solace and they are glad Bobby’s legacy can have a positive impact, to help the hospice provide care for other children.
KEYHOLDERS ROTA We are looking for 2 or 3 volunteers to join the existing 7. This will mean you will only be on the rota once every 2 months. If you live local to the church and would like to volunteer to be part of the keyholders rota, please contact Ruth office@stedmundcampion.org.uk
HOSPITALITY SATURDAY after 6:15pm Mass are looking for more volunteers to go on the rota. Please contact Ruth in office@stedmundcampion.org.uk if you would like to join the rota.
Formation Morning for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communication Fr Anthony Fyk, Director of Liturgical Formation and the Liturgy Formation team invite you to a formation morning at St Peter’s Pastoral Centre, Winchester on Saturday 9th May 2026 commencing with Mass at 9 am. There will be a welcome session from Fr Anthony, a talk focussing on the Eucharist in the sacred scriptures as well as a session on Lectio Divina: “Living a Eucharistic life – what does it mean to live out the eucharist?”. All Eucharistic Ministers, experienced and new, are very welcome to attend. If you wish to attend, please register via liturgy@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk.
ARE YOU NEW TO OUR PARISH? Thank you for your interest in our parish. Whether you're just visiting us for a brief time, looking for a new parish home, returning to the practice of your Catholic faith or are interested in finding out more about the Catholic Church, we are happy to answer your questions, listen to your comments and help you in any way that we can. We are a parish of the Diocese of Portsmouth, and are a very vibrant community, made up of ‘old’ Maidenhead families and relative “newcomers” from all walks of life. We hope that you find our Catholic parish a caring community that is loving, welcoming and supportive of all. Our mission is to grow in the image of Christ through the Holy Spirit, to be formed by the Word and our prayer, to use our gifts to welcome those who are here and reach out to those who are not. We invite you to join us as partners in the mission. Together, let us get to know Christ better and to make Him better known. May God Bless you wherever you are and thank you for exploring our website and newsletter. Please stop by the parish office to introduce yourself! We would love to meet you.
MASS INTENTIONS: There is a long and venerable tradition in the Catholic Church that the faithful ask their priests to celebrate Holy Mass for particular, specified intentions. An individual may ask a priest to offer a Mass for several reasons: for example, in thanksgiving, for the intentions of another person (such as on a birthday, good health, peace in family life), or as is most common, for the repose of the soul of someone who has died or on their anniversary. This custom, which was well-understood in generations past, is increasingly being forgotten. Since the practice is of immense spiritual benefit to both the living and the dead, and because it also helps to support your clergy and parish, we would encourage you to request that Masses be offered for your intentions. Please contact Ruth in the Parish Office, if you wish to have a Mass celebrated for your intentions. Pope Paul VI said, “The Mass is the most perfect form of prayer!” It has immense power and countless miracles and conversions have occurred throughout the centuries by offering Masses for a specific intention or person. Mass intentions are a great treasure of the Church and have a spiritual weight that is incalculable.
YOGA CLASSES TUESDAY 17th FEBRUARY; TUESDAY 3rd, 10th & 17th MARCH at 11am. Everyone is welcome. No charge for the class, just a small donation to charity if able. For more information contact Rachel: wellhappyyoga@gmail.com or the parish office.
TODDLER GROUP Every Friday in termtime, 8:45am-10:45am in the Parish Centre.
ADoRE spiritual mini-retreat 24th January 10am-1pm on Zoom. "GOD IS LOVE" Register in advance at bit.ly/ADOREJAN2026 More information at www.altonrenewal.com
Union of Catholic Mothers (UCM) 1st & 3rd Tuesdays 2.30 – 4.30pm in St Joseph’s St Elizabeth’s Room
GIFT AID: If you have a standing order or direct debit donation to the Parish and gift aid your donation, please complete a new Gift Aid form. These will need to be completed for all existing Gift Aid Declarations. New Direct Debit and Gift Aid forms are available in the church porch and in the drawers outside the Parish Office. Please return all completed forms to the Parish Office. Thank you to everyone who has completed a form over the last few months.
DONA CONTACTLESS PAYMENTS are now available in the church porch. You can Gift Aid your donation to the church and Second Collections. You only need to put your details in once and all future donations using the same card will be Gift Aided. Donations, Repository, Candles, Mass Intentions can all be paid for using the machine– just select the option on the screen.
WELCOME A very warm welcome to all parishioners and visitors who join us, whether in our Churches of St. Joseph’s, St. Elizabeth’s, St. Edmund Campion or via the live-stream. If you are new to the area, please register as a member of our Parishes. The parish offices are situated at St. Joseph’s Church, Cookham Road and St. Edmund Campion, Altwood Road. Carolyn or Ruth can send you a soft copy of the registration form if you so wish, or pick up a hard copy at the church. The parish office details are available on the website and in the church porch.
REPOSITORY Please see our repository for cards & Mass cards for all occasions. Cash payments in the box on the wall or via the Dona contactless machine (minimum £1 payments).
PARISH COMMUNICATION We have reduced our newsletter to one two-sided A4 sheet. In order to make sure you are receiving up to date communications, please consider signing up to receive information by email. Parishioner registration forms are available in the church porch and in the drawers outside the Parish Office – please complete one and return it to the Parish office.
SCHOOL PLAYGROUND The Reception area playground is not for use at the weekends. Please make sure that children are not entering this area before or after weekend Masses. The staff prepare the area on Friday afternoon so that it is ready for learning on Monday morning. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
FOOD IN THE CHURCH The church is cleaned every Friday afternoon. Recently there appears to be a lot of food debris on the Church floor after weekend Masses. If you or your child needs to eat during Mass, can we request that you please use the Parish Centre. Thank you for your cooperation.
FOODSHARE Are you an NHS, Emergency services or a Blue Light worker. Foodshare is now operating a shop, so if you're struggling to make ends meet, for a cost of £10 per visit you can "buy" a trolley of food. Call 01628 262711 for fast and fuss free support.
VACANCIES - For job vacancies in the Diocese please see Diocese website https://www.portsmouthdiocese.org.uk/
We have activities planned for later this year and would be happy to hear from you if you would like to get involved or have an idea of your own. Please contact Sarah Bowden (bowden.sarah@googlemail.com).
LIBRARY We have a parish library located in the foyer of the Parish Centre. One bookcase is dedicated to Theology/Religious books, another bookcase to Fiction/Non-Fiction and a third smaller bookcase to children's Bibles/Bible stories etc. Please feel free to borrow/swap.
If you would like to donate, we can only accept books that are in excellent and clean condition. Thank you and enjoy.
FOODSHARE We are a collection point for Foodshare. Our collection area is just inside the porch doors, but if you leave food outside, out of hours (in a bag or other covering) the building is regularly checked. Foodshare are currently really in need of tinned vegetables and tinned meat, amongst all the regular donations.
APPOINTMENTS If you wish to speak to Fr Liam, Fr Ephraim, Fr Kevin or Fr Tom in confidence on any matter, please contact either one for an appointment. They are happy to visit your home if so desired, adhering to social distancing guidelines.
HOUSEBOUND If you know of anyone who is sick and/or housebound, please let Ruth (Parish Office), Fr Liam or Fr Ephraim know so that a visit can be arranged.
FOR PRACTICAL PURPOSES, FOR THE COMING MONTHS
Father Vuni & Fr Elvis are the ‘link people’ for pastoral matters concerning the parish of St. Joseph’s and St. Elizabeth’s. They are also chaplains to St. Mary’s school.
Father Liam will be the ‘link person’ for the parish of St. Edmund Campion and will be chaplain to St. Edmund Campion school.
Fr. Liam, Fr Elvis & Fr Vuni are on call each day and will serve our community as best they can. You can call either of them on their mobile numbers, contact them via email or visit them at St. Joseph’s Presbytery.
THE WELCOMING MINISTRY (Mass Rep) is dedicated to helping all parishioners and visitors enhance their worship experience at Mass by making them feel welcome and included in our Eucharistic celebration, helping them connect with our parish, and participating in the numerous ministry opportunities offered at St. Edmund Campion. The Mass Rep is the ‘overseer’ in ensuring that the various ministries during Mass are fulfilled. Further, they are there to help you with any queries.
We thank our mass reps:
6:15pm Saturday: Reena K. 9:30am Sunday: Elvira E-M 11:15am Sunday: Julie C.
ADMISSION INTO ST EDMUND CAMPION SCHOOL AND NURSERY is based on Mass attendance for some categories. In our parish, we have an attendance card available from the table in the church lobby. Every time you come to Sunday Mass please get your card stamped. For information on the current Admissions Policy see the school's website, www.st-edmund.org.uk.
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