Parish Guide St. Edmund King & Martyr 19 Croft Road, Godalming, Surrey GU7 1DB Mass Times: Saturday Vigil 6.00pm at St. Edmund’s, Godalming Sunday Mass: 8.45am at St. John’s AngliCan ChurCh, St. John’s St, Farncombe, Godalming, Surrey GU7 3EJ St. Joseph’s Milford Surrey GU8 5DU Sunday Mass: 10.15am at St. Joseph’s, Milford Sacrament of Reconciliation At Call and 5.15pm to 5.45pm Saturdays at St. Edmund’s Tel : 01483 416880 Email : [email protected] Website : www.stedmundgodalming.btCk.Co.uk1 The Parish Vision "Proclaiming Christ to the world : empowering all around us with the presence and joy of the Holy Spirit." In order that the Gospel may be lived in our lives through the Power of the Holy Spirit and our Parish may become a community where all who love Christ Jesus act together to build a better, more human world, we the people of Godalming Parish pledge ourselves that we will become more fully : 1. A Learning ChurCh : Deepening our understanding of faith, humbling ourselves to learn from Our Lord and each other and discovering the true nature of the Body of Christ - open to the Power of the Holy Spirit. 2. A Celebrating ChurCh : Aiming, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to deepen and enrich our experience of Prayer and Liturgy, praising Him for His Goodness to us, thanking Him and praying for His help. 3. A Caring Church : Developing a loving, caring and supportive community. 4. A Living Church : Participating in helping the Church become an alive and vibrant force in our Godalming Parish and in the local community; aiming to be Christ in our world, committed to Evangelisation in response to Jesus' commission actively to spread God's truth. 5. Partners in Service : Pooling our efforts with other Faith communities as Jesus taught in the Gospels. 2 St Edmund's Parish Our Parish Priest is Fr. David Parmiter who is supported by many Parish teams. There is an elected Finance and General Purposes Committee responsible for Parish finance and buildings. Chairman - Alan Lion ( [email protected] ) Secretary - Ann Bleddyn ( [email protected] ) Treasurer - Rory Flynn ( [email protected] ) The full Committee is : Alan Lion (Chair), Ann Bleddyn (Secretary), Fr David, Rory Flynn, Arthur Gomez, Sean Leathem, Margaret McClinton & Damian Wheeler. There are also Teams to look after each area of Parish Life (e.g. Liturgy). Members of each team work together led by a Co-ordinator. Each team aims to help parishioners to form a closer relationship with God and to share that love with one another. And so to SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS by evangelising with LOVE! The Co-ordinators usually meet together every other month to discuss how they can help make the Parish Vision a reality and they then communicate that to the Parish, especially through the Parish Newsletter and website. 3 St. Edmund’s Parish Co-ordinators Baptism : Judith Carroll 01483 414543 [email protected] and Janet Quinlan 01252 702156 [email protected] Christian Unity / ChurChes Together : Angela Gilmour 01483 424988 [email protected] Confirmation : Ali McAully 01483 422191 First Holy Communion : Anne Hodgson [email protected] JustiCe & PeaCe : Mary Waight 01483 428031 [email protected] Liturgy : Susan Strudwick 01483 428564 [email protected] Marriage and Family Life : Andrew Lodge 01483 415614 [email protected] Pastoral Renewal : Ian Honeysett 01483 860341 [email protected] Saint Edmund's School : Mrs. Elizabeth Higgins (Headteacher) 01483 414497 [email protected] Social Concerns : Margaret McClinton 01483 424967 [email protected] Social Events : Sandra Paiano 01428 684766 [email protected] and Natasha Brown 01483 860464 [email protected] Youth : Bernadette Thatcher 01483 421072 [email protected] The role of each Co-ordinator is described in the following pages. 4 Baptism Co-ordinators : Judith Carroll 01483 414543 [email protected] and Janet Quinlan 01252 702156 [email protected] The role of the Baptism Team is to support the Parish Priest by arranging all Baptisms and Naming Ceremonies within the Parish. This involves: • Fielding all enquiries and questions about Baptism • Meeting the parent/s of all candidates and dealing with their queries and arrangements, including relevant documents and materials • Scheduling all relevant ceremonies • Arranging and conducting periodic Baptism Preparation courses for parents • Facilitating the induction of young families into wider Parish life. The team liaises most closely with Fr David, the Parish Secretary and the Sacristans, as well as with the Bumps, Baby and Toddler Group. It consists of: Janet Quinlan, Co-ordinator 01252 702156 Elena Gomez and Susan King, Catechists 01428 482333 (Susan) [email protected]. Judith Carroll, initial enquiries 01483 414543 [email protected] Caren Heslop, congratulation cards after Baptism. Further plans are: • We would like to celebrate the anniversaries of Baptisms every two or three years, with a Mass and lunch. • Arrange for new families in the Parish to be befriended by an established family. • Find ways of making it easier to manage very young children at Mass. 5 Christian Unity / Churches Together Co-ordinator : Angela Gilmour 01483 424988 [email protected] St Edmund’s is an active member of Churches Together in Godalming. The Christian Unity group co-ordinates our participation in numerous ecumenical events throughout the year, including Prayer Breakfasts, Lent Groups, the March of Witness on Good Friday, and the joint ecumenical communion service in the New Year. Associated activities include : • Prayer Breakfast / Farncombe Mens' Prayer Breakfast (See Parish A-Z). • Surrey Churches Ride & Stride (See Parish A-Z). • Good Friday Walk of Witness : There is an Ecumenical Walk of Witness starting at 10.45 at The Wharf, Godalming and finishing at the Pepperpot (See Churches Together). • Ecumenical Farncombe Prayer Group : All are welcome to join the group which meets on the second Monday of the month at 7.00pm at St John's Anglican Church, Farncombe (See A-Z list). • The Cellar : The Cellar is a café (the trustees of which are The Warehouse Christian Trust) in the centre of Godalming which is open to everyone, but with the principal objective of providing a caring and friendly meeting place for disadvantaged and vulnerable people in the community. Everyone is welcome without discrimination or judgement, and the cost of food and drink is kept at an affordable level. They are seeking volunteers to help at lunchtime in particular (for contact see A-Z list) Their website is at : www.thecellarcafe.co.uk • Elstead Christian Fellowship have ecumenical Prayer gatherings to pray for the Village, Bible Studies and Services twice a year: see their website at : www.ElsteadChristianFellowship.org.uk 6 Confirmation Co-ordinator : Ali McAully 01483 422191 The Confirmation Preparation Programme each year will begin with a meeting for candidates interested in the programme (and their parents) in the Parish Room at 4:30pm on a date published in the Newsletter, followed by the Youth Mass. The programme is open to all young people within the Parish who are in school year 10 and above but who are under 18 and who wish to confirm their faith. The sessions take place in the Parish Room every fourth Saturday of the month (unless stated) to coincide with the Youth Mass. Sessions will begin at 4:30pm and will finish after the Youth Mass at 7pm; worshipping together will be a part of the programme. If you would like to register your interest in the programme then please speak with your parents and then contact the Confirmation Co-ordinator - or come along to the annual meeting as above to find out more. The aim is to prepare the young people to receive the sacrament of Confirmation and we do this by encouraging each young person to enter into a personal relationship with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; the essence of God that is with us and in us. 7 First Holy Communion Co-ordinator : Anne Hodgson [email protected] The First Holy Communion programme takes place every year for children from the Parish who are in school Year 4 or above (i.e. turning 9 years old). Regular meetings are scheduled between September and April/May for children and parents, which take place at St. Edmund's Primary School. The children also regularly contribute to Mass at St. Joseph's. For your reference, the programme for First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion can be downloaded from the Parish website at www.stedmundgodalming.btck.co.uk/Youth This will be updated with each new year's details once they become available. For more information about the FHC programme, please contact the First Communion Co-ordinator or via email: [email protected] The First Holy Communion Masses are celebrated in May. 8 JustiCe and Peace Co-ordinator : Mary Waight 01483 428031 [email protected] In his days justice will flourish and peace till the moon fails. (Psalm 71) The Parish Justice and Peace group tries to take forward the Gospel and the Church's teaching on social justice. We look at human rights and social justice issues for our brothers and sisters living in other countries. We aim to raise awareness about poverty and oppression in the two thirds or developing world. We do this through a variety of activities. We have twinned St Edmund's Parish with Kasanka, a Parish in rural Zambia and each year throughout Lent raise money and awareness about what happens in Kasanka (see the Parish website for the latest news). We sell Traidcraft goods and promote Fair Trade at Masses every other month. We have been part of the campaign to make Godalming a Fair Trade town - the status was awarded in 2008.