From Saturday 30th September to Sunday 8th October we will be joined by a team from the Sion Community in Brentwood who will lead us in a parish mission – a week dedicated to living and sharing our faith.
This mission week coincides with the centenary of our parish being formally created as an independent parish to serve the people of Upminster. It is an opportunity to celebrate and give thanks, and also to look forward to the future with confidence and hope led by the Holy Spirit.
The aim of the parish mission is to help us all become missionaries or evangelists: people who know Jesus, and live our lives in an attractive and joyful way. We know that for all sorts of reasons, including the pandemic, people feel a little less connected to one another, and we might also feel a little less connected to God at certain times in our life: hopefully this week will help us reconnect with one another and with the Lord. We might still come to church regularly but perhaps we’ve forgotten why; or perhaps coming to church is just one thing on our weekend to do list and not always at the top: this week is an opportunity to rediscover what is most important – the love of God, who gives himself to us and invites us to reciprocate that love so that he can give us even more. When we reconnect with God and with his family the church, and when we rediscover all that he has given us, naturally our hearts will rejoice. That is why we’ve chosen these three words to sum up what this week is about. And, just to be clear, ALL are welcome; Catholic or not, committed/practicing or not, single or married, young or old, male or female.
The week will include an evening programme of mass, supper, and a talk or service, as well as opportunities to meet the mission team during the day, and events for young people and families. At the same time a dedicated primary school mission team will be spending the week in St Joseph’s Primary School. To finish, there will be a bring-and-share lunch for the whole parish to celebrate our Centenary and the conclusion of the mission, taking place at our other hall, St Peter’s Catholic Centre on Front Lane in Cranham, from 1pm on Sunday 8th October.
Our Mission page now has a full programme for the week.
