Deacon Simon Writes: 18th July 2026
Webmaster • July 18, 2026
In this week’s first reading we hear that God is “sovereign in strength but you judge with mildness, and with great forbearance you govern us; for you have power to act whenever you choose.” Unfortunately, too many world leaders have ‘power to act’ whenever they choose, and seem to have forgotten that power should be balanced with great forbearance and mild judgement. And when two groups, that have power to act, confront each other the result is deadlock. Russia – Ukraine; USA – Iran; the Sudan civil war; the Somalian conflict with Al-Shabaab; have all reached a point where the protagonists are locked in strategic stalemates, characterized by deeply entrenched frontlines, wars of attrition, or tense, unresolved ceasefires.
The same situation can affect our personal lives. Individuals, families and ethnic groups can also get locked into a standoff, neither willing to resolve the conflict between them.
Each conflict is complicated and unique and so will require a unique and complicated solution but, as our first reading points out, that solution will need three ingredients, kindness, hope and repentance.
Blessings and with my prayers for peace in our families.
Deacon Simon
On Monday (bank holiday), please note mass at The Towers is at 10.00am
Next Saturday ( 5th September ), Adur Valley Catenians will be serving Pimms and Canapes after the 5.30pm mass at The Towers. All are welcome.
Next Friday ( 4th September ) the mass at 9.30am will be offered for Parish Prayer Intentions. Please continue to place any prayer intentions in the boxes at St Peter's (in the Divine Mercy Chapel) and CTK (in the porch). This is followed by Adoration and Confessions, and at the same time, our Mothers Prayers group will meet in the Parish Room (10-11am). Finally, at 4pm, there are prayers for peace in the Divine Mercy chapel.
We will be welcoming Fr John Boles to our parish this weekend. He is the Regional Director of Columban Missionaries Britain, chosen as this year's Diocesan annual Mission appeal. There will be a second collection for their work. To read more, see their website: www.columbans.co.uk
We welcome Fr John Boles, Regional Director of Columban Missionaries Britain, chosen as this year’s Diocesan annual Mission Appeal. There will be a second collection for their work. To read more, see their website: www.columbans.co.uk .
In a week when we remember the anniversary of the Shoreham air crash we are confronted with the tragic deaths of three members of one family in the sea off Shoreham Fort: Hassan, Zeina and Sara. Life is fragile and a gift to be treasured. Every moment is precious. It can all change so quickly. God is the giver of the gift. It is to Him that we look for strength, mercy, help and love. The life of faith is no less vulnerable and fragile. One moment Saint Peter gets it right and then he gets it wrong. In the gospel for this week Peter speaks with insight and with a revelation of knowledge from the Father that Jesus "is the Christ, the Son of the living God". The following verses (next week), with Peter basking in the elation of this spiritual gift, he plunders from the height of presumption after accusing Jesus that God has got it wrong! Jesus gives Peter and us the reason for his downfall: setting his mind of the "things of man" not of God. Jesus does not avoid suffering as He knows we cannot avoid it. In fact, Jesus uses suffering as a means to save us. He is not a remote or impervious God. He shares the fullness of our humanity that we might share in His divinity and have a life beyond death. We are not untouched by another's pain either. So we do more than remember or say empty phrases - we pray. We pray for all who suffer and have died. That is what God would have us do. With my prayer for you all. God bless you. Fr Graham
Do you have an old mobile phone surplus to your needs? If so, please consider donating it to a parish in Ghana. My close friend Fr. Gregory from Ghana is in the UK supplying holiday cover. He re-purposes mobile phones, giving them to people in remote parts of Ghana so they can make contact in an emergency, (spiritual or physical). Battery condition does not matter but they should have the sim card removed and be reset to factory default which wipes them clean, (I can help with this). I can collect them from St. Peters Shoreham, Christ the King Steyning or The Towers between now and August 30th (please note change of date). Many thanks Deacon Simon
26 September, 10am-6.30pm, St Wilfrid’s Church, Burgess Hill, RH15 9EN (Cost: £20). Young Adults (18-35) are invited to a jam-packed day of prayer, formation, friendship, and fun - praying to discover true peace within ourselves, to become peacemakers in the world around us, and to be renewed with an apostolic fire burning brightly within our hearts. Young Adults' Retreat Day (26-Sep-2026) · ChurchSuite Events
Calling all mothers, including spiritual mothers, godmothers and grandmothers. You are invited to come and pray for our children. First Friday of the Month, 10.00-11.00am, in the Parish Room at St Peter’s.
There will be two opportunities to attend the Deanery Marriage Preparation Course for those intending to be married in a Catholic Church in 2027 as follows. The first opportunity will be in November 2026, the first four Thursday evenings, 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th starting at 7pm - locations to be finalised in September. The second opportunity will be two consecutive Saturdays in 2027, 30th Jan, 6 th Feb. A morning session 10am-12 noon, and an afternoon session, 1pm-3pm on both days; locations to be finalised in September. Full attendance, at the four sessions that constitute each individual course, is required before permission to marry can be granted. Application forms will be made available in September when the locations have been finalised. Deacon Simon Wright, Worthing Deanery Marriage Preparation Coordinator.