Preparing to open our Church Doors
Fr Graham • June 12, 2020
Helping us to prepare for opening Our Church
Dear Brothers and Sisters of OLQP
Open Church Doors - Questionaire
Return your Completed Questionnaire Here
Many of you will have heard recently of the Government's outline of the easing of lockdown. It is good that this includes the possible re-opening of Church buildings for private prayer. I am sure this brings a great deal of joy to many of you that we will be able to pray in front of and to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
However, the opening of our buildings is not an easy step to take as there are many tasks that need to be completed and provision made before we are given permission to open. Sadly, it is not just about opening the doors all day. So things will not be able to go back to normal yet.
We have been working hard, even before this announcement, to prepare for this moment and we have much of the PPE in place already and have been preparing the buildings for access with self-distancing in mind as well as movement around the buildings or areas we are making accessible. We still need to complete a full risk assessment and submit our intentions to the diocese for approval before Bishop Richard permits us to go ahead. So you can see, given the short timescale we have received, time is of the essence.
I am writing to inform you of this and to ask for your help.
There are TWO key conditions that must be in place before we can open. We need volunteers to STEWARD the buildings while they are open and also volunteers to CLEAN the areas that have been used. This is to ensure everyone's safety.
I enclose a volunteer questionnaire. Please can you consider if you can help in any way. If you are vulnerable or belong to the vulnerable groups that are listed then please do not volunteer. We do not want to put anyone at risk. Stewards and cleaners will be given guidelines and all the equipment and PPE they need. You will not be working alone. It will also be helpful if you can state on the form if you have a current DBS certificate either through the diocese or through your work.
Please do not return these forms to me. Please can you return them to: the appropriate venues:
Teresa (St Peter's)
Fran (Christ the King)
Sr Patrick (The Towers)
Or You can use the upload link here
Complete the contact form and attach the completed questionnaire to it before you send
I am grateful to Teresa, Fran and Sr Patrick for agreeing to be the contact for their respective communities and indeed for all who have helped to get us this far.
Some parishes in our deanery will not be opening all of their buildings and many only for a couple of hours one day a week. I sincerely hope that we can open all our churches but this will depend upon volunteers for stewards and cleaning. We can start small and then build up if things go well. This will be a preparation for the public celebration of Mass and prayer in the future. Perhaps we can start with opening for a few hours over a weekend?
Once we have your name and availability we will begin to see our options and then proceed to seek permission. I hope we will have more information about this over the weekend with a view of starting as soon as possible.
Please commit this to your prayer and especially to the novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary that starts tonight.
God bless you
Fr Graham
O God, eternal and loving Shepherd, we bless and thank you for the appointment of your servant, Stephen, to our Diocese of Arundel and Brighton. May your Holy Spirit grace him with a spirit of counsel and fortitude, a spirit of knowledge and piety, so that he may gently and courageously sanctify, teach and govern the Church of Arundel and Brighton as we work together to build up the kingdom of heaven. May he be a shepherd after your own heart, who, with compassion and wise discernment, will care for and lead your people with the joy of the Gospel. Through Christ our Lord. Amen Fr Stephen Wang will be installed as the sixth Bishop of Arundel & Brighton on Monday 19 October at 12 noon. The Mass of Episcopal Ordination, which takes place on the Feast of St Philip Howard, will include invited representatives from across our community of faith and will be livestreamed from Arundel Cathedral. Bishop Stephen will celebrate a special Mass of Welcome for people across our Diocese at Worth Abbey near Crawley on Saturday 24 October at 11.30am. Further details will be announced in due course.
It is difficult being a "watchman" or sentry. It is isolating being in a position where it is better to see at a distance. It comes with dangers and the need for vigilance means that the darkest moments of the night are the most important to be alert. Being "faithful to Christ" is like being a sentry, having the long term view of eternal life and seeing the dangers that might threaten it. The whole Church, every disciple, is called to live in such a way - in the world but not of the world. The revived assisted suicide bill (Lauren Edwards), brought back to Parliament for a second reading on 11 September (even though it failed in the last session), is such a danger. It has consequences for the here and now and for the future. The prophet Ezekiel describes the responsibility and consequences for speaking the truth to others concerning following a false way. The psalmist pleads that we do not harden our hearts. Jesus insists that it is the responsibility of the whole church, not just the clergy or religious, to give "evidence" of the truth. The consequences are not just about loss and gain of life but of souls for eternal life. Some might protest that to do the kind thing is to do the loving thing. But, "love does no wrong to a neighbour." It is a misconception to think that love allows anything to happen. Saint Augustine's "Love and do what you will" demands to understand what true love is. God is love. It is in Christ that we have true freedom. With my prayer for every one of you. God bless you. Fr Graham
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