Church mouse Update 26th July 2026

Webmaster • July 25, 2026

The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . .


A slightly less busy time around The Presbytery this week as the final schools start their summer holidays (what a difference in traffic on the roads!) . . . . .


After celebrating our Masses on Sunday morning Fr D went on to celebrate the baptism of three infants at 12.15. These were the final families from the Parish who had completed the course of preparation for Infant Baptism this academic year. The Baptism Preparation Programme will recommence in the Autumn with eventual baptisms taking place on Sunday 22 nd November (Christ the King). All children (under school age) from practicing families the Parish need to undertake the course of preparation before a celebration of Baptism can take place - the Application Form for attending a course is available from the Parish Office during normal office hours.


On Monday evening Fr D met with a young couple from a previous parish whom he is to celebrate marriage for in the latter part of August. This will be the third out of four children from the family where he has been asked to celebrate the marriage. One of those occasions when a priest realises how close he has become to a family . . . . . . .


Tuesday morning, having celebrated Morning Prayer, Mass, and Exposition, Fr D went off in the car down to the diocesan offices in Crawley. He has completed another two of his marriage cases and has called a judgement session with the two other judges for the beginning of August when a decision concerning the cases will be rendered. He also began work on another case which he’d like to get ready for a judgement before he goes off on holiday. In the evening he almost didn’t know what to do with himself since his diary said that he didn’t have a meeting to go to!


After Morning Prayer and Mass on Wednesday Fr D had the electrical engineers completing the final bits of ‘phase two’ of the refurbished lighting system in the church, as well as the fencing contractor to look at the next stage of the fencing project around our properties. The biggest section (around the car park) was completed last August and now the completion of the project will involve a short run along the ‘Leg of Mutton’ field, then down the dividing line between The Presbytery and the Sisters next door, and finally a run delineating the fire exit route down the back of the Parish Centre.


On Friday Fr D was meeting with the widow of a parishioner whose requiem we will celebrate next week and then had a ‘House Blessing’ to celebrate . . 

Cobham Foodbank

By Webmaster • July 25, 2026
OUR PARISH SUPPORTS THE COBHAM AREA FOODBANK Please can you help local people in crisis by purchasing items on the list below and placing them in the Foodbank’s collection point in the narthex when to come to Mass at the weekend? 

FIRST RECONCILIATION/EUCHARIST 2026/27

By Webmaster • July 25, 2026
Application Forms for next year’s 1st Reconciliation and 1st Eucharist Programmes are now available from the Sacristy after our weekend Masses. Prospective candidates: • need to have been born before 31st August 2019, • be in at least Year 3 when schools re-commence in September, • and, of course, be attending our weekend and Holy Day Masses along with their family. It is very difficult to imagine that someone who is not presently attending our community on a regular basis could possibly be prepared and ready to receive a sacrament within the next year. Parents only (not grandparents or friends) should collect the application which needs to be completed and returned by 18.00 on 31st August 2026 (sorry, no late applications can be accepted).

FR STEPHEN WANG

By Webmaster • July 25, 2026
FR STEPHEN WANG WILL BE INSTALLED AS THE SIXTH BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE 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 diocesan family of faith and be livestreamed from Arundel Cathedral. Bishop Stephen will also celebrate a special Mass of Welcome for people across our Diocese at Worth Abbey near Crawley, on Saturday 24 October at 11.30; further details will be announced soon.

DREAMS FOR HOPE

By Webmaster • July 25, 2026
DREAMS FOR HOPE - a local charity run by one of our parishioners (Jim Vizzini), provides beds for children in and around the Borough of Elmbridge who are suffering from bed poverty. Our local Waitrose in Cobham have chosen his charity to take part in the Community Matters Scheme, one of only three charities to have been picked. The scheme runs from July 1st to September 30th and you can help by dropping a token into the "Dreams For Hope" box when you exit the store.

St Alphonsus Liguouri . . .

By Webmaster • July 25, 2026
St Alphonsus was born in 1696 in Naples the oldest of seven children. His father was a naval officer and Captain of the Royal Galleys, and his mother came from Spanish descent. As a boy of great aptitude, he picked up many things very quickly. Alphonsus did not attend school; rather, he was taught by tutors at home. As grew into a young man, Alphonsus developed an inclination for opera. He was much more interested in listening to the music than watching the performance. Alphonsus would often take his spectacles off, aiding his myopic eyes, in order to merely listen. While theatre in Naples was in a relatively good state, he developed an ascetic aversion to perhaps what he viewed as gaudy displays, strongly refusing participation in a parlour play. At the age of 16, he became a doctor of civil law in 1713, though by law, 20 was the set age. It is said in his 8 years as a lawyer, he never lost a case. He entered the seminary and was ordained in 1726. Soon becoming a much sought after preacher and confessor, his sermons were simple and well organised appealing to all people. However, his time as a diocesan priest was short-lived: in 1732, he went to Scala to found the Redemptorists, a preaching order.  He died in 1787, and was canonized in 1839.

The wisdom of the fathers . . ..(17th Sunday Year A)

By Webmaster • July 25, 2026
Today’s Gospel reading is a continuation of Jesus’ teachings about the Kingdom of God, described through several parables. When we first hear the parable of the man who buys a field with a hidden treasure, we may wonder about his ethics. Isn’t he, in effect, stealing the wealth from the previous owner? In Palestine, during this period, it was common for people to bury their valuables to protect them, especially in times of war. If they weren’t able to recover them later, others would benefit from them. Rabbis debated who was entitled to the treasure when it was found. The parable here assumes the finder, rather than the field’s previous owner, is entitled to it. In the second parable, “the pearl of great price,” the finder was actively seeking something valuable rather than stumbling upon it like the person who found the treasure in the field. Finally, in the third parable, the fishermen are looking for what is good and throwing away what doesn’t serve them. All three parables emphasize the value of what is found and the focused response of the “finders,” whether the person was actively seeking a treasure or stumbled upon it. The point Jesus is making is that the Kingdom of God is worth everything we have and more. A wise person with will sacrifice anything and everything to acquire the Kingdom. What we receive in return will far surpass what we have to give up or renounce.  The passage ends with Jesus pointing out to the disciples that there is treasure in both old and new teachings. The old teachings are the Hebrew Scriptures (aka the Old Testament), and the new teachings are from Jesus’ life. Jesus doesn’t surpass the old, but he upholds the wisdom found there, even while he re-interprets some of the Jewish laws. Questions of the week • When have you sold/given up something valuable so that you could attain something more worthwhile? • Think of some “old” treasure of faith (perhaps a Bible verse, a scripture story, some wisdom from a parent or elder) that you still hang onto.

DEANERY NEWSLETTER

By Webmaster • July 25, 2026
The new edition of our Deanery newsletter is now available at the back of Church/on the Parish website (www.sacredheartcobham.org.uk) and is an invitation to celebrate so many wonderful things that have been going on in the Deanery. There's also an account of the conversations that clergy have been having about pastoral provision in the times to come and some of the important principles that have been at the heart of their discussions. Please do have a read, and, as we look forward to welcoming Fr Stephen Wang as our new Bishop, let’s remember Archbishop Richard’s constant refrain that ‘all is to be rooted in prayer.’ VIEW THE FULL NEWSLETTER HERE

THE BETHLEHEM NATIVITY GROUP

By Webmaster • July 25, 2026
A missionary from Bethlehem, The Holy Land, will visit us once again on the weekend of 25th - 26th July to briefly talk about the Holy Land and sell religious articles made out of Olive Wood to help and support the poor Christian families, any help you could give to them will be highly appreciated.

FR STEPHEN WANG AS OUR NEW BISHOP

By Webmaster • July 18, 2026
PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE DIOCESE HAVE WELCOMED THE APPOINTMENT OF FR STEPHEN WANG AS OUR NEW BISHOP - Speaking about the appointment earlier this week, Fr Stephen, expressed “gratitude, trepidation, excitement and curiosity.” In an interview, Fr Stephen highlighted the importance of getting to know the people of the Diocese: “I’m sure there’ll be a lot of time and energy to put into meeting people and getting to know them,” he said, “that will be the most important thing, along with praying with them, learning what’s going on for them, and them getting to know me as their bishop, and their friend as well.”

St James . . .

By Webmaster • July 18, 2026
James was the brother of John the Evangelist. The two were called by Jesus as they were working with their father in a fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had already called another pair of brothers from a similar occupation: Peter and Andrew. “He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.” James was one of the favoured who had the privilege of witnessing the Transfiguration, the raising to life of the daughter of Jairus, and the agony in the garden of Gethsemane.  On another occasion, James and John gave evidence that the nickname Jesus gave them - “sons of thunder” - was an apt one. The Samaritans would not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to hated Jerusalem. “When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, ‘Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?’ Jesus turned and rebuked them…” James was apparently the first of the apostles to be martyred. “About that time King Herod laid hands upon some members of the church to harm them. He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword, and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he proceeded to arrest Peter also. ”This James, sometimes called James the Greater, is not to be confused with James the Lesser or with the author of the Letter of James and the leader of the Jerusalem community.