PARISH CHRISTMAS BAZAAR 2026, Will be taking place on Saturday 5th December 10.00 and 13.00.

After Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on a Tuesday each week (about 11.00) a small group of parishioners spend an hour cleaning the church so that it is ready for everyone else at the weekend. Owing to age some have had to give up and we are in need of refreshing the team. If you think that you could spare an hour a week to help with this important parish ministry please get in touch with Sarah in the Parish Office as soon as possible. Thank you.

Born in what is now Ukraine, he went to work in Wilno, becming a Basilian monk, then a priest, and soon was well known as a preacher and an ascetic. At a young age, becoming both archbishop of Polotsk, he faced a very difficult situation. Most monks, fearing interference in liturgy and customs, did not want union with Rome, but through synods, catechetical instruction, reforming clergy, and his personal example, Josaphat was successful in winning the greater part of the Orthodox in that area to union. But the next year a dissident hierarchy was set up, and his opposite number spread the accusation that St Josaphat had “gone Latin” and that all his people would have to do the same. Despite warnings, he went to Vitebsk, still a hotbed of trouble. Attempts were made to foment trouble and drive him from the diocese - a priest was sent to shout insults to him from his own courtyard. When Josaphat had him removed and shut up in his house, the opposition rang the town hall bell, and a mob assembled, the priest was released, but members of mob broke into the bishop's home. Josaphat was struck with a halberd, then shot, and his body thrown into the river. It was later recovered and is now buried in St Peters, Rome. He was the first saint of the Easter Church to be canonized by Rome

Our annual Blessing of Graves will take place on Sunday 8th November  at 16.00 (Cobham Cemetery) and will be followed by tea and scones in the Parish Centre.

The Church is composed of all the faithful, living upon the earth, and those who have gone before us. The latter includes the saints in heaven and those faithful souls who are being purified in Purgatory. Just as on 1st November we honour those who are with God, on 2nd November Catholics celebrate the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, also known as All Saints Day On this day we honour them for their fidelity in life, as well as pray for them since they are being purified before entering into the Presence of God. As Revelation 21:27 says of the Heavenly Jerusalem, “… nothing unclean shall enter in.” Next Sunday we will be celebrating the ‘Blessing of Graves’ for our loved ones who are interred in Cobham Cemetery.

The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . Due to the winds that were expected last Saturday evening Fr D was encouraged to take an earlier plane home. The landing at Gatwick was certainly a little more bumpy than usual and he was back in the house around 18.45, and emptying his clothes out of the boxes on wheels and into the two white boxes in the utility room . . . . . Before he went off on holiday Fr D had arranged with the doctor to have three inoculations on Monday morning, in the event when he arrived they only wanted to allow two so he’s still got another to have at some point in the next couple of months! Whilst there they wanted to take yet another bottle of blood (to check that a recent different tablet was not affecting his kidneys) as well! By the time he left he was feeling a bit like a pin cushion. He was due to be having some eye tests at Epsom hospital in the afternoon but whilst he was out at the doctors a message was left on the answerphone to say that that had been cancelled until 2 nd December! By this point he’s had quite enough of medics for a while at least. After Morning Prayers, Mass, and Exposition on Tuesday Fr D had a telephone appointment with the diabetic nurse - this fortunately was over very quickly and he doesn’t have another for six months. In the afternoon he began working on a solution to the programme that he uses for the newsletter each week now having been discontinued by Microsoft. He had already invested in a ‘stand alone’ version which is separate from 365 and will work for our needs. This he loaded to his computer and began work on this week’s newsletter happily. After Morning Prayer and Mass on Wednesday Fr D continued work on the newsletter until lunchtime when he was meeting Fr Ruslan at one of Cobham’s hostelry's because their normal lunch venue in Esher was having a makeover. Very nice venue but a bit noisy because of it’s low ceilings. Fr Ruslan was able to give Fr D a first hand account of the new bishop’s ordination (he did not attempt to tune in to it whilst he was on holiday!). Fr D did not go down to the Diocesan Offices this week because it was half term and his secretary down in Crawley was on ‘granny duty.’ He did, however, write a rather acerbic email to the finance department asking what as happening about our two projects that he put in the forms for at the beginning of August? He had negotiated a £1,000 discount from one contractor and the other contractor is now going to have difficulties in getting the other project ready for Christmas! . . . .

The musings of one of God’s smallest creatures on events in and around the Parish over the past seven days . . . . After his holiday away Fr D has now returned back to us, we thank Canon Tony for ‘stepping into the breach’ and looking after us over the past few weeks . . . . Fr D actually arrived home about 21.30 on Saturday evening. First thing he did, of course, was to make himself a pot of tea (which spread to two pots of tea pretty quickly). He opened the ‘box on wheels’ and sorted the contents into four piles: ‘dark,’ ‘coloured,’ ‘ w h i t e , ’ a n d ‘ u n u s e d , ’ before taking one pile upstairs again and then taking the other three into the utility room and playing with the big white boxes! Afterwards he had a sandwich and sorted out the various bits of mail that had gathered whilst he was away ready to look at on Tuesday morning. Then he took himself off to bed, having had a long day travelling. Fr D says that he had a really lovely time whilst away in Crete, it is one of his favourite Greek islands (he likes holidays on the Greek islands, so long as the island has it’s own airport - he has no intention of getting on a Greek ferry!). He finds the island people very welcoming and always delighted that he has a little Greek to show willing when he talks to them - his restaurant speaking is quite passable (certainly to the extent that he manages to get what he wants!). Whilst away he stays in a villa with his friends and they always have one with its own pool. Typically he spends the morning saying his prayers (along with a pot of tea) before the first swim of the day, any shopping required then gets done to include the fresh-baked bread that will be the base of lunch (cheese, tomatoes, olive paste, hummus, kataifi cake). In the afternoon there is either more time around the pool (Fr D hiding from the sun and reading under a shade) or a trip out to visit/see something. Eventually another swim and then getting ready to go out for the evening meal. Fr D has got quite fond of Greek island food (except for fish) which he has discovered bears little resemblance to what Greek restaurants here in the UK serve up!  There are not all that many Catholic churches on the islands compared with Greek Orthodox churches on nearly every street corner and square. However the group manage to get to Mass, usually on Saturday evening before continuing on to a restaurant. Fr D finds that being in the congregation is a sobering experience, particularly when the Mass is celebrated in Greek (or sometimes in very exotic English!). There is always an interesting selection of ‘ex-pats at Mass, but Fr D does not ever tell them that he is a priest!

NEXT INFANT BAPTISM PROGRAMME - Our next preparation programme for the Baptism of Infants will be taking place very soon: Session A 19.30 05.11.26; Rite of Welcome (normal Mass you attend) 7/8.11.26; Session B 19.30 12.11.26; Session C 19.30 19.11.26 the completed programme will lead to the celebration of Baptism on Sunday 22.11.26, 12.15 Parents who are looking to join this course need to collect an application form from the Parish Office and get it returned to be registered on the course well before it begins. The next course of preparation is: Session A 19.30 07.01.27; Rite of Welcome (normal Mass you attend) 9/10.01.27; Session B 19.30 21.01.27; Session C 19.30 04.02.27

Traditionally the month of November is dedicated to the Holy Souls in purgatory. The Church commemorates all her faithful children who have departed this life, but have not yet attained the joys of heaven. St Paul warns us that we must not be ignorant concerning the dead, nor sorrowful, “even as others who have no hope . . . . for the Lord himself shall come down from heaven . . . . and the dead who are in Christ shall rise.” The Church has always taught us to pray for those who have gone into eternity. Even in the Old Testament prayers and alms were offered for the souls of the dead by those who thought “well and religiously concerning the resurrection.” It was believed that “they who had fallen asleep with godliness had great grace laid up for them” and that “it is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.” We know that a defiled soul cannot enter into heaven.