Prayer for Vocations

Father of all,
in the name of Jesus Christ
who came not to be served but to serve,
grant us the grace of many new vocations to the priesthood
in our diocese.

Give us men after your own heart who,
following the example of the Good Shepherd himself,
are willing to joyfully lay down their lives in your service
and for your glory.

We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Our Father ... Hail Mary ... Glory be ...

The Diocesan Vocation Director is Fr Terry Martin who may be contacted at: vocations@dabnet.org vocations@dabnet.org

 
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament takes place every Saturday morning at 9.25 am before the 10am Mass,and at other times as indicated in the weekly bulletin. Adoration usually also takes place before and during Healing Services (see below).

Small Groups

“Life in the Spirit” Prayer Group (see separate website www.stjoanlits.webstarts.com ) meets on Wednesday evenings 8.00-9.15pm in the Main Hall of the Parish Centre with the exception of the first Wednesday each month when we hold a Healing Service in the Church 8:00 - 9:00pm. (Adoration from 7:30).

The Group has no formal "membership" but is open to anyone who needs prayer support or who wishes to develop their prayer life and spirituality. There is no set format, but the meeting will usually start with a time of praise and worship - including contemporary praise songs. There may be readings of short extracts of Scripture, followed by a time of silent meditation. We usually pray for Spiritual Renewal (see below) and a fresh infilling of the gifts of the Holy Spirit; and we always set aside time to pray for the needs of those present, their families and friends, the Parish, other issues of concern, and healing ministry.

The Prayer Group at St Joan's was started in the 1970's by a former Parish Priest, Fr Albon. After his untimely death, the Group continued to meet on a fairly regular basis in Parishioners' homes. In 1991, Parish Priest Fr Jim Martin encouraged the Group to meet on Church premises once again, so that prayer can be seen at the centre of Parish Life.

Over the years, the group has arranged several "Life in the Spirit" Seminars for spiritual renewal as well as Alpha courses, "CaFE" courses, and Prayer Services for the Parish. These will be announced in the weekly bulletins. See item below on “Renewal in the Holy Spirit”. (For further details on prayer group email Alastair Emblem.)

CaFE "Catholic Faith Exploration". CaFE courses are a five or six week series of talks on DVD examining different aspects of the Catholic Faith in a relaxed cafe-style setting. These are run in The Parish Centre from time to time, or in house group meetings. For information please email Alastair Emblem.

Life in the Spirit Seminars A course on renewal in the Holy Spirit, run from time to time in the Parish. For information please email Alastair Emblem.

Mother's Prayer Group

Young and not-so-young mothers meet on Friday morning after 10am Mass each week. Contact Sheila Thorp.
Click here for Mother's Prayer website http://mphost.org.uk/joomla/

Advent & Lenten Groups

Several daytime and evening groups meet in the Parish for the 4 weeks of Advent and the 5 weeks of Lent each year. The meetings include reflection and prayer on the Mass readings of each Sunday in the season.
Details will be given in advance in the St Joan's newsletter and there will be lists at the back of the Church to sign up for different groups. The Thursday evening Prayer Group hosts one group in St. Joan's Centre. Please contact Joan Maynard for further details.

Angelus

You may have heard the bell of St Joan's ringing at midday and 6pm and wondered what it signifies. There is an old tradition of saying "the Angelus" at these times, and first thing in the morning. This is a prayer in memory of the Incarnation - God becoming man as Jesus Christ - accompanied by three Hail Marys. Even if you don't know the exact prayers, why not stop and say a quick prayer of thanks to God when you hear the bell. The Angelus prayers are at http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Prayer/Traditional/Mary.shtml#Angelus

Holy Rosary

A popular prayer tradition combining meditation on the main events of Christ's life with praying the Our Father, Hail Mary, and other prayers. A group meets to pray the Rosary together in St Joan's on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday evening of every month at 7.30pm.
A simple guide to the Rosary can be downloaded from http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Prayer/Devotions/Rosary.html

Prayer Requests

There is a Petition Book for prayer requests on a table at the back of the church. Parishioners are welcome to enter prayer petitions at any time.

If you would like prayers for yourself or your loved ones another option is to phone the Catholic SOS Prayer Line on 01243 377331 from 7.30pm – midnight every night. This line has handled over 128,000 calls since it opened in December 1989. In Continual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, volunteers pray with a telephone beside them. Not counseling, advice giving or asking questions, but totally trusting in the power of Prayer in Jesus' Name." SOS prayer line new address is: http://www.catholic-bible-school.org/sos/

Healing Ministry

On the first Wednesday of each month there is a Healing Service in St Joan's Church 8.00-9.00pm (with Adoration from 7.30). This is a non-liturgical service with Scripture, reflections, music, and prayer for healing of body, mind, emotions and spirit. There is also an opportunity for individual healing prayer from ministry teams.

There is also Prayer Ministry available in Our Lady's chapel after every Mass on the second Sunday of the month,

Please come to any of these if you want to receive prayer for yourselves, friends or relatives. Trained members of the Parish Prayer Team are available to pray with you. Your prayer requests are private and confidential. There are no past or present emotional, physical or spiritual problems the Lord cannot heal. He commanded us to lay hands on the sick and he promised that they would be healed. We are so blessed to have this ministry available in our church and many people have already greatly benefited from it.

Healing prayer is also available in the Wednesday evening Prayer Group meeting.

Chaplaincy

The hospital Chaplaincy no longer receives a list of Catholic patients. Ensure that a request is made either in the parish or at the hospital

We provide visitors to members of the parish who are inpatients at Farnham Hospital. Please contact Sheila Potter by e-mail to let her know the names of parishioners who are in Farnham Hospital. It is especially important to keep in contact with members of our parish family when they are not able to come to Mass.

Prayer Connections

Bible Study

The Catholic Church actively encourages reading, study and prayerful meditation of the Bible.
https://stpaulcenter.com/studies/lesson/lesson-one-how-a-catholic-starts-to-read-the-bible

Click on the following link to go to an on-line Bible search. http://bible.gospelcom.net/

An excellent guide to daily Bible reading, with commentary and prayer, can be found in the Catholic publication "Bible Alive", the leading monthly devotional magazine for Catholics in the UK with over 40,000 subscribers. For subscription details, click on the following link: http://www.biblealive.co.uk/

This Catholic website has excellent meditations on daily Scripture readings: http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings/index.html

The Catholic Bible School is near Chichester and has courses and resources to help you develop your appreciation of the Bible. Click on this link: http://www.catholic-bible-school.org/

Renewal in the Holy Spirit (“Charismatic Renewal”)

2017 marked the 50th anniversary of this important movement in the Catholic Church, which has refreshed the spiritual life of an estimated 120 million Catholics worldwide. Some people still regard it with some suspicion, yet Charismatic Renewal is officially recognised under Canon law, and accepted by the Church Authorities as a valid work of the Holy Spirit and a source of great blessing for individuals and the Church as a whole. Follow this link for an explanation of what Pope Francis calls a "current of grace" for the whole Church: " http://www.iccrs.org/. For opportunities to find out more, come to the Wednesday evening Prayer Group or contact Cor et Lumen Christi a Catholic charismatic community in Chertsey http://www.coretlumenchristi.org/ or the Catholic Bible School near Chichester http://www.catholic-bible-school.org/ who both run training courses in Catholic spiritual development. There is also a local monthly charismatic meeting "Alton Day of Renewal" - for details go to http://www.altonrenewal.com .

The Good News Magazine is the magazine of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the British Isles. It is available online at http://www.ccr.org.uk/

Other Prayer Links

Prayer and Spirituality: http://catholicfaith.org.uk/Home/Retreats/Prayer

Traditional Prayers: http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Prayer/Traditional/index.shtml

Praying each day: http://www.prayingeachday.org/

Daily prayer online: http://sacredspace.ie/

Daily prayer to use on your MP3 player: http://www.pray-as-you-go.org/

The Separated and Divorced Group

This is an informal group which serves as a forum for swapping information and experiences, as well as providing mutual support. We maintain close links with the Guildford branch of the Association for Separated Catholics which frequently has interesting speakers.

Please look for notices in the St Joan's newsletter and feel free to e-mail Madeleine Stanford if you have any questions or would like to be involved.

Bereavement and Loss

We have a "bereavement Befriender" in the Parish. If you have lost a loved one in the past or present and feel the need to talk to someone please email Lily Cloughley. We can also do some shopping for you.

Bereavement can be experienced in any of the following situations: Death of Spouse, family member or close friend; Separation, Divorce, Miscarriage, Serious Illness, Loss of job, Retirement, Rejection, moving house etc.