St Joan of Arc, Farnham, Surrey Prayer Activities

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 9.35am before the 10am Mass. Adoration usually also takes place during Prayer Hour (see below).

Small Groups

“Life in the Spirit” Prayer Group meets on Thursday evenings 8.00-9.15pm in the Foyer of the Parish Centre with the exception of the first Thursday each month when we hold a Prayer Hour in the Church.

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.)

Alpha From time to time we run an Alpha course in the Parish. The Alpha course is a ten week practical introduction to the Christian faith. It is designed primarily for non-churchgoers and those who have recently become Christians. It is also an opportunity for churchgoers to renew their faith and learn how to share it with others. The format is a simple shared meal followed by a video presentation and small discussion groups. For information on courses please 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 afor further details.

Prayer Hour

First Thursday of each month 8.00-9.00pm in St Joan’s Church. Format varies but usually includes Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, meditative songs or “Taize” style music , intercessory prayers, scripture reading and “Lectio Divina” a time of quiet Scripture meditation. More information at http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Resources/Scripture/Lectio-Divina.pdf

Meditation Group

Meditation Group meets weekly, except Bank Holidays, in the Foyer of St Joan’s Centre every Monday from 10.30am to 11.15am.

Music in the Church

"Come let us sing for joy to the Lord:
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song".
(Ps:95)

Scripture is full of reference to singing, trumpets, harps, tambourines and other instruments. It has been said that, "He or she who sings, prays twice".

The music of the liturgy puts the words of scripture on our lips and, once on our lips the Word can take root in our hearts. By singing 'Glory to God', 'Alleluia', and 'Lamb of God' week after week and year after year, these words become an expression of our faith.

Music also shapes our calendar. Christmas means carols; Good Friday is the beautifully plaintive 'O my people', Easter is the glorious 'Jesus Christ is risen today'. All the feasts and seasons have their own musical signposts and shape the Christian year, so when we hear a song our memories are aroused and we can celebrate with a shared awareness.

There are now fifteen people involved (5 musicians and 10 singers) with extra people at Christmas and Easter. The Music Group provides music and leads singing at the Sunday 9.15 Mass and Alastair Emblem leads a guitar group at the 6.30pm Saturday Mass on the second Saturday of the month. The hymns at the 11.15am Sunday Mass are backed by the organ. The contact for the organ music is Josie Dobson. There is always a need for more musicians and singers, even occasional help would be welcome, especially for special services such as Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

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 103,000 calls since it opened in December 1989. In Continual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, volunteers pray with a telephone beside them. Not counselling, advice giving or asking questions, but totally trusting in the power of Prayer in Jesus' Name." For more details: http://www.catholic-bible-school.org/sos-prayerline.html

Healing Ministry

There is a Prayer Ministry available in the Blessed Sacrament chapel after every Mass on the second weekend of the month, this includes Saturday 6.00pm Mass. Please come if you want to receive prayer for yourselves, friends or relatives. Two 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 Thursday 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.
http://www.catholicchurch.org.uk/ccb/content/download/3999/27399/file/Gift%20of%20Scripture%

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”)

2007 marked the 40th anniversary of this important movement in the Catholic Church, which has refreshed the spiritual life of an estimated 100 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 the Pope calls "a particular gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church." http://www.iccrs.org/. For opportunities to find out more, come to the Thursday 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.

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://www.catholicchurch.org.uk/ccb/catholic_church/prayer_and_spirituality

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/

Find a new sense of fulfilment, a fresh energy and joy of living: http://www.life4seekers.co.uk/

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.

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19 Tilford Road, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 8DJ Tel: 01252 716711 Email: stjoansoffice@btinternet.com sitemap