Serving the Parish
Our aim at St. Augustine's is active participation in our parish worship by as many people as possible, each in their own distinctive way. These are the main ministries exercised as a service to the whole parish community:Catechists
St Augustine’s has a large group of dedicated catechists who are responsible for many aspects of parish life. On a rota basis, some lead the Children’s Liturgy during the first half of the Sunday 9.30 Mass, taking groups of children of different ages to our three meeting rooms for their own reflection on the Bible and prayer. Others are responsible for Baptism preparation for parents, for the 8-month First Communion programme and the 5-month Confirmation programme, for the R.C.I.A. process and for our annual Marriage Preparation Day. We are always looking for suitable catechists to join the various teams, and for others to develop a programme for young people at non-Catholic schools.Altar Servers (Guild of St. Stephen)
There are more than thirty servers at St Augustine's who help at our Sunday and weekday liturgies. Assisting at the altar is a great service to the Holy Mass and to all who attend, it brings one closer to the great Mystery of the Eucharist and to a better knowledge of the worship of the Church. At present we are recruiting new servers and invite applications.
There will be a special servers day in early December. On December 26th (St Stephen's Day) there is also a special mass and party to thank servers and we have a trip planned for servers in the spring as well as an opportunity to attend the annual Guild of St Stephen Servers' at Mass Westminster Cathedral.
If you are interested in serving please contact Paul Parsons on
paul.parsons@btinternet.com
Ministers of the Word (Readers)
Those who come forward to read the Scriptures at Mass have a central role in our worship. They speak God’s word to his people. Through them, God’s saving message given through the prophets, St Paul, and other writers, reaches us today and challenges our lives. If you were a reader in your previous parish and would like to continue this ministry here, please see one of the priests. There is a monthly rota prepared from our parish office. Each year on Bible Sunday in December, all of our Sunday readers are formally renewed in their commissioning.Lay Ministers of Holy Communion
At St Augustine’s, Communion under both kinds (under the form of bread and wine) is given at every Mass. This means that we need a large number of lay ministers who assist the priests and deacons to distribute the sacrament. Many of these ministers also take Holy Communion to our large number of sick and housebound parishioners each week, ideally from Mass itself. This ministry is through personal invitation from the parish priest, but if you were a commissioned minister in your last parish, and would like to continue here, please let us know.
Our Parish Choirs
ChoirsWe have four choirs in our parish, each of which would warmly welcome new singers and instrumentalists. Give your name to one of the priests or deacons if you are interested.
• Traditional Choir
The Traditional Choir sings at the 11.15 a.m. Mass on Sundays, leading the congregation in traditional hymns and simple settings of the Ordinary, as well as singing motets dating from the plainsong age up to the present day at the Presentation of the Gifts or Communion.
The choir practises every Wednesday evening at 8.00 in the church. Tenors and basses would be especially welcome!
• Music Group
The Music Group supports the 9.30am Parish Mass each Sunday morning, and a number of our parish liturgies throughout the year including the First Holy Communion Masses, and our Christmas and Easter celebrations. In supporting these liturgies, we seek to be as inclusive as possible, to nurture the sung prayer, and encourage the gathered community to express our faith in song.
At its best, music transforms liturgy into a dynamic celebration: available to all, excluding none – bringing God alive and kicking into the heart of our community. We strive to achieve this through our ministry here in our church. The group is blessed with a range (in age and ability!) of vocal and instrumental musicians prepared to make the commitment to a weekly practice, and to the various liturgies we are asked to support. I would like to take this opportunity of thanking the group for this commitment throughout the year – for their co-operation, patience and enthusiastic willingness to learn.
Anyone interested in joining our group can make contact with me after Mass, by telephone on TW 863728, or via e-mail at nicholas.pointer@btinternet.com.
• Taize
Taize Music Group leads the worship at St. Augustine’s on the FIRST Sunday of each month. The group meets at 5pm in the church to practise the Taize songs, before the 5.45pm Mass. After the Mass, there is a focused time of Prayer around the Cross with more Taize songs. The icon of the Cross is laid down and lit by a few candles and the meditative singing will continue while those who wish come up to the Cross to pray. You can make a gesture, such as placing your forehead on the wood of the Cross or you can just sit and stay close to Jesus. Feel free to light a candle to symbolize that “the light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it” (John 1:5).
A time of silence is followed by Prayers shared by parishioners, please feel free to speak the words of the Holy Spirit.
The Lord’s Prayer is said altogether, followed by a finale Blessing.
For more information please e-mail: taize@st-augustine.co.uk
For the last few years young adults from St. Augustine’s have been going to Taize in the summer.
Group with Brother Paulo in the middle of the picture.
If you are interested in going and visiting Taize please have a look at their website - http://www.taize.fr/en
• YOUTH
The Youth Band at St. Augustine’s Church, meets monthly on a Sunday afternoon to practice for the monthly 'Youth Mass' at the 5.45pm Sunday Mass. Young people lead the worship through song, the readings and bidding prayers. The annual National Youth Sunday in November celebrates the Youth in the Catholic Church, here at St. Augustine’s the youth utilise their many talents through artwork, drama and music during this Mass.
Youth social picnic
Some members of the band
The Band supports the Confirmation Candidates in their journey each year from late January until the end the June where the Bishop comes to celebrate their Confirmation Mass. The Band is open to all 'youthful ages', though it is aimed at young people in the last year of Primary School and until they go off onto University. Many of the young people come back to play and sing at the Christmas Eve Mass.
You don’t need to be able to play an instrument, though we are always looking for new players. Come along to sing and socialise (we often have tea n cake during practise!) with the youth at St. Augustine’s and join in with the contemporary upbeat worship music ‘
Last September a group of teenagers from the Tunbridge Wells Deanery went on the Papal Visit to celebrate Mass with The Pope at Westminster Cathedral and continued the celebrations at Hyde Park.
In the summer The Band supported fellow band members at St. Gregory’s School and went and watched the musical production of ‘Grease’.
Grease Trip ‘Go Grease Lightening!!!’
For more information please e-mail: youth@st-augustine.co.uk
Finance and Building Committee
The Finance and Building Committee is a group of 12 people who oversee the management of the parish’s finances. These include not only the priests and deacons but also our parish treasurer, our property manager, an architect, a solicitor and a certified accountant.Church Cleaners
No matter how beautiful the worship and splendid the singing, the state of the church makes a real difference to our parish celebration of Mass from week to week. In addition to 2 cleaners, there is also a band of volunteers who clean the church on a weekly rota every Wednesday morning (with a few volunteers having specific areas of responsibility). There are four cleaning groups with about four members to each group and therefore they only clean on average once a month - they would always welcome extra volunteers. Such dedicated care for our church is an important service to our community. Please contact the church office if you are interested in helpingFlower Guild
The Flower Guild was formed some 15 years ago to co-ordinate the flower arrangements for the church. We have a rota and work in pairs or singly, as we prefer, and change the flowers every week. Flowers add beauty to the church and enhance our celebrations. Many of us have been members since the start of the Flower Guild but we welcome new members and will work with you if you wish as it can be a bit daunting at first. Contact Lucia Crewdson 524588Holy Shop
One of the special resources at St Augustine’s is our ‘Holy Shop’ run by Carrie Moran and Jenny Children along with their committed band of volunteers. It sells books, cards, candles, statues, rosaries and much more! We focus on a particular topic each month (this also forms the basis for the display in the porch.The Holy Shop is open after the 10am weekday masses (after the 12.30pm mass on Wednesdays) and after all Sunday masses.
Special item or order required? Not a problem! Please leave your name and contact details in the shop or e-mail to holyshop@live.co.uk.
We are always looking to expand our team of volunteers – please let us know if you are interested!
Holy Shop Contact Details: Carrie Moran Mob: 0778 651 6782 holyshop@live.co.uk
Pastoral Council
This is an advisory steering group made up of co-opted members. Their names and photos are on display in the church porch. They meet four times a year and focus on key issues of developing the parish.Sacristans
A sacristan, a person chosen by the parish priest to carefully arrange the Liturgical books, Vestments, and the Sacred vessels and other things necessary for the Celebration of Mass. At St Augustine’s we have a team of sacristans who carry out these duties for daily and Sunday Masses which helps to make each celebration run smoothly.The main sacristan is responsible to make sure all the items needed are all well stocked, altar bread, communion wine, candles and linen. The different seasons of the Church’s year call for Palms, Ashes, the Paschal candle and Holy Oil. There are also other volunteers who launder and sew and polish making the church a blest and Holy place.