Bored with those long hot summer days? Why not come along to the first St Mary’s social afternoon? Have a laugh meet new people and maybe even play some games. With the start of the summer holidays we are going to try running a pilot starting on Monday 2nd August from 2pm till 5pm in the parish hall. 

We will provide over 20 games (both card and board) for you to try on the first meeting and have many more beyond that. If you are nervous of playing these then why not bring along your favourite game, crib, Mah-jong etc and teach some others to play it and because it is primarily a social event you could always just come along and watch. 

So if you are aged from 8 to 88, male or female we look forward to seeing you for a FUN afternoon. No previous experience or technical knowledge is required and if English isn’t your first language don’t worry you can still have lots of fun. The only games banned are Monopoly and Games Workshop; curious then come along and we will explain why. If you have any queries then please contact Kevin O’Sullivan.

More background information about some of the games can be found on my blog: http://kevinandgames.blogspot.com 

On Sunday 9th May the parish welcomed and inducted the new head teacher of St.Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Maria Cowler, at the 9.30 mass. The liturgy was prepared and delivered by the staff and pupils of St.Mary’s, and in a prayerful and moving service Fr.Kevin spoke of the importance of the school and its young people in our parish life. Following the customary tradition the keys to the school were handed over to Ms Cowler by the school’s Chair of Governors, Mike Dean, under the watchful eye of Fr.Kevin. After the service there was a fantastic spread in the school hall, where the new head had a chance to meet parishioners, families and friends of the school. 

On Sunday 25^th April Deacon Mike Thoms will once again be leading a Communion Service

Please be advised that on Sunday 18^th April there will be a communion service and not a full Mass

The Christian Communities in Crowborough, with support from Sussex Police are keen to be part of the Street Pastor movement. Following an initial meeting, the communities are looking for an individual to act as co-ordinator with the Ascension Trust in getting Street Pastors in Crowborough set up. If you would be interested in getting involved and acting as co-ordinator or for further information please contact Anthony Moffatt 01892 653956. There are two local schemes in Heathfield and Tunbridge Wells – details can be obtained from www.streetpastors.org.uk

If enough interest is obtained it is hoped that Street Pastors Crowborough could start in the spring of 2011.

In the last weekend of June 2010 (Friday 25th to Sunday 27th June 2010), Saint Mary’s Parish will be having a residential retreat at Worth Abbey. Our retreat leader will be Deacon Chris Dobson, from Worth Parish who will lead some talks. You will be able to spend time alone praying in the Abbey Church and grounds or in the Quiet Garden, it will be an opportunity to get to know other members of our parish
better and to experience the spiritual life of Worth’s Benedictine monastic community.

Worth Abbey was featured in the BBC series The Monastery. The complete series can still be viewed on You Tube by searching “Monastery 2005”. Like the participants in the series, we will have a taste of Monastic and Parish life at Worth. We will join the monks for their sung  offices starting with evening prayer on Friday and Vigils at 6.20am on Saturday. We will be staying in St Bruno’s House (pictured below) and the cost is likely to be around £150 per person. The minimum age is 18 years. Rooms are twins and triples so costs will be less if shared and there will be concessions for pensioners and the unemployed. Why not make your new year’s resolution to spend a weekend developing your spirituality this summer? Put the date in your new diary today! To express interest and receive more details please email mark.donaghy@waremoss.co.uk

At the beginging of the summer holidays a small group of 16 years olds from the parish got together and decided to build a new web site that would:

1. 
   Enable good clear communication with the parish
2. Foster the continued growth and development of the parish community
3. Convey the richness and vibrancy of life in the parish to those visiting our community or our web site
4. To create a structure that will allow the expansion and growth of the website under future projects.