PROCESSION & CROWNING OF THE STATUE OF OUR LADY
Sunday May 3rd

         

     

St JOSEPH'S OPEN DAY

Floral displays adorned St Joseph's on the Open Day to mark the 40th Anniversary of the present building, thanks to the Brownies, Jenny, Freddie, Jo, Teresa and others. Outside, there was much activity at stalls selling plants, preserves, cakes, books and lots more. A lot of hard work by parishioners both before and on the day.




Click on the images below to enlarge

       
(Photos by Jenny Milliner et al)

THE BLESSING OF THE HERBS AT ST ALPHEGE'S



At the conclusion of the 10am Mass on the Solemnity of the Assumption at St Alphege's we celebrated the blessing of herbs and fruit. The herbs, normally seven or nine in number, are associated with healing and therapy and were blessed and taken home, dried, and hung in the home as sacramentals – therapeutic pot pouri. People brought their fresh herbs, such as lavender, sage, mint, borage, oregano, basil, speedwell, rosemary, bay, St John’s wort, fennel, and marjoram before the day and these were made up into fragrant bouquets for distribution to the faithful and to those who were sick and housebound.

The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy produced by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments of 2002 tells us that:
'In the Germainc countries, the custom of blessing herbs is associated with 15th August. This custom, received into the Rituale Romanum, represents a clear example of the genuine evangelization of pre-Christian rites and beliefs: one must turn to God, through whose word "the earth produced vegetation: plants bearing seeds in their several kinds and trees bearing fruit with their seed inside in their several kinds" (Gen 1:12) in order to obtain what was formerly obtained by magic rites; to stem the damages deriving from poisonous herbs, and benefit from the efficacy of currative herbs.

This ancient custom came to be associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary, in part because of the biblical images applied to her such as vine, lavender, cypress, and lily, partly seeing her in terms of a sweet smelling flower because of her virtue, and most of all because of Isaiah 11:1, and his reference to the "shoot springing from the side of Jesse", which would bear the blessed fruit of Jesus.'

More pictures from the Blessing of the Herbs
Click on images to enlarge them

       

SHARING WITH OLDFIELD PARK METHODIST CHURCH

   

The members of Oldfield Park Methodist Church are sharing St Joseph's for a while. They issued the following press release.

On Sunday August 9th 2009, the congregation of Oldfield Park Methodist Church, Bath met for morning worship and were led by their Minister, Rev Mrs Melanie Reed, in the celebration of Holy Communion. Nothing unusual about that - in fact the service was similar to many such happy occasions that congregations, over the 117 years since Oldfield Park has been open, have enjoyed. The difference being that this Communion Service was held at St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church and was presided over by an ordained female Methodist Minister!

After 117 years of worshipping on the corner of The Triangle, Bath, the society has taken the courageous step of selling up and moving to the nearby Southdown Methodist Centre. Revenue from the sale will fund the long overdue refurbishment of the Southdown building which houses the Southdown Whiteway Church & Community Partnership (SWCCP), a Circuit project meeting the needs of the community. Four years in the planning, the Oldfield Park congregation knew that at some point they would have to face the daunting dilemma of being homeless, needing to move out of their current home before the new one is ready. However, the arrival of Father Richard Barton (Roman Catholic Priest to St Alphege’s and St Joseph’s), in the Oldfield Park area has heralded a deepening mutual friendship between both congregations and an inspirational colleagueship between himself and Rev Melanie - epitomising everything that is good about ecumenism.

The generous offer of the use of St Joseph’s for ‘as long as the Methodist congregation needs it’ is a true testimony to Christian love, understanding and hospitality that should and can bridge any and all theological and doctrinal gaps. August 9th was in many ways a trial run, but proved to the Oldfield Park Methodists that when they close their doors on Sunday October 18th, after the final service, they will be moving, albeit temporarily, to a church home and community where they are welcomed with the arms of Christ.

And so the journey begins...what glory we bring to God when we work together for the building up of His Kingdom!