The Chessington Police Safer Neighbourhood Teams, in conjunction with their partners at the Council, Library, Youth Service and London Fire Brigade, are running a sticker-collecting scheme for all Year 6 Children attending schools on their wards. Your child should be in possession of their very own CoP Card with their own name and School written on the front cover. The scheme starts on Monday 19th May and runs for 7 weeks.

The idea of the Scheme is for the children to collect stickers (21 in all) and fill up their card. There are 12 photographs of the individual members of your local Police Teams to collect. The children will have to go and find their local officers. They must have their CoP card with them. If they have not got their CoP card they will not get the sticker! The other spaces on the card vary from meeting some of our friends in the local area or engaging in activities that we hope to encourage your children to try. They may already be involved so collecting those stickers will be easy for them.

One of the stickers is a FAITH sticker. So, members of the Police Safer Neighbourhood Team will be here from 11am to 1pm on Sunday 22nd June 2008 to give out FAITH stickers and meet the children.

For further information see the Report of the Launch of the Scheme or see the Kingston Young Livin' website.

Summer is nearly upon us, and it is time to say thank you to our natural Dads (and our spiritual Father!) for all that they do for us. So, given that our Lent Pancake Party was such a success we are organising a Parish Family Party on Saturday 14th June 2008, from 7pm to 10pm in the Parish Hall.

At the party along with barbecue burgers and sausages, there will be music, dancing, karaoke, party games, in fact fun for all the family. This party is aimed at all parishioners from the youngest to the oldest. Children are most welcome, but must be accompanied and supervised by a suitable adult (ideally a parent) at ALL times. Adults may bring their own alcoholic and soft drinks.

This is not a fundraising event, so tickets are extremely cheap, priced at £3 per adult, and £2 per accompanied child (under 18). Tickets are limited (for safety reasons) and will be on sale after Sunday Masses from Sunday 18th May. No tickets will be sold on the door!

You will remember that for our Pancake Party tickets sold out extremely quickly.

Get out your party gear, and bring the whole family, for a fun family night out.

The Parish Meeting is currently our primary opportunity to have a meaningful discussion on pastoral priorities for the Parish. The next meeting takes place on Monday 28th April from 7:30pm to 9pm.

Please note the change of date to avoid the Easter School Holidays!

We will receive an update from the parish working parties, which have been progressing issues raised at the Parish Meeting on 8th October 2007:

• Establish a plan to engage our Young People;
• More activities for elderly parishioners;
• Improve Parish Communications;
• Create plan for Garden and Church Maintenance;
• and Consecrate the Church in 2010, the 35th Anniversary.

Obviously these issues are just the tip of the iceberg and many other issues need to be addressed. We will have a discussion on future planning, and how we might establish structures that will facilitate the continued development of the Parish.

Holy Week and Easter are the central celebrations of the Christian Faith. It is also a great time to return to Church if you have got out of the regular Sunday habit. Here at St. Catherine's we have planned a comprehensive programme of Holy Week and Easter Celebrations that should meet the needs of everyone.

Sunday 16th March - Palm Sunday

Today the Church celebrates the Lord's entry into Jerusalem to accomplish the paschal mystery. This is recalled at every Mass with the blessing of Palms and then the procession into the Church. The liturgy of the word at this Mass is the proclamation of the Passion account in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 26:14 - 27:66).

Masses are at 8am, 10am and 6pm

Thursday 20th March - Maundy Thursday

There are no services during the day on Maundy Thursday, as the Clergy all travel to St. George's Cathedral for the Mass of Chrism at 11:15am.

In the evening at 7:30pm we gather for the celebration of the Mass of the Lord's Supper, at which we recall the events of the Last Supper. The liturgy of the word at this Mass is a recalling of the account of the "washing of the feet" (John 13:1-15).

After the Mass, the Church remains open for silent prayer and "watching" until midnight. At 11:50pm we celebrate the Night Prayer of the Church.

Friday 21st March - Good Friday

At 9:30am we have a joint service here of "Telling the Story" for all ages, with all the other Churches of Chessington and Hook. We will hear reflections for the day from all the different characters who appear in the Crucifixion account. We then make a Walk of Witness stopping at particular places to pray for and with the community. Closing prayers at Chessington Methodist Chuch at (approximately) 11am, followed by refreshments.

At 3pm we have the Solemn Good Friday Liturgy. This Liturgy is in three parts: the reading of the Passion account in the Gospel of John (John 18:1-19:42) and General Prayers of Intercession; the Veneration of the Cross; and Holy Communion.

Saturday 22nd March - Holy Saturday

By tradition, there are no services during the day on Holy Saturday. It is a quiet day, a day of reflection and contemplation.

In the evening of Holy Saturday after dusk, we gather at 8:30pm for The Easter Vigil, this is the most significant Liturgy of the Year. The Mass begins outside the Church, with the lighting of the Easter fire. There is then a procession into the Church with the new Paschal Candle and a retelling of the history of salvation in the Old Testament in the light of our Easter faith. The Mass continues with the blessing of the Baptismal Water and the renewal of Baptismal Vows, and the celebration of the Eucharist.

Sunday 23rd March - Easter Sunday

Masses on Easter Sunday are at 8am, 10am and 6pm. At all masses we renew our Baptismal Vows.

A great way to start the season of Lent is to have a big clear out and so the Shrove Tuesday custom of making pancakes out of all the ingredients that you would not be using during the Lenten Fast came about.

This year both Lent and Easter are extremely early, so to help us all get going with our fasting, we are organising a Parish Family Party on the 1st Saturday of Lent, Saturday 9th February 2008, from 7pm to 10pm.

At the party along with pancakes with various savoury and sweet toppings, there will be music, dancing, karaoke, party games, in fact fun for all the family. This party is aimed at all parishioners from the youngest to the oldest. Children are most welcome, but must be accompanied and supervised by a suitable adult (ideally a parent) at ALL times.

This is not a fundraising event, so tickets are extremely cheap, priced at £3 per person, or £8 per family. Tickets are available at Church on Sundays. No tickets will be sold on the door!

So please put this date in your diary. Get out your party gear, and bring the whole family, for a fun family night out.

Tickets are now SOLD OUT. There is a reserve list for returned tickets.