News & Events - Weekly Notices

Junior Church

A New Junior Church Schedule

Junior Church now takes place every Sunday during term time, except on All Age Mass weeks. All Age Mass dates can be found on the All Age Mass page.

The Ministry of Healing

Monday 2 March 2026 at 7.00pm

Our monthly Healing Mass with intercessions before the Blessed Sacrament takes place on Monday 2 March at 7.00pm. We intercede for those on our parish prayer board and come as those who know our own need of healing wholeness in our lives. Please do come.

House Group & Lent Course

Our next House Group will take place after Easter and details of our Lent Course is advertised on our Lent 2026 page.

Parish Cell of Our Lady of Walsingham

Thursday 12 March 2026 at 12 noon

Walsingham Cell

Our Walsingham Cell is a group within the parish with a particular devotion to Our Lady and to the shrine at Walsingham. It offers a gentle rhythm of Mass, prayer, and fellowship, rooted in the mystery of the Incarnation – God coming among us through Mary’s faithful “yes”. Since its beginning, the Cell has met on the second Saturday of each month at 9.30am. It has become clear that this timing makes it difficult for some to attend, and may prevent new members from joining us, especially for the monthly Mass of the Holy House. For a trial period, we will vary the day (within the second week of the month) in the hope that this will over time make the Cell more accessible, and then review how this works. In March, the Cell Mass and meeting will be held in the Lady Chapel on Thursday 12 March at 12 noon. If you have been curious but unsure about coming, this would be a lovely time to begin.

Monthly Requiem

Friday 13th March 2026 at midday

We remember the Faithful Departed of March at Mass on Friday 13th at midday, and pray for the repose of their immortal souls. All are welcome, not least those with loved ones who departed this life during the calendar month.

The Crucifixion by John Stainer

The Crucifixion

Please make a note in your diaries: our choir will sing The Crucifixion by John Stainer on Passion Sunday, 22 March at 4.00pm. First performed in 1887, Stainer’s work has long held a cherished place in Lenten devotion. Combining choir, soloists, and well-known congregational hymns, it leads us prayerfully through the story of Christ’s Passion. Its music is both accessible and deeply moving, helping us to enter not only with our minds but with our hearts into the mystery of the cross.

Annunciation of the Lord

Wednesday 25 March 2026 at 7:30pm

The Annunciation of the Lord

The Feast of the Annunciation falls on Wednesday 25 March, exactly nine months before Christmas Day. There will be a Parish Mass at 7.30pm, and we will be joined by our Christian brothers and sisters from Hanslope and Castlethorpe. Members of the Walsingham Cell will kindly provide refreshments afterwards.

This feast marks the moment when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would bear God’s Son, and Mary answered with her trusting “yes”. In that quiet, hidden moment, God’s plan for the salvation of the world took flesh. The Annunciation reminds us that God often works not through the dramatic and powerful, but through willing hearts and faithful obedience. As we celebrate, we pray that Christ may also take flesh in us – that our lives, like Mary’s, may become places where God’s grace is welcomed and made visible in the world.

Palm Sunday

Sunday 29 March 2026 at 9:30am

Holy Week is the heart of the Christian year. In these days we do not simply recall past events; through the Church’s worship we are drawn into Christ’s saving death and resurrection. Holy Week begins with the Palm Liturgy, Procession and Mass of the Passion at 9.30am, starting in the Parish Centre hall.

Palm Sunday has a double focus. We begin by recalling Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, greeted with palms and shouts of praise. Yet the same liturgy leads us swiftly into the solemn proclamation of his Passion. This year we hear St Matthew’s account in full. As we process with branches, we do more than re-enact a scene from long ago. We declare Christ as our King – a king whose throne is the cross and whose power is self-giving love. We also express our willingness to follow him, even when the road leads through suffering before it reaches glory.

Service of Penitence and Forgiveness – Palm Sunday

Sunday 29 March 2026 at 5.30pm

Among those who cheered Jesus on Palm Sunday were some who later turned away. Holy Week asks us gently but honestly: where do we stand? This quiet and prayerful service offers space to examine our lives, to acknowledge our sins of thought, word, deed and omission, and to receive God’s mercy. As we begin the journey through Christ’s death to his risen life, we ask for grace to die to sin and to rise with him in newness of life.

Tenebrae

Wednesday 1 April at 7.30pm

Tenebrae (a Latin word meaning ‘darkness’ or ‘shadows’) is one of the most atmospheric and prayerful services of Holy Week. Rooted in the ancient monastic night offices, it gathers psalms, readings and music into a single, meditative act of worship that leads us gently but deeply into the mystery of Christ’s suffering and death.

The service begins in candlelight and gradually moves into darkness as candles are extinguished one by one. This slow fading of light is not theatrical for its own sake – it helps us to feel, as well as to think about, the growing abandonment, sorrow and apparent defeat that mark the Passion of Christ. We wait in the shadows, just as the first disciples did, not yet at Easter, but not without hope. Tenebrae is an especially fitting preparation for the Easter Triduum. It stills us, quiets our distractions, and allows the story of the Passion to sink from our heads into our hearts. By lingering with Christ in the darkness, we become more ready to walk with him through the solemn days of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday – and therefore more able to share fully in the joy of the Resurrection.

The service ends in silence, leaving us to carry that prayerful stillness with us into the holiest days of the year. All are warmly invited to come and experience this beautiful and powerful beginning to the sacred Three Days.

Maundy Thursday

Thursday 2 April 2026 at 7.30pm

Washing of Feet

On Maundy Thursday we begin the Easter Triduum, the sacred Three Days at the centre of the Christian year. At the Liturgy of the Last Supper we remember three great gifts: Christ’s example of humble service, the institution of the Eucharist, and his loving obedience to the Father as he goes out to Gethsemane. During the service, twelve people are invited to take part in the washing of feet, recalling Jesus kneeling to serve his disciples. If you would like to participate, please add your name to the list in church. All ages are welcome.

Watch at the Garden of Gethsemane

Thursday 2 April 2026 after the Maundy Thursday Service

Christ in the Garden with his disciples

After the service, we keep watch with Christ in the Garden, responding to his question to the disciples: “Could you not watch with me one hour?” The Watch continues until midnight and resumes again at 6.00am. Please come and go quietly via the north door and sign up for a time slot. For safety, we ask that at least two people are present at any one time.

Church Cleaning for Easter – Holy Saturday

Saturday 4 April 2026 from 9.30am

After Morning Prayer on Holy Saturday we prepare our church for the joy of Easter. This practical care for our building is also an act of love and devotion. Many hands really do make light work – and refreshments will be provided. Do come if you can help.

Post-Easter Break

Fr Nicholas will be off duty from Monday 6 to Sunday 12 April inclusive. Please keep him in your prayers as he takes a well-earned rest.

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