St. Martin’s Vicarage Upper Wellington Road Brighton BN2 3AN February 2025 My dear friends, February opens with the wonderful celebration of the Feast of Our Lord’s Presentation in the Temple. Fondly known as ’Candlemass’ due to the ceremonial attached to the liturgy, in the Book of Common Prayer it is called ’The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary’. Prior to the Second Vatican Council this day marked the end of the Christmass Season that is now marked by the Feast of Our Lord’s Baptism on the Sunday after Epiphany: however in some churches and ironically in the City of Rome you will still find some tired Nativity Scenes in place until this day. This year is the one designated that the Parish Electoral Roll be totally renewed. The required notice is at the Church door and, to fulfil the requirement to make every effort to inform people on the existing Roll of the need to apply again, letters are at the back of Church and in Pigeon Holes. We ask you to help deliver these and thus avoid a heavy post bill. Ange or her deputy will supply the application forms. Last Year in the hope of avoiding wintry weather we held the first Parish Lunch of the Year on the Sunday before Lent and we plan to do so again this year: that is Sunday 2nd March: tickets will soon be available. Invitations to the 150th Anniversary Mass (May 1st 7pm) have been sent to past Assistant Priests and some Civil Officers so make sure the date is in your diary. At the same time a small group has met to share responsibilities for the Flower Festival: please remember our appeal for memorabilia for this and the presentation at the Celebration Lunch: on that latter point have you and yours booked your tickets? Lastly, for fear of a shortage of egg sandwiches, let the reader understand, please support the Jumble Sale on February 8th. With my love and prayers,Fr. Trevor
St. Martin’s Vicarage Upper Wellington Road Brighton BN2 3AN January 2025 My dear friends, In Advent the Diocese began a year of Celebration entitled the ‘Year of Faith’. This marks two particular anniversaries. The first is the opening of Chichester Cathedral in 1075. True our own secondary Patron S Wilfrid brought the faith to Sussex in the 7th Century, but the Diocese was formally born when the centre moved from Selsey to Chichester when the Cathedral was opened. The second anniversary is the 1700 anniversary of the Council of Nicea in 325 where the Creed we say at Mass was formalised. This Creed is unique in that it is the only one common to what we call ‘The one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church’ of East and West. Each Deanery is asked to gather at a Service this month to begin this year of Celebration: our service being held at S Peter’s and presided over by Bishop Will: it is at 7pm on Thursday January 30th. I know it is dark and that many of you travel a distance but I do hope everyone who lives locally and feels safe to do so will make the effort to attend—talk to each other and travel together. The Year of Faith is in tandem with the western Church’s ‘Jubilee Year of Joy’ for we are called to be joyful in faith which will be at the centre of our own parochial year of celebrating our 150th anniversary all of which will come together on the School’s Reflective Boards that will return in Holy Week. Together with Fr. Andrew, Fr Nick and Fr. Robert I take this opportunity to wish you all health and happiness throughout the year! With my love and prayers,Fr. Trevor
My dear friends, As we begin a new Church Year on December 1st the final preparations are being made for the opening, by Pope Francis, of the Jubilee ‘Year of Hope’. The Holy Father has introduced the year in these words:- "We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us, and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision” an ideal new year resolution for us all. A year of Jubilee has its roots in the Book of Leviticus where it is to be celebrated every fifty years when slaves and prisoners were freed and debts cancelled: while they are now more commonly celebrated every twenty-five years, many of us remember the extra ordinary ‘Year of Mercy’ begun in 2015. At the centre of any such year the emphasis is on the mercy of God and as such this is a good reminder to us all of the Sacrament of Reconciliation as we prepare for Christmass. Writing that word, the Fund Raising Committee has been working very hard for our Winter Wonderland and, when this issue is published, there remains a week to sell the Advent Calendar Raffle Tickets! Finally, I draw your attention to four invitations to join the School preparations for the festival to be held in Church; Christingle on December 3rd at 2.30 pm, Nativities at 9.15am on the 10th and 11th and the Carol Service at 2.30 pm on the 19th. Fr. Andrew and Judy, Fr. Nick, Fr Robert and Paula join me in taking this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy Christmass. With my love and payersFr. Trevor
My dear friends, November of course begins with the celebration of All Saints and All Souls of which I wrote last month: with regard to the former I hope as many as can (I know the clocks have gone back) will gather at S Paul’s on the 31st October and look forward to seeing the rest of you here at 11am the following day: with regard to the second, October 27th (Publication Day) is the last opportunity to add names to the All Souls list. S Martin’s Day will begin with the Act of Remembrance at the War Memorial in Trinity Street commencing at 10.55. The principal celebration is the 7pm Solemn Mass supported by the School Choir and I am delighted that Canon Richard Harper has agreed to preach at this celebration: I first met Fr. Richard in the late nineties when he served on the Board of Education and he has been kind enough to cover us from Eastbourne since retirement. If the evening celebration (clocks again) is really impossible (please think of offering and asking about lifts) the School Mass is at the wonderfully accessible time of 2pm. Those of you with Sunday, or Weekday, Missals may wish to use this month to purchase the new versions that come into use on December 1st. The new lectionary uses texts from the English Standard Version Catholic Edition and the Abbey Psalter and may be purchased from the CTS and other religious book shops. Leaflets are available explaining the background to this change in the Liturgy. With my love and payersFr. Trevor
