Wittenham Avenue, Tilehurst, RG31 5LN
As you may expect, the newly announced lockdown will affect us greatly. The service for Sunday 1st will take place in St Catherine’s as usual. However from November 5th, that there will be no church services in the building, and the Café will not be open.
Please read Bishop Stephen’s letter here :-
https://mailchi.mp/oxford.anglican.org/letter-to-the-diocese-october-311020
— Coronavirus Lockdown Update —
We regret that in light of the latest national lockdown, the Memorial Service, originally offered below, can no longer take place.
We are offering to those whose funerals we have taken this year, the opportunity to remember and give thanks for the life of those they have lost.
Unfortunately, numbers are restricted, so we are limiting attendance to 3 per family. Families have already been contacted and there is a deadline of 4th November for them to RSVP.
After 4th November we shall open the service to everyone, if there are spaces. Bookings will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. Email us if you are interested.
Those attending are invited to bring a stone to place at the foot of the old Oak Tree, to lay in honour of their loved one at the end of the service.
The Big Tilehurst Carol Singalong is a carol service created by and for the community. Make Christmas extra-special this year by recording yourselves singing along to your favourite carol.
It’s a joint project between St Michaels, St Catherine’s & St Mary Magdalene’s.
We’ll work some magic so that you and your family can settle down on Christmas Eve to watch yourselves and the whole community singing along as we tell the Christmas story.
Download the backing tracks below from here and watch how to be involved here.
Each year we support the charity Samaritans Purse and their project Operation Christmas Child, which sends a shoebox of presents to children who otherwise may receive nothing at Christmas.
However this year, because of the obvious logistical problems that the Coronavirus Pandemic cause, we’re doing things a little differently.
This year we are encouraging everyone to buy a Shoebox for Operation Christmas Child online at: https://shoeboxonline.samaritans-purse.org.uk/ (or just search for “Shoebox Appeal”). By going on-line it means people do not need to make additional shopping trips to obtain gifts and boxes.
However we are aware that many still like to create a physical box for themselves. If you did want to pack an actual Shoebox, you can take it to the ‘Entertainer’ toyshop in Reading Broad Street or to ‘Kingsmen’ in Marcus Close (off Dee Road) which is where we took them last year.
The national collection week is 9th – 16th November.
We’re delighted to confirm that our Friday night youth group is back up and running after having to pause during lockdown. It currently does not have a name but we will address that on 13th November.
If you are not currently a member but would like to be, please contact us. We’d love to welcome you to the group, but will need to make provisions to ensure that we can do that in keeping with current laws and guidelines surrounding youth groups meeting together.
Our Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) is on Sunday 11th October at 11.15 am via Zoom.
Both the 10.00 am physical and on-line service will finish in plenty of time to allow people to attend.
To join the Zoom Meeting, simply follow this link http://tinyurl.com/cathapcm . You may be asked to download the Zoom App.
If you can’t download the Zoom App, you can still participate by joining us on the telephone; simply dial 0203 481 5240 and when prompted you’ll need to input Meeting ID: 853 2527 8861, Passcode: 217180.
This meeting will receive the Annual Report and Accounts (available on our website if you don’t have a copy – these were distributed in March before lockdown) and elect church officers.
Please do make the effort to join us.
A reminder that the Café is open – albeit with a limited menu and slightly less hours.
We are open on Thursdays and Fridays 10.30am – 1.30pm. Because we may only have one member of staff in the kitchen we can only have a reduced menu of hot and cold drinks, cakes, soups, and sandwiches.
All guests are expected to follow the latest safety measures to help safeguard the well-being of all. This includes no more than six to a table, and face coverings must be worn when not sitting down to eat or drink.
Please enter by the car park (north) door where you will be asked to fill in your track and trace details. There is limited seating, but weather permitting, we’ll have additional tables and chairs outdoors.
Despite all these additional measures, the same warm welcome and delicious food awaits you !
The Autumn issue of RG31 – our Parish Magazine – is now available on-line here, or click on the image.
Due to the Coronavirus lockdown we are currently in, there will be limited distribution of the magazine.
If you have the ability to download and read PDF files, you can click here to do so.
We are planning to hold our much delayed Annual Parochial Church Meeting on Sunday 11th October via Zoom.
We normally distribute paper copies of our reports and accounts before the meeting. Clearly that is a lot more difficult this year.
Accordingly here is a link to our reports – unaltered since originally produced for the APCM planned in March.
Here is a link to our annual accounts, as produced for the charity commission.
The Government’s announcement on 9th September of a six person gathering limit will clearly affect activities within St Catherine’s Centre.
It is clear that many Church and Hall activities will no longer be able to take place from Monday 14th. There are a list of exemptions to this rule, and we are currently seeking to more fully understand what they are.
However, for now, we can confirm :-
As the Government issues more guidance, further decisions on other groups can be made. Please contact your group organiser for details on any specific activity.
St Catherine's