Guild of Saint Jude Raffle

The winners of the Guild of Saint Jude raffle were drawn by Fr Richard Copsey, O.Carm today. Fr Richard is a member of the Faversham community. Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to all those who took part!  

1st Prize: C Kiernan
2nd Prize:. M MacNeil

5 runners up –
M Harman
M Tr McDonell
T Fernandes
L Simmons
Davies Family

_____________________

Church update

Unfortunately, in May 2018, a storm caused massive damage to the suspended ceiling in the church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. To rectify the damage and prevent further issues from occurring the church is currently going through major renovations. The Parish Priest, Fr Brendan Grady, O.Carm has recently shared some photos.

All the laths and lime plastering have now been stripped away, preparing the way for insulation boards and plaster boards before sealing, plastering and painting.

The blown plaster will be removed this week, the damp issues sorted and then.... oh yes, re-plaster! Not an expected job, but let's get it right for the future!

 

The beams will be readied this week with new electrical wiring, ready for the LED light fittings.

The National Shrine of Saint Jude is located in an annex to the parish church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel at Faversham. Work will need to be done on the Shrine next year. Fr Brendan is also the Chaplain to the Shrine.

If you would like to donate to the work on the church, please send a donation to: Annual Fund, Carmelite Friars, PO Box 289, FAVERSHAM, Kent, ME13 3BZ or add a donation, here.

_____________________

6,000 Likes on Facebook

This week we have reached 6000 likes to our page!

We are so grateful for all the support the friends of Saint Jude have given us over the years. Our work wouldn't have been possible without your support: either by spreading our message further; praying for our apostolate; donating money; or volunteering with us, we say THANK YOU!

If you would like to help us even more, there are FOUR ways that you can:

1) KEEP US IN YOUR PRAYERS
2) BUY GIFTS AT OUR SHOP
3) INVITE YOUR FRIENDS - to like our page so we can get more people involved in our work.
4) DONATE

THANK YOU

_____________________

#GivingTuesday 2018

Today is marked as ‪#‎GivingTuesday‬, which is a global day of giving. After the sales of the weekend, #GivingTuesday is an opportunity to come together to show the world why it’s good to give. Whether it’s making a donation, volunteering your time or just spreading the word at the start of the Christmas shopping season, #GivingTuesday is a call to action for everyone who wants to give something back.

Donations to the Carmelites enable us to support our ministries in the UK, and to support many special causes around the world.

The Carmelite Charitable Trust has always supported the various Carmelite Missions in the developing world and would like to continue to do so. In particular, we try to support the establishment and growth of the Order’s mission areas. In 2018 - 2019, and with your help, the Carmelite Charitable Trust has supported communities in Colombia, East Timor and Kenya:

In Colombia, the British Province have committed to building extra classrooms for the high school that the local Carmelites run in the country; for East Timor, we have pledged £25,000 per year to support the training programme for young Carmelite friars; and in Kenya, we plan to donate a minibus to help in their work travelling to the numerous rural Christian communities.

Father Paul Jenkins, O.Carm in Kenya

The Carmelites would like to do much more. If you would like to donate towards the work of the Carmelites in Britain and the UK, you can do that here: https://mydonate.bt.com/events/cct/285473; or directly to the Missions, here: https://mydonate.bt.com/events/carmelitemissions/444959.

Or alternatively, you can buy something from our online shop: http://www.stjudeshrine.co.uk. We have a number of Christmas cards available! From now until the 31 December 2018, use the code:
1239 to receive 12% off any order at the online shop.

Finally, if you are buying your Christmas shopping online, you can shop through the Giving Machine! Once you have registered, you can shop online at any of the 400+ top retailers who have teamed up with charities via The Giving Machine. By entering the site through a special portal you can take advantage of the many exclusive special offers and discounts available to all givers, and every time you shop via The Giving Machine the retailer pays a sales commission. The Giving Machine converts 75% of this commission into a donation to the Carmelites so we can use the money for our work.

Or, if you are shopping on Amazon, please use visit them via this link and we receive donations for every purchase you make.

For other ways, visit our website, here: http://www.stjudeshrine.org.uk/donate-shrine.

All money raised will go towards the work of the Carmelites in the UK and abroad.

THANK YOU

Saint Jude, pray for us.

_____________________

Christmas Newsletter - 2018

Dear Friend of Saint Jude,

This year for Christmas I wanted to write a more personal letter to you as a supporter of the Carmelites in Britain and in particular of the Shrine of Saint Jude. As you can see, the usual novena leaflet and intention form is still here – but no Newsletter! Instead I would like to send you this letter for Christmas!

First, I want to share with you something of how the Feast day weekend went in October. There was great support from many friends of Saint Jude on both days. The Saturday (27th) was a fine day, but cold. As you may know, the roof in the main church has partially collapsed and so we were unable to use it at all. Fortunately, the shrine below was unaffected and could still....

Read full newsletter, here.

_____________________

Pilgrimage to Canterbury 2018

We are just back from our first ever pilgrimage to Canterbury. 

At 1pm, we were met by our coach. The coach took us along the old pilgrimage route from Faversham via Harbledown, and then we reached the Westgate of Canterbury. 

We arrived at the Cathedral just before 2pm, and were welcomed by two vergers and Fr Jim Rosenthal. 

Mass was celebrated in the beautiful crypt - the first location of the Shrine of Saint Thomas Becket before it was moved upstairs. 

Fr Kevin Alban celebrated Mass with Fr Ged Walsh proclaiming the Gospel. Christine Duckworth-Patterson read the first reading.

Afterwards, we joined many other people in the Evensong celebration, and enjoyed the most beautiful singing and music. This was followed by prayer at the former shrine of Saint Thomas Becket which is overlooked by the tombs of the Black Prince and King Henry IV of England. 

Once we caught our coach from outside the city walls, the pilgrimage got back to Faversham and stopped at the beautiful Saint Mary's Church in the town. We were welcomed by Catriona Cuthbert, the Parish Administrator who told us about the history of this beautiful church.

We have a wonderful day. Thank you to all the pilgrims who joined us; thank you too to Fr Kevin Alban, Prior Provincial for leading, and to Fr Ged Walsh and Br Tony O'Donnell for joining us. We prayed for all friends of Saint Jude today and left the intentions at the Shrine.

Saint Jude, pray for us. Saint Thomas of Canterbury, pray for us.

 

 

_____________________

Pilgrimage to Canterbury

At 1pm today, the Shrine of Saint Jude will heading on its first ever pilgrimage to Canterbury.

Canterbury has been occupied since Paleolithic times and served as the capital of the Celtic Cantiaci and Jute Kingdom of Kent. Many historical structures fill the area, including a city wall founded in Roman times and rebuilt in the 14th century, the ruins of St Augustine's Abbey and a Norman castle, and the oldest extant school in the world, the King's School. Modern additions include the Marlowe Theatre and the St Lawrence Ground, home of the Kent County Cricket Club.

We will be heading to one of the most famous cathedrals in the world: Canterbury Cathedral.

If you would like us to leave a petition at the Shrine of Saint Thomas Becket, please visit our page.

Founded in 597, Canterbury Cathedral was completely rebuilt from 1070 to 1077. The east end was greatly enlarged at the beginning of the twelfth century, and largely rebuilt in the Gothic style following a fire in 1174, with significant eastward extensions to accommodate the flow of pilgrims visiting the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket, the archbishop who was murdered in the cathedral in 1170.

On our arrival, Mass will be celebrated by Fr Kevin Alban, O.Carm, Prior Provincial with Fr Ged Walsh, O.Carm. Afterwards, we will be visiting where the old Shrine of Saint Thomas Becket stood before it was destroyed (pictured) and then we'll take a look at where he was murdered.

We will then be off to some more pilgrimage stops on the way back to Faversham.

Saint Jude, pray for us; Saint Thomas Becket, pray for us

_____________________

Photo of the Month - Gardens at Whitefriars

Here is a beautiful autumnal photo of the gardens here at the Shrine and parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. It was taken from the Whitefriars building by Fr Brendan Grady, Shrine Chaplain and Parish Priest.

Sacred Heart statue and gardens in the foreground; the Rosary Way in the background

We are very lucky to have so much beauty on our doorstep. Saint Jude, pray for us.

_____________________