Welcome to St Mary’s, Thetford.
In line with current Covid19 government advice, the church has limited opening, by BOOKING ONLY.
Please do not visit the church unless you have followed the instructions
[please see below]
St Mary’s Streaming Link
Find St Mary’s Streaming here:
ST MARY’S IS OPEN FOR THE CELEBRATION OF MASS AND PRIVATE PRAYER
ST MARY’S HAS REOPENED FOR THE CELEBRATION OF MASS.
OUR PARISH MASSES WILL BE CELEBRATED AT:
5.30 PM ON SATURDAY (VIGIL MASS)
10 AM ON SUNDAY
10 AM ON WEDNESDAY
THE SATURDAY AND SUNDAY MASSES WILL BE OPEN TO ALL.
THE WEDNESDAY MASS WILL BE SOLELY FOR THE ELDERLY AND VULNERABLE
THERE WILL BE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PRIVATE PRAYER AS CHURCH DOORS WILL OPEN HALF AN HOUR BEFORE MASS.
PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU ARE REQUIRED TO BRING AND WEAR A FACE COVERING WHEN YOU ATTEND CHURCH.
There will be several precautionary measures and restrictions in place for the celebration of Mass,
to minimise the risk of Covid infection. Details can be found here.
PRE-BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL. You can book to attend Mass by phoning ROGER HALL ON 01842 761878. Please leave a message with your name and phone number if there is no answer.
Bookings will close at 6 pm the evening before Mass
MASSES AT CHRISTMAS -A PLEA FOR HELP:
Fr Peter and the Parish Pastoral Council have the aspiration to hold at least two Masses on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This will involve a huge effort on behalf of the ushers and cleaners from our volunteer group. At the moment we cannot plan for two Masses each day as we do not have enough volunteers.
Please volunteer even if it is only for the Christmas period.
If we do not receive help from the Parish in the form of more volunteer ushers and cleaners, we will be unable to hold as many Masses as we would like to.
If you can volunteer please contact either Jess or Alex Beckett (almjess@hotmail.com), who coordinate the Volunteer Group, or speak with Fr Peter rcthetford@gmail.comor 07763 411021or the Chair of the PPC, Dom Hill on 07389194202 or chair.stmarys@aol.com
The Bishop’s Conference of England and Wales have elected to suspend the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and on Holy Days of Obligation. If you do not feel safe coming to Mass, we advise that you do not attend.
Masses will still be available to view online.
CONFESSION: Fr Peter is available for confessions by appointment. Please phone his mobile to arrange on 07763 411021.
Please see the separate page on Mass procedures available from the Latest News area, or here.
The reinstatement of the celebration of Mass at St Mary’s has been a success so far. All booking and hygiene protocols have been observed correctly and those who have attended Mass have found it an uplifting experience in these otherwise difficult times. However, under the current regime, these necessary restrictions do limit the number of Masses we can hold, thus affecting the number of parishioners who can attend Mass during the week. One way to increase the frequency of Masses would be to expand the volunteer group who welcome and guide parishioners, and importantly, who undertake essential cleansing after Mass thus making St Mary’s a ‘secure’ environment for the next congregation. With increased numbers of volunteers, we could celebrate Mass more frequently on weekdays and Sundays, perhaps returning to the normal cycle of weekly Masses that we had before lockdown commenced. If you can volunteer, please contact either Fr. Peter (07763-411021) or email Alex and Jess (almjess@hotmail.com)
Mass Intentions
Under the current regime imposed upon St Mary’s because of the pandemic, it has been the practice to offer Mass intentions at all public Masses for the people of the Parish. This decision reflects that fact that all in the Parish have in one-way-or-another been victims of the virus, directly through illness and worse, or indirectly, through the impact it has had on our social and working lives. Those Masses celebrated behind ‘closed doors’ have been offered for personal intentions, and this will continue for such time as the pandemic renders normal church life impossible. If you have a personal intention for which you would like Fr Peter to offer Mass please complete a ‘Mass intention envelope’, obtainable in the Church porch. Where personal intentions have been requested, it is very difficult to have them published in the newsletter in a timely way so for the time being we will not do so.
Latest News
How you can help
Regular giving and helping others If you are able to continue to donate to the church then regular giving is the best way of doing this. (Please don’t worry if you suddenly find that you have to reduce or change donations in the future.) Many people are vulnerable or in need of help, if youContinue reading “How you can help”
PROCEDURES TO OBSERVE IF YOU WISH TO ATTEND MASS
10/07/20: MASS AT ST MARYS We are taking many precautions to make it safe for you to come to Mass:1) Social distancing will be in place. A 2-metre distance between members of the congregation who are from separate households will be maintained throughout Mass and at entry and exit points.2) Numbers able to attend MassContinue reading “PROCEDURES TO OBSERVE IF YOU WISH TO ATTEND MASS”
Live Stream Options
Below, you will find two wonderful services which will help you to watch services live (or previously recorded) from our own region. There are other sources available (such as Liverpool Cathedral), but in order to keep the website as simple and clear as possible we have included links to the Catherdral of St John theContinue reading “Live Stream Options”
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