CHURCH MINISTRIES
The choir leads the singing at the 11am Mass. Practices are held on Sunday mornings at 10.30am. Organists: Julia Hadariova and Andrea Jacobucci Parish Director of Music: Marius Hopley To be part of the Choir, simply send us a message here.Leads the singing at the 9am Mass. Practices are held before or after Mass. Organists: Julia Hadariova and Andrea Jacobucci Parish Director of Music: Marius Hopley To be part of the Choir, simply send us a message here.
Leads the singing at the 9am and 11am Mass on the second Sunday of the month and rehearses once a week. Organists: Julia Hadariova and Andrea Jacobucci Parish Director of Music: Marius HopleyFilipino leads the singing at the 6pm Vigil Mass on the second and fourth Saturdays. Organists: Julia Hadariova and Andrea Jacobucci Parish Director of Music: Marius Hopley
The group leads the singing at the Charismatic prayer group which meets twice a month. New members for all choirs would be very welcome Organists: Julia Hadariova and Andrea Jacobucci Parish Director of Music: Marius Hopley
Altar servers assist the priest during the celebration of Mass. People of all ages and levels of experience are welcome to this ministry. Girls and boys from 8 years old may train to become altar servers. We also need adult altar servers to take on this ministry. To join simply send a message to David Cottam via the Contact us link.
The ministry of the Reader is vital to the life of our parish, the Reader proclaims God’s Word at Mass. There is a rota of Readers for St James and St William of York. Training is offered to those who wish to take on this important ministry in the parish.We have small teams of Welcomer’s for all of our Sunday Masses. Their most important duty is to greet people and make them welcome as they come to Mass.
This is to provide the children with a way of celebrating the Liturgy of the Word in a way that is more appropriate for their age. This is aimed at children of primary school age (4-11yrs). All children attending must have a registration form completed by their parent before attending. Forms are available from the Sacristy. Please note that children’s Liturgy is held during term time at the 9am Mass at St Williams and 11am Mass at St James. 
The Reading University Catholic Chaplaincy is based in the house opposite St Williams church at 29 Upper Redlands Road. Mass is celebrated during term time for the students at St William of York church at 6pm.
The University Chaplain: Fr Stan Gibzinski
The Lay Chaplain: Dorinda Bray
Phone: 0118 926 8869
Website: www.rucathchap.uk.
On admission all Catholics must inform the hospital staff that they are Roman Catholic & if they wish to have Communion or see a priest. Also phone RBH Chaplaincy on 0118 322 7105. Patients, staff, visitors and all welcome.
RC Hospital Chaplain : Fr. John Paul Lyttle
Tel: 07391896559.
Sunday Mass in Hospital: RBH Chapel at 4pm.
They assist the community with the distribution of Holy Communion at Mass. They take Holy Communion to the sick, housebound in the Parish and to the Royal Berkshire Hospital. They are commissioned for a period of 5 years. Training is offered once a year usually after Christmas. A Day of Prayer is also organized once a year in the Pastoral Area.
sacraments
Parents are welcome to bring their children for Baptism. The procedure is to contact the Fr John to do the necessary paperwork and be advised as to the date and arrangements for Baptism. A pre-Baptism Preparation course is offered in two sessions five times a year at St William of York Church. Godparents are welcome to attend.
Schedule of Activities for Baptism are as follows:
- Welcome Rite on last Sunday of month at 11.00am
- Mass Baptism on 1st Sunday of the month in St James at 1.00pm.
- Number of Baptisms per year: 70
We believe that the sacrament of confirmation is a moment of transformation not graduation to leaving the Church. Confirmation completes the process of ‘Christian Initiation’ into the family if Jesus – the Church. Live Baptism is a ‘moment’, a process of being made a Christian, not a stage to go through and then left aside but rather lived out over the years ahead.
The Sacrament of Confirmation is available to anyone who is in YEAR 8 of secondary school, is aged at least thirteen at the time of preparation, and has already received the Sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist.
Confirmation is celebrated by the Diocesan Bishop at St John Cathedral, Portsmouth, normally with candidates from all other Reading parishes in Easter time.
For more information contact;
Parish Office: Tel: (+44) 01189 57 4171
e-mail: [email protected]
Any parent/guardian who wishes their child to receive the Sacrament of Eucharist and celebrate the Sacrament of Penance is asked to contact Fr John or the parish office.
Children wishing to make these sacraments should be in YR 3 at school by the time they receive these sacraments and should already be baptised.
Our parish preparation sessions start in September each year. Our parish celebration of First Communion usually occurs on a Saturday in May in St James church.
Anyone wishing to arrange a wedding at either St James church or St William of York church is advised to see Fr John. Please note that, to secure the date of your wedding, ordinarily we require six months’ notice.
It is a diocesan requirement that all couples wishing to receive this sacrament be properly prepared; in this parish marriage preparation takes place both by their discussions with Fr John and by their attendance at a Marriage Preparation course.
We host a special evening for engaged couples with married couple mentors. Also, the is a Blessing of engaged couples and their engagement rings during an 11:00 am Sunday Mass in May with a reception afterwards.
For marriages in the parish or marriages planned outside the parish in the UK or abroad, contact Fr John or the parish office.
Parishioners who are ill or due for an operation are encouraged to celebrate this Sacrament. This can be arranged in the church or at home. Contact the Fr John or the Parish Office:
Tel: (+44) 0118957 4171
e-mail: [email protected]
Those interested in exploring ministry in the church as a priest are invited to contact Fr John to arrange for an initial discussion. Fr Mark Hogan, St Josephs, Basingstoke is responsible for the promotion of vocations to the priesthood in Diocese.
Email: [email protected]
Confessions are heard weekly on Saturday at the regular time of 5.00pm to 5.45pm in St James Church and also by appointment with the Fr John.
Parish Reconciliation Services at St James at 7.30pm on the first Monday of Christmas Week and Holy Week. Normally 6 priests are available for these services.
Anyone wishing to arrange a wedding at either St James church or St William of York church is advised to see Fr John. Please note that, to secure the date of your wedding, ordinarily we require six months’ notice.
It is a diocesan requirement that all couples wishing to receive this sacrament be properly prepared; in this parish marriage preparation takes place both by their discussions with Fr John and by their attendance at a Marriage Preparation course.
For marriages in the parish or marriages planned outside the parish in the UK or abroad, contact Fr John or the parish office.
Activities
Aim: To bring our parish from Maintenance to Mission.
All the members of the Parish EST and the Senior Leadership Team have studied the book ‘Divine Renovation’ by Fr James Mallon, parish priest of St Benedict’s, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Fr John and some members attended the conference at St Mary’s College, Twickenham and also the day conference at Holy Trinity, Brompton on Divine Renovation. Fr James Mallon led a four day conference for the clergy of the Diocese of Portsmouth in 2017.
Recently the parish joined the Divine Renovation Association, an international association for the renewing of parishes, established by Fr James Mallon and his team of advisors. The association offers a large range of podcasts, DVD’s on leadership and transforming the culture of the parish community. It’s overall aim is to help clergy and parishes to be renewed. Fr John, the Senior Leadership team and the Parish Evangelisation Strategy Team have access to the resources of the Divine Renovation Association.
Fr John and a group will be attending the Divine Renovation conference in Birmingham on 7th– 8th February 2019.
Fr John meets with the parents to complete the application form and to assess their faith and level of commitment. Parents are advised that our expectation is that they as a family begin to participate in the Sunday Mass. The baptism team tries to link up with the parents and be a point of contact at Sunday Mass. They are invited to two preparation sessions at St James church on a Saturday morning. The baptism team, lead by Jo Hopkins, aims to be interactive with parents and meet them where they are rather than making a presentation on the theology of Baptism.
The Baptism team have recently redesigned their sessions in the light of our efforts to make our parish a more welcoming and inclusive community. As well as the baptism preparation sessions, we also have a Rite of Welcome at Sunday Mass to welcome the family and the child into the community. The baptisms are celebrated on a Mass usually the first Sunday of the month. Baptisms are also celebrated during one of the Sunday Masses.
Held every month/6 weeks for two consecutive Sundays. People are given a stick on name badge as they arrive at Mass. We have a large multi cultural, multi ethnic community in our parish so building relationships is important for us. On Pentecost Sunday we have an ‘International Mass’ with flags around the church and the Sunday readings in different languages followed by ‘Foods of the World’. After the homily or just before the blessing at the end of Mass Fr John invites people to stand and find a person that they don’t know, tell them a little about themselves and then exchange badges and promise to pray for them during the week. After an initial reticence people are now happy with Name Badge Sundays.
This is a significant event that is aimed at moving practicing Catholics into a deeper personal relationship with Jesus Christ and to supporting them in responding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
It’s held every year from about March to June, a 10 week course, every Monday evening with a break at Easter time.
This is an ongoing initiative aimed at forming small intentional communities led by 2-3 leaders to support people in journey of faith.
Fr John usually reflects with us on the Sunday Gospel and then moves on to share something on The Vision and Strategy for change in the parish. This is a constant reminder that we cannot stay where we are and we must try and do things differently. We are always interested as to what is new and what is a focus for change in our parish. Fr John shares with the wider community the ideas and suggestions that have been discussed at the meetings with the Senior Leadership Team and the Parish EST Group.
Get In Touch
St James Reading Church
Forbury Road,
Reading, RG1 3FD,
ENGLAND
Tel: (44) 01189 574171
St William of York Church
46 Upper Redlands Road,
Reading, RG1 5JP,
ENGLAND
Tel: (44) 01189 574171
St James and St William of York, Reading Parish is part of the Diocese of Portsmouth.
Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust Registered charity 246871