Welcome
A warm welcome to St. Simon & St. Jude,
we are the Roman Catholic Parish of Streatham Hill, South London.
Our parish lies within the Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark.
Our parish priest is the Rev. Fr. Gregory Verissimo.
We are a small and welcoming community.
The church dates back to the early 1900s.
The parish serves a diverse community of people of all ages and backgrounds.
We come together, not only to pray, worship and share the sacraments together,
but also to celebrate high feasts and social events, see our events page.
Opening of Our Church for Mass
BOOK YOURSELF FOR MASS
The churches are now allowed to have mass and the celebration of the Sacraments
with relevant restrictions in place.
The plan now is to have mass on Wednesdays (9 am) and Sundays (12.15 pm).
New National Lockdown Updates
o Communal worship, including prayers, devotions or meditations led by a Minister of Religion or lay person Mass and other acts of worship can continue as normal following the covid-security guidance that has been published by the Bishops’ Conference after consultation with officials from Public Health England and MHCLG.
o Marriage ceremonies As national lockdown is essentially Tier 5, only 6 people can attend a marriage (apart from anyone working as part of the ceremony) and these should only occur in exceptional circumstances. Weddings planned for the next 6 weeks should be deferred.
o Funerals: In all areas, there must be no more than 30 people attending. Anyone working is not included as part of the 30 person limit. Attendees should socially distance from anyone they do not live with (unless they are in their support bubble).
o As national lockdown is essentially Tier 5, only 6 people can attend a commemorative event which would include the interment of ashes after a cremation. The immediate burial of a coffin after a church or crematorium-based service would be subject to 30 people or the restrictions imposed locally by the graveyard or crematorium authorities.
o Significant life cycle events, outside of marriage ceremonies and funerals: This means that the numbers of people permitted to attend life-cycle events such as baptisms, confirmations and other significant sacramental celebrations are subject to the covid-security determined limits of the church.
o Small prayer and study groups: As national lockdown is essentially Tier 5, in person prayer or study groups (which would include catechesis for the celebration of the sacraments) should not take place physically, but only using online means.
o Face Coverings: Face coverings must be worn in places of worship, unless you are exempt. This is now law.
o Summary: It is important that during this time all places of worship continue to provide hand sanitiser at points of access and egress, there should be stewarding and managed social distancing within the church space and that full cleaning of the space should be done immediately after the church has been in use.
o The time that people are in the church should be minimised (so the use of liturgical choices should reflect this, including a short homily, the omission of the prayers of the faithful and any other permitted mitigations) and the church must be well ventilated even during the liturgical celebrations. There should be no congregational singing as part of the liturgical celebrations and if a choir or cantors sing, the choices of music should be such that the exposure time is not excessively prolonged.
o It is very important to encourage all who attend our churches to abide by these covid security restrictions and to protect themselves and those around them. It is also an opportunity to thank those who clean and steward our churches for their generosity of service to the local community.
Please Note
· We are obliged to maintain social distancing in the church. This means the number of people who can attend the mass is limited.
· At present, the obligation to attend Sunday mass remains suspended. Those who can attend the weekday mass, please consider it so that others will have a chance on Sundays.
· We are obliged to keep a temporary record of those who attend mass for 21 days to assist NHS test and trace service. so, where possible please write your name plus address/email/phone number on a piece of paper in advance, and include the time of Mass you are attending. We will also have cards available for people to fill on arrival at church. If you don’t have pen and paper with you, please provide your details to one of the stewards.
· There will be no congregational singing and mass will be shorter than usual.
· Readers will be supplied with single use gloves and will avoid touching the microphone or lectionary apart from page turning. The homily will be brief to minimize the time that people are congregated in the church building. The prayer of the faithful will be omitted.
· There will be no offertory procession and no sharing of collection bags. A collection box will be placed at the entrance for parishioners to put their offering.
· The communion will be in one kind only. A table will be placed between the communicant and the priest to ensure distancing. The communion will be distributed in silence – no usual exchange of “the body of Christ” and “Amen”
· After the mass people will be encouraged to return home and not remain.
· The church will be closed after mass has finished in order for cleaning to be undertaken.
Fr. Gregory's Profession of Faith as Parochial Administrator of the Parish
Fr. Gregory made the Profession of Faith and took the Oath of Fidelity on the 11th of November, 2020 before Fr. Marcus Holden, Dean of Lambeth Deanery. This is required for him to validly fulfil the role of Parochial Administrator of SS Simon and Jude parish, Streatham Hill. Many congratulations Fr. Gregory.
Fr Gregory: Please be aware of the increasing risk of cybercrime and online fraud. If you ever receive an email stating a change in bank account details purporting to be from the Archdiocese or any of our Parishes, we recommend you contact us immediately by telephone on 0208 682 7880 before transferring any funds to the account, in order to verify that the email is genuine and not a scam.
As we face together the unusual situation in England and Wales of not being able to attend public worship due to the present health crisis, we would like to offer parishioners in Southwark and beyond a number of helpful resources to continue their prayer life and connect to the Catholic community. Live-Streamed Mass & Spiritual Communion in Southwark Diocese
Link
to Southwark parishes that live-stream MassSeveral Parishes within the Archdiocese live-stream Mass each weekend. We have compiled a list of those that currently do so, along with links to each stream. Please check the times of services since these may change from the normal advertised routine in the present circumstances.
If you cannot make Fridays (now twice a month), but want to be involved, contact Fr David on 020 7207 2392. View the link below. |
Please click here To Contact Fr. Gregory: As a guide for personal guidance, new to the parish, pre-Baptism, Holy Communion, Confirmation, Marriage preparation, home visits
New to the Parish?
Please introduce yourselves to our Greeters & Fr. Gregoryi. NEW TO THE PARISH? download, complete and submit BOTH welcome packs (PDF) ~ WELCOME PACK (1)
ii. WELCOME TO THE PARISH REGISTRATION FORM & HISTORY PACK (PDF) (2)
YOUTUBE LINKS
CLICK ON ANY IMAGES TO OPEN WEBSITE
| Parish Refurbishment, Renovation and Restoration works - June - Sept 2018 The church prior to the restoration / refurbishment click on the link here |
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CHURCH TOUR - GALLERY Media Podcasts & RSS Feeds (coming) |
We would like this site to be informative, easier to use and of real value to you. If you have any comments or suggestions, or would like to contribute to the site, do get in touch with us please use this direct link, or visit us in person at St. Simon + St. Jude Catholic Church, 5 Hillside Road, Streatham Hill, London SW2 3HL. Website Feedback only (not for personal/baptism/marriage enquiries or general information). To contact the Parish Priest or Parish Office/Secretary see section above please.
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