WELCOME TO THE PARISH CHURCH
OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN, SWANLEY
01322 662201
All Souls Day: Thursday 2nd November 2023
St Mary's places great importance on remembering those we have loved and lost. A central part of this ministry is our Commemoration of the Faithful Departed, All Souls Day, which falls on 2nd November.
We celebrate a said Mass at 10am when we remember all who are on our anniversaries of death list.
At 7.30pm, we shall have a sung Mass at which we shall remember all whose funerals we have done in the last year and anyone for whom we have done memorial services or burials of ashes. We provide some refreshments after the evening Mass.
You are welcome to ask us to remember a relative who has died and you are very welcome to join us at any of our services.
We also make available 7-day candles which are lit for the evening service and remain in church for the following week. If you would like more information about buying a candle, please download the form here, print it out and return it to us with your payment.
Hall Hire
Our hall is not available for hire at the moment.
When it is, we shall publish details of how to book.
In the meantime, nobody is able to arrange hall bookings and we are not taking any deposits at this time.
Coronavirus Covid-19
The Vaccinaton centre which previously ran in the church hall ceased operation in December 2022. Vaccines will be available at the Cedars Surgery in Swanley on Saturdays, you need to contact them for further details.
Church Services
There is no Mass on Saturday 4th November as Fr Dane is attending Diocesan Synod.
If you have any cough, flu, cold or symptoms of other transmissable diseases then you should not attend church or any other gathering: keep your germs to yourself!
Of course, faithful Christians should be seeking to ensure they have a prayer life which routinely engages them in saying sorry for their sins, adoring our Creator, giving thanks for our Saviour and kindling the fire of the Holy Spirit within us all. This prayer life may be nourished by joining online acts of worship or through attending less 'busy' services during the week.
St Mary's offers one Mass for a Sunday, which is sung, at 10am and Evening Prayer at 5pm.
Public worship remains slightly different from usual as not everyone is ready to move at the same pace so there is a need to be patient, prayerful and kind as we move forward.
The Church Hall is closed at present and we do not have a date for its reopening.
Mass is usually celebrated on Sundays at 10am and then from Tuesday to Friday:
Tuesday, 7pm
Wednesday, 11.30am
Thursday, 10am
Friday, 11am
Saturday, 10am
Safeguarding
Making sure the whole Church family is safe is an important part of what we do here. Full details can be found here.
Daily Prayers
A useful rule of life can involve the saying of prayers each day when we wake and before we go to sleep. These prayers don't have to be long, in a set form or use big words. Some people find a daily routine helps them and others do prefer having a set of prayers which they know other Christians throughout the world are using. One such resource is called Universalis and on this site you'll find prayers for the whole day - along with the readings used at Mass - which are shared by Christians throughout the world.
We are a family of faith
We live & work
and grow & pray
together
Our faith is centred on Jesus Christ
and his sacrifice for us.
We seek to live the love of God which is given to us in the Lord.
Thank you to our supporters
St Mary's gets no money from the government,
no money from local councils
and no money from the central church.
Every penny we spend has to come from people and businesses
who dig deep to support our work - and we're grateful to them all.