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.
Holy Water
Becoming a Christian is straightforward: we begin our journey by being Baptized - another word for this is Christened.
When we are Baptized, water is poured upon us and the words: 'I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit' are used.
After our baptism, at St Mary's we have the opportunity to use holy water to sign ourselves with the Cross as we enter the church. Some people also use it when they leave.
Water is the thing we need to keep us alive: we can survive for quite a long time without food, but without water we die very quickly. So we need water to live.
Unfortunately, too much water is a threat to us. Too much and we can drown.
In Baptism we die to our sins and come out of the water ready for a new life: we are washed clean.
Holy Water is often used at funerals and also we sprinkle holy water during the Easter season as a reminder of the new life which Christ began for us.