AS  WE  JOURNEY  TOGETHER,  BUILDING  UP  THE  LGBT +  EUCHARISTIC COMMUNITY,  WE  GATHER  AGAIN  FOR  MASS,  12.00,  SATURDAY,  18  MARCH  2023, FOLLOWED  BY  BRING-&-SHARE  LUNCH  &  AFTERNOON  DISCUSSION  -  ST.  JOSEPH'S  CATHOLIC  CHURCH,  LAMB'S  BUILDINGS,  OFF  LAMB'S  PASSAGE,    LONDON  EC1Y  8LD.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             NEAREST  STATIONS:  OLD STREET (Northern Line - Bank Branch, London Overground);  BARBICAN (Circle, Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City Lines); FARRINGDON (Elizabeth Line - Barbican Exit); LIVERPOOL  STREET (British Rail, Central, Circle, Elizabeth, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan Lines); MOORGATE ( Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan, Northern - Bank Branch - Lines). 

For this Lent 2023, in line with 2021 and 2022 initiatives, Farm Street Church in partnership with Grosvenor Chapel, would like to invite each of us to a journey of prayer and sharing around the theme Enlarging the Space of our Tent. 

We will focus on Justice and Peace, covering the themes of homelessness, racial justice, care of creation, migrants and peace, in the light of the Scriptures, following the Catholic diocese of Westminster Sharing Faith resource booklet.  

This ecumenical Lent Group will take place on Zoom each Wednesday at 8PM from 1st March 2023 until 29th March. You can get the link by sending an email by clicking HERE

You are welcome to join all the sessions or just drop by for one to try it out.

We hope many of you can join us in this common adventure and are looking forward to meet you! 

St Ignatius of Loyola had a great ‘facility in finding God... and every time and hour he wanted to find God, he found Him’ (Reminiscences). Ignatius believed we meet God in every aspect of our lives, our experiences, our feelings and our imaginations. His spirituality is rooted in everyday life, offering guidance and ways of praying that are accessible yet profoundly life changing. 

The sessions will consist of input followed by a time of silent prayer and guided / imaginative contemplation, with opportunities to listen to each other and share together.

This prayer group meets weekly and includes a stillness, exercise, a little input from a prayer guide on an aspect of Ignatian spirituality, a time for quiet prayer on the reading / text chosen for the day and then some sharing as you feel called to.

We meet every week on Tuesdays at 7pm on Zoom. We are a welcoming group and if you would like more information email us by clicking HERE **

Pope Francis has challenged the whole Catholic world to dream anew of what it means to be Church in a 21st century, post-pandemic world, through calling for all Church members to journey and listen together in order to strengthen a sense of being at one with the Church in communion, to participate in the life of the Church, and to go out to proclaim Christ’s liberating message. 

Most importantly, the Pope has urged that the voices of those who are not heard, or who are ignored, should be listened to in this process. This includes children, women, men, LGBT+ communities, people of colour, people living with HIV, or abled in other ways. LGBT+ Catholics Westminster is actively involved in the Westminster Diocesan Synodal Pathway, enabling the voices of LGBT+ Catholics, parents and families to be heard at parish, diocesan, national and global levels. As part of the Synodal Pathway , we held 2 face-to-face Listening Sessions, 9 & 23 November 2022) in the Arrupe Hall, 114 Mount Street, Mayfair, London W1K 3AH as well an online listening session. The feedback has been collated and forwarded to the relevant synodal bodies. Thank you to everyone for your active participation.                                                                                                                                                            The Synodal Pathway is an ongoing process and it is not too late to participate. Click HERE to find out more. 

The Vatican has announced an extension to this first phase of the Synodal process, giving us more time at grass-roots levels. We will therefore plan for an On-line Listening Session,  at a date to be confirmed, for those unable to join in face-to-face sessions.                                                                                                                                                            For more information on the Westminster Diocesan Synodal Pathway: https://rcdow.org.uk/synod/

The LGBT+ Catholics Westminster Pastoral Council warmly invites you to a Pre-Christmas Mass and gathering, Saturday, 17 December, 12.00- 16.00. This will take place at St. Joseph's Church, Lamb's Buildings, off Lamb's Passage, Bunhill Row, London EC1Y 8LD.                                        NEAREST TUBES: BARBICAN, FARRINGDON (Elizabeth Line - Barbican Exit), OLD STREET  -   https://parish.rcdow.org.uk/bunhillrow/contact/ 

Please be prepared to contribute to a seasonal Bring-&-Share Lunch - light refreshments will be provided.  We intend this to be the first of regular additional gatherings for LGBT+ Catholics Westminster with the aim of strengthening our sense of being a Eucharistic community. We are pleased that a number of priests who ministered in our previous presiding rotas at Warwick Street and St. Anne's, Soho, have agreed to take part from time to time. This Saturday's Mass will be celebrated by Fr. Chris. Vipers, Parish Priest of St. Mary Moorfields in the City of London and Administrator of St. Joseph's, Bunhill Row. Fr. Chris. is also Director of Evangelisation for Westminster Diocese and takes a key role in the Synodal Journey.

After lunch there will be an opportunity to share ideas about how we can plan further gatherings, their frequency etc. The afternoon will end with a brief period of Lectio Divina. Please let us know if you plan to come on Saturday, for refreshment purposes by emailing us via Contact page on this website. 

LGBT+ Catholics Westminster & Catholics for AIDS Prevention & Support welcome everyone to the annual World AIDS Day Mass, 18.00, Thursday, 1 December 2022, The Church of the Immaculate Conception (Farm Street Jesuit Church), 114 Mount Street, Mayfair London W1K 3AH. Nearest tubess: Bond St and Green Park

The Celebrant and Preacher will be Father David Birchall SJ, Director of the London Jesuit Centre, who ministered on the AIDS Ward of San Francisco General Hospital, USA, at the height of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Music will be provided by the 530 Music Group. A Reception in the Arrupe Hall, 114 Mount Street, follows the Mass. This event is the only public religious celebration listed in London to mark World AIDS Day. All are welcome and if this is your first time attending you are encouraged to make yourself known to a greeter who can make you feel welcome. 

Catholics for AIDS Prevention & Support (CAPS) will mount an HIV/AIDS display in a Farm Street Church side-chapel from 26 November - 4 December, where red ribbons and information literature will be available. CAPS will hold an online Service - 17.00, Saturday, 26 November 2022, Stand Together Stronger, Healing Stigma. REGISTER HERE: 

 https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/2916673105321/WN_4MKlI27VRZGKWi8ckWPASw

Photo by Janosch Diggelmann on Unsplash

Saturday, 25 June, one week before Pride-in-London, LGBT+ Catholics Younger Adults Group invites the whole community to an open-air spiritual celebration and Pride social. We will gather in thanksgiving for freedoms, offer up the challenges and suffering of many and celebrate those who campaign and speak on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves. 

This sharing of readings, prayer and song will be followed by a bring-and-share picnic, fun and games. We hope that this event will be a great preparation for the Pride Parade on 2 July. For those attending the open-air Spiritual Celebration and Pride Social we will meet at the bandstand on Clapham Common at 14.00,Saturday, 25 June. We will then decamp to a secluded spot nearby. In the event of bad weather, we can retire to the 2 Brewers. 

Please RSVP to Gemma & Mark at lgbtcatholicsyag@gmail.com if you plan to attend and may the Pride be with you!    

#HELPUKRAINE WITH EASTER EGGS - after Mass on Sunday 10 April

THANK YOU to all the donations for our sell out sale of Easter eggs, which raised £540!!

During our next gathering on 10 April after the 5.30pm mass at Farm Street there will be an opportunity to support #HELPUKRAINE, the emergency appeal being organised by a community partnership of Ukrainian churches and organisations in Great Britain & The Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family of London, including the needs of LGBT+ refugees, with the sale of hand-crafted Easter-eggs.

These eggs are beautifully handmade using traditional methods (beeswax and water colours) from Eastern Slovakia. They are durable and for decorative purposes only. Price: £3/€3 per item or £15/€15 for a set of 6 or your choice (perhaps a rainbow set?) and any donations aboved that will also go to the appeal. These eggs are hand apinted by the relative of one of our community members and we can therefore vouch for their authenticity and good use of proceeds. These can also be ordered for mailing - £4.40 postage if you can not pick up in person. CONTACT Peter for details: foxadlo@gmail.com