30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

A well attended early Mass started our last green Sunday of the year. The gloomy day we have here in Sevenoaks was brightened up by Sophie May who today received the sacrament of Baptism. During the baptisimal Mass we had time to reflect about the Bible, as today we kept Bible Sunday. Below you will find a picture of the bible that stands open next to the East wall of the church, behind the high altar. It is good to have the bible exposed there every day as the life of St John's revolves around the Word of God. Incidentally, that bible is the same one presented to the church on the day of its consecration in 1858, what a more fitting way to show the centarlity of Sacred Scriptures for us.
After Mass and during our usual refreshments many people got their tickets for our Sesquicentenary lunch. There is a buzz in the air as we prepare to open our festivities on Thursday with the official opening of our Parish Exhibition and on Saturday, All Saints Day, we will be welcoming the Bishop of Rochester as our Preacher.
All the entries for the Christmas card competition were received and by Saturday we will be launching our Christmas Cards sales towards the new robes for our servers.

It was also good to welcome two parishioners, mother and daughter, who moved out of the parish some months ago and today came to visit us.
This afternoon Fr Mark will do the Hospital communions, I do not want to share my cold, and the day will come to a close with Rosary and Benediction.