Mission

Lest the impression be given that the Sacred Heart Parish is primarily an inward-looking congregation, the following evangelisation-based activities are prominent in our parish life. Much of the "Mission" work is directed by a very active and conscientious Parish Council who meet approximately quarterly each year.  Its sub-committees meet when necessary. There are also Finance and Building Committees who pay diligent attention to the temporal goods of the parish.

The parish has recently twinned with Silveira House, a Jesuit-run parish near Harare, Zimbabwe. This has involved exchanges of letters, e-mails and photographs with the priests and members of the Parish Council. It has enabled understanding of day-to-day survival and spiritual issues present in that strife-torn part of the world, so fostering a true spirit of Christian brotherhood. We have responded by fund-raising organised by our active Third World Group Social Sub-Committee through a wine tasting, quiz and barbecue. This has raised (with impressive anonymous donations) more than £5,000 for seed and fertilizer purchase, and for kick-starting a self-help brick-making venture. We regularly receive photographic updates of progress, and mount these photographs in the Church. We are similarly shown in photographic form in Silveira House, and our weekly newsletter is e-mailed there. Earlier in 2004, we exchanged bidding prayers for reading at respective Sunday Masses in both parishes.

This activity was on top of a long-lasting support of the John Bradburne Trust which has administered aid to a Zimbabwe leper colony for almost 30 years, and which continues to be supported by a Lenten collection and by the proceeds of the weekly post-Mass coffee contributions.

The Parish social events are, as above, a real feature of life in Sacred Heart Parish, and we are fortunate to have a good quality Parish Hall at our disposal. The Hall is also the venue each Lent for what is always a very well-attended series of Lenten Lectures on the gospels or on the faith in general. These lectures are also well attended by Henley Christians of other denominations. Our attendance at outside ecumenical events could, by common agreement, be better. However, we are very fortunate for the year 2004 to be represented on the Henley Churches Together Committee by a parishioner who was elected lay chairperson.

Our choir is well represented at ecumenical concerts in Henley, and recently hosted a concert at Sacred Heart Church involving several local church choirs with proceeds going to the John Bradburne Trust (Zimbabwe).

We are certainly not complacent regarding our outward-looking "Mission" and our study weekend noted around ten areas for further attention.