Men’s Group
“Love one another as I have loved you”
John 15:12
About us
We are an informal and welcoming group which promotes prayer, fellowship, friendship, and faith among men who regularly attend Mass at St Anthony’s (whether Catholic or not) and their invited guests.
Please join us!
Activities
Our regular meeting is the 2nd Wednesday of the month at 7.30pm for Eucharistic Adoration in the church, followed by a simple fellowship supper in the hall.
See our blog at the bottom of the page!
(Please see our Event Calendar at the bottom of the page)
There are also ad-hoc events and activities throughout the year.
Activities include:
• A friendship and support network
• Discussion group for parish initiatives
• Prayer (often informal)
• Social gatherings e.g. pub, restaurant, walks and trips away, sports and games
• Attending local lectures on religious matters
• Practical help with parish events and longer term projects
Contact
For any questions, don’t hesitate to contact Ed Smith
men.stanthony@gmail.com
07897194483
To join the email list, please sign up here.
St Anthony’s Men need you!
Men’s Group Blog
June 2023 – BBQ
The men assembled for a BBQ to make the most of the wonderful weather!
May 2023 – The Month of Mary – Rosary
A few of us gathered to pray the rosary in the month of Mary for St Anthony’s Parish
April 2023 – Easter pub trip
A convivial pint was raised in the Brittania Inn to celebrate Easter after the long haul through Lent
March 2023 – The Spiritual Works of Mercy with a Dominican Friar
We were honoured to welcome Dominican friar from Blackfriars, Fr Robert Ombres OP, to give a talk on the Spiritual Works of Mercy, much less well known that the Corporal Works of Mercy. There were some fascinating discussions that arose from his talk, all over a hearty dinner.
Fr Robert’s the Spiritual Works of Mercy handout from the evening can be viewed here.
- TO PRAY
2 Maccabees 12: 38-46
James 5: 13-17
- TO INSTRUCT
2 Tim 4:1-5
- TO COUNSEL
James 1:5-8
- TO CONSOLE
Job 2: 11-13
- TO REPROACH
Mt 18: 15-17
- TO FORGIVE
Mt 18: 21-22
- TO BEAR WITH
Lk 6: 27-36
Fr Robert was very complimentary on the sense of fellowship he witnessed in our group.
February 2023 – Life Stories Episode 2: God’s Providence.
We were delighted to have another enthralling life story by a member of men’s group. He related his experience over a varied life lived in different jobs and continents relating to many different people, and all the prompts that came at just the right time, in God’s Providence. It was a wonderfully edifying evening.
January 2023 – Life Stories Episode 1: Geoff and the Rufuji Leprosy Trust, Tanzania
Geoff shared the story of Fr Robin Lamburn and the Rufuji Leprosy Trust in transforming the leprosy village at Kindwitwi in Tanzania into a healthy, integrated community. He and Jenny lived there for 3 years and have been involved for 30
Chapel Repairs
We are looking to raise £800 for essential care of the chapel, which has become occupied with bats.
This is an excerpt from the Rufuji Leprosy Trust news.
“In addition, the local church where Fr. Lamburn worshiped is also in need of repairs. Whilst the overall structure appears sound (albeit to the untrained eye), bats have also made their home in the roof and the building is in need of a general of maintenance and care. This work falls outside of the mandate of RLT and therefore is not something we can fund. However, we did wonder if you, your community or local parish would be interested in raising funds to support this renovation?”
Please consider supporting by bank transfer, with the reference “chapel”. The
The Rufiji Leprosy Trust bank account is:
RLT
Sort code: 30-92-40
A/c number: 00944350
December 2022 – Advent Reflection & pub trip
Fr Tony gave a lovely reflection on St Joseph and led us in a hymn to St Joseph – which has may join the repertoire for the choir. Dinner followed at the White Hart (and a couple of beers). Very pleasant!!
November 2022 – Lectio & Quiz
A record turn out with 14 men for Lectio Divina in the church, followed by an eclectic quiz over dinner.
October 2022 – Lectio & The Chosen
Men gathered for Lectio Divina prayer in the church, followed by a viewing of “The Chosen” over dinner on the projector.
September 2022 – Lectio & Dinner
After the summer break, a bumper crop of men assembled for Lectio Divina in the church and a convivial dinner! It was good to be back again.
May Meeting 2022 – Adoration & the Turin Shroud
After Eucharistic Adoration, we shared dinner as usual in the hall and discussed the evidence for the Turin Shroud.
April 22 – Eastertide Feast
The men stuck into some festive fayre to celebrate the Risen Christ!
March 22 – Lent Ecumenical Men’s group
We were lucky to be joined by three inspiring friends from the Oxford Baptist Chapel during Lent. We shared a period of reflective prayer with a Taize background following the traditional Men’s group Celtic night prayer.
We enjoyed sharing our stories of Faith over dinner with each other and were inspired by our stories of conversion and love of God, some dramatic and some quieter. A lesson in how He works differently in each of our lives.
March 2022 – Shrove Tuesday Pancakes Social
The men gathered at Ed’s house to flip some pancakes in hearty preparation for Lent and the great fast of Ash Wednesday. The spinach, mushroom and creme fraiche version were critically acclaimed but peanut butter was unfairly relegated to the unrepeatable experiment pile.
February 2022 – Faith and Works?
We met for Adoration in church, followed by an excellent spread, and some new and wonderfully-named beers from Manus. As usual, we had fun getting catering sorted and once again had to resort to the wok to heat the soup. An apparent dearth of bread soon became a miracle of the loaves as a penniless trip down to the Coop produced a bounty of loaves.
Tibor led us in a fascinating Biblical tour of the question of “Saved by faith alone or faith and ‘works’ – the justification of salvation”. It is too large a topic to tackle here, but the interested reader may wish to consult the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
It was great to have a familiar face join us again, and Fr Emmanuel’s company (albeit missing from the photo). Bonus credit to John K, who drove all the way down from Scotland today!
January 2022 – Synod
We met for Adoration in church followed by a great spread of soup, cheese, bread, wine and beer. John Kirwan guided us through an early introduction on the Synod and how we were going to engage in the process in the coming weeks. We were delighted to have Tibor join us for the first time!
Synod means ‘journeying together’ and it involves listening to the Holy Spirit and to each other in order to discern the path we are called to walk together. Walking together is above all a spiritual journey. We are invited to journey together while always calling upon the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us. We are asked to pray constantly, and at each step to pray to the Holy Spirit. This journey is about : What is the Holy Spirit saying to our Church today?
December 2021 – Adoration & Dinner
We met for Adoration in church, followed by soup, bread, cheese, pate and wine. Unfortunately, being somewhat disorganised, we had nothing to heat the soup in, nor sufficiently large bowls to eat if from. Thankfully, with a little ingenuity, a large wok proved successful for heating and Fr Emmanuel lent us the necessary vessels.
