The Serra Club of South Herts continues to meet every month, on the second Tuesday of the month. Our meetings have moved online for the time being – so if you would like to join us, please do get in touch using the form on the contact page and we will share the instructions on how to join!
Tag: garston
Resources for prayer and attending Mass at home
With the current COVID-19 outbreak, and even though public Mass has resumed to an extent, we will not be meeting at Our Lady & St Michael’s for our monthly meetings.
However, we can still pray for vocations at home and have our regular monthly meetings online to pray together and learn about vocations.
Local Churches
Our Lady & St. Michael’s – Garston
St. Helen’s – North Watford
St Helen’s is currently streaming Mass at 9am on Sunday morning – please check their website as live-streaming may cease once in-person Mass attendance can resume.
St. Teresa of the Child Jesus – Borehamwood
Mass is streamed daily from Borehamwood and can be watched here.
Other Churches
- Sunday and Weekday Mass elsewhere in the Diocese
- Masses, Daily Prayer and other video from around the UK and Ireland
- National Shrine of Our Lady, Walsingham
- Along with daily Mass at noon, there is Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament being streamed online – the schedule and page to watch on their website is here: https://www.walsingham.org.uk/live-stream/
- You can also watch on their YouTube channel
Serra Club of South Herts Prayers
- Prayers for Vocations
- Night Prayer from our March 2020 Meeting
- Adoration for Vocations Intercessions
Other Prayer Resources
- Resources during Mass suspension from the Diocese
- The Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
- Prayers during a time of ‘flu and illness, prepared by the Liturgy Office
- Website for the Rededication of England as Mary’s Dowry – the Rededication still went ahead, but from our own homes rather than in mass gatherings. The prayers are available for download.
Other Local Resources
Sister Mary Joachim – March 2019
It was a special evening for South Herts Serra Club when Sr. Mary Joachim attended in March. Sr. Mary Joachim, who had been a sister in the congregation of Mother Teresa, runs The Mission of Hope in Ethiopia and was back in her home town of Watford whilst on a sabbatical in the UK. Sr Joachim gave a most absorbing and engaging talk on her missionary work and the difficulties and dangers she faces in the area she covers.
Sr Joachim was born in Watford in 1959 and her mother Helen was a member of the Serra club in the 80’s. She was baptised at Holy Rood RC Church and attended Holy Rood RC Primary School followed by St Michael’s Catholic High School. During her teens in Our Lady & St Michaels parish, she participated in many parish activities and became a member of the Legion of Mary, visiting patients in Leavesden Hospital. The parish priest at the time, Fr Gerard Mulvaney, played a very important figure in the development of her vocation and in 1980 she joined the Missionaries of Charity – later the Congregation of Mother Theresa.
Her vocation saw her spend some 19 years in Eastern Europe and whilst in Poland was appointed Provincial Superior. Having spent six years in this appointment, she felt the need to return to carry out God’s work amongst those in need and she carried out her mission in India and the Philippines where she looked after psychiatric patients living on the streets. With her ever desire to help those most in need, she felt God was asking her “to serve those no one serves, in places to which to which no one wishes to go”.
With this calling, in 2011 she was sent to the Somali region in Ethiopia at the invitation of the local Bishop. There she met and worked together with a Missionary priest who had lived in Gode for six years and who had requested assistance in vain from various religious congregations. To assist her work Sr Joachim established the charity of The Mission of Hope. Situated in South East Ethiopia and 700km away from the nearest Catholic Church, Gode is a military town. She works with women and mothers who have been affected by HIV and illness, prostitution, war and conflicts and a lack of resources such as clean water. Sr. Joachim is working with these women and is offering them support and friendship, an opportunity to learn new skills and crafts which enable them to earn a living and provide for their families and medical advice and support for themselves and their children. In 2015, the Mission started to work with these women and their children offering them opportunity to immediately leave the world of prostitution and begin the road to recover their dignity by joining Project Tamara. This project enables the women to have their numerous health issues dealt with and they are invited to learn a skill and to have their children looked after while the mothers are in training. If you would like to share in the Mission through prayer, donations or as volunteer missionaries please contact; trustees.missionofhope@gmail.com

31 Club at Garston Parish
The first renewal recruitment for our 31 Club membership is set to launch in Garston Parish on 22nd and 23rd October, this coming weekend. Please pray that we will be fruitful.