On Sunday 26th October we commemorated 40 years since the first Mass was celebrated in our church. Fr Keith showed us the newsletter from that day, 6th October 1985, and there were a handful of people in the congregation who had also been there at the first Mass, including Chris Barry, who played the organ at the first Mass and has played regularly ever since. She was even playing last Sunday.
St Philip Evans Parish 40th Anniversary Celebrations
November 6, 2025
On Sunday 26th October we commemorated 40 years since the first Mass was celebrated in our church.
After Mass we went into the Hall for a shared lunch. The food reflected the parish's international membership and was delicious. I'm sure no-one went home hungry. In fact, there was some food left over after we had all taken what we wanted. Nothing was wasted, it was parcelled up by Tracey and Howard, or H as we know him, and shared with 7 families-in-need living close to the church.
During the festivities we presented Chris Barry with a card and a bouquet of flowers. Fr Keith will celebrate four Masses for her intentions as a mark of gratitude for her long-standing service and commitment to our church.
We also took the opportunity to present a voucher as a token of gratitude to Deacon Steve, marking his 25th anniversary of being made a Deacon. He's spent 15 years in our parish, for which we are very grateful. Anyone who missed the opportunity to contribute to the secret collection could still contribute now, just put the donation in an envelope marked for Deacon Steve and hand it to one of the welcomers at the entrance to the church at the Saturday evening and Sunday morning Masses. We presented a bouquet of flowers to Jan, his wife, in recognition of her unwavering support to Deacon Steve and to our parish herself.
Thanks to Sheri for designing the eye-catching poster, Geraldine for baking the beautiful cake, to Barbara for helping with the preparations beforehand, even though she couldn't come, to Stephen Bailey for the photos, to Cynthia (Swaine) for keeping the hot water coming for teas and coffees and coping with the relentless washing up through the afternoon and to Cynthia (Ogbonna) for helping in the kitchen too. Thanks to Joan and Ada for distributing the cake. Thanks to Tracey and H for helping set everything out, the Hall looked lovely. They even cleared up after us.
Lastly, thanks to all who came and all who helped in so many other ways, making the day such a memorable event.
Sara Hayes
is closed from Wednesday 24th December until Monday 5th January, when Teresa will be back in the office.
On Saturday 29th November, we held a coffee morning for the Cardiff Chameleons, a club for people with learning disabilities, in the church hall. Just to let you know that along with donations we raised the sum of £433.10 and would like to thank those parishioners who attended in helping us towards raising this amount. Steve & Pamela Bailey.
When you phone our team to request a hall booking, please can you remember to leave a contact number. We don’t have caller number display when we pick up your messages and we can’t respond to you if we don’t know who to call! Alternatively, please email us at hall@sphilipevans.co.uk or use the contact form on our webpage . Thank you.
We recently received a Baptism form but unfortunately the contact details had not been completed. We need this information so we can respond! Please remember: When completing any application form for sacramental preparation, filling in all pages will expedite your request. Thank you.
This is Deacon Steve’s last weekend assisting on the altar at Mass.
The parish office will be closed for the next two weeks. Teresa, our parish secretary, is on Jury Service from Monday 24th November. If you have any urgent enquiries please contact Fr Keith. His contact details are in the newsletter.
