Serving Others
When Pope Francis released his prayer intention for the month of October last year, he asked that the Church be one of synodality, walking together, along the same road. He urged us to pray, to listen to each other and to open doors to those outside the church.
Our community strives to do what we can to support those in need. Recognising that we are blessed in our lives and giving thanks for our good fortune is important at St.Joseph's.
From an early age, children respond to the call to promote equality and justice for everyone in society. Seeking a preferential option and better opportunities for those less fortunate underpins our work. Children come to know that solidarity in society is a key teaching of the Church.
Children understand the important role we have in raising money for charity and do so with enthusiasm.
Charity Work
Throughout the year, children dedicate time and energy to thinking about other groups in our community who might need support. In their House Groups of Lourdes, Walsingham, Knock and Fatima, they run fundraising activities which support the work of the wider community.
Charities we support:
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St Joseph’s Day
Each year, on our feast day of St Joseph the Worker, the whole school begins the day by celebrating Mass together. This year, Father Stephen blessed our new sleeping St Joseph statue as well as class sets of rosaries, which were donated to the school by the Catenians.
In the afternoon, the hall was full of the usual excitement and fun, as the children played games that Years 5 and 6 had created. We raised £647.68 for our annual charity, Small Steps. It was such a special and lovely day!
Refugee Support Group in Epsom
Some of our parents volunteer locally to help support refugees who have moved to the area.
Children created artwork for the refugee awareness day hosted at our parish church. Children wrote prayers for refugees. The choir sang.
"We know our audience found it very moving and were touched by the beautiful hymns."
Epsom Food Bank
Members of the parish, including parents from the school, support the work of the Foodbank in Epsom. We have a collection box in the school and invite year groups to take turns each week to contribute much needed items.
The box is regularly full, and the children can see what it means to give to others in need. Each week, our Prayer Leaders take the contents to the Parish, from where it is taken to the Foodbank.
Our Harvest collection each year donates significant amounts of food and other necessities to the foodbank. Here you can see the collection gathered around the font during our Harvest service.
Horton Cemetery Mental Health Awareness
We were proud to be involved in a local mental health awareness project in 2023. Sixty children from across the school made and decorated ceramic flowers which now form part of a permanent display at St Ebba's in Epsom and in our school meadow. Each flower represents the 9000 people who lived and died in one of Epsom's cluster of asylums and who are now buried in a derelict and forgotten cemetery.
The choir were simply stunning as they led the singing at Memorial Day celebrations.
A member of the public who attended said,
I attended the Horton Cemetery ceremony on Tuesday and I wanted to email to say how impressed I was with the children that attended. They were impeccably behaved and sang beautifully. The young lady who read the poem was very impressive, and I’m sure she has a sparkling future ahead of her.
