Parish News & Updates (2026)
Keep up to date with the latest news and announcements from our parish. Here you will find details of forthcoming events, liturgical celebrations, parish activities and other important notices from our community.
16 August 2026
Changes in the Parish. In the coming weeks, Holy Family will be entering a time of change as we prepare to say farewell to Fr Benjamin Theobald, who will be leaving the parish on 1 September to begin his new ministry at the Parish of Corpus Christi in Wokingham. On 8 September, we will welcome Fr Ephraim Odhiambo MHM as the new shepherd of our parish.
As Fr Benjamin prepares to leave Holy Family, we would like to express our sincere gratitude for his priestly ministry among us and for all that he has given to the life of our parish. Through the celebration of the Sacraments, his preaching and teaching, and his pastoral care of our community, he has accompanied us in our life of faith and has shared in so many important moments in the lives of our parishioners. We thank Fr Benjamin for his dedication and service to Holy Family and assure him of our prayers as he prepares to begin this new chapter of his priestly ministry. May Our Lord bless him abundantly in his new parish, and may Our Blessed Lady continue to watch over and accompany him.
Farewell and Thank You to Fr Benjamin. The parish will hold a “Farewell and Thank You” party on Saturday, 22 August at 7.30 p.m. This will be a bring-and-share gathering and an opportunity for us to come together as a parish community to thank Fr Benjamin and wish him well. A list is available at the back of the church for those attending; please indicate whether you will be bringing something sweet or savoury. We are also hoping to take a photograph of as many parishioners as possible in front of the church as a keepsake for Fr Benjamin. Anyone able to assist with organising the photograph is asked to contact Catherine.
Welcoming Fr Ephraim. As we say farewell to Fr Benjamin, we also look forward to welcoming Fr Ephraim Odhiambo MHM, who will join Holy Family on 8 September as our new parish priest. We ask everyone to keep both priests in their prayers during this period of transition: Fr Benjamin as he prepares for his new ministry in Wokingham, and Fr Ephraim as he prepares to begin his ministry among us here at Holy Family. May God bless them both, and may He continue to guide and strengthen our parish community in the weeks and months ahead.
The Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady. This weekend, Holy Family celebrates the Assumption of Our Blessed Lady into Heaven, one of the great feasts of the Church and a Holy Day of Obligation in the traditional calendar. As part of this year's celebration, Fr Benjamin will offer Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form at 12 noon, followed by a procession and the traditional Blessing of Herbs. Parishioners are warmly invited to bring their own herbs to be blessed and to leave them at Our Blessed Lady's altar before Mass. Fr Benjamin will also bless herbs following the other Masses of the Assumption celebrated this weekend.
Following the noon Mass and procession, there will be a cream tea, and everyone is warmly welcome to join the celebration. The blessing of herbs is a particularly beautiful feature of this year's observance, bringing an old Catholic custom into the parish's celebration of Our Lady's Assumption and providing a tangible reminder of the Church's joy on this great Marian feast.