Get Involved

St Lawrence’s is a busy, friendly parish with a large number of lay people assisting in various ministries, sacramental preparation and activities that make up our parish family.  Regular teams of people clean the church, florists beautifully adorn the building and others organise a number of events for fun and social gatherings.

We are proud of our lively and active groups and we welcome your ideas for new ways to enrich our parish. Please take a look at the following list of ministries and activities to see what interests you. If you wish to volunteer or to find out more information please complete the enquiry form at the end of the page.

Altar Servers

Altar Servers help with the smooth and reverent carrying out of the liturgy by assisting the Priest in the sanctuary with the book, candles, thurible, sacred vessels, etc. Any boy or girl who has made their First Holy Communion can become an altar server. Adults are also welcome as it is never too late to learn how to serve. Becoming an altar server is a wonderful way to deepen your faith, involve yourself in the life of the parish and become part of a team.

Children’s Liturgy

The children’s liturgy group takes place during the 10am Family Mass for children aged 4 – 8 years. The Children’s Liturgy Group is run by a group of parent volunteers. There are two Children’s Liturgy groups each group has two parent volunteers leading the Liturgy. The Sunday Gospel is the focus for both groups. The children are encouraged to listen to the word of God through prayer, silence and reflection. The children participate in discussion, followed by an activity arising from the Gospel, which is appropriate to the age of the relevant group.

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion assist the Priest with the administration of Holy Communion at Mass, and may be called upon to take Holy Communion to the sick and housebound of our community. A devotion to prayer and the Eucharist is required; new extraordinary ministers attend a training course over two evenings and a Saturday, and are required to take part in an annual day of recollection.

Readers

Reading at mass is both a responsibility and rewarding service to the parish and we are very fortunate at St Lawrence’s to have a group of regular readers reading on a rota basis. A reader is expected to proclaim the word of God in the scriptures of the Old and New Testament in an attentive and reverent way so all can hear and understand the Word of God.

Sacristans

A team of parishioners make sure that the practicalities of the liturgy are always taken care of and the church is prepared for each mass.  This includes taking care of albs and vestments, tabernacle veils, candles, wine and altar bread. Helping in the sacristy is a great way of learning about the symbols of our liturgy.

Welcomers

Our friendly team of Welcomers meet and greet our parishioners as they arrive for Sunday 10am and 11.30am masses.  We want to make sure that all who join us at St Lawrence’s – whether regulars or visitors – are warmly welcomed, and helped with hymn books, texts for the Mass and readings etc.; this is a valued ministry in our parish and we would love to have some new members to join us.  

Choir

We have two thriving choirs – the 10 o’clock mass has a four part choir and the 11.30 is led by guitars. Both choirs are open to new members; the only qualification required is a love of music and a desire to serve the parish by encouraging participation in the Mass as part of the community.

We would love to have some new members to join us at the 10am mass, especially tenor, bass and alto singers. We would also like to encourage any instrumentalists to join us – especially younger members of our parish. The only requirement is to be of at least grade 3 standard.

The choir sing at weekly Mass, and for special feasts. They are often asked to sing at funerals and weddings and there are opportunities to form part of the larger Diocesan choir at cathedral events such as the Chrism Mass on Maundy Thursday and join with other local choirs for “Churches Together in Sidcup” events.

Repository ( Gift Shop)

Our repository is located inside the main hall and is open for the purchase of Mass cards, rosaries, and other religious devotional items.  There is also a selection of prayer books, missals etc. at the back of the church for sale.

Finance Committee

Current Committee Members 

• Fr John Diver
• Joan Coles
• Tim Aseervatham
• John Griffith
• Jeanette Judge
• Arthur Maxted – Chair
• Reverend Peter Varnes
• Nick Wells
• C. Lang
• Ray McDonagh

What does the committee do?

The Committee meets on regular basis to assist the Parish Priest in the financial affairs of the Parish.

The Committee reports to , and receives input. from other Parish bodies such as the Parish Pastoral Council, Liturgy Committee and other bodies.

Contact Us

The phone numbers of the Finance Committee Members can be found in the current edition of  “News and Views” or correspondence can be sent or communicated to the Parish Office

Find out more

To volunteer or to find out more about any of these ministries, please fill in the form below, and we will get back to you.

Please note that roles which entail privileged access to children and/or vulnerable adults are subject to the safe recruitment procedures of the Catholic Church in England and Wales and will require a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.