St. Joseph's, Ashurst
Welcome to the Web pages for St. Joseph's House of Prayer and Mission, Ashurst. Here we hope to supply all the information you may need to make use of the facilities and services that we offer at St. Joseph's.
St Joseph's is more than just a house - it is a community dedicated to the service of God and our fellow human beings. Besides the Religious Community (members of the Montfort Missionaries, or Company of Mary) which lives here, there are many people who work with this community to make of St Joseph's a place of spiritual resources for the surrounding parishes and neighbourhood.
What do we offer at St Joseph's? First of all, our regular religious services, to which all are welcome:
- The Eucharist is celebrated:
- on Sundays throughout the year at 9.00 a.m. in our large chapel
- on weekdays (Monday to Friday) at 8.30 a.m. in our small (community) chapel, preceded by Morning Prayer of the Church at 8.15 a.m.
- On Mondays at 7.15 p.m. in our small (community) chapel.
- On Saturdays at 9.00 a.m. in our small (community) chapel.
- In special seasons of the year (e.g. Lent, Advent, etc), there may be extra Masses, or the times may vary slightly. See the Events page for details.
- Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confessions): Saturday mornings, after the 9.00 a.m. Mass, or by appointment.
- On weekdays (Monday to Friday) throughout the year, we recite the Rosary and Evening Prayer of the Church at 5.30 p.m. in our small chapel.
- A Prayer-group meets in our community chapel every Monday at 8.00 p.m.
- A Conference of the St Vincent de Paul Society meets at St Joseph's, usually every other Monday, at 6.00 p.m.
St. Joseph's is available for Days of Recollection, Mission, etc. at a small cost. Members of the Staff are available to give talks, retreats, days of recollection, etc., both in St. Joseph's and elsewhere, and for Spiritual Direction, Counselling, and private guided retreats ('Directed' retreats). Counselling is offered by Kathleen Wilcox, a fully qualified Counsellor, and Fr. Danny McAvoy, S.M.M., a fully-qualified psycho-therapist and counsellor. See the Contacts page and the Counselling page for details.
Small groups can be accommodated for retreats, etc. - we have 6 single rooms, one twin-bedded room, and one family room (double bed and single bed) - so the maxiumum number that can be accommodated at present is 8 (if no sharing) or 11 (if people are willing to share). We do not recommend sharing accommodation for retreats. Groups coming to St Joseph's for a day or an evening can, of course, be much bigger than this - up to 60 or 70 persons. We regret that we cannot offer meals for such groups - instead we invite them to bring a packed lunch - we will supply tea and coffee for those who wish it.
