St Augustine, Tunbridge Wells

Introduction

The first St Augustine's Church was built at the corner of Hanover Road and Grosvenor Road.

History

In 1866, Thomas Grant, the first Bishop of Southwark, took over the mission and appointed a priest who later became Canon Joseph Searle as the first diocesan priest. The old church closed in 1967, and a new one was built on its current site in the 1970s.

Parish life

The parish holds a Tuesday Lunch Club on alternate Tuesdays. The parish runs a Cambodia project supporting its twinned town of Kompong Thom.

The parish has a Flower Guild that arranges flowers weekly and for special occasions. The parish has a team of parish cleaners who work weekly, with additional volunteers cleaning brass and a twice-yearly spring cleaning.

The parish has a Parish Pastoral Council that works with the parish priest and includes lay representatives. The parish has a team of catechists who lead formation groups and sacrament preparation courses each year. The parish has lay Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion who bring Holy Communion to the sick and housebound in their homes. The parish has Ministers of the Word who read from the Old and New Testaments at Mass.

The parish has Mass coordinators who organise and prepare all aspects of the Mass. The parish has sacristans who prepare everything needed for daily and Sunday Masses.

The parish was twinned with Kompong Thom in May 1997. The parish has a social events team that organises events throughout the year.

The parish newsletter is published every Friday. Quiz nights are particularly popular and often sell out quickly.

Sacraments and pastoral care

RCIA participants are presented at the Rite of Election in St George's Cathedral in London and, at the Easter Vigil, are fully received into the Catholic Church or receive Baptism and/or Confirmation. Preparation for Confirmation at St Augustine's begins in Year 9, around the age of 13, with weekly meetings including discussion, reflection, and shared questions.

The parish invites people to contact any member of the parish clergy for information about having a baby baptised. The parish asks couples to contact the parish office as soon as possible to begin the marriage preparation process.

Visiting

The parish shop, run by volunteers, sells cards, books, rosaries, crucifixes and more. Two books about the parish's history are available for purchase in the parish shop.