Welcome from Fr. Michael Johnston
As the Parish Priest of St. Francis of Assisi Church may I welcome you to our parish website and thank you for your interest. We are a large parish of over 1100 regular worshippers situated in the Notting Hill part of London. Our congregation is made up of young and old represented by about 60 different nationalities.
This makes for a lively, diverse and enriched community. In 2010 we celebrate 150 years of our parish with its beautiful Church and cloister dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi.We are always open and ready to welcome newcomers to our Church, to the varied Liturgies; to the various groups and organisations or to just quietly drop in for quiet prayer as you pass by.
This website will I hope tell you something about the life of our parish, but we would be even more pleased to welcome you to our Community and to walk with us in your journey of faith. As a parish we never forget that we exist in order to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
As He said:- “Come and See”. You are most welcome.
God Bless You.
Fr. Michael
Fifteenth Sunday of the Year ~ 11th July 2010
Fr. Michael writes: The parable of Christ tells of the Good Samaritan in today’s Gospel and it is just as relevant to the world today. How many people today lie wounded by the roadside of life? Their wounds are not always visible. Many of today’s deepest wounds are invisible. They are not physical and do not therefore show up on the outside. People can be wounded in spirit. Perhaps there are such people around me today. There are so many forgotten people in our society waiting, waiting for the coming of a Good Samaritan and maybe not having the courage to call out. The question for us listening to the Gospel is:- “Is my heart ready and big enough to embrace even some of those people?”