Update from Canon Chris Spain

THE ASSUMPTION OF OUR LADY
91 Harvest Road, Englefield Green, Surrey TW20 0QR
17 June 2026

Dear Parishioners,
​
Prior to our recent “Clergy-in-Service” the priests of the Weybridge Parish gathered to consider how we can minister and witness with our communities in these rapidly changing times. Working with the deacons in training, the retired priests, and the Verona Fathers in Sunningdale, we, the Priests in Solidum (actively serving), are Fr Richard Biggerstaff, Fr Graham Forristalle, Fr Ruslan Kurdiumov, Fr David Murphy, and myself. We share the responsibility for our clerical ministry in the former Weybridge Deanery.

We are of course without Fr Sebastian. He remains in our prayers, as do the communities he has served in Esher and Thames Ditton, who have been working particularly hard to keep everything afloat, for which we are most grateful. Individual priests are already helping out. 

We have also lost Fr Stephen Kimani from the Kiltegan Fathers from our parish, who was regularly celebrating Mass in Esher and Thames Ditton (as well as the wider former deanery, especially in Weybridge), and is no longer able to do so. 

With this in mind, we need to make our times of Masses realistic and sustainable – both for weekend and weekday. With the number of priests on the decline, we do need some rationalisation and better communication of neighbouring “Mass Times”. One of our “Deacons in Training” is going to work on this, with us to best serve the whole area we cover. It will require the support of you all, together with us, your priests in solidum. We hope to start in September.

Life is busy in planning for the future of our new parish, and we are particularly grateful for the support of our Parish Steering Team, the Representatives Group, our secretaries, administrators, chaplains, volunteers, committee members, and many of our schools. Much developmental work is ongoing, but we also need to focus on the short term and middle term issues. Many of you have great memories of our former parishes and their histories are important. Our future vision requires us to work diligently together within our local communities and across the whole parish in the here and now.

Although not necessarily visible to all – much has happened, and we will continue to journey forward including with the employment of some lay staff to assist us in our collective work in the tasks ahead.

With an assurance of our prayers,

Canon Chris Spain, Englefield Green
(On behalf of the In solidum Clergy Team - “Parish of Weybridge”)

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