Parish Community

There are a wide variety of groups and organisations within the parish community.
For more information or to make contact please call the church office, or email us stating which groups you are interested in.

Altar Servers at St Patrick’s support the clergy during services and masses. You are eligible to be an altar server if you have made your First Holy Communion. This large group in the church welcomes boys, girls, men, and women of all ages and is active in parish life. The group is also involved in social activities such as trips to movies. To join our altar servers’ group, contact one of the clergy or the head altar server, Simon Crandon.

The parish has members from several African nations who have formed a community known as St Patrick’s Pan African Community . The members meet for prayer, spiritual formation, social life and church fundraising. The members are integrated into all aspects of the parish and contribute significantly to the colourful and active church life.

APF (Association for the Propagation of the Faith).
The parish supports Missio, a Charity of the Mill Hill Fathers, by having a Red Box in their homes and collecting loose change in the boxes which is counted each year.   The Parish Co-Ordinator is Colin Gale.   If you would like to have a Red Box please contact the parish office.

All parents must attend Two Talks on Baptism Preparation before having their child(ren) Baptised. The Talks take place in the church on the second Sunday of each month immediately after the 10 am Mass. Baptisms take place on the first and third Sundays of each month at 12 noon. For more details contact the parish office.

“A Book of Remembrance was written before the Lord of those who revered Him and thought of His name.”  Malachi 3:16

St Patrick’s Books of Remembrance are a pair of leather-bound volumes of gilt parchment paper, housed in a handsome display case in the church. It is a venerable custom to inscribe in the book on the date of the death or any other special anniversary to provide a lasting record of your family member or friend.

The names are inscribed by a professional calligrapher. The cost for an entry is:

  • £70 per inscription
  • £110 per inscription with an illustration

Click here to place an order

(Catholic Agency for Overseas Development) Is the largest Christian organisation in the UK.   The parish supports CAFOD by having two Family Fast Days twice a year, in Lent and Advent, and at other times. All funds collected at these events are sent to CAFOD much of this is Gift Aided, giving the charity a further 25%.

The Little Way Association – a Carmelite Discalced Group of Lay People meet each month on a Saturday for Prayer, Contemplation, Benediction, and socialising.

They also arrange Retreats and other events. For further information contact the parish office.

St Patrick’s Charity Shop, located on Church Road, Redfield, was opened in 1989 by our pastoral assistant, Amelia Dunford, who ran it for the following ten years. It is still thriving today selling religious items, good quality second-hand household items, clothes, toys and books. Open Monday to Saturday, new volunteers are always welcome. Contact the charity shop direct on 0117 9558001 for more information.

Safeguarding our community is of the highest priority and St Patrick’s has an excellent volunteer Child Protection Representative in parishioner, Pauline Humphries. There is a designated noticeboard containing Child Protection information in the narthex (entrance) of the church. Contact Pauline if you have any queries.   

Each Sunday during the 10:00am Mass, children aged 3-8 are invited to enjoy their own liturgy from the opening hymn at Mass to the Offertory. About 52 children attend these sessions led by volunteer trained diocesan catechists.

In the autumn of 2004, Saint Patrick’s organist David Forde created a mixed voice, four-part choir to be known as Saint Patrick’s Choir. Ten parishioners attended the first rehearsal and since then the choir has gone from strength to strength with having as many as twenty-seven members. In 2008, a tour to Ireland was organised where the choir was privileged to sing at Galway and Waterford Cathedrals as well as David’s home parish church. Over the years, the choir has sung at a number of Diocesan Events including The Glastonbury Pilgrimage, Clifton Cathedral events and an appearance on the BBC Radio Bristol Carol Service. In 2012, Tracy McNama and Steve Clarke became Musical Director and accompanist respectively. Since then, the choir has continued to develop its repertoire of traditional and classical liturgical music. The choir leads music at Mass once a month and are heavily involved in Christmas and Easter Music Liturgy.

Our small teams of church cleaners take pride in the high standard of cleanliness of our church.
The Teams come together weekly:
i) Team A on Friday mornings 3 times a month
ii) Team B once a month on Saturday morning.

We always need extra pairs of hands.   Please contact the parish office.

Church Stewards welcome the congregation as they arrive for our three weekend Masses – Saturday 6.30 pm :  Sundays 8.30 am and 10.00 am.    They distribute hymn sheets and the weekly bulletin.   They also assist with helping people find a seat.  At the end of all Masses, they gather the above sheets for the next Mass and generally make sure the Narthex is tidy.    A Rota is in operation but need more Stewards for all Masses.  If you can help, please contact the parish office.

Each Sunday after the 8:30 and 10:00 am Masses about 150 people go to the Shore Gallery for tea and coffee to socialise with each other. The hospitality is organised on a rota basis by seven groups in the parish who provide homemade refreshments. The voluntary donations total about £2000 each year and the money all goes to local charities.

Come & See Group Trip

This Vocations Group was founded in 2016 and has sixteen members aged 14 – 22. They meet each month with Canon Gregory for three hours on a Sunday afternoon for prayer and discussion. They enjoy outings and holidays together and assist with Sunday coffee, church cleaning, parish office administration, altar serving and fundraising. Some of the members are Eucharistic Ministers and lead Eucharistic Services.

The Sacrament of Confirmation is administered every two years and young people in Secondary School and above are invited to be confirmed.   St. Patrick’s and St. Joseph’s, Fishponds alternate hosting the Bishop for the Confirmation Mass.    Classes, generally, are for 10 weeks and led by Deacon Denis Deasey and a team of Catechists.

The Offertory Collection taken at all 3 weekend Masses is counted by Teams of Volunteers. There are four teams who count on Rota so Teams are only required to commit to once a month.   The Teams can decide whether to count after the 10 am Mass on Sunday or at 5 pm on Sunday evening. If you can offer your services to count the collection, please contact the parish office.

The Finance Committee comprises The Chair of the Parish Council, Mr Willie O’Brien, The Parish Treasurer, Fiona Bradley and Canon Gregory. The Team meets three times a year to review parish finances, prepare a budget and present a report to The Parish Council. The Parish needs £150,000 a year to operate and this income is achieved through parishioners giving, fundraising and donations from The Grant Bradley Charitable Trust. You can help by donating using the donate button at the top of this website.

First Holy Communion is celebrated every year in June. Children in Primary School Year Three and above are invited to prepare. Classes are led by two of our parish sisters together with a team of Catechists. An initial meeting is arranged for parents around October each year when Registration Forms are collected for completion and return. Classes start in January and are held every Saturday morning from 10 am to 11.15 am during school term time and conclude one week before the First Holy Communion Mass.

Parish fundraising is arranged by a small committee that meets regularly to plan ahead several events and introduce some new ideas. The two main events they arrange are the annual Summer Fete and Christmas Bazaar. In between times, they arrange social gatherings with suppers/dinners /entertainment, etc.

If you would like to join our team, please contact the parish office in the first instance.

This registered charity (No.1093331) was formed by Canon Gregory Grant and Peter Bradley in 2002. The charity receives dividends from the P.G. Group, a property development company founded in the parish by Canon Gregory and Peter in 1998. The Trust has donated over one million pounds to parish funds and continues to donate £3000 each month as well as subsidiary parish projects.      Further details can be found by the following link to the charity website: www.grantbradleytrust.org.uk

In St Patrick’s Narthex (entrance) we have a display stand with a variety of cards for sale, usually at £1 a card, including Mass and sympathy cards. There is a range of religious cards and different family occasions. The stand is always fully stocked and is very successful and popular with our congregation.

Organised by Signature Sports a Holiday Playscheme operates during all holiday times.  The Scheme runs on Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday from 9 am to 3 pm.  There is a fee payable with a discount if more than one child attends from the same family.

For further information contact Ben Harris.

1. Many faithful parishioners become housebound or move into Nursing Home Care in the parish. Parishioners from other parishes also move into Care Homes on St Patrick’s Parish. Holy Communion, Confession, Anointing of the Sick and Pastoral Visits are available for all these parishioners. The priests, deacons and Eucharistic Ministers regularly visit the Sick and Housebound. Please contact the parish office to book this pastoral care.

2. Parishioners who are going into hospital are encouraged to receive the Sacrament of the Sick before any operation or procedure. Please book a time after Mass on the Sunday before your operation. The priest can also call to your home to confer the Sacrament of the Sick.

3. Parishioners recovering at home from an operation or long term sick may receive Holy Communion throughout the duration of their illness. Please contact the Parish Office.

Our Legion of Mary group is part of a worldwide association of lay people carrying out apostolic good works in the Catholic Church.  We participate in the life of the parish by visiting families, the sick, the promotion of the Rosary, and through collaboration in any type of spiritual work that is needed in the parish. We meet once a week for prayer, readings, talks and discussions. For more information, ask any Legion of Mary member or contact the parish office.

This small team of six comprises Canon Gregory, Deacons Rob and Denis and their wives, and Amelia Dunford Parish Pastoral Assistant.  They meet quarterly to discuss and arrange upcoming important church celebrations – i.e., Lent, Easter, Advent, plus other important religious events.

Living Rosary under the patronage of St. Joseph enables families  to pray at home where all are joined in one prayer. The group communicates via WhatsApp with a different intention each month. For further information contact the parish office.

In 1993, a second group of five couples began a new Married Couples Group. They are all in their thirties and welcome new couples to join them.

All couples residing in the parish and intending to be married in St. Patrick’s have to attend a series of Marriage Preparation Talks led by one of our Deacons. Notice needs to be given to the parish office at least six months prior to the marriage taking place. A preparation Fee and Church Fees will apply.  For further information contact the parish office.

Mass is celebrated each week in Portuguese and regularly in Polish and Hungarian and occasionally in one or more of the African languages. Most of those attending the weekly Portuguese Mass come from Brazil.

All daily and weekend Masses have Readers who proclaim the Word of God. Readers must be weekly Mass attenders and are trained by one of the Deacons.

There are two Readers at all weekend Masses.   One reads the First Reading and Psalm the second person reads the Second Reading, Gospel Acclamation, and Prayers of the Faithful. If you would like to join the team of Readers, please contact the parish office.

An extraordinary minister of Holy Communion is appointed by the bishop to distribute Holy Communion during Holy Mass, Communion Services and to the sick. For more information on becoming a minister of the Eucharist, contact the parish priest.

Under the direction of Andrew Lee, the St Patrick’s Music Group leads the congregation to worship on two Sundays each month. Their repertoire includes many well-known psalms and hymns and it includes a range of instrumentalists including, flute, clarinet, violin, and double bass! New members are always welcome at fortnightly rehearsals on a Sunday evening.

In 2021, we are currently lucky enough to have 9 regular volunteers who are committed to coming into the parish office for half a day on a weekly basis. They assist the office staff by carrying out admin tasks such as answering phones, typing and photocopying as well as taking mass intentions and filing documents.

Members of The Parish Council meet three times a year to discuss an agenda that is always full of new ideas and innovative practices. All sixteen of the members under the chairmanship of Willie O’Brien are individual members of all the 40 different parish activities and organisations.

Each Sunday at 5.30 pm, the Brazilian and community celebrate Mass in Portuguese. Everyone is welcome to attend

over 120 Adults and children regularly attend Sunday Mass and many social and prayerful events are organised on a regular basis.

Sacramental preparation takes place before Mass; from time to time, baptisms occur during Mass. After Mass, the congregation socialises in the Narthex having light refreshments before departing home.

The Rosary Circle was started by the late Frances Leventhal 44 years ago and is usually prayed before all Masses or Communion Services. Special emphasis is on the months of May and October, The Assumption in August.  All are welcome to come to church and pray the Rosary.

For thirty years the parish has had a second collection at all masses for parish projects. Each working adult is asked to give £1 and about £250 a week on average is collected. This equates to almost £400000 over the past 30 years and has been a great help to the funds needed to build the church and the subsequent extension.

Inspired by the patron of the secular priesthood John Mary Vianney this service of Exposition of The Blessed Sacrament, devotions, The Rosary and hymn singing takes place once a month on the 2nd Tuesday from 6pm to 7pm.

Formed in April 2013 following the demise of the Widows Society the Women’s Group meets on the first Wednesday of each month. They invite a variety of speakers, demonstrators, entertainers to meetings. They go away on an Annual Retreat, have a weekend or two away usually by the sea. Go to Theatre or cinema on non-meeting days.   They also support charities.   Membership is open to all women over the age of 18 and an annual membership which includes the monthly subscription is £25.

St Patrick’s church holds several groups for the youth to participate in parish life. This includes the Come & See group, Padua group, altar servers’ group and Glastonbury Prayer group. These groups are focused on pursuing Christian life among the youth for the betterment of the catholic church. Activities involve prayer, education, trips out, pilgrimages and holidays. The youth play an active role in parish life assisting with coffee after Mass, fundraising, social and religious events.

This lottery-style fundraising initiative receives £12000 a year from members and distributes half the income in prize money and donates half the income to church funds. It has been operating successfully for twenty-three years to date raising £138000 for church funds.

The “300 Club” – what is it?

The 300 Club is a fund raising activity which raises funds for the parish and also gives back something to it’s members. In fact, the 300 Club gives back 50% of it’s income to members.

How is it run and how do I join?

We have 300 numbers from 1 to 300! Members chose their favourite number in the beginning in the hope it would bring them good luck! For many it has, again and again!

Currently we are looking for new members and have approximately 30 numbers waiting for new owners!

  • Choose your number – you may have more than one number but each number is £1 per week
  • Membership is open to all and costs £1 per week per number payable monthly in advance
  • Membership can be paid at all weekend Masses
  • Membership by quarterly, half yearly or yearly Standing Order is encouraged.

Weekly prize money is :1st prize £50, 2nd prize £20 and 3 prizes of £10 totalling £5,000 per year.

Twice a year in July and December we have the “Big Draw” and prize money is:1st prize £500, 2nd prize £100, 3 x £50, 4 x £25 & 5 x £10 and a bonus prize of £100, totalling £2,000.