Our Parish Groups   

There are always lots of things going on in our Parish and lots to become involved in.

Information about our Parish Groups are included here.

Parish Pastoral Council:

 Meet St Augustine's Pastoral Council

Your council, working with Fr Jim and Fr Barnabas, meet monthly to discuss the vision and future of our church community.

The Role of the PPC

  1. The PPC takes forward the views and suggestions of people in the parish, the Council is also cognisant of the plans of the Diocese for Mission and Evangelisation and aspires to scrutinise the latter and implement ideas and strategies in the parish. The Parish Priest constitutes the authority of the PPC and he is the final arbiter in implementing policy.
  2. The council meets to discuss and explore the pastoral and spiritual life of the parish community. Various projects and initiatives will be examined to facilitate the growth of this community and the liturgical life will be planned with those responsible and in particular the clergy.
  3. The Council regards local ecumenism as a key aspect of discussion and planning. There is a real desire by the Council to meet other Christians in fellowship and explore practical ways this parish can collaborate in evangelisation in our local area.
  4. The PPC works in collaboration with other groups in the parish, this is particularly the case with the Finance Committee. It is essential that all plans and strategies meet with the pastoral/spiritual ethos and aims of the PPC.
  5. The PPC explores opportunities to widen participation in the parish and actively encourages training to support a variety of ministries.
  6. The PPC filled with faith and hope engages in challenging discussions which aim to provoke and shake up the parish community when it becomes a comfort zone and potentially excludes individuals.

2024 Three year pastoral plan for St Augustine's

Committee Minutes and documents:

Parish Pastoral Council Latest Minutes - 15th July 2026

Finance & Fabric Committee Latest Minutes - 6th May 2026 

2025 Annual Returns - Income & Expenditure

2026 Budget Projections

 

Altar Servers:

The purpose of Serving is to assist the Priest and Deacons at the altar in order that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass may be offered reverently. Servers are invited to volunteer after making their First Holy Communion. They receive training sessions and then begin serving. On the next Feast of St Stephen they will be inducted as Probationers. After a year of Probation, they will be enrolled into the Guild of St Stephen. Servers need to be at church at least ten minutes before the start of Mass.

Adult help is needed in the servers’ sacristy before and after Mass to ensure that all Servers are correctly vested. Laundering of the Servers' Albs is undertaken by some of these helpers.

If you would like your child to be a server, or would like to be a helper, please contact the Parish Office.

Church Cleaners:

The purpose of this group is to ensure the church is kept in a clean and hygienic state.

The cleaning involves vacuuming / brushing floors, and cleaning marks from furniture, doors, glass etc.

You can help by volunteering to join the team. If you would like to help, please contact the Parish Office.

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion:

The main task of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion is to assist in the distribution of Holy Communion at Mass. This is done on a rota basis, on a Saturday Evening or Sunday Morning. Training is provided for new ministers. Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion can ask other commissioned ministers to stand in for them as required.

In addition, those who have been trained and received clearance through safeguarding, with permission from the Parish Priest, take the Blessed Sacrament to a sick or housebound member of the parish. This is organised through the visiting team, run by Gill Johnson.

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion must be Catholics in good standing, and are usually appointed by the invitation of the Parish Priest.

For further information contact Fr Barnabas.

Flower Group

The flower group exists to decorate the Church with floral arrangements for Mass and for special occasions. The group creates the flower arrangements, co-ordinating them as appropriate with the Liturgy. You can help them by joining them, or by offering flowers,

The group meets to arrange flowers for each service (on a rota basis), and get together about four times a year for a general meeting. If you are interested, contact the Parish Office.

Justice and Peace Group

The aim of the group is to fund-raise and educate ourselves about important issues and campaigns, and to raise these issues before the church community.
The Justice & Peace group recently lead the Parish to become award winners of the CAFOD 'Live Simply' scheme and help raise awareness of the practical things we can do to help to combat climate change; such as becoming a Fairtrade Parish - where, as much as we can, we buy Fairtrade products for our consumables.

We meet monthly, and also for some one-off events like the Traidcraft fashion show. We lobby M.P.`s as appropriate. There is usually an update in the weekly newsletter with things to think about or take action on, each week.

For more information contact Bella Harding via the parish office.

Legion of Mary

The Legion offers us an opportunity through Jesus and Mary to advance in holiness, and in so doing foster the desire to be Christ’s representative in the community. It does not advocate the fulfilment of extraordinary things, but only the doing of ordinary things, extraordinarily well. Frank Duff is quoted as saying: “The Legion is Our Lady’s Spirit come to life in people”. This Spirit in-turn is made manifest in the undertaking of apoastolic works.

We visit the sick and lonely, people often forgotten in a busy world. We offer them a listening ear, in what might otherwise be a silent day, and reassure them that their suffering is not in vain, but which in union with Jesus can be of infinite value.

We visit lapsed Catholics, to let them know that Jesus has not for one moment forgotten them, but yearns for their return to the Mass and Sacraments. We also visit Non-Catholics, and if the opportunity arises, they are humbly told of a treasure, based not on the luck of today’s lottery, but on the coming of Christ.

You can help us by becoming a member. The Legion offers two types of membership, Active and Auxiliary. The former is open to all from 18 onwards, and involves members attending a weekly meeting for prayer, planning and discussion in a friendly setting on how we can best serve the community. The visits are undertaken later in the week, in pairs, and would be of a nature comfortable to that of each of the member’s ability. Auxiliary membership is confined to the saying of the Rosary, and the Legion prayers on a daily basis for Our Lady’s Intentions. Auxiliary membership is considered an indispensable part of the Legion family.

We hold meetings throughout the year. For further information contact Fr Barnabas.

Musical Talents!

We are lucky enough to have several musical groups who help enhance the liturgy, at weekend Masses and for special occasions.

CHOIR
The choir is organised by Martyn Le Poidevin and Bella Harding and exists to lead the church congregation in singing. We welcome new members - Some knowledge of music is helpful, but not essential, the main requirement being that you are keen to sing! If you would like to find out more or join, contact the parish office.

CANTABILE
Cantabile is a small music group of friends who enjoy singing and making music together. Between us we are able to sing harmonies in three parts, play violin, viola, piano, flute, clarinet, bass guitar and guitaer and three types of recorder.
We try to share the love of God through our music making and have a good time whilst doing so!
If you would like our skills for either a particular church service or another function, please contact us through the Parish Office.

Also a talented parishioner plays the keyboard for us at regular intervals and also a couple of parishioners who lead us in acapella singing when there is no one on the rota to play.

If you can help by joining a group, or starting a new group up, or by playing/singing solo - please contact Fr Barnabas or call the parish office.

MUSICIANS: Use this link to submit your up coming music choices for the Masses

and Use THIS link to view the accumulated responses in a spreadsheet

Parish Projects

Each year the parish selects two charities (usually one local and one abroad) as the `Parish Projects`.

Five percent of parish offertory income is donated to this project, in addition to the proceeds of various fund raising events. The whole Parish is asked to submit new project nominations and if more than 2 projects are requested everyone is invited to voted on it.

Previous projects include The Channv Foundation in India, Mike Procter Foundation in South Africa, Friends of the Earth's Plant a Tree campaign,  'The Medaille Trust', the Haven Home project in India, local group ‘Paul’s Place’, Brain Tumour Support, HCPT, Bishop Moses Costa's Diocese in Bangladesh, Patrick Wilde Trust and more...

You can help not only by supporting fund raising events, but by prayer.

For further details contact Bella Harding from the Justice and Peace Group via the parish office.

Pre-school

We ensure that our children thrive in a happy and safe environment.
Our community Preschool is run by a management committee of parents. We first opened our doors in 1978 and have gone from strength to strength.
The self contained building that we use is located in the grounds of St Augustine's Primary school, Downend, Bristol.
Putting children first
The Preschool uses the Early Years Foundation Stage as guidance for the activities we plan for the children. However, our main inspiration comes from careful observations of the children during play, regular reports are shared with parents and parents are always welcome to discuss their child’s progress with their key person. We communicate with other settings that a child attends, by doing this we are able to ensure that individual needs and interests are being met.

For more information contact the Pre school direct on 9561166 or go to the website
- click here

Refreshments (after Sunday Mass)

The purpose of the refreshments group is to provide tea, coffee, squash and biscuits in the parish hall after Sunday mass, so that parishioners can meet with their families in a friendly atmosphere for a chat, and an opportunity to meet new people. This is a well-attended and enjoyable gathering for all adults and children.

You can help the group by volunteering to go on the rota. If you are interested contact Myra Woods.

The team work on a rota basis to put out tables and chairs etc. before Mass, buy the milk in advance of their morning, serve people after Mass and clear up the hall afterwards.

Church Shop & Repository

*** We are always looking for new volunteers run the church shop - please contact the parish office if you can help ***

The Church shop area is now opened at Mass times  with a selection of stock of Catholic books, Christian cards and gifts for all special occasions, crucifixes, rosaries, and Catholic artefacts. Currently we have 3 lovely volunteers who bring out a table on Saturday evening and Sunday morning. You can pay cash or use the 'Church Shop' option on the contactless machine.

'Welcomers'

The Welcoming stewards assist the Priest and Deacons in the practical aspects of ensuring that the Mass and other Services runs smoothly.

The purpose of the Welcomers group is to make visitors and parishioners feel welcome as they come to mass. We aim to offer a smile and a few friendly words to as many people as possible, whilst handing out the hymnbooks and the weekly church bulletin. This task is important, to make people feel at welcome.

We operate on a rota basis, turning up about 20/30 minutes before the start of the Mass. Initial duties include obtaining bulletins, leaflets, collection baskets, attendance book etc. Checking to see if the first aid box, and bottles of water are out.

Then, ensuring that people are available for the offertory procession - usually asking families of the Mass' intention. We assist people to find seats if the church is crowded, and ensure church ventilation is adequate, depending on the weather.

During Mass, we undertake the collection(s) from upstairs and downstairs. We also count the congregation as we take the collection. Congregation numbers are recorded in the attendance book. We ensure that the offertory procession takes place in the correct order, manner and time.

If there is a retiring collection, one of the welcomers will hold the collection basket as people leave.

At the end of Mass we open all interior and exterior doors, collect and stack hymn books, tidy the Narthex, and return those items that are kept in the Sacristy. Finally we turn off lights and heating and close all doors.

You can help by becoming a 'Welcomer'. Contact Fr Barnabas

Children's Liturgy of the Word:

The aim of CLOW is to provide the children of the Parish with the Gospel presented at a level appropriate to their age group, and an opportunity to discuss what it means and how it is applicable to their own life.

At the 9.30am Sunday morning Mass, the children invited up and are escorted from the church to the Parish Hall at the beginning of Mass, and we return for the offertory.

We read the Gospel, or one of the readings from Mass at their own level. They talk about it and sometimes have an activity such as colouring a picture, which they take with them back to church and to their families. We have singing and signing and fun!

You can help by volunteering to help with any of the groups on a rota basis, training will be given to ensure you comply with our safeguarding practices and all team members are cleared under the DBS system.

There are no regular meetings, but leaders on the rota sometimes meet to plan their sessions.
For further details contact the parish office.

Counselling - Visiting:

GENERAL COUNSELLING

Some services are available through the Parish. If you feel you have a need for counselling, please contact Fr Barnabas.

PRISON VISITORS

The aim of this service is to fulfil the gospel message ‘I was in prison and you visited me.’
Ashfield Prison is situated in Pucklechurch. A team of parishioners currently assists Fr Barnabas in the work undertaken with offenders, joining the men for Mass on Tuesdays in the prison chapel.
HOSPITAL VISITING
If you or a family member are in hospital and require an urgent visit from a Priest, please ask the Ward Manager to contact the Priest on call using the hospital 'pager' system. There is a rota in place to cover all the Bristol hospitals 24 hours a day. They will not automatically do this for you... only on request.

Parish Finance & Fabric Committee

The finance committee is required by Canon Law in each parish to help the Parish Priest to administer the goods of the parish.

The committee meets every quarter to review the income and expenditure of the parish from the reports produced by the Parish Treasurer and his assistant.

The committee is also responsible for production of the parish budget and planning for the upkeep and investment in the fabric of the buildings and parish assets.

Members of the Finance Committee are normally invited to join because of their financial or other relevant experience.

Current Members are:
Fr Jim, Shaun Boycott-Taylor (our Parish Treasurer), Deacon Michael Belt, Marek Kowalewski, Rosemary Stephens, Tim Johnston and Bernadette Thomson.
Annual Account Reports are produced in January and always displayed at the back of church. We invite people to look through and ask any questions.
For further information contact Fr Barnabas, Fr Jim or please come and speak to one of the committee members.

Journey in Faith - Roman Catholics In Action!

It is vital that we hand on the Faith to our children and to our friends. Growth is necessary and we live to evangelise, plus we have various tools to hand on the Faith…

It is good to prepare for Holy Mass by praying through the Scriptural readings in the Lectionary - this helps our understanding and also helps to dispel distractions when we come to Mass - so we meet to share together the Sunday readings. There is a friendly atmosphere where questions are encouraged, and people’s views can be aired and discussed. It aims to assist in the ongoing formation of existing Catholics, teaching them more about their faith, and helping them to build a closer relationship with God.

In the past ,the sessions included talks, with each of a team of different speakers contributing each term. After the talk, there is a break for refreshments, followed by an informal discussion over aspects of the talk.

If you know of anyone who would like to know more about the Catholic Church, please talk to Fr Barnabas know. Individual preparation can be given to suit the enquirer's needs and we can also offer a programme in Cantonese.

The 'Not-so-Young Club'

The Not So Young Club gives retired people a chance to meet on a monthly basis to socialise, make new friends, share interests and experiences and also support one another.
We have a wide variety of interesting guest speakers and there is a sales table, raffle and refreshments at every meeting.
We also aim to have day trips spread across the year and a yearly holiday in the UK, usually in June.
We support St. Augustine’s church with any fund raising events and also at times raise money for charity ourselves.
We meet at 10am on the last Wednesday of the month at St. Augustine’s parish hall and the subscription is £5 per year.
If you are interested contact Mike Ryan, Chairman, through the parish office.

Offertory Counters Team

The task of the offertory counters is to count the weekly offerings and to prepare for banking. The team also maintains records, which are required for full updating of the accounting system, giving accurate end of year accounts, and by the Inland Revenue in connection with Gift Aid.

Counters work in pairs, and approx eight teams who operate on a rota basis. The counting is done on Sunday mornings after Mass, when the offerings for the whole week are counted and logged into the records. Note, Standing Order offerings are dealt with separately, not by the counting teams.

We are always looking for more volunteers to join the teams so if you can, and would like to, please contact the parish office.

Parish Hall

We are lucky enough to have a fantastic Parish Hall facility which is used most days of the year by Parish Groups, such as the Prayer Group or Legion of Mary, parishioners own bookings for events and by private companies for regular group sessions, such as Slimming World and the Alzheimers Society.

It is also used when we hold social events, such as after Christmas or Easter services, for Charity meals and fundraisers.

The parish hall can be hired for a variety of social and family occasions. For details please contact the Hall Secretary Bernadette Thomson (in the parish office) for details of costs and availability.

New Life Prayer Group

Hebrews 4:16
“Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near
the throne of grace
that we may receive mercy and
find grace to help in good time for every need.”
 
Our charismatic and ecumenical "New Life Prayer Group" meets every Monday evening from 7.30 - 9pm, upstairs in the Parish Hall next to St. Augustine’s Church.  
 
God’s Holy Spirit is at the heart of our meetings.  Leave your worries and cares at the foot of Jesus’ cross and be blessed and uplifted.
You are warmly invited to join our friendly group for some heartfelt praise and worship, deep sharing of the Word of God, quiet reflection, powerful prayer and sincere fellowship.
Or you can write your prayer requests in our Book of Intentions at the back of the church which are prayed for each week.
We would love to see you!

For further information, please get in touch with us via the parish office email: bristol.staugustine@cliftondiocese.com or call 0117 9833939

Readers

Readers have the responsibility to read one of the readings during Holy Mass. The aim is to read in a manner that the congregation can hear clearly, with intonation and punctuation that aid understanding.

They go onto a rota, which will lead to them reading about every four or five weeks. Training can be given to new readers, plus a chance to practice at the microphone.

If you would like to find out more about being a reader, speak to the parish office.

Sacristans

The Sacristans prepare the altar and the sacristy for the Mass and for other services.

There are currently five Sacristans who share the duties of preparing the altar, the sacred vessels, the linen and vestments for Mass. They take responsibility for ensuring that the linen, (Albs, Altar Cloths etc) is laundered. They also clean the Sanctuary, the Sacristy, and the Servers' Sacristy. For further details contact Fr Barnabas.

Soup Run

The soup run meets a need to support rough sleepers who are not covered by other agencies. 'Bristol Soup Run Trust' is a registered charity approved by the City Council. All workers are voluntary, not even receiving expenses.

Every night of the year, the Trust's volunteers go out with food, hot drinks, clothes, blankets, and other essential needs, meeting rough sleepers at designated drop-off points, and doing a 'walk round' to catch those who have already bedded down for the night.

Our 2 team's at St Augustine’s cover alternate Saturdays. The people we meet are friendly, polite, and share a noticeable sense of community and support for each other.

You can help us in a number of ways....

*Firstly by praying for the homeless and the work of the trust.
*People with a genuine interest in helping and meeting the homeless can help for one evening, to see if the work suits them out on the run.
*We also need the following items: Toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, disposable razors, candles, matches, wrapped chocolate snack bars, and deodorant. (There is a place in the Narthex where you can leave all donations for the `Soup Run`) Also tinned sandwich fillings and items of clothing, and blankets –good condition please * * However, we cannot take bedding other than blankets - please, no duvets, sheets or pillows - as these cannot be used by people on the streets - imagine how heavy a rain soaked duvet is... Note. New Underwear and socks are especially needed, as these cannot be purchased in Charity shops.
*We also need people to be part of the 'back room' rota, making up the rolls on the Saturdays, heating up the soup and making cakes. At present we have a brilliant number of volunteers to make a nice rota, but could always do with more.
*We have a small team who look after the 'garage' - our main store area, preparing for each run, fortnightly. ****** We are currently in need of a new volunteer, or 2, to help increase the team *******

*We also are delighted to accept donations of homemade soup. Please contact the parish office for details of what we need and where to take it.

To find out more, contact Philip McWilliams via the parish office.