This month's newsletter

March 2026

The articles below include the 2 pages which the parish church is allotted by the Mendlesham Community Charity in their newsletter but there are additional items too.
To see daily Mass times, see Worship page

Times of Mass this week

Saturday 7th March: 10.00 Mass - First Mass of Sunday (said)
4.00 pm: Sacrament of Reconciliation
Sunday 8th March: Lent II 9.30 Parish Mass (sung)
Monday 9th March: 9.30 (said)
Tuesday 10 March: 9.30 Mass, followed by tea/coffee
Wednesday 11th March: 9.30 Mass (said)
Thursday 12th March: 9.30 Mass (said)
Friday 13th March: 9.30 Mass (said)
Saturday 14th March: 10.00 Mass - First Mass of Sunday (said)
4.00 pm: Sacrament of Reconciliation

Want to explore the Christian faith?
Join our new course on Sundays, 11:00–12:00 (approx.), from 8 February to 29 March (Palm Sunday).

Thinking about Baptism or Confirmation?
Wanting to explore the Christian faith more deeply?
The “Bread of Life” course includes videos and audio recordings, and Chris and Taylor will be joining me, so it won’t be just one presenter.
Course books are available to follow up at home: we have some copies for £10 each. If you’d like one, please sign the list in church or get in touch via the Contact page. - Fr Philip

Healing Ministry

Monday 13th April
Monthly Healing Service

2.30pm Mass, laying on of hands and anointing

Silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament from 1.30pm

All welcome...
Jesus offers his healing and peace freely!

The healing ministry is an integral part of the Gospel and an important aspect of the life of St Mary's. All are welcome and of course there is no charge. Healing services are quiet and meditative and you will not be asked any intrusive questions.
Please contact Fr Philip if you would like to discuss any aspect of this.

ARMOURY PROJECT - Summary of where we are:

Thanks to generous donations of both money and time, the Armoury Fund currently stands at £25,880

Major fundraising: £12,0800, including:
Heritage Fair £7.6K
TudorTailor talk £1.1K
Armoury Conference £1.9K
Booksales (additional to those at fundraising events) £1.1k
K Hallaways talks and booksales £640
much was seedfunded by ta grant of £9,993 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and £1k from Suffolk County Council

Major donations: £13,800, including those from:
The Arms and Armour Heritage Trust
The Arms and Armour Society
The Meyrick Society and
several private individuals.

Donations welcome

If you would like to give towards the Armoury Project,
You can make a secure Card Payment online via 'Give a Little' - click here
or on the image to the right (or below if using a phone or tablet).

Donations by BACS :
Bank: CAF Bank (Charities Aid Foundation)
Account Name: PCC of Mendlesham
Sort code: 40-52-40
Account No: 00021464
Reference: your surname and ARMOURY

To read more about this important project, click here

Publications about the Armoury and its contents

Mendlesham possesses a unique 16th & 17th Century Armoury complete with original arms and armour. It also has a wealth of contemporaneous parish records. Thanks to funding by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, a group of volunteers was able painstakingly to photograph, transcribe, record and research entries from over 130 documents stored at Suffolk Archives, Ipswich, to provide more valuable insight into its history. These are the results of that research.

'Mendlesham Armoury Revisited - Revelations from the Parish Archives.' -
a booklet by the Mendlesham Armoury Research Group.
Describing the project and discoveries made in Parish manuscripts about the arms & armour and the soldiers who used it, viewed from a local perspective and posing some interesting questions.

64 pages: £11.50 incl p&p
£7.50 for Mendlesham residents and those able to collect

'Transcriptions of the Mendlesham Armoury Archives' -
a book by Shona Rutherford-Edge, with contributions by the Mendlesham Armoury Research Group.
Transcriptions from the manuscripts about the Armoury, its artefacts and local families of those relating to the arms & armour within the wider historical context.
240 pages: £20 inc p&p
£15 for Mendlesham residents and those able to collect

'The Mendlesham Armoury' - the booklet which describes and explains the 'why, what and where' of the Mendlesham Armoury. This booklet was published thanks to generous localities grant by Suffolk County Council in 2024 via Councillor Jessica Fleming

The Mendlesham Armoury
by historian Shona Rutherford Edge.
32 pages: £7.50 inc. p&p.
£5 for Mendlesham residents and those able to collect.

Click here to go to order forms. *If you live locally and are able to arrange to collect copies, they are, of course, cheaper without p&p. Please send a message via the order form.

Exciting news ....
New discoveries about the Armoury! Launch of 2 publications....

Also still available - the booklet which describes and explains the 'why, what and where' of the Mendlesham Armoury. This booklet was published thanks to generous localities grant by Suffolk County Council in 2024

The Mendlesham Armoury
by historian Shona Rutherford Edge.
32 pages: £7.50 inc. p&p.
£5 for Mendlesham residents and those able to collect
.

Click here to go to order forms. *If you live locally and are able to arrange to collect copies, they are, of course, cheaper without p&p. Please send a message via the order form.