The captions and images shown below give an idea of activities and special events held at our SDC centre in London. Our main contribution in parishes mainly involves running catechism groups but other activities are held throughout the year for other groups for young people and adults.

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Trips

Recent trips for our SDC Juniors group included visits to places in London as well as outside. In April we braved the weather and went on a trip to Brighton on a grey and rainy day. On the 1st June we went to Greenwich to explore a number of special places from historical churches to markets and the cable cars and the tunnel across the river Thames. On Sunday 22nd July we went for a picnic and games at Crystal Palace Park.

Birthday boy

During a presentation on the life of our Founder St George Preca at a First Communion class in May this year, one of the presentation slides showed the date of his birth - 12th February. One of the children called out, "That’s my birthday!" It was a bit of a surprise for the catechist to hear that one of the children celebrated his birthday on the same day as the founder. But that’s not all – it also turned out that this particular boy is called George! Our George is an 8 year old boy who has since then made his First Holy Communion. Just before this special day he wrote about what he remembered about St George Preca and his experience in SDC catechism groups. This is what he wrote: "St George Preca was born in Malta on the 12th February. Once when he was little he stepped into the water and was drowning. Luckily a man saved his life and he remembered this for his whole life. When he grew up he became a priest and started SDC which helps many children like us to learn and get ready for First Communion and other sacraments". May St George Preca continue to bless little George and all the children and make them true disciples of Christ like he was.

Reflection Day

On Sunday 20th May a reflection day was organised for the SDC Friends group. We went to a Dominican convent in Hook, Hampshire. The day included talks and time for Reflection with a focus on leading a life of virtue, prayers written by the founder, the Holy Mass and the Rosary Prayer.

Feast of St George Preca

During the month of May the feast of our founder St George Preca was celebrated through various activities. Talks and presentations about the founder were planned for children who attend our catechism groups in different parishes. On Sunday 13th May a mass was held at the Rosary parish in Brixton, South London, for friends, children and their families. The main celebrant was Fr Anthony Psaila, assisted by another four priests from different parishes in London. The mass was followed by a reception in the parish hall.

Rosary on the Coast

On Sunday 29th April we took part in the ‘Rosary by the Coast’ event together with the parish of the Faithful Virgin. We drove to Ramsgate on the Southeast coast and joined with a number of other parishes to pray the Rosary and give public evidence of our Faith and the truths we hold to. This was part of a larger event organised by the Catholic Church in England aimed at a "re-flourishing of the faith, for the grace to build a culture of life and for true peace to reign in the hearts of all peoples and nations". Around 200 gatherings took place on the same day around the coast of the British Isles.

Lent and Holy Week events

A number of special events were held to the special season of Lent for different groups. Apart from special reflection meetings about the significance of this ‘favourable time’, a number of reconciliation services were organised for First Communion and Confirmation groups in different parishes. During Holy Week itself, daily reflection meetings were held at the Rosary Parish and at the SDC House to give young people to reflect on the passion of Our Lord.

SDC Juniors

Our SDC Juniors group continued to meet regularly to provide an opportunity for young people to get together for a range of activities. Regular meetings are held at the Rosary parish in Brixton but we also hold a monthly meeting at the SDC House in Upper Norwood. Young people who attend this group enjoy social activities and trips we organise from time to time as well as the opportunity to meet regularly to talk about and explore issues related to our Faith in more depth.