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.

See other years here:

Christmas

The Nativity story and the events that took place in the little town of Bethlehem so many years ago continue to be so central to our SDC mission and activities. Our activities in the London Centre once more included the carol singing by the Tube Station in Brixton road on the Saturday before Christmas day 2022.

We hope that this event continues to be an opportunity for the passers by and others who see us singing carols in such a busy place in London will reflect on the real meaning of Christmas - the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus.

Relics of St Bernadette

A pilgrimage to visit the relics of St Bernadette was organised on Friday 28th October for members of our Bible Study group. We attended a Mass led by Bishop John at the Parish church of Willesden, North London. Apart from taking part at mass we also had the opportunity to see and venerate the relics of St Bernadette brought for a pilgrimage tour in the UK and exhibited for veneration and prayer at a number of churches in dioceses across the country.

Visiting St Albans

On Saturday 24th September 2022 a pilgrimage was organised for members of the SDC Friends group to St Albans in Hertfordshire. On the way we stopped for mass at a parish in North London and then proceeded to the parish of St Alban and St Steven for our morning reflection. As it was the feastday of our Lady of Mercy, we used the Gospel reading of the Wedding of Cana to reflect and discuss the merciful qualities of Mary. We then visited the historic Cathedral of St Alban, first British martyr, where we also stayed and took part in the vespers service in the afternoon.

Barbecue in the Sun

Planning for a Barbeque in London is usually very tricky, mainly due to the fact that it is always very difficult to predict what the weather would be like. This time it was an exception! Our annual end of term BBQ for SDC Friends in the garden at Ryefield road took place in sweltering heat at the beginning of a heatwave. It was a good get together when many were able to meet again in person following many months of only attending meetings online.

Celebrating the Sacraments

Various groups of children took another step on their faith journey when they celebrated sacraments over a period of few weeks through the end of May and the month of June and July. These included two First Holy Communion groups and the Confirmation group at the Rosary Parish, the RCIC group in Thornton Heath as well as the First communion and Confirmation group at the Virgo Fidelis Parish in Upper Norwood.

New Prayer Book

Our popular prayer booklet for children has now been revised and re-printed. Copies of this booklet is presented to all children attended our catechism groups in London but it is also able for others to download or purchase on our SDC London website. See www.sdc.me.uk/prayerbook

Reflection Day

Our annual Reflection day on Sunday 8th May 2022 focused on the theme of the life and work of St John the Baptist, patron saint of SDC. This annual event is usually held around the date of the feast of our founder as an opportunity to deepen our understanding of his spirituality. This year we started with Mass at the parish dedicated to this saint in Purley, in the outskirsts of London. We then proceeded to the convent of the Dominican community in Hook, Hampshire for the rest of the day which also included Bible reflections on the theme of the witness of John the Baptist, Prayer time and devotions in the convent chapel, lunch and the Rosary Prayer.

SDC Friends - Bible Study Group

In January we started a new programme with new themes for our weekly Bible Study group. The focus this year is on the ‘Universal letters’. In January we started with a general introduction which was then followed by meetings on each of the Universal letters each month: the letter of St John, St James, Jude and othes. Our meetings which are now hybrid meetings are open for people to attend in person but also allow others to join us virtually on Zoom. Among the other topics we regulary cover are the History of the Church, aspects of SDC Spirituality, Lives of Saints, and current affairs.