Pastoral Ministry and Formation Click here

Catholicism is the most ancient and enduring Christian Church.  Jesus established his Apostles under the authority of St Peter to go and proclaim his love to the world.  Today the Catholic Church continues this same mission guided by the Bishops, who are the successors of the Apostles, and under the leadership of the Pope, who is the successor of St Peter.

Permanent Diaconate

Might God be calling you to serve as a permanent deacon within the Clifton Diocese?

  • Do you have a deep commitment to your Catholic Faith and your prayer life?

  • Are you committed to your family and work – faithful to your responsibilities and generous with your time?

  • Do you have a strong desire to serve others, in the Church and in the wider community?

  • Have others suggested that you might consider the permanent diaconate to be a vocation for you?

Perhaps God is calling you.

We would always recommend that you have a chat first of all with your own parish priest. He will be able to help you to understand what the permanent diaconate is about. Next do have a talk with Deacon Steve Boughton who can help you with the initial discernment and whether or not you might consider applying to be accepted onto the formation programme for the permanent diaconate.

Click Here For the Diocese vocations page, which covers vocations to the Priesthood, Permanent Diaconate Consecrated Lay Life Religious Life.

Michael lives in Chard Junction with his wife Sue and is a member of the English Martyrs Parish covering the churches in Chard and Ilminster. Michael jointly leads the Music Ministry team for the Parish and is a member of both the Parish Liturgy Committee and Pastoral Council. Michael is also the President of the local SVP Conference. He works part-time as a Systems Engineer and on his ‘day off’ he volunteers at the local Food Bank. In his leisure time, he enjoys participating in music groups both singing and playing mandolin, walking in the countryside with Sue and their two dogs and gardening when time allows. Michael began his diaconal formation in September 2022.

Diocesan Day July 2024

Hope does not disappoint

A group of us from the English Martyrs and St. Josephs attended the Diocesan Day in Bristol on the 6th July.  The theme of the day was Hope does not Disappoint and focused on the Jubilee in 2025.  The speakers were Canon Chris Thomas General Secretary for the Catholic Bishops Conference and Dr. Phil McCarthy who is seeking to revitalise the ancient tradition of walking pilgrimages in Britain.  We also attended a wonderful mass celebrated by Bishop Bosco.  During the afternoon we had opportunity to meet with fellow members of our Pastoral Area to think about how we could both celebrate the Jubilee with its themes of the environment and peace and draw together those groups in the church sometimes overlooked.  As a group we are to meet again on zoom as we put together our plans for pilgrimage across our area and to focus on the environment.  Please join in. For details how to join contact Pat Reed email: pareed@icloud.com