Blessed Robert Grissold Catholic Church
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Welcome to the website of Blessed Robert Grissold Catholic Church in Balsall Common. Here you can find details of the parish, our latest newsletter, services and sacraments offered by the Church and, in our parish archive, the events we have held. As a parish we value your privacy. Please follow the link here to learn more about the privacy policy that covers all catholic churches in the Archdiocese of Birmingham,
Father Frank writes
In the Gospel today Jesus teaches that the lives of his followers should have a distinctive quality. Like salt, we should add a peculiar flavour to life because our life in Christ is distinctive and peculiar - different from what the world has to offer. This distinctive and peculiar quality of the Christ-life in us should shine like a light in the world, because Christ is the Light of the world. But if we lose our distinctive and peculiar taste - if the light in us is dimmed or hidden through sin, or compromised with the world - then we are no longer fit for purpose and we fail in our witness to the love and light of Christ - a witness that is vital in order that all may “taste and see that the Lord is good”.
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Safeguarding
The Parish follows the safeguarding standards advised by The Archdiocese of Birmingham. You can view these standards by following the link here.
A link to the Archdiocese safeguarding website can be found here.
Safespaces is a free and independent support service, providing a confidential, personal and safe space for anyone who has been abused by someone in the Church or as a result of their relationship with the Church of England, the Catholic Church in England and Wales or the Church in Wales. If you have been affected, however long ago, Safe Spaces can provide you with support. You do not have to have told the police or the church authorities, and you do not have to still be involved with the church. Your information will not be shared without your consent unless you or someone else is in immediate danger. To contact Safespaces, please follow the link to their website here.
The Isaiah Journey The Isaiah Journey is a working group of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales which has grown out of the need for a pastoral-spiritual response to the suffering of victims and survivors of abuse in the Church. It provides A Guide for Survivors of Abuse that can be found here.
The Safeguarding Rep for our Parish is Monica Green and she can be contacted via email at sg.brg.balsallcommon@rcaob.org.uk.
The Parish follows the safeguarding standards advised by The Archdiocese of Birmingham. You can view these standards by following the link here.
A link to the Archdiocese safeguarding website can be found here.
Safespaces is a free and independent support service, providing a confidential, personal and safe space for anyone who has been abused by someone in the Church or as a result of their relationship with the Church of England, the Catholic Church in England and Wales or the Church in Wales. If you have been affected, however long ago, Safe Spaces can provide you with support. You do not have to have told the police or the church authorities, and you do not have to still be involved with the church. Your information will not be shared without your consent unless you or someone else is in immediate danger. To contact Safespaces, please follow the link to their website here.
The Isaiah Journey The Isaiah Journey is a working group of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales which has grown out of the need for a pastoral-spiritual response to the suffering of victims and survivors of abuse in the Church. It provides A Guide for Survivors of Abuse that can be found here.
The Safeguarding Rep for our Parish is Monica Green and she can be contacted via email at sg.brg.balsallcommon@rcaob.org.uk.
Parish Events
Looking for the rest of the Parish Event List? We have archived the list from our old site but you can still view them here.
Date
| Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 01.02.2026 | Sacrament of Confirmation (for young people) | If any young people in our Parish, from Year 6 upwards, are interested in preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation, please contact Teresa Green on 07583 540060 or speak to Fr. Frank. Preparation will commence at the end of January. |
| 27.01.2026 | Weekday Mass this Tuesday | There will be no weekday mass this Tuesday. Fr. Frank will be taking his post-Christmas break at this time, apologies for any inconvenience. |
| 18.01.2026 | Churches Together Service for Christian Unity | A service for Christian Unity will be held today, 18th January at 4pm at St John the Baptist Church Berkswell. The theme this year is ‘Light from Light for Light’ and it has been prepared by the Armenian Apostolic Church. All welcome, light refreshments will be served. |
| 18.01.2026 | Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity | The week of prayer for Christian unity begins this Sunday 18th January with a theme of “One Body, One Spirit”. |
| 14.01.2026 | Coffee Morning | The next Parish Coffee morning will be in the Narthex at 10.30am on Wednesday 14th January with coffee and tea, cakes, scones and good conversation available to all. If you haven’t been before, give it a try - you will be made very welcome! |
| 13.01.2026 | Planned Giving Campaign | There will be a meeting for members of the Planned Giving Steering Group and co-ordinators of volunteer rotas at 7.00pm on Tuesday 13th January in the Parish Room, to discuss the next phase of our Parish Planned Giving Campaign |
| 08.01.2026 | Prayer Group | Next meeting is on Thursday 8th January at 4pm. Everyone is most welcome |
| 04.01.2026 | Christmas Mystery Prize | A sincere thank you to everyone who contributed towards the Christmas Mystery Prize Draw. The results were announced and three very satisfied winners took their bag of mystery prizes home! We raised £150 towards parish funds. |
| 04.01.2026 | Thank you | Thanks to all those who worked so hard to prepare for the Christmas celebrations. Thanks also for your cards, gifts, kindness and support. I am overwhelmed by your generosity. Also, I am grateful for your devotion to the Mass - for ensuring that there is in this place a faithful witness to the love, light and hope of Christ and his in-breaking Kingdom. That is the peculiar and incomparable gift we are called to offer to the world as the Church, but, in order for this to happen, we have to be faithful to the Mass, to worship and prayer and many have to give of their time and energy in raising funds and being responsible for day to day administration and maintenance. May the Lord bless you for all your hard work on behalf of Christ and his Kingdom. It is a privilege and a joy to share with you in this service. Fr. Frank |
| 24.12.2025 | Christmas Offerings | The collection at our Christmas masses will be the customary Christmas offering for your priest. Thank you for all your support and generosity throughout the year. |
| 21.12.2025 | Christmas Masses | The masses at our church are on Wednesday 24th December (Christmas Eve) at 6.00 pm and Thursday 25th December (Christmas Day) at 09.30 am. |
| 21.12.2025 | Carol Service | Thank you to everyone who helped to make our carol service last week such a joyful occasion – including the readers, musicians and singers, wardens, children’s liturgy, refreshments team, and all who helped to prepare the church and clear up afterwards |
| 21.12.2025 | Father Hudsons Caritas Collections | Thank you to everyone who donated gifts or cash to Fr. Hudsons this Advent. Our collection in Maureen’s memory raised £370.65, and the charity was delighted to receive the gifts at the beginning of this week, in time to be distributed at their Christmas events. Claire Keane |
| 21.12.2025 | CAFOD World Gifts | There are a few CAFOD World Gifts catalogues at the back of the church. If you would like to give a World Gift to someone who has everything, or to a child or grandchild (for example) to teach them the real meaning of Christmas, then please take one. The gifts start from £5 and there are a few different ideas for less than £10! You can also buy them from the CAFOD World Gifts website: https://worldgifts.cafod.org.uk/. Chris Lynn |
| 14.12.2025 | Quiz Night Total | Our quiz night in November raised £330 for parish funds – many thanks to Bob & Kathy for organising it and to all who helped to make it such a successful evening |
| 14.12.2025 | Christmas Giving Tree | Please pick a tag from the Christmas tree and buy a gift to donate to the charity Fr Hudsons Caritas, who support families in need. Please wrap the gifts, attach the tag (you can add comments about the gift in pencil) and place them under the tree by 14th December |
| 14.12.2025 | 100 Club | The results of the draw on 10th December are as follows: 1st Prize (£300) – E. Power, 2nd prize (£200) – E. Selby, 3rd prize (£100) – B. Gibbs, 4th prize (£50) – C. Keane. The £100 Club raised £600 for parish funds, thanks to Ken and Stefan for running it! |
| 10.12.2025 | Fr. Hudsons Carol Service | We are invited to the charity’s carol service, led by Archbishop Bernard Longley, at 11.30am on Wednesday 10th December. Further details on the noticeboard. |
| 07.12.2025 | Parish Planned Giving | Following last week’s presentation by Ian Clarke about Planned Giving, our volunteers will be available after Mass today to assist with standing order and Gift Aid forms. |
| 07.12.2025 | 100 Club | Stefan Hunka and Ken Higgins will be in the Narthex after Mass today if you wish to sign up for the 100 Club. The next draw will take place on 10th December |
01.02.2026
If any young people in our Parish, from Year 6 upwards, are interested in preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation, please contact Teresa Green on 07583 540060 or speak to Fr. Frank. Preparation will commence at the end of January.
|
27.01.2026
There will be no weekday mass this Tuesday. Fr. Frank will be taking his post-Christmas break at this time, apologies for any inconvenience.
|
18.01.2026
A service for Christian Unity will be held today, 18th January at 4pm at St John the Baptist Church Berkswell. The theme this year is ‘Light from Light for Light’ and it has been prepared by the Armenian Apostolic Church. All welcome, light refreshments will be served.
|
18.01.2026
The week of prayer for Christian unity begins this Sunday 18th January with a theme of “One Body, One Spirit”.
|
14.01.2026
The next Parish Coffee morning will be in the Narthex at 10.30am on Wednesday 14th January with coffee and tea, cakes, scones and good conversation available to all. If you haven’t been before, give it a try - you will be made very welcome!
|
13.01.2026
There will be a meeting for members of the Planned Giving Steering Group and co-ordinators of volunteer rotas at 7.00pm on Tuesday 13th January in the Parish Room, to discuss the next phase of our Parish Planned Giving Campaign
|
08.01.2026
Next meeting is on Thursday 8th January at 4pm. Everyone is most welcome
|
04.01.2026
A sincere thank you to everyone who contributed towards the Christmas Mystery Prize Draw. The results were announced and three very satisfied winners took their bag of mystery prizes home! We raised £150 towards parish funds.
|
04.01.2026
Thanks to all those who worked so hard to prepare for the Christmas celebrations. Thanks also for your cards, gifts, kindness and support. I am overwhelmed by your generosity. Also, I am grateful for your devotion to the Mass - for ensuring that there is in this place a faithful witness to the love, light and hope of Christ and his in-breaking Kingdom. That is the peculiar and incomparable gift we are called to offer to the world as the Church, but, in order for this to happen, we have to be faithful to the Mass, to worship and prayer and many have to give of their time and energy in raising funds and being responsible for day to day administration and maintenance. May the Lord bless you for all your hard work on behalf of Christ and his Kingdom. It is a privilege and a joy to share with you in this service. Fr. Frank
|
24.12.2025
The collection at our Christmas masses will be the customary Christmas offering for your priest. Thank you for all your support and generosity throughout the year.
|
21.12.2025
The masses at our church are on Wednesday 24th December (Christmas Eve) at 6.00 pm and Thursday 25th December (Christmas Day) at 09.30 am.
|
21.12.2025
Thank you to everyone who helped to make our carol service last week such a joyful occasion – including the readers, musicians and singers, wardens, children’s liturgy, refreshments team, and all who helped to prepare the church and clear up afterwards
|
21.12.2025
Thank you to everyone who donated gifts or cash to Fr. Hudsons this Advent. Our collection in Maureen’s memory raised £370.65, and the charity was delighted to receive the gifts at the beginning of this week, in time to be distributed at their Christmas events. Claire Keane
|
21.12.2025
There are a few CAFOD World Gifts catalogues at the back of the church. If you would like to give a World Gift to someone who has everything, or to a child or grandchild (for example) to teach them the real meaning of Christmas, then please take one. The gifts start from £5 and there are a few different ideas for less than £10! You can also buy them from the CAFOD World Gifts website: https://worldgifts.cafod.org.uk/. Chris Lynn
|
14.12.2025
Our quiz night in November raised £330 for parish funds – many thanks to Bob & Kathy for organising it and to all who helped to make it such a successful evening
|
14.12.2025
Please pick a tag from the Christmas tree and buy a gift to donate to the charity Fr Hudsons Caritas, who support families in need. Please wrap the gifts, attach the tag (you can add comments about the gift in pencil) and place them under the tree by 14th December
|
14.12.2025
The results of the draw on 10th December are as follows: 1st Prize (£300) – E. Power, 2nd prize (£200) – E. Selby, 3rd prize (£100) – B. Gibbs, 4th prize (£50) – C. Keane. The £100 Club raised £600 for parish funds, thanks to Ken and Stefan for running it!
|
10.12.2025
We are invited to the charity’s carol service, led by Archbishop Bernard Longley, at 11.30am on Wednesday 10th December. Further details on the noticeboard.
|
07.12.2025
Following last week’s presentation by Ian Clarke about Planned Giving, our volunteers will be available after Mass today to assist with standing order and Gift Aid forms.
|
07.12.2025
Stefan Hunka and Ken Higgins will be in the Narthex after Mass today if you wish to sign up for the 100 Club. The next draw will take place on 10th December
|
Parish Calendar
