This week's news

Summer Charity Concert

The Great Day Choir will be here at our church for a Summer, Family Concert on Sunday 11th June at 4pm. We are delighted to be their hosts for the afternoon.

Please use this link to buy your tickets in advance (under 16's go free!) for what promises to be a lovely afternoon.

Summer Social
Great News! Mike Procter, South African Cricket Legend and Founder of the Mike Procter Foundation will be joining us for our Summer Social on Saturday 17th June!
So, come along to the St Augustine's Community Catch-Up, on the school playing fields from 11am until 3pm to meet Mike, have a chat about cricket, plus, he'll be signing copies of his autobiography.

See more about the great work of the Foundation on its website.
https://mikeprocterfoundationuk.org/

We are also delighted to have Monica from South Gloucestershire Guide Dogs joining us at our St Augustine's Community Catch-Up!
They are looking forward to having a stall and want you all to come along and say hello to their wonderful Volunteers and their Guide Dogs and pups 🐾🦮
Shall I go for a pun about being 'barking mad to miss it'...? .....No? ....OK, I won't.

 

 

Thanks Deacon Vincent for your reflections for Trinity Sunday Year A
1st Reading from the book of Exodus 34: 4-6, 8-9.
This passage takes place just after Moses came down Mount Sinai and found the people worshipping a golden calf. Moses smashed the tablets of the Covenant to the ground and there was great fear of God’s retribution for breaking the Covenant. Moses has just successfully renegotiated a reconciliation, and so God reveals himself to Moses. Moses calls on the name of the Lord, and God passes before Moses face declaring that He is a God of, “tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in kindness and faithfulness.” In my translation it states that Moses “hurried and bowed down to the ground and worshipped.” Then this beautiful scene where Moses begs God to journey with them again and forgive their sinfulness. They do journey together and God re-news his Covenant with the people of Israel. As a result of being close to God’s glory Moses’ face will shine out so brightly that he has to wear a veil for a period of time. A scene that will be repeated by Jesus at his transfiguration. God’s glory illuminates us and enables us to shine out in his presence. May we always remember that God himself refers to himself as slow to anger and rich in mercy. We are, indeed loved by God, let us always be thankful.

Psalm is from the book of Daniel 3: 52-56.
This beautiful song is the song of the three young men, who hand been thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue. It is used widely in Catholic Church’s liturgy, and also in Protestant liturgies. Some of them may be surprised to find that it is found in the Apocrypha, a section in scripture which is not accepted by the protestant Churches.

2nd Reading from the second letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians. 13: 11-13.
The Corinthians have exasperated Paul with their difficult and divided behaviour; so this is almost a relieved and exhausted, unusually brief closure of his letter, and does illustrate just how cross he is with them. It is therefore very surprising that one of the loveliest and best known prayers of the New Testament, the “Grace”, with its Trinitarian echoes, is the closing sentence of this tempestuous epistle.

The Holy Gospel according to John 3: 16-18.
We are witnessing Jesus trying to explain to Nicodemus, who has come to him by night a clear sign that he was in darkness and unable to understand what Jesus is saying because Jesus is the light. Those who believe in Jesus belong to the light and therefore belong up there, whilst those who cannot accept him belong in darkness down here. Those who believe are enlightened by the Holy Spirit and belong with the Saints in Heaven, they are heavenly creatures now, whilst the unbelievers are trapped in this world, besieged by greed and war, staggering around in the darkness. Let us always be thankful for the Graces we have received and never become accustomed to sin and darkness.

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us always.
Deacon Vincent.
 

This week's News

Congratulations

We welcome beautiful baby Orla to our parish community after being baptised during Mass on Sunday.

Congratulations and thank you to Tom & Esme, the proud Godparents, family & friends who allowed us to celebrate this wonderful occasion with them.

(... and she only cried a little bit!)

DON'T FORGET THE HOLY SPIRIT: 

Fr Matt Anscombe of our diocese has written a book called 'Don't Forget the Holy Spirit'. He shares personal testimony and considers the difference the Holy Spirit makes in our lives of faith.

Further details and recommendations and a link to buy the book can be found on his website www.dftholyspirit.com - it is also available on Amazon. Cost is £10 (+P&P)

St Augustine's Community Catch-Up

JUST 3 and a bit WEEKS TO GO until our Community Catch-Up

....and look who'll be joining us!

The clever and talented chefs - Simon and Adora from Pizza Adorare. You'll be able to enjoy their delicious authentic, wood-fired pizzas whilst at our summer social.

AND Sav's Super-whippy! Of course, the weather WILL be scorchingly wonderful and we will all want delicious ice cream during the day keep us cool... well don't worry! Sav will be there with his amazing array of ice creams, whippy trays and treats to come to our rescue! Yum!

So come on down on Sat 17th June from 11am until 3pm for fun, games, shopping, food, drinks, and community! All in aid of our School, Pre-school, Church, and Girl Guiding units.

Here at St Augustine's, we try our best to be a Fairtrade Parish - buying Fairtrade goods wherever we can.
What do you know about the Fairtrade Foundation?
Please take minute to read about the good Fairtrade does in the world, working with farmers and workers so they can improve their living standards, invest in their communities and businesses, and protect our shared environment.
... and buy Fairtrade if you are able to. It makes such a difference to others and to our beautiful planet.

“POP IT IN YOUR SHOP!” *individual bars of soap*

Highlighting an item each month for our soup run teams to hand out to those in need on the streets of Bristol.
If you are able to ‘pop it in your shopping’ for us & leave them behind the screen, next to the church shop, that would be great!
Thanks to so many of you who have been supporting this monthly initiative so far - the response has been fantastic. 

No Mow May - Wild flower Update!
So we had Daisies, Buttercups and little blue ones
and now ... things that look like wheat and teeny tiny pink ones! (Sorry - Mony Don is busy at Chelsea!)
One man's bowling green is another man's meadow - we hope you are enjoying the wild and free look of the church grounds at the moment - the insects certainly are. 

Cake Sale after 9.30am Mass this Sunday in the parish hall.
Bring some cash along and treat yourself with a cuppa!
All in aid of our 2 Parish Projects:
Friends of the Earth - https://friendsoftheearth.uk/
and The Mike Proctor Foundation - https://mikeprocterfoundationuk.org/

Thank you, Deacon Vincent, for your reflections for the Seventh Sunday of Easter Year A

1st Reading from the Acts of the Apostles 1: 12-14.

For Luke, Journeys are important elements, so we have the Disciples journeying back to the Upper Room in Jerusalem. It is worth noting how Luke is careful to point out that they are all observant Jews, following the Sabbath-days journey, which would have been a journey of no more than a thousand yards outside the city limits. Then we are given the list of the Apostles, the same as is in Luke’s Gospel 6: 14-16, of course omitting Judas Iscariot. Then Luke records the women amongst them, especially mentioning Mary, the mother of Jesus by name. In our translation we are given “All These”, but in mine it is translated “Unanimously”, a description Luke uses to describe the Early Church. So we have a vision of the Early Church at prayer awaiting the Advocate that Jesus promised. Maybe it is a good idea to follow their example and earnestly pray for a re-newel in the Spirit.

Psalm 26: 1, 4, 7-8.

A Psalm trusting confidently in God. This is slightly unusual in its construction in that the first part of the psalm expresses confidence, and then in the second half it gives voice to the petition. They are normally constructed the other way round.

2nd Reading from the first letter of St. Peter 4: 13-16.

Peter emphasises how suffering with Christ is a privilege. This might not sit easily with us but we need to remember that Peter is writing to Christians who are enduring suffering and they something to help them in the present storm. Peter shows them how Christ who suffered, innocent though he was, is a great assist to them. Peter is careful to distinguish suffering as a Christian and not as a criminal. He is encouraging those suffering injustice for their belief in Jesus Christ. This has been a timeless message for all Christians through the ages. This letter, which we have been studying for few weeks now is worth a good prayerful read. It puts life in perspective for us, in union with Christ and our early members of God’s Holy Church.

The Holy Gospel according to John 17: 1-11.

At this point Jesus is turning almost priest-like, in addressing the Father, and offering prayer to him with various differing elements. There is the element of Glory, the mutual glorification of father and Son. Then the prayer for the people The father has given to the Son from the world, with an emphasis of, “Keep them in your name.” He is worried for them as he is leaving them in the world, hence his concern for their Spiritual Welfare. We are always in Jesus’ mind; he worries about us intis world with all its snares and entrapments. He is constantly before the Father pleading for us. We are indeed a very blessed people; we should always be Thankful.

May we all be Blessed as we join those Early Christians praying for the Spirit. Deacon Vincent.

This week's news...

Congratulations to the newest members of our 'Parishes in Communion for Mission' who were Baptised or Received into the Catholic Church at both the Easter Vigil and at Sunday Mass here at St Augustine's recently.

We warmly welcome Richard Tam, Joy Chiu, Jean Tsui, Tony Wu, Elsie Lau, Annette Poon & Bennett Poon to our Church Community.
It was wonderful to celebrate with them all.

Thanks to Deacon Vincent for his Reflections for Sixth Sunday of Easter Year A

1st Reading from the Acts of the Apostles 8: 5-8, 14-17.
Here Luke is setting a scene using the Deacon Philip, who we thought was elected to help with the distribution of food, but here we find him preaching to great effect in Samaria. He casts out evil spirits and converts many in the city, and we have another Lucan expression, “joy and rejoicing” were the mark of the presence of the Holy Spirit. We are shown how the early church evolved the Trinitarian baptism. Initially they were Baptised in the Lord Jesus, but it was important for them to have hands laid upon them to receive the Holy Spirit so Peter and John are sent to complete their reception by receiving the Holy Spirit. Jesus was preached as God’s Son, so we have the Trinitarian baptism completed and we are shown how the Church needed to be Apostolic, so we have Peter and John completing the early Creed, i.e., Father Son & Holy Spirit, and Apostolic. Luke is careful to prepare the readers for our early Creed.

Psalm 65: 1-7, 16-20.
A great shout of, “Thanksgiving to God”, a recognition that the whole earth belongs to God, so it must also sing to God, hence the hum of the insects, the singing of the birds the roar of the wild beasts the wind sea and thunder shout out their praise to their creator. Our forebears had a greater understanding that we are merely stewards of the world, not Masters!

2nd Reading for the first letter of St. Peter 3: 15-18.
We continue our reading of St. Peter, and here he proffers some advice to those of his readers who might be suffering religious persecution, but it would also be helpful to slaves and wives living in this patriarchal society where they had little if any rights. The instruction has a couple of elements, “to suffer for righteousness has an echo in the Old Testament, which is linked to the Gospel. We are drawn to the Beatitudes, “Blessed are those who suffer in the cause of righteousness, your reward will be great in heaven.”. and then as all Christians living must relate to Christ’s death and resurrection, so putting our own sufferings at one with the Lord’s unjust treatment, can assist us on the way to God if we but manage to relate it with Jesus’ crucifixion and death; for it will lead us to the wonder of the Resurrection.

The Holy Gospel according to John 14: 15-21.
We are reminded of the linkage between love of the Lord and keeping his commandments. We quite often forget that all sin is a lack of love for Jesus. It runs counter to his desire for our happiness. We are virtually saying we know better than God. We return to the Garden of Eden and the serpent’s temptation to become like gods ourselves. John now introduces us to the Advocate, a legalistic appointment, whom we call to our side, so Jesus is not abandoning us, but the Advocate is a token that he is alive, and we are beloved of him. The second task for the Advocate is to educate us in everything that Jesus has passed on to us. We must thank John, for this is one of his great contributions to Christian theology. Jesus is still with us and teaching us and leading us to the Father. We need to search for him in the scriptures and the Eucharist, where we can encounter him and converse with him because the Advocate, The Holy Spirit has drawn us to him. So, we can rejoice that Jesus returns to the Father, and that great moment of their reunion in heaven bursts open with so much love that the heavens cannot contain it and comes down on us like a mighty force that is irresistible.

Let us give joyful thanks for Jesus Life, Death and Resurrection, at his Ascension! & Prepare for the Coming of the Advocate.
God Bless us All. Deacon Vincent.

"Come, follow me"
This Eastertide we continue in Clifton Diocese to pray for vocations to the priesthood for our own diocese. Please watch Fr Stephen Corrigan of St Peter's, Gloucester talk about vocation and his own call to priesthood, about being a seminarian and now being a priest in a parish, as well as the joy and fulfilment in his life and ministry as one of our newer priests: 

go to www.cliftondiocese.com/vocations

Clifton Diocese are offering Pastoral Ministry courses to all.

The Courses:
*The Diploma in Pastoral Ministry run by Loyola University Chicago is a two-year online course covering ten units of study each module being six weeks’ long. It is a demanding course but one that allows people to explore in depth and importantly in their own time, the richness of our Catholic Faith.
*The Ministry Skills Course which runs alongside but independently of the Diploma course, lasting two and a half years, enables participants to develop practical skills in accompaniment, listening, discernment and group facilitation while being rooted in prayer and the Ministry of Jesus. A Parish project at the end of the course cements learning and understanding while offering the opportunity for theological reflection.

*Next Course - we are now actively seeking to recruit for the next course which begins in September 2023. The course is ideal for ANY parishioner who seeks to develop their capacity to serve the parish in anyway which they believe the Lord is calling them. If you are a catechist – this course is for you. If you are a minister in any form – this course if for you. If you are not involved in any way – but would like to be – this course if for you!
Interested? – then please do come to one of our information evenings which will be taking place around the Diocese in June. Here you will hear in more detail about the two courses, content of both, time commitment involved and costs including the role of parishes to support those who take on either of the courses.

Dates and Venues for information sessions are below. Each session starts at 7pm, no need to book, just turn up on the evening.
Thursday 1 June: English Martyrs, Chard
Tuesday 6 June: St George, Taunton
Wednesday 7 June: St Gregory the Great, Cheltenham
Monday 12 June: St George, Warminster
Tuesday 13 June: Sacred Heart, Westbury-on-Trym
Wednesday 14 June: St John the Evangelist, Bath
Thursday 15 June: St Peter, Swindon
Tuesday 20 June: St Margaret Mary, Coleford

On Saturday April 29, family and friends of the Pastoral Ministry Course gathered to celebrate having successful completed the first Clifton Diocesan Formation Certificate in Pastoral Ministry Skills. For some it was a dual occasion because they had also completed their Loyola University Certificate in Pastoral Ministry, resulting in a Clifton Diocesan Diploma. It was a beautifully sunny day. Mass was celebrated by Bishop Declan who commissioned each of the ‘graduates’ to serve within the Diocese. Certificates were presented and a reception followed. As the first completers of these two courses, the occasion was testament to their hard work, resilience and commitment over two and a half years.

See https://cliftondiocese.com/ and scroll down to the 'latest news' for more info and photos etc

Next week is Laudato Si Week, 

the eighth anniversary of the publication of the Pope's letter to the world, Laudato Si, on care for creation, our common home.
Have a look online for all the activities that are going on, such as those advertised on the Laudato Si Movement's website....

This week's News

Community Catch-up

Not long now! Looking forward to seeing you all at our community catch-up on 17th June! 

***Are you a local trader who would like a 'pitch' in our trader's marquee? Or do you know of someone who is? Please email bristol.staugustine@cliftondiocese.com and we will send you all the details/form to join us at our summer social.

Soup Run - 'Pop it in your shop'If you are able to 'pop in your shop' some small packs of tissues this month, please donate them for our Soup Run, in the box at the back of church.

We are so very grateful to all those who donated deodorants last month. That was so kind.

Lost property.... 

...we often have things left behind in the church or hall. Here is a selection of the current items which are soon to be sent off on a 'charity shop run' unless they are claimed.
We, unlike Bagpuss, cannot keep ALL the things that are lost but we would love them to find their owners... or a new owner... if not claimed, asap. Please take them from the narthex cupboard or come to the office for the larger things asap.

St Patricks Catholic Church Pan-African Community are holding an evening of prayer & worship on Friday 19th May. See poster for details.

"Come, follow me"

This Eastertide we continue in Clifton Diocese to pray for vocations to the priesthood for our own diocese. Please watch Fr Thomas Lawes of Holy Rood, Swindon talk about vocation and his own journey to priesthood, as well as his life and ministry as one of our newer priests: go to www.cliftondiocese.com/vocations

This Sunday we have a 2^nd collection for the Clergy Training Fund for our diocese.  This annual collection helps support our seminarians training for the priesthood for Clifton Diocese.  It costs us £30,000 per year for each seminarian.  Your generosity is much appreciated, and we do hope that you are able to make a generous donation.