PARISH MEETING
Please come along and join Fr Barnabas on Saturday (11th Nov) from 10.15-1pm, in the hall, to get together for some prayer & some discussions on our faith and what sort of Parish we want to be, going forward.
You are free to leave when the meeting ends at 1pm or bring a sandwich with you so we can share lunchtime together after, if you’d like to.
You are free to leave when the meeting ends at 1pm or bring a sandwich with you so we can share lunchtime together after, if you’d like to.
Countdown to Christmas - The real countdown is on!
* Only 11 days to go until our annual Christmas event for the whole community to enjoy. *
Please come along - bring your friends - and enjoy a lovely festive afternoon together - with many charities being supported such as our local 'Med in Sheds', the Polish Scouting Association, Friends of the Earth & The Mike Proctor Foundation - as well being supported by our Primary School, Preschool, Parish Groups and Girl Guiding unit.
A true community event!
Looking forward to seeing you there.
Please come along - bring your friends - and enjoy a lovely festive afternoon together - with many charities being supported such as our local 'Med in Sheds', the Polish Scouting Association, Friends of the Earth & The Mike Proctor Foundation - as well being supported by our Primary School, Preschool, Parish Groups and Girl Guiding unit.
A true community event!
Looking forward to seeing you there.
Our Soup Run Team:
Mary Roberts, whose contribution to the Soup Run has, over the years, been incalculable, will soon retire from the post and would gladly help train any replacement.
If you are interested in taking on this role, please contact the Parish Office. Rates of pay are... heavenly!
A MORNING FOR OUR READERS
I invite all our Church Readers to join together as a group for discussions & maybe we’ll improve our reading by sharing tips and best practice.
Please come to the church on Sat 25th Nov from 10.15 - 1pm.
Fr Barnabas.
I invite all our Church Readers to join together as a group for discussions & maybe we’ll improve our reading by sharing tips and best practice.
Please come to the church on Sat 25th Nov from 10.15 - 1pm.
Fr Barnabas.
Finance Office Support
The Finance department based in Alexander House, Bristol, are looking to recruit a team administrator to strengthen its central Finance Office function.
The role is part-time, 12hours across three days. Attention to detail, flexible can-do attitude, and the ability to be well organised are important. Experience in a similar role and knowledge of Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel would be highly beneficial.
For further details please go to https://cliftondiocese.com/diocese/working-for-us/
where you will find the Job Description and application form.
All applications to be sent to Simon Hussey, Head of Finance by 24th November 2023, simon.hussey@cliftondiocese.com
The Finance department based in Alexander House, Bristol, are looking to recruit a team administrator to strengthen its central Finance Office function.
The role is part-time, 12hours across three days. Attention to detail, flexible can-do attitude, and the ability to be well organised are important. Experience in a similar role and knowledge of Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel would be highly beneficial.
For further details please go to https://cliftondiocese.com/diocese/working-for-us/
where you will find the Job Description and application form.
All applications to be sent to Simon Hussey, Head of Finance by 24th November 2023, simon.hussey@cliftondiocese.com
St Nick's Mass
St. Nicholas of Tolentino RC Church, Bristol are hosting their monthly celebration of Mass for members of the LGBTQI+ community, friends, family and allies.
All are welcome
All are welcome
An update from our local CAFOD in Clifton Diocese Officer:
Warm greetings.
We have all been shocked and saddened by the devastating conflict in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory. CAFOD’s local partners in Gaza and southern Israel are now actively responding and providing urgent humanitarian aid to those in need.
· We have sent £100,000 to our local partner, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) who are already supporting 10,000 families with cash vouchers. Families are using these to purchase essentials like food and water as well as mattresses and bedding from wholesale suppliers in Gaza.
· We have committed £50,000 to our local partner, Culture and Free Thought Association, who are sheltering 300 people in their centres in Gaza and are supporting them with cash assistance, food, water and offering counselling to those dealing with losing their loved ones, their homes and their livelihoods.
· We have released £10,000 to our local partner Sadaka Reut, working in southern Israel with local emergency support groups providing psychological support, basic humanitarian assistance and building emotional resilience.
Sadly, staff and volunteers in our partner organisations have already lost their lives and tragically news has reached us this morning that more local staff in Gaza have been killed.
*They tell us that your support and your prayers of solidarity for those putting their lives at risk to help during this crisis are needed now more than ever.*
If you can help CAFOD with a donation, please use this link.
Thank you
https://cafod.org.uk/news/emergencies-news/israeli-palestinian-crisis-how-you-can-help
Warm greetings.
We have all been shocked and saddened by the devastating conflict in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory. CAFOD’s local partners in Gaza and southern Israel are now actively responding and providing urgent humanitarian aid to those in need.
· We have sent £100,000 to our local partner, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) who are already supporting 10,000 families with cash vouchers. Families are using these to purchase essentials like food and water as well as mattresses and bedding from wholesale suppliers in Gaza.
· We have committed £50,000 to our local partner, Culture and Free Thought Association, who are sheltering 300 people in their centres in Gaza and are supporting them with cash assistance, food, water and offering counselling to those dealing with losing their loved ones, their homes and their livelihoods.
· We have released £10,000 to our local partner Sadaka Reut, working in southern Israel with local emergency support groups providing psychological support, basic humanitarian assistance and building emotional resilience.
Sadly, staff and volunteers in our partner organisations have already lost their lives and tragically news has reached us this morning that more local staff in Gaza have been killed.
*They tell us that your support and your prayers of solidarity for those putting their lives at risk to help during this crisis are needed now more than ever.*
If you can help CAFOD with a donation, please use this link.
Thank you
https://cafod.org.uk/news/emergencies-news/israeli-palestinian-crisis-how-you-can-help
Prayer for peace:
God of peace, bearer of hope, we seek your help for the peoples of the Middle East.
Quiet the clamour of war and guide us towards peace.
Where there is hatred and division sow seeds of calm and openness.
Where there is destruction help us to rebuild.
Where children are crying bring an end to tears.
Shelter your peoples and protect them. Guide them and keep them from harm.
Show us how to break down the barriers of history and fear and breathe whispers of hope.
Amen.
Linda Jones / CAFOD
1st Reading from the book of Wisdom 6: 12-16.
Wisdom is the first book of the Old Testament to proclaim a belief in personal immortality. It also proclaims that despite all appearances, virtue is rewarded and that God is indeed in charge of the world. The great Jewish Wisdom tradition has at its heart the understanding that “reason” is God given and that if we follow our reason, with all humility, then we shall come to God, who always rewards the good and punishes the wicked. This passage we have today is a hymn to Wisdom. It contains a personification of Wisdom in the feminine gender. She wants to be found and reaches out to those who are seeking her. She does not hide away and make it difficult to engage with her. She goes out to meet those who are worthy and genuinely seeking her. It is very comforting and consoling to know that we are being sought out, so that we can find God, by following Wisdom.
Psalm 62: 2-8.
A song longing for God. It imagines us in a dry arid desert seeking God, how the soul thirsts for God. St. Augustine at some time in the future expressed, “Our souls do not find rest until it rests in the Lord.” The song expresses how God has totally absorbed us into himself. Our whole life whether awake or sleeping is watched over by God.
2nd Reading from the first letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians 4: 13-18.
At the heart of Paul’s preaching is his faith in the Resurrection. It appears that Paul was expecting an imminent coming of Jesus. Paul knits together symbols from Jewish speculation about the end time with those who will be alive when Christ comes again. There will be no preference for the living over the dead, so there is no need for pious friction, just remember what God has done in Jesus. We need to trust in the Jesus of the Gospels, who has been glorified by the Father. If we stay close to Jesus, then the Father will do the same for us. We should comfort ourselves with such thoughts.
The Holy Gospel according to Matthew 25: 1-13.
This story about the wise and foolish virgins is meant to make us laugh. It is more about being prepared than staying awake. We need to be prepared for the end-time rather than being constantly on edge. Have everything to hand for when the Lord comes to meet us. The majority of us will have that encounter at our own personal end-time when Jesus calls us home. The parable is not to alarm but to wake us up to the reality of our encounter with the Lord at some time in the future. The best way to avoid fear and panic, is to be prepared.
May God bless us with the grace of being prepared when he calls us home.
Deacon Vincent
No comments:
Post a Comment