Advent 'Carols by Candlelight' Service - Sunday 10th December at 3pm.
Join us by candlelight in St Augustine's Church as we prepare the way to journey to Jesus this Christmas.
Traditional carols to sing and an activity for the little ones (and not so little ones!)
Then, of course, we will invite you all into the hall for mince pies and cuppas!
We will also have a hamper raffle for our 2 Parish Projects, Mike Procter Foundation and Friends of the Earth as well as holding the Big Christmas Prize Draw!
See you there!
See you there!
Soup Run Christmas - Gift Sunday
This weekend is our annual collection of gifts for the people we meet who are living on the streets this Christmas.
Our Soup Run team will be taking any donations and making up gift parcels so everyone gets the same. (No need to wrap anything)
So, if you are able to donate new woolly hat or gloves, deodorants or the 125g sized chocolate bars these will make amazing gift parcels for those who are homeless this Christmas.
You will be invited to bring up your items during the Offertory at both Masses this weekend or bring your item to the parish office by Monday 11th December.
We thank you in advance for your generosity.
Our Soup Run team will be taking any donations and making up gift parcels so everyone gets the same. (No need to wrap anything)
So, if you are able to donate new woolly hat or gloves, deodorants or the 125g sized chocolate bars these will make amazing gift parcels for those who are homeless this Christmas.
You will be invited to bring up your items during the Offertory at both Masses this weekend or bring your item to the parish office by Monday 11th December.
We thank you in advance for your generosity.
Our new Community Defibrillator!
We are delighted to announce that a Heartsafe resuscitation AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) has been purchased through the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity at a cost of £2,250 plus electrician fees & will soon be installed outside of our church. Thank you to Cathy, Petra and Maureen for your help in organising the project.
The AED will be for anyone who needs it whilst at Church, the hall, pre-school or school activities and, of course, for the whole local area to use too. The danger of cardiac arrest is significantly improved if there is access to an AED so this is a vital asset for our area and we are so pleased to be able to help with the 'chain of survival'.
We will arrange awareness & training sessions soon, (always with tea and biscuits!) so our parish & wider community can see how easy they are to use and what a major difference they make to someone in medical need.
It’s been purchased from St Augustine’s Parish funds upfront & we’ve had a wonderful donation from Downend and Bromley Heath Parish Council and also from ‘Heartsafe’ to help out with the costs.
If you are able to donate we are very grateful to you.
Either bring your donation to the parish office, or if you wish to donate via bank transfer please use these details:
Bank account: ST AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY, BRISTOL
Sort Code: 52-10-03 Account No: 66286417
and please use reference: ‘AED’
If you are happy for us to claim Gift Aid on your donation (we can claim an extra 25%, at no cost to you) please use one of our special envelopes from the back of church or from the office - complete your details & make a note on the envelope if you are paying by bank transfer and we will match it up to your donation or simply pop your cash donation inside it.
If we receive more than we need in donations we will pass the extra to the Great Western Air Ambulance.
Thank you all, in advance, for your generosity.
UPDATE*******
Well.... to say that the people of our community have been generous is an understatement!
Over the 2 Masses last weekend a wonderful £612.45 was donated!How fantastic! So, with other donations which have been made, the craft sale a few weeks ago and the stall at the bazaar we are already at £1,008.99!
Downend & Bromley Heath Parish Council donated a fantastic £1,000 and we had a further £100 from 'Heartsafe'. Plus, we have more donations coming in via bank transfer and the Gift Aid we can claim on a few of the donations too, we are really close to covering all the costs from your kindness!
This is a brilliant demonstration of the generosity of you all in these difficult financial times, to help the good of the wider parish community. Christianity in Action
We thank you all so much - look out for news of some get-togethers in the new year where we can learn about how AEDs work, how user friendly and simple our model will be, how it talks you through the whole process (literally), and what a difference it will make if someone is ever in medical difficulty.
Countdown to Christmas - THANK YOU!
We are delighted to announce the fundraising details of our Countdown to Christmas Event. What an amazing event it was for us this year, with records people coming to support it.
We tried hard to give as low cost an event as we could, due to times being so tricky right now, but also a fun afternoon with plenty to see, hear, eat, drink, do and win! We hope we got the balance right?
Just look at the figures raised and what all the groups and charities will have made for their causes! We are all so very grateful for the support!
Thank you thank you thank you all, once again, from the Parish Social Committee.
Happy Belated Birthday!
On the 1st Sunday of Advent we welcomed Fr Frank, who celebrated Mass for Fr Barnabas whilst he was away, and we were able to wish him a belated Happy 80th Birthday too!
Thanks, as ever, to Deacon Vincent for his Reflections for this weekend, the Second Sunday of Advent Year B.
1st Reading from the prophet Isaiah 40: 1-5, 9-11.
Here is the beginning of the Second Isaiah’s writings and is set in Babylon towards the end of the Exile there. It’s style is a clear indication that we are dealing with a single writer, probably a disciple of the first Isaiah. It is taking God’s message that their time of trial is ending, that the Babylonian gods have shown themselves useless in the face of Cyrus, whom God has chosen to free his people. God is telling them that their pathway will be straightened, and it will not be so hard to return as it was being led into captivity. The Lord has triumphed over their persecutor, God is “like a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms, holding them against his breast”. Here again is the image of the Good Shepherd. God really is the “Good Shepherd”, looking after his flock, keeping an eye on the wandering and constantly looking for the lost, to bring them back into the fold. If we hold on to this image of our God, we will always remember that he is looking for us no matter how far we roam. Isaiah’s visions are truly universal and for all time in all situations.
Psalm 84: 9-14.
A prayer for God’s blessing, beautifully crafted, this song cries out for God’s abiding gifts of, “Peace”, “Mercy”, “Faithfulness”, and “Justice”. All God asks is for our respect, by which we want to follow his ways.
2nd Reading from the second letter of St. Pater 3: 8-14.
This seems to address an issue that dominated the early Church. It appears to have stemmed fro Jesus himself who implied the end was near. When it wasn’t happening, the people were raising questions. Peter is determined to stick with the idea; but realises that God’s timing is not our timing. Secondly, Peter visualises the mercy of God in wanting all to be saved, so God is patient. Peter is anxious that they should not let things slip but stay close to the Gospel life, and then they will be ready whether God calls them home before the final day, or if they are present when the end comes. Peter who was so close to Jesus all the way through Jesus’ Ministry, trusts him implicitly. We would do weel to follow Peter’s example of trust.
The Holy Gospel according to Mark 1: 1-8.
With this short and direct statement, we enter our reading of the “First” of the Gospels to be written for us. The opening word “Beginning”, not only illustrates where we are but echoes the opening of Holy Scripture at Genesis, “In the beginning”. Good news is translated in Greek as, “evangelion”, which comes through the Anglo-Saxon as “God-spel”, hence Gospel became the title of this genre. Messiah enters Greek as “Christ” and in this Gospel is used as a title, rather than a name. “Son of God” is not in all manuscripts but is likely to be what Mark wrote and is most certainly what he meant. Mark immediately uses Isaiah to address exactly who John is. John is the one who prepares the way of the Lord, and there is no doubt that Mark is referring to Jesus as Lord, whereas Isaiah was referring to God the Father. John’s mission has something to do with sin, for he is preaching a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sin. So, John’s mission is something about confronting the reality of sin, and indeed is Jesus’ mission also. The description of John’s attire, I believe, is Mark pointing out to the people the old prophecy that Elijah would appear when the Messiah came. John indicates that the Messiah is coming after him, so his mission is all about pointing to Jesus. Jesus is the strong and powerful one. In a few sentences Mark has set out his stall; Jesus is the real thing He is the Messiah, the Son of God. It is an abrupt and direct opening of this Gospel, very much reflecting the way Peter, who was thought to be the inspiration for Mark, addressed his thoughts and speech. When we read Mark, we are experiencing the first thoughts of the Church in discovering exactly who Jesus was. It is an exciting fast-moving Gospel.
May God enable us to capture the excitement of discovering Jesus afresh this Advent.
Deacon Vincent.
1st Reading from the prophet Isaiah 40: 1-5, 9-11.
Here is the beginning of the Second Isaiah’s writings and is set in Babylon towards the end of the Exile there. It’s style is a clear indication that we are dealing with a single writer, probably a disciple of the first Isaiah. It is taking God’s message that their time of trial is ending, that the Babylonian gods have shown themselves useless in the face of Cyrus, whom God has chosen to free his people. God is telling them that their pathway will be straightened, and it will not be so hard to return as it was being led into captivity. The Lord has triumphed over their persecutor, God is “like a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms, holding them against his breast”. Here again is the image of the Good Shepherd. God really is the “Good Shepherd”, looking after his flock, keeping an eye on the wandering and constantly looking for the lost, to bring them back into the fold. If we hold on to this image of our God, we will always remember that he is looking for us no matter how far we roam. Isaiah’s visions are truly universal and for all time in all situations.
Psalm 84: 9-14.
A prayer for God’s blessing, beautifully crafted, this song cries out for God’s abiding gifts of, “Peace”, “Mercy”, “Faithfulness”, and “Justice”. All God asks is for our respect, by which we want to follow his ways.
2nd Reading from the second letter of St. Pater 3: 8-14.
This seems to address an issue that dominated the early Church. It appears to have stemmed fro Jesus himself who implied the end was near. When it wasn’t happening, the people were raising questions. Peter is determined to stick with the idea; but realises that God’s timing is not our timing. Secondly, Peter visualises the mercy of God in wanting all to be saved, so God is patient. Peter is anxious that they should not let things slip but stay close to the Gospel life, and then they will be ready whether God calls them home before the final day, or if they are present when the end comes. Peter who was so close to Jesus all the way through Jesus’ Ministry, trusts him implicitly. We would do weel to follow Peter’s example of trust.
The Holy Gospel according to Mark 1: 1-8.
May God enable us to capture the excitement of discovering Jesus afresh this Advent.
Deacon Vincent.
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