This week's News

ADVENT PENITENTIAL MORNING

Please join us in St Augustine's Church this Saturday 30th Nov from 10-12noon.

We will hold a Holy Hour, several Priests will be in Church to hear Confession and then come for a coffee in the hall

~ All in preparation for the Season of Advent.

Everyone welcome to drop in during the morning and stay for as long as you would like.

Carols by Candlelight ~ Sunday 8th December at 3pm in our Church

Everyone is invited to come along for a beautiful Advent service with singing, reflections and something for the little ones.

Taking place on the 2nd Sunday of Advent, it is a time to prepare together for the coming of the season.

After the service, please join us for festive refreshments in the hall with a raffle for our 2 Parish Projects, Brandon Trust and Little Sisters Of The Poor, as well as finding out the lucky winners of the Parish Christmas Prize Draw!

International day for ending violence against women and girls.

The Caritas Social Action Network and the National Board of Catholic Women have issued a statement on the need to act with determination, urgency and create a world that is safe for all women and girls.

"25th November marks the international day for ending violence against women and girls. The day is observed annually and begins a 16-day period to raise awareness of the global scourge of violence against women and girls.
We are encouraged to take part in events, social media campaigns and educational activities that advocate for ending this violence. This is an increasingly important issue, recognised by the World Health Organisation as a pandemic and now in the UK as a national emergency.
Globally, a third of women have been subjected to physical or sexual abuse.
Women and girls are particularly vulnerable in times of war and conflict; sexual violence is used as a weapon of war. An estimated eight million women and girls in Ukraine are in need of humanitarian aid. In Gaza, disproportionate numbers of women have been killed, while pregnant women face malnourishment and lack of access to essential healthcare. Escalating restrictions on women living under the Taliban in Afghanistan include forbidding speaking in public to other women, singing, travel, study or work.
Ending violence against women and girls involves challenging deeply rooted cultural attitudes. In the words of Gisele Pelicot, speaking recently in court in France about the horrific violations orchestrated by her husband; “shame must change sides.” This is a challenge which lies deeply at the heart of Catholic Social Teaching.
Pope Francis has spoken about violence against women and girls on many occasions, issuing a call to all Catholics to use our power to bring about this cultural change. “It is our duty, the responsibility of each person, to give a voice to our voiceless sisters… It is necessary to act immediately, at all levels with determination, urgency and courage.”
As Catholics, we are preparing for the Jubilee year as pilgrims of Hope. Let us enter these 16 days with that Hope, so that we can indeed act with determination, urgency and create a world that is safe for all women and girls.

Do you need help?
If you feel unsafe at home or are worried about someone else, contact:
The National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247
nationaldahelpline.org.uk

Life Fear Free Helpline (Wales): 0808 8010 800
welshwomensaid.org.uk

Rape Crisis: 0808 5000 2222
rapecrisis.org.uk

Galop: 0800 999 5428
galop.org.uk

If you are concerned that you may be harming the people you love: Respect Phoneline: 0808 8010 327
respectphoneline.org.uk

Read the full statement and details here:
https://www.cbcew.org.uk/stand-up-against-domestic-abuse/

Thanks to Deacon Vincent for his Reflections for First Sunday in Advent Year C

1st Reading from the prophet Jeremiah 33: 14-16.
Jeremiah is asked by God to inform the people that Jerusalem and Judah are going to be restored. God goes on to say that a descendant of the line of David will come forth and display justice and righteousness in the land, and his name will be, “The Lord is our righteousness”. Christians have always seen this is as a promise of the coming Saviour Jesus Christ, who is a descendant of David, by Joseph’s lineage. God is encouraging his people to keep strong in turbulent times for Israel. It is a good thing, to remind ourselves, that God really is the Master of the Universe.

Psalm 24: 4-5b, 8-9, 10, 14.
This is a song asking God for forgiveness and help. It is a reminder that we need God’s guidance and the help of his commands to find the right path and lead the Gospel life, as illustrated by Jesus in the
Gospels.

2nd Reading from the first letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians 3: 12-4: 2.
This is a charming and loving prayer, with a subtle reminder to the Thessalonians that they still have a way to go in perfecting the Gospel life. Paul aligns Jesus with God in the opening passages, which shows how he is still working out the actual relationship of Jesus with the Father, he is confident of their unity of action, however. Paul mentions Jesus coming (the Parousia) more prominently in these letters to the Thessalonians. It is a timely reminder for us, during Advent, to renew our prayer, “Come Lord Jesus, Come.”

The Holy Gospel according to Luke 21: 25-28, 34-36.

We concluded the previous year with predictions of the end, and we begin our new Liturgical Year with yet another reminder that this world will end one day. It is best to think occasionally of our own end and remind ourselves of the things that really matter. Loving God and always being respectful to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, staying sober and leading good lives according to God’s law, treating our neighbour with kindness and consideration. Always looking out for the widows and orphans, who need our loving care. Now is the time for preparing to meet the Lord. Hold ourselves upright and don’t be weighed down by the troubles of the day; always trust in the Lord, Our Redeemer. He loves us and wants to lead us to the Father, so always be joyous as we journey with Our Lord.

God grace us to always be prepared to meet our Lord. Deacon Vincent.

*I fully acknowledge the assist given me by Nicholas King’s Study Bible in this and all my reflections. For his insight into the books and writings of the Holy Bible. He has been my inspiration and insight into the wonders of Holy Scripture. *

This week's News

COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS What a wonderful afternoon on Saturday, celebrating all that is good about our parish community. We hope you all enjoyed it?
We had record numbers through the door and a lovely atmosphere with music, games, shopping, Santa and more.
The feedback has been so positive and it looks like a great amount of money has been raised for all the groups and charities represented (info to follow soon).
Thank you SO MUCH to everyone involved with the day, whether you were part of the planning, organised and ran a stall, helped with the setting up and clearing up or if you came along and enjoyed yourself. We thank you all.
See you next year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ADVENT PENITENTIAL MORNING
Please join us in St Augustine's Church on Saturday 30th Nov from 10-12noon.

We will hold a Holy Hour, several Priests will be in Church to hear Confession and then come for a coffee in the hall

~ All in preparation for the Season of Advent.

Everyone welcome to drop in during the morning and stay for as long as you would like.

GIFT SUNDAY

Each December we ask for help for those who are on the streets in our city to give them a gift from our community at Christmas. So, on Sat & Sun 7/8th Dec, we invite you to bring a gift to Mass for the homeless people we will meet on our soup run, if you are able to.
The team would love to make up gift parcels which could include men’s gloves, deodorant, socks, and any large (110g) bars of chocolate. They will put donated gifts together to make up lovely gift bags for the Christmas soup run, (so no need to wrap anything). Thank you in advance for your generosity.

A message from Clifton Diocese:

'Beyond the Threshold' – creating safe spaces for people to find out who we are, what we believe and what we’re like!
A day for all! On Saturday 18 January we will explore the key principles that we need to employ before we embark on any specific programme of catechesis. Our day at St Brendan’s College, Brislington, will start at 10am (9.30am refreshments) and will be led by International Speaker and Author, David Wells as our keynote speaker. In addition, there will be a series of workshops to look at how we apply the principles of creating a safe space, enabling others to know who we are, what we believe and what we are like!

To register for the day please click on the Eventbrite link: https://beyondthethreshold.eventbrite.co.uk

Statement on assisted suicide

Following Fr Barnabas' sermon this weekend, as promised, here is the link to the statement from the Bishop's Conference of England and Wales.

https://cliftondiocese.com/news/catholic-bishops-of-england-wales-and-scotland-unite-in-compassionate-action-to-oppose-bill-on-assisted-suicide/

On your own this Christmas?

Marmalade Trust has been highlighted to us to spread the word in case anyone is going to be on their own this Christmas. They are an award-winning charity dedicated to raising awareness of loneliness and empowering people to make connections.

Please contact this charity in case they can offer some friendly support.

Click here to go to their website

SAFEGUARDING SUNDAY

TW: Last weekend was SAFEGUARDING SUNDAY, a day where we can focus on the fact that, as Christians, we try to look out for each other & help keep each other safe - especially those who are vulnerable.
We have our ‘Support Board’ as you leave church with details of support groups & charities should you or someone you know be experiencing anything that needs help or advice.
Also our Diocesan Safeguarding team & contact details are there, should you ever have concerns on someone’s behalf & need an expert to talk to.
I have tagged, here, several amazing charities and groups who operate to give advice and sign post people to get the help they need. See our support board or visit them online to find contact details and information.

Hourglass ~ if concerned about an older person. Safer ageing, stopping abuse
The Survivors Trust ~ United against sexual violence & abuse

Samaritans ~ there for everyone ~ call 116 123
Campaign Against Living Miserably ~ suicide prevention charity on a mission to help people end their misery, not their lives
Women's Aid ~ National domestic abuse charity
PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide
Childline ~ help for children and young people under 19
Mind ~ mental health charity
CAP - Christians Against Poverty UK ~ helping to provide free debt help.
RESTORED ~ Christian charity working to support survivors of domestic abuse.
One in Four UK ~ supporting people who have survived child sexual abuse
NAPAC - The National Association for People Abused in Childhood

See our website's separate Safeguarding page

or Visit https://cliftondiocese.com/departments/safeguarding/ to find more information about Clifton Diocese' safeguarding principles and processes and for contact details if you have concerns or someone has disclosed issues to you. They can talk to you and help deal with the situation on your behalf.
Bernadette (Safeguarding rep) or Fr Barnabas are also happy to talk about any concerns to help point you in the right direction to get expert help.

Thanks to Deacon Vincent for his Reflections for the Feast of Christ the King Year B

1st Reading from the prophet Daniel 7: 13-14.
Daniel has a vision, and he refers to, “one like a son of man.” This term is frequently used in Ezechiel, when God addresses the prophet and Jesus himself uses the phrase often, as a way of avoiding saying “I”. This passage we are reading today, was used by Jesus when he was being examined by the Chief Priest, after his betrayal. (See Mark 14:62 & Matthew 26:64.) He cites this vision after stating that he was the Messiah, the Holy One of God, and subsequently brought about his being condemned to death. As a result, Christians have always looked upon this prophecy of Daniel as actually referring to Jesus receiving his kingdom.

Psalm 92: 1-2, 5.
This song is proclaiming the greatness of God, upon the completion of creation before God rests upon the seventh day. (The Sabbath). God is the Master of the Universe, something we often forget.

2nd Reading from the book of the Apocalypse 1: 5-8.
The word “Apocalypse” is Greek for unveiling, and Revelation is the Latin. It describes what type of document this is. Later we are told it is an unveiling of Jesus Christ, the author is a “John”, but which John we are not told, it is a prophecy which is “the speech of God to human beings, and not necessarily a prediction of the future. We are told Jesus loved us and freed us from our sins by his blood, made us a kingdom, priests for his God and Father. We are assured of the Lordship of God as the Alpha and the Omega, indicating God’s control of the present, past and future. We need to be reminded of this in the confusion of the world in which we reside.

The Holy Gospel according to John 18: 33-37.
We only have before us the conversation between Jesus and Pilate. Who is in charge is not certain. Pilate is dashing between the baying mob outside and the serene countenance of the imprisoned Jesus. Pilate should be dominating things as the representative of this world’s Emperor, but it is Jesus who holds centre stage. “Yes, I am a King, I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice”. We see Jesus as the true Messiah, whom the world believes they have conquered, and he will be destroyed; but we know that He has conquered the world and is Risen and is the True King of the Universe to bring all to the Father. This is the person we encounter intimately at the Eucharist. We are truly Blessed to have such a Saviour who wants to engage with us.

We adore you O Christ, King of the Universe.
Deacon Vincent.

This week's news

Remembrance Weekend

We send our thanks to all who were involved with the beautiful Services of Remembrance at our Church over the weekend.
Our Rainbows, Brownies and Guides were in attendance to honour the 2 minutes' silence with their parade flags as well as helping to create and decorate the poppy display.
"At the going down of the sun and in the morning - We will remember them."

 

 

An update on our Community Kitchen Cupboard (CKC), 4 months down the line:
*We have seen a very large amount of items taken over the past few months which means there is definitely a need for the CKC in our area.
*We have also seen a very large amount of items donated to keep the cupboard stocked up, which is so very wonderful - it is true Christianity in Action - we thank all of you who've been in a position to buy an item or 2 to leave in the donation box for sorting. Thank you thank you thank you!
Should you wish to donate an item before Christmas, these are the things that are taken the most and that we have hardly any / no stock left:
-Crisps
-Lunchbox Snacks (small packs of biscuits/boxes of raisin/cereal bars etc)
-Tea/Coffee/Hot Choc
-Toilet Rolls
-Cereal
-Small tins of children's shaped pasta/beans and sausages
-UHT milk
-Tinned fruit/rice pudding
(We have loads of tins of soup and beans, by the way, thanks)
A big 'Thank you' to our helpers who work each day to keep the cupboard sorted and stocked.

COP29 - Green Christian Action

During COP29 we must call on Christians and others of good will to amplify the voices of those suffering the impacts of climate breakdown. And we must pray.

Green Christian Action hold Morning prayer at 8am every morning during COP29, from 11 Nov to 22 Nov, except for the middle Sunday 17 November which is a day of rest at COP.

There will be 10 minutes of prayer and reflection. This will be on Zoom and led by a team from Green Christian.

Register for the link for the live prayers here

or use this youtube link to watch the recording of them at other times:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdHb4RRseikO0haO_KOo6-6R5U2ZM90sv

This Week's News

Countdown To Christmas with us!

On Saturday 16th November our annual community afternoon is back!

Join us from 12noon-3pm in the school for festive fun
~ come & have lunch, enjoy mulled wine, Irish coffees & delicious cakes,
~ get some Christmas shopping done at our amazing stalls, (more info on who is joining us, very soon!)
~ play fun games & ‘try your luck’ on the bottle stall & tombola,
~ have your face painted, decorate biscuits or try some crafts,
~ listen to some talented musicians,
~ have something mended at Bella’s ‘stitch it’ stall
~ & more.
There’ll even be an early visit from the big guy in red! (We've booked him before he gets too busy!)
Invite your friends and family and come along for a lovely afternoon, celebrating our wonderful community together, all whilst raising money for our School/PTFA, our Pre-school, our Parish and the Guiding units and other charities ❤️

** Do you have a bottle of wine / beer / squash / spirits / fruit shoot or a box of chocs or new unopened gift that you could donate for one of our fundraising stalls? Please bring any donations to the parish office for sorting and distribution. We would also love any donations of cakes on the Friday or morning of the event for our lovely cake stall.
Thank you in advance to all who are involved with the day, in anyway, as it is such an amazing community afternoon together and we'd love this year to be just as successful. Invite your friends and see you there!

Remembrance Weekend

This weekend we honour all those who have died in wars and conflict.

At the start of both Masses (6pm on Saturday and 9.30am on Sunday) our ceremony will show our respect for those who made the ultimate sacrifice. You are then invited, after Mass, to place your poppy in the Remembrance Day garden outside.

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them."

Gospel Generation Community Choir visited us for a Charity evening on 18th October ~ a fantastic evening, enjoyed by all.
"Ticket sales had gone very well for the Concert by the Gospel Generation Community choir at St Augustine's. The weather on the concert Eve welcomed the singers and parishioners alike with lashings of rain which did nothing to dampen everyone's spirits! The well lit church , good acoustics and warm welcome by Fr Barnabas made for a resounding take-off, a roll of presentations, which ranged from trumpet solos and soulful songs, to "Samba Jill Samba Brazil "with growing audience participation.
The infectious enthusiasm of the singers transmitted itself to the audience who reflected their joy back with clapping and singing along with the choir.
Thank you all for coming out on this wet autumn night and contributing so generously to this charity performance 👏
£595.21 was raised for both parish projects ~ The Brandon Trust & Little Sisters Of The Poor. Blessings, from Sue and Norbert Stricker"

 

 

QUIZ FUN!

Sunday 20th October was another fun Quiz night at St Augustine's all in aid of our 2 Parish Projects, Brandon Trust and Little Sisters Of The Poor.
With Quiz Rounds, the Head n' Tails game and Pig Racing, everyone enjoyed the evening. Well done to the winning team who had bottles of wine to celebrate their intelligence, and commiserations to the 'Best endeavours' who had the famous wooden spoons!
Thanks to Mike Ryan and gang for putting on another great night where a wonderful £727.35 was raised!

 

 

Our Primary School

The governing body of St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary School are consulting on their proposed admission arrangements for the 2026-2027 school year.
Please visit this link to have a look at the proposals and send us your thoughts by 20th December at 12:00pm.

St. Nicholas of Tolentino RC Church, Bristol are holding their next monthly celebration of Mass for the LGBTQ+ community on 17th November. See poster for details.

Reflections for Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B from Deacon Vincent.

1st Reading from the First Book of Kings 17: 10-16.
It is sad to say that when Assyria, Babylon, Persia and Egypt were relatively weak then Israel made use of its’ enviable position on several caravan routes between Egypt and Mesopotamia, our historian, however, interprets the story in terms of Israel’s fidelity to what God has asked of them. This book, which is the work written during Israel’s captivity in Babylon is a single piece although spread across several scrolls or books. It measures the worth of monarchs by their ability to listen to God’s prophets and worship exclusively in the House of Israel. The function of prophets is to keep successive kings up to the mark. They can appoint and dismiss monarchs and are sent by God to speak on his behalf. The section we have today is devoted to the story of Elijah. He has proclaimed a drought for King Ahab’s disrespect to God by promoting his pagan wife, Jezebel’s worship of the god Baal. He is on his way to confront the priests of this sect, when he asks this poor woman, a pagan, for some food and drink. Although a pagan and poor; she behaves godlier than those who should know better, in Israel. He promises her that if she helps him her food supply will not fail, and so it came about that her food and water was there, until the drought finished. Elijah is a remarkable character and very influential in Judaism. We can never outdo God in generosity, something for us to contemplate.

Psalm 145: 7-10.
It is a song in praise of God’s fidelity to those who are bowed down by poverty and hunger yet are willing to help others. God cannot be outdone in generosity. It affirms the story of the poor woman in the first reading.

2nd Reading from the letter to the Hebrews 9: 24-28.

This excerpt makes four points: What Jesus has done provides access for all believers to where it really matters, as opposed to the lesser access afforded by the old covenant. The New Covenant is the “Real Thing”. Secondly: What Jesus has done really succeeds in coping with human sinfulness. Thirdly: Blood is shed in both covenants, but in the case of Jesus, the blood is a once and for all offering, not a year after year offering, as before. Fourthly: What Jesus has done is connected to his radical obedience to the Father’s will. This is really a profound theological letter and so it needs a lot of prayerful reflection to absorb its’ full import.

The Holy Gospel according to Mark 12: 38-44.
Jesus delivers an aggressive warning about the “scribes”, who love to make a great show of their religious devotion, whilst devouring the houses and properties of widows. Then Jesus observes a poor widow putting a very small amount of money in the Temple coffers, but it is worth more to God, for she has made a real sacrifice in giving from her essential money whilst the wealthy scribes trumpet their major offerings which comes from surplus of ill-gotten gains. She is far more attentive to God than all the buyers and sellers in the Temple, nor the religious people. Our religiosity must always be from a sincere and pure heart. God cannot be deceived; he reads our hearts and knows us inside out.

God grant us the grace of a pure heart.
Deacon Vincent