The new course is soon to begin for all those children whose parents have applied for them to receive the sacrament in June 2020.
The courses run from October the year before through to June when they receive the Sacrament at a special Mass - meeting monthly after Sunday Morning Mass - and the course is always advertised to the Parish and Primary School from May each year for a July deadline for applications so that the course can be planned and arranged over the summer.
This new course is now full
so please look out for next year's course when advertised in May/June 2020 if you have a child who is eligible for 1st Holy Communion. (Year 3 of school at the time of receiving the Sacrament)
Please pray for our new candidates and the catechists as they begin their journey together towards this most beautiful Sacrament.
Showing posts with label Sacraments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sacraments. Show all posts
Confirmation 2019
Please remember them in your prayers at this special time.
Confirmation 2019
Our Parishes in Communion welcomed the 2019 Confirmation Candidates to the community during their Mass on Enrolment on Saturday 2nd February.They, their parents and the congregation all renewed their Baptismal promises together and the community promised to pray for and support the Candidates during this time of preparation for the Sacrament.
Each candidate brought up their personalised light to be displayed in the church.
50 years celebrated in 1 fantastic evening!
The community of St Augustine of Canterbury celebrated in
style in Downend on Wed 30th September with a wonderful Mass of
Thanksgiving, led by Bishop Declan together with 15 other priests and many
Deacons, all in front of invited local dignitaries and a packed congregation of
parishioners, old and new.
Before the Mass began we enjoyed songs and hymns sung
beautifully by St Augustine’s Primary School choir who were led by the Head
teacher, Julian Clements.
The offertory procession was taken up by a selection of
parishioners who were here 50 years ago when the Church community began as well
as representatives from our most recent Confirmation and 1st Holy
Communion programmes showing the bright future of our Church.
All our music groups were involved in the liturgy during the evening, 15 of our altar servers were delighted to serve at the special Mass and a large team of people worked hard to make the whole evening a great success.
All our music groups were involved in the liturgy during the evening, 15 of our altar servers were delighted to serve at the special Mass and a large team of people worked hard to make the whole evening a great success.
During his homily, Bishop Declan spoke about the fact that
we are not just celebrating 50 years of the church building being complete, but
more than that, this marks 50 years of building a thriving Church Community. He
presented Fr Frank with a beautiful Papal Blessing, given to the priest and
people of St Augustine’s on this wonderful occasion.
Each family was given a commemorative booklet after Mass (Fr
Frank joked that it wasn’t given out on arrival in case people read it instead
of paying attention to Bishop Declan’s homily)! The booklet gives lots detail
about the history of the Parish with many memories and photographs from those
early days and events throughout the 50 years. The forward from Fr Frank talks
of ‘community’ being a beautiful title as it symbolises unity and togetherness
and that, in marking this special occasion, we are giving thanks to God for the
many blessings He has bestowed on our community and we are looking forward to
the future with confidence.
The celebrations continued after Mass in the school hall
with speeches, cutting of a wonderful cake depicting a 3D icing sugar model of
the church in 1965, groaning tables of food, glorious food and lots of catching
up between friends old and new.
Here’s to the next 50 years!
Extraodinary Ministers of Holy Communion
The main task of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion is to assist in the distribution of Holy Communion at Mass.
In addition, those who have been trained and received clearance through safeguarding, with permission from the Parish Priest, take the Blessed Sacrament to a sick or housebound member of the parish. This is organised through the visiting team, run by Gill Johnson and John Jordan.
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion must be Catholics in good standing, and are usually appointed by the invitation of the Parish Priest.
For further information contact Fr Barnabas.
In addition, those who have been trained and received clearance through safeguarding, with permission from the Parish Priest, take the Blessed Sacrament to a sick or housebound member of the parish. This is organised through the visiting team, run by Gill Johnson and John Jordan.
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion must be Catholics in good standing, and are usually appointed by the invitation of the Parish Priest.
For further information contact Fr Barnabas.
Sacramental life
BAPTISM PREPARATION
The purpose of this programme is to prepare parents who present their children for Baptism to understand and accept their responsibilities, and the importance of their role in the development of the child’s faith.
The programme covers an explanation of the Rite of Baptism, explanation of the way the child will be prepared, a visit to the church to view the baptismal font, and a mini rehearsal of the sacred liturgy. A baptism video may also be shown.
You can help your child or Godchild in the development of their faith and understanding of the Christian life.
Baptism preparation is flexible and is arranged to suit the needs and the availability of individual parents. For details contact Fr Barnabas.
CONFIRMATION PREPARATION
We aim to fill the hearts of our young candidates with a zeal for the faith and a deep love of the Faith. This is a wonderful opportunity to hand on knowledge about the Church and her teachings, to give our youngsters a good spiritual grounding to help them as they advance through the challenges of secondary school and university. Their Faith will be subjected to many attacks, and the greater their knowledge, and the deeper their appreciation of the Sacraments, the stronger they will be.
The purpose of this programme is to prepare parents who present their children for Baptism to understand and accept their responsibilities, and the importance of their role in the development of the child’s faith.
The programme covers an explanation of the Rite of Baptism, explanation of the way the child will be prepared, a visit to the church to view the baptismal font, and a mini rehearsal of the sacred liturgy. A baptism video may also be shown.
You can help your child or Godchild in the development of their faith and understanding of the Christian life.
Baptism preparation is flexible and is arranged to suit the needs and the availability of individual parents. For details contact Fr Barnabas.
CONFIRMATION PREPARATION
We aim to fill the hearts of our young candidates with a zeal for the faith and a deep love of the Faith. This is a wonderful opportunity to hand on knowledge about the Church and her teachings, to give our youngsters a good spiritual grounding to help them as they advance through the challenges of secondary school and university. Their Faith will be subjected to many attacks, and the greater their knowledge, and the deeper their appreciation of the Sacraments, the stronger they will be.
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| The Confirmation retreat in 2009 |
The Bishop organises the Confirmation dates, which can be annual or every other year. Once this is known, the next group of candidates are ‘gathered together!’
The group of candidates for confirmation then meet weekly in term time for a few months led by a team of catechists. The course usually includes a day or weekend away on retreat.
You can help by volunteering to assist as a catechist for our next course. If you are interested in this for future years, please speak to Fr Barnabas. If you are unable to do this, then please pray for the young people, and for us.
FIRST CONFESSION PREPARATION
The group of candidates for confirmation then meet weekly in term time for a few months led by a team of catechists. The course usually includes a day or weekend away on retreat.
You can help by volunteering to assist as a catechist for our next course. If you are interested in this for future years, please speak to Fr Barnabas. If you are unable to do this, then please pray for the young people, and for us.
FIRST CONFESSION PREPARATION
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| Candidates in 2011 after making their 1st Confession |
We all need to acknowledge our sins and bring them to Almighty God in confession, in order to restore our relationship with Him. Every time we come to Confession we encounter the love that flows from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and we experience His Divine Mercy and forgiveness. This is the message that we try to get across to our children who are preparing to make their first Confession.
Preparation for First Confession and First Communion takes place on a Sunday. The year 3` children come together once a week in the months before they receive these sacraments under the guidance of a team of catechists, in order to find out the true meaning of the sacraments.
We ask everyone in the parish to pray for the children as they prepare for their first confession, and we hope and pray that our children will make regular confessions throughout their lives. We also encourage parents and catechists to go to confession frequently to encourage our children by this good example.
FIRST HOLY COMMUNION
Receiving Our Lord Jesus Christ, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in Holy Communion, is indescribably powerful and moving. Every child should remember the day of his or her first reception of this life-changing gift, for the rest of their lives. As adults, we should strive to receive Jesus Christ in Holy Communion with the same devotion as a child on their first Holy Communion. In our preparation course, we explore the deeper realities behind the miracle of the Mass, and begin to open up the door to this mystery. Children have a great capacity for transcendence, and we do not patronise them but hope to open their eyes to something wonderful, and something they will need to learn more about as they grow older.
Preparation for First Confession and First Communion is no longer done in the School. The `year 3` children come together once a month, after Sunday Mass in the 9 months before they receive these sacraments, under the guidance of a team of catechists, in order to understand the true meaning of the sacraments.
You can help us if your child is due to make his or her first Confession and Communion, by volunteering to become a catechist. We ask everyone in the parish to pray for the children and for us.
We meet monthly from October until the weekend of receiving the 1st Holy Communion. Applications are open usually from to end of July To find out more contact Deacon Mike Belt.
MARRIAGE PREPARATION
Marriage preparation is conducted by the Priest or Deacon performing the marriage ceremony, and is done to suit the particular needs of the couple being married. In addition, the celebrant may recommend a one-day course run by Marriage Care.
For further details talk to the Priest or the Deacon conducting the ceremony.
For further details talk to the Priest or the Deacon conducting the ceremony.
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