BULLETIN
10
DECEMBER 2017
SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT IN YEAR 2
CHURCH SERVICES
|
Saturday
9 December
|
Our Lady's Day |
|
Sunday
10 December
|
Sunday Mass at 10.30 am for the congregation |
|
Monday
11 December
|
Holy Mass at 10.00 pm for Danny McMail |
|
Tuesday
12 December
|
Memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe |
|
Wednesday
13 December
|
Memorial of Saint Lucy |
|
Thursday
14 December
|
Memorial of Saint John of the Cross |
|
Friday
15 December
|
Holy Mass at 10.00 am for Joy Doherty (Glasgow) |
|
Saturday
16 December
|
Our Lady's Day |
|
The
Holy Mass intention list is just over two weeks ahead. Please notify anniversaries
as early as you can. Thanks. |
|
SAINT MARY'S AND SAINT JOHN'S CHURCH SERVICES
|
Saturday
9 December
|
Vigil Mass at 4.30 pm |
Holy Mass at 10.00 am |
|
Sunday
10 December
|
Sunday Mass at 10.00 am |
Sunday Mass at 11.30 am |
|
Monday
11 December
|
Service at 10.00 am | Holy Mass at 10.00 am |
|
Tuesday
12 December
|
Requiem Mass at 10.00 am for Margaret Murphy | Service at 10.00 am |
|
Wednesday
13 December
|
Holy Mass at 10.00 am | |
|
Thursday
14 December
|
Service at 10.00 am | Holy Mass at 10.00 am |
|
Friday
15 December
|
Holy Mass at 10.00 am | Service at 10.00 am |
|
Saturday
16 December
|
Vigil Mass at 4.30 pm |
Holy Mass at 10.00 am |
|
Sunday
10 December
|
11.30
am |
Tea
and Coffee after Holy Mass |
|
Monday
11 December
|
9.30
to 11.30 am 5.30 to 6.30 pm 6.30 to 8.00 pm 7.30 pm 8.00 pm |
Parents
and Toddlers |
|
Tuesday
12 December
|
9.00
to 11.00 am 11.30 am 3.45 pm 6.30 to 9.00 pm |
Cardiac
Rehabilitation |
|
Wednesday
13 December
|
3.45 pm | Irish Dancing |
|
Thursday
14 December
|
7.30 to 9.00 pm |
Guides |
|
Friday
15 December
|
9.30
to 11.30 am 6.00 to 9.30 pm |
Parents
and Toddlers Musical Evening |
PRAYERS
Please remember in your prayers:
Laurence Poland 2010, Agnes Stevenson 1992, Maria Cunningham 1997, Alex Fitzpatrick
1991, James McGlynn 2004, Catherine
McGrattan 1969, Sheila McLaughlin 2010, Danny McMail 2016, Harry Quigg
1998, Bruna Conn 2009, Mary Hall 1999, Maria Monaghan 1998, Margaret Newall
1994, Margaret Spencer 1992, Alexander Stewart 1982, James Taylor 2002, Desmond
Walsh 2007, Mary Branchfield 2003, Kenny Brown 2015, Mary Dunn 2002, Sam Ferguson
2008, Catherine Graham 2015, George Kelly 2011, Norman Lamont 2009, James
McIntosh 1998, Catherine McMahon 2005, Ina McKay 1998, John Taylor 2002, Annie
Thompson 2016, Dr Matt Carty 2008, Monsignor Peter Murphy 1999, Mary Magee
1997, Robert McKay 1993, Denis McLaughlin 2008, Harry McNamara 2002, Sally
Quigg neé Gilmour 1984 and Anne Warden neé McNamara 2012 whose
anniversaries occur at this time and those who are sick.
If deceased members of your family are not on our anniversary
list, please tell Father
Duncan, the parish office
or contact WebsiteAuthor@SaintPeterinChains.net.
SUNDAY MASS TIMES
Sunday Mass times
in Saint Peter's are 5.30 pm Vigil and 10.30 am. Sunday
Holy Mass times in other local parishes
can be seen here.
SACRAMENT OF FORGIVENESS
The Sacrament of Forgiveness is celebrated on Saturdays between 4.45 and 5.15
pm and at other times on request.
HOSPITAL
CHAPLAINCY
If a member of your family or a friend is sick, please let us know and give
us the details. Deacon Bill Corbett (01292 521208, 07904 248948, Rev.BillCorbett@btinternet.com)
is the chaplain to Crosshouse Hospital and is assisted by the priest on call
each week.
FINANCES
Bankers Orders for the Parish and Parish Centre amount to £3500 per
month. We are grateful for your generous support in collections. If you can
manage a little more from time to time, it would be a great help. A Standing
Order would make the handling of money so much easier. Have you signed a Gift
Aid form? If you are a taxpayer the Church would get 25p added to every £1
you donate.
COLLECTIONS
Last weekend's Offertory collection amounted to £767.03 and the Maintenance
Fund collection to £272.56 - thanks.
GIFT AID
The Inland Revenue now requires us to use a new style of Gift
Aid form. These are available at the back of the Church and on the parish
website. If you pay tax, please complete the new form and return it to the
box provided. This allows us to provide the additional information required
on the Gift Aid claim. Gift Aid is a vital source of income. All that is needed
is that you pay tax. You simply declare that you give funds to the Church.
We do the rest. Why not sign a form today? We get back an extra 25p for every
£1 you give the Church in your weekly collection or by way of a donation.
There is no need to cancel or renew it. We simply claim in the income we receive.
PARISH RECORDS
Our parish records are covered by the Data Protection Act and are for parish
use only. We cannot give out phone numbers or addresses. Please help us to
keep our records up to date using the cards provided.
SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM
We welcome to the Family of the Church, Amelia Smith who will be baptised
on Sunday. Congratulations to her parents and Godparents.
READERS
Next weekend's readers are Margaret Munn at 5.30 pm and Margaret
Harvey at 10.30 am.
ALTAR SERVERS
Next weekend's altar servers are Group 1 at 5.30
pm and Group 3 at 10.30 am.
MUSIC MINISTRY
Next weekend's musician at the Vigil Mass is George McGrattan.
CHILDREN’S LITURGY
Next week's Children's Liturgy helpers are Emily
Tarbet for the pre-fives, Frances Gemmell and Gayle Paterson for Primaries
1, 2 and 3 and Maria Paterson-Kidd and George Kidd for Primary 4.
SUNDAY TEAS
Tea and
coffee will be served after the 10.30 am Mass next Sunday in the Parish Centre
by Sadie's,
Marie's and Phyllis's team.
THOUGHTS FOR ADVENT
What do you really want? In all of our lives, there is a great danger in believing
that what we do and what we have is all that there is - But there is more. This
Advent, we want to encourage you to stretch yourself, to search for more, to
dream. Ask yourself, what do I really want out of Christmas and out of life?
There are no right or wrong answers. Simply allow yourself to dream. So many
times, at Christmas, we feel like we're all just running - running to Christmas
Day and then it's done and over with. Advent is a time to wonder and to anticipate
again and to remember the magic that is in Christmas. When we were younger,
we practically didn't sleep through the whole month of December because we were
waiting and anticipating. We were so excited for Christmas. Many times we do
get caught up in the hustle and the bustle - if it's shopping or card-writing
or parties, and all these things are good. But we rush to Christmas Day and
we forget to just walk, to walk patiently and to wonder and to build that anticipation
again for Christmas. What do you really want your Christmas to look like? Do
we want it to be like the rest? Or do we want it to be the best one we've ever
experienced? Just like when we were little, to have that excitement and that
wonder again - we can make it that way again. So what do you really want out
of your Christmas?
The Christmas Mass time Cards will be available today after Mass. Please take
one along for neighbours or friends and invite them home for Christmas. Service
times are given below.
|
Saint
Peter's Church, Ardrossan
|
|||
| Advent
Reconciliation Wednesday 13 December 7.00 pm - Service of Reconciliation |
Advent
Reconciliation Thursday 14 December 2.00 pm - Service of Reconciliation |
Advent
Reconciliation |
|
| Christmas
Eve Sunday 24 December 5.30 pm - Shepherds' Mass 8.30 pm - Mass of the Holy Night |
Christmas
Eve Sunday 24 December 4.30 pm - Shepherds' Mass |
Christmas
Eve |
|
| Christmas
Day Monday 25 December 11.00 am - Mass of the Nativity |
Christmas
Day Monday 25 December 11.00 am - Mass of the Nativity |
Christmas
Day Monday 25 December 9.30 am - Mass of the Nativity |
|
| Feast
of Saint Stephen, martyr Tuesday 26 December 12 noon - Holy Mass |
|||
| New
Year's Day Monday 1 January 2018 12 noon - Holy Mass |
New
Year's Day Monday 1 January 2018 11.00 am - Holy Mass |
New
Year's Day Monday 1 January 2018 11.00 am - Holy Mass |
APPEAL
FOR TOYS AND GIFTS AT CHRISTMAS
The group looking at homelessness in North Ayrshire is appealing for toys
and gifts for needy children aged between birth and eighteen years. There
is a greater need for gifts for teenagers. The toys and gifts will be distributed
by Social Work. They should be unwrapped as they will be wrapped centrally.
The toys and gifts should be brought to the Church by Sunday 10 December for
distribution in time for Christmas. We had an amazing response to this appeal
last year. Thank you.
GOLDEN WEDDING CONGRATULATIONS
Many blessings and joy to Rose and Stewart Bowers on the occasion of their
Golden Wedding.
ADVENT RECONCILIATION SERVICE
Please come along to our Reconciliation Service for Advent on Wednesday 13
December at 7.00 pm. This is our opportunity to get the 'Stable' of our hearts
cleaned out and ready for Christmas Day.
THE CHRISTMAS CANDLES
Once
upon a time, many, many years ago, an old shoemaker and his wife lived in
a tiny cottage. This humble shoemaker had few worldly possessions but whatever
he owned he shared with others. Symbolic of his generosity and love of his
neighbour was a lighted candle he placed in the window of his cottage which,
every night, shone forth as a welcome sign of hospitality to any weary traveller
in search of shelter. War and near destruction fell upon this little village
- but never once did the little candle fail to send its beams as a message
of hope and cheer to all. Somehow, the shoemaker and his wife suffered far
less than the other villagers. It seemed there was a special love guarding
both of them. Discouraged and weary, the village peasants gathered together
one evening to discuss the shoemaker's fortune. "Surely there is something
special about him. He is always spared from all misfortunes. What does he
do that we do not do?" "Perhaps it is his little candle!" said
one of the villagers. "Let us all put a candle in our windows too this
Christmas and see if that is the mysterious secret!" Now, it so happened
that the day of the peasant's meeting was the day before Christmas and the
first night that a candle was lit in the window of every home was Christmas
Eve. The candles burned all that night. When morning came, a soft mantle of
snow covered all of the village and an air of hope and contentment filled
the hearts of all the villagers. Before the first ray of the morning sun,
a messenger rode into the village to bring the great news - the war was over,
peace had come! Tiny silver church bells chimed - never before had there been
such a feeling of Christmas glory and joy as there was on that day. The peasants
were awed"It was the candles" they whispered. "It was the candles!
They have guided the new-born Saviour to our very doorsteps and have brought
an answer to all of our prayers. We must never again fail to light our candles
when we celebrate the Miracle of the Holy Night!"
A long time ago, in Communist Russia, there was a famous weather man named Rudolf. He's always had a 100% accuracy rate for his forecasts of the Russian weather conditions. His people loved him and respected him for his faultless foresight. He was particularly good at predicting rain. One night, despite clear skies, he made the prediction on the 6.00 pm news broadcast that a violent storm was approaching. It would flood the town in which he and his wife lived. He warned the people to take proper precautions and prepare for the worst. After he arrived home later that evening, his wife met him at the door and started arguing with him that his weather prediction was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. This time, she said, he had made a terrible mistake. There wasn't a cloud anywhere within ten miles of the village. As a matter of fact, that day had been the most beautiful day that the town had ever had and it was quite obvious to everyone it simply wasn't going to rain. He told her she was to be quiet and listen to him. If he said it was going to rain, IT WAS GOING TO RAIN. He had all of his Russian heritage behind him and he knew what he was talking about. She argued that although he came from a proud heritage, IT STILL WASN'T GOING TO RAIN. They argued back and forth for hours, so much that they went to bed mad at each other. During the night, sure enough one of the worst rainstorms hit the village the likes of which they had never seen. That morning when Rudolf and his wife arose, looked out the window and saw all the water that had fallen that night. "See" said Rudolf "I told you it was going to rain." His wife admitted"Once again your prediction came true. But I want to know, just how were you so accurate, Rudolf?" To which he replied, "You see, Rudolf the Red knows rain dear!"
INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY OF LITURGY AND ITS DEVELOPMENT
Mr George Gallagher will give two Advent Evenings in Saint Mary's Church, Saltcoats on Monday 11 and Monday 18 December at 7.00 pm. Everyone is very welcome.
FIND THE PEACE
It might be easy to run away from the commercialisation, the hectic hustle and the demanding family responsibilities of Christmas-time. Then we would have a holy Christmas. But we would forget the lesson of the Incarnation - the lesson that we who are followers of Jesus do not run from the secular - rather we try to transform it. It is our mission to make holy the secular aspects of Christmas just as the early Christians baptised the Christmas tree. And we do this by being holy people - kind, patient, generous, loving, laughing people - no matter how maddening is the Christmas rush. Father Andrew Greeley
SAINT PETER'S BURNS SUPPER
The 2018 Burns Supper will take place in the Parish Centre on Saturday 3 February at 7.00 pm. Patrons are asked to be seated by 6.50 pm for a prompt start. The Immortal Memory will be delivered by Drew Cochrane, for forty years the Editor of the Largs and Millport Weekly News. Former parishioner, Martin Cosgrove, will propose the Toast to the Lassies and our parishioner, Julie Coldwell, will reply. Other participants are Father Duncan, Bill Andrew, Aidan and Bethany McGrath, George McGrattan and Ciaran Sinclair. Tickets cost £15 and can be booked in advance though the Parish Office on 01294 464063. Patrons can request group seating arrangements to be with friends. The meal will be prepared and served by Michael and Fiona Brown, family and friends. Vegetarian meals are available with notice as an alternative to the traditional Burns Supper main course. There are more details on the Church website. Your support is appreciated.
CHRISTMAS QUIET TIME
You are invited at this busy time of year to take some time out and enjoy the peace and quiet being offered in Saint John’s Church, Stevenston. The Church will be available with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on Saturday 16 December from 12 noon till 4.00 pm. Reconciliation will also be available between 12 noon and 2.00 pm for those wishing to receive this beautiful, healing sacrament in preparation for Christmas arranged by Embracing Change Spirituality Group.
ARDROSSAN CHURCHES GROUP CHRISTMAS CAROLS SERVICE
The Ardrossan Churches Group invites you to their Christmas Carol Service of Thursday 14 December at 7.00 pm in the Evangelical Union Church in Glasgow Street. Saint Peter's Primary School Choir will be singing. Everyone is very welcome!
GALLOWAY DIOCESE NEWS MAGAZINE
Make sure your get your copy of the latest Diocesan Magazine which will be handed out after Masses this weekend.
POPE FRANCIS' PRAYER FOR DECEMBER - FOR THE ELDERLY
That the elderly, sustained by families and Christian communities, may apply their wisdom and experience to spreading the faith and forming the new generations.
VISITORS
Are you visiting us for Holy Mass? Please know that you are very welcome. During the 10.30 am Holy Mass outwith holidays, there is a Children’s Liturgy provided for preschool children, children in Primaries 1 to 3 and a Sacramental Programme for children in Primary 4. After the 10.30 am Holy Mass, tea, coffee cakes and buns are available in the Parish Centre. At both of our weekend Holy Masses, we have a second collection for Church maintenance.
ADVERTISER SUPPORT
Our advertisers would welcome your support. We are grateful for their continuing sponsorship. We are grateful for the support of Mr and Mrs Sohal, Nisa Stores, Glasgow Street for the weekly donation of tea, coffee and milk for the Sunday teas.
PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AND VULNERABLE ADULTS - MISSION STATEMENT
The Catholic Church in Scotland is concerned with the lives, safety, wholeness and well-being of each individual person within God's purpose for everyone. It seeks to safeguard the welfare of people of all ages who are involved in whatever capacity with the Church and its organisations. As a Church community, we accept that it is the responsibility of all of us, ordained, professed, paid and voluntary members, to work together to prevent the physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect of children, young people and vulnerable adults.