Our Christmas Newsletter


Have a look at our Christmas Newsletter with

festive messages from our Priests, Deacon John, the Committees and a round up of news from 2014!


Wishing you all a very happy and holy Christmas!

Our Christmas Mass times and Services

Friday, 12th December
9.30am Pre-School Nativity in Church

Thursday, 18th December
4.00pm School Carol Service in Church
7.30pm Advent Reconciliation Service

Friday, 19th December
2.00pm Christingle Service 
7.00pm Carol Singing @ 60 Barrs Court Rd

Sunday 21st December 
3.00pm S.V.P. Mass for sick, elderly and the housebound in the Mazenod Centre

Christmas Eve
3.30pm Children's Carol Service followed by Mass at 4.00pm
11.30pm Carol Service followed by midnight Mass

Christmas Day
9.00am Mass

Thank you from the Social Committee

On behalf of the Social Committee sincere thanks to you all for the support you gave at the Christmas Fayre, which enabled us to raise the magnificent sum of £2422-45. The effort you all put in is very much appreciated and I hope you agree that the end result makes it all worthwhile. There are lists of what each stall made and the winners in the various raffles in the porch for you check out.

Following Mass today there is another chance to meet socially as we celebrate the 77th anniversary of the opening of our church. Tea and Coffee will be available after 9-00am Mass and drinks and nibbles after 6-00pm Mass. One suggestion, as well as talking to parishioners you know, seek out someone you only know by sight and engage them in conversation. It's amazing what a friendly word will do.


This Movember, I've committed my upper lip to help change the face of men's health by growing a moustache, and now I need your support at http://uk.movember.com/mospace/6677145

The Movember Foundation is the leading global organisation committed to changing the face of men’s health.

I'm passionate about this cause because too many men are dying unnecessarily from prostate cancer. Each year, 40,000 men in the UK alone are diagnosed with prostate cancer. 
The Movember Foundation is working tirelessly every day with an urgent goal in mind: accelerating breakthroughs in prostate cancer research that will benefit patients and their families. Movember is achieving this by the formation of the largest, global alliance of prostate cancer researchers and clinical specialists, who are tackling the toughest prostate cancer challenges.
I need your support to fund this important work. Together, we can create a world where no man dies of prostate cancer. You can donate by:
- Donating online at http://uk.movember.com/mospace/6677145
- Writing a cheque to 'Movember Europe', referencing my registration ID: 6677145 and mailing it to:  Movember Europe, PO Box 3, Diss, IP98 1HH
You can learn more about the important work and impact Movember is having at: http://uk.movember.com/programs
There's a lot riding on this moustache, thank you for your support!
Mo Bro John Scanlon
http://uk.movember.com/mospace/6677145

We will remember them...

The Church was decorated with poppies on Remembrance Sunday (red symbolising sacrifice and white for peace) as the Parish joined in prayer for those who fought and gave their lives for their country, for those are bereaved and grieve the loss of a loved one and for peace throughout the world.


The children made a beautiful, handprint poppy wreath during their liturgy which was brought up at the Offertory and displayed on the altar.



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.


From Laurence Binyon's poem
For the Fallen, written in September 1914

Change to this week's Mass times

With apologies, there is a change to the published Mass times this week...
there will be no Mass on Saturday,18th October.



Harvest Festival 2014

Our Lady of Lourdes school community celebrated their harvest festival on Tuesday 7th October followed by the Parish celebration last Sunday.

A very big thank to everyone who contributed to this year's bumper harvest. Your donations are gratefully received and will be given to our local Foodbank who provide emergency food for people in crisis.

For more information about the work of the Foodbank please click here to visit their website.

October- The month of the Rosary

You are invited to join us on Friday, 3rd October from 7pm and Sunday,12th October 5.15-5.45pm as we celebrate the joyful mysteries and pray the rosary.

First Joyful Mystery: The Annunciation, Second Joyful Mystery: the visitation,Third Joyful mystery: The Nativity, Fourth Joyful Mystery: the Presentation, Fifth Joyful Mystery: The finding of the child Jesus in the Temple.


The Prayer of the Rosary

The Sign of The Cross
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit Amen.

The Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into to hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen

The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

The Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

The Glory Be
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The Fatima Prayer
O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who most need thy mercy.

The Hail, Holy Queen or Salve Regina
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of mercy. Hail our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O Clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God;That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ

Anna Hayward R.I.P.


We commend to God's love and mercy Anna Hayward who died on Tuesday 19th August.

Her Requiem Mass will be celebrated here on
Tuesday, 9th September at 10.00am.

Please remember Anna's family and friends in your prayers at this difficult time.

Summer time picture!

For those of you missing the sunshine an the endless summer days, here's a wonderful sand sculpture of the Last Supper found in Weymouth by one of our parishioners, Steve Bailey.


Pauline Campbell & Breda (Gay) Sullivan R.I.P.

We commend to God's love and mercy two of our parishioners, Pauline Campbell and
Breda (Gay) Sullivan, who both died on Monday, 7th July.

Pauline Campbell

Breda (Gay) Sullivan


Pauline's Requiem Mass will be celebrated here on
Monday, 21st July at 2.00pm.










Gay's Requiem Mass will be celebrated here on 
Tuesday, 22nd July  at 11am.










May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Pre-School staff vacancy

Our Lady of Lourdes Pre-School are looking for an unqualified pre-school assistant (minimum of 16 and a half hours per week.) Rate of pay £6.50/hour. Applicant must have recent experience of working with pre-school aged children. Knowledge of EYFS is an advantage. 

Contact Rachel Cotterell (Manager)  0117 9872 027 or email ololpreschool@hotmail.co.uk


Confirmation 2015


Our Parishes in Communion for Mission are hoping to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation on Wednesday, 3rd June 2015, 7pm at St Augustine’s.

Candidates must be  baptised Catholics of secondary school age. Please contact your Parish Priest or the Parish Office by 30th September 2014, if you wish to be Confirmed in the Catholic Church next year.

Further details about Confirmation preparation will follow after this closing date.


Parish Summer Fayre

 
A big thank you to everyone who made last weeks Summer Fayre so spectacularly successful.
We raised the magnificent sum of £2519-33 for our parish funds and details of how much each stall made are on the notice board in the porch.

Again sincere thanks to everyone for this splendid effort!

THANK YOU!!


First Communion Group 2014

My dear Sisters and Brothers, Emma & I wanted to share a little of the joy we are having this year with our first communion class. They are a fantastic class this year and we are all learning a huge amount from each other. We have just taught them about bread and the history of the bread in the bible from the quickly baked bread at the Passover, to the manna from heaven in the desert to the loaves and fish that feed five thousand on the hillside while they listen to the teaching of Christ and finally to the bread and wine of the last supper, our Eucharist, the food of our salvation, the fuel for our Christian lives.

We wanted to give them a challenge for their homework so we asked them to bake bread, bread without yeast. We gave them a soda bread recipe and this is what they produced. 

Please keep them all in your prayers as the work towards their first communion which will take place this June on Corpus Christi.

God Bless,
Deacon John

Prayer for Europe

In light of the forthcoming European Elections, Bishop William Kenney from the International Department of the Bishop's Conference in England and Wales says: 

" We need to pray for peace, for the poor, for the immigrant. We need to offer what we can in order to achieve social justice for all. That is not enough; we need to use our vote at the European elections on the 22nd May to influence those who will create justice for all and give greater witness to the Kingdom of God."


Prayer for Europe

Father of mankind, 
Lord of History.
Look upon this continent to which you sent
philosophers, lawgivers and people endowed with wisdom,
precursors of that faith in your Son, fallen and risen.

Look at these people evangelised by Peter and Paul,
by prophets, monks and saints.
Look at these regions drenched in the blood of martyrs,
moved by the voice of reformers.
Look at these people linked by so many bonds and ties,
yet divided by hatred and war.

Assist us in committing ourselves to a Europe of the Spirit,
founded not just on economic treaties,
but also on values which are human and eternal;
a Europe capable of ethnic and ecumenical reconciliation,
quick to welcome the stranger,
respectful of human dignity.

Give us confidence to see it as our duty
to encourage and promote understanding between peoples,
which provides for all continents justice and bread,
liberty and peace.
Amen

Prayers in May

By tradition, the Catholic Church dedicates the month of May to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Please find below some Marian prayers to use whenever you pray this month.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. 
Amen.

Salve Regina
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
Our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve, To thee do we send up our sighs, Mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. 
Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, And after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.

Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that any one who fled to thy protection, implored thy help or sought thy intercession, was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence, We fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins my Mother; to thee do we come, before thee we stand, sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word Incarnate,despise not our petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer them. Amen.

CCS annual appeal







This weekend is the annual  appeal for CCS which celebrates 110 years of caring for vulnerable children.  This impressive anniversary is testimony to the continued support of our Diocesan Community and the vital role you all play in helping their work to continue.

If you or anyone you know is interested in adoption, CCS would love to hear from you.  A wide range of families are needed for the children waiting and CCS can offer an adoption service that has been repeatedly judged ‘Outstanding in all areas’ by Ofsted. To find our more about CCS please follow this link to visit their website.

Please support CCS with your prayers and your donations and if you use social media, please like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter so that more people will hear about their work and consider the vocation of adoptive parenthood.



 110th Anniversary Prayer

Abba, Father,
you have ever shown your special love for the little ones of the world, for the lost and abandoned, for the wounded and forsaken.

Inspire us by your Holy Spirit to be communities and families of healing and new beginnings, so that more of us will welcome into our homes and hearts your little ones who long for a place of true belonging.

We pray for the work of Clifton Children’s Society, for adopted children & adults, their families & children in care waiting for adoption.

Through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Brother
AMEN!


Job opportunities

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School Deputy Head Teacher vacancy 

Due to the promotion of our Deputy Head to Headship, the Governors of Our Lady of Lourdes are seeking to appoint an enthusiastic, dedicated and highly motivated practising Catholic to the Deputy Head Teacher role. The role will have a part time teaching commitment and time working collaboratively with the Headteacher for the continued improvement of the school. 

Please contact the school 01454 867160 or visit www.eteach.com for more information.

The closing date for the role is 30th April 2014.


 Kingswood After School Scheme (K.A.S.S.) Play leader vacancy

K.A.S.S. (based in the Mazenod Centre) are looking for a new Play leader for term time 2.45pm-6.00pm. Level 3 or 4 in childcare or equivalent required together with leadership experience in a childcare setting

For more information please contact the Chairperson by email phill@stiby.co.uk enclosing a copy of your C.V.


Requiem mass for John Healy

We commend to God's love and mercy JOHN HEALY whose Requiem Mass will be held here on Thursday 10th April at 12.45pm, followed by service at Westerleigh Crematorium at 2.30pm.

Please remember his family and friends in your prayers at this sad time.

The Woodland Players present

By arrangement with Samuel Freneh Ltd the players present

The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Dramatic Society Murder Mystery
by David Mc Gillivray & Walter Zerlin Jr

On Saturday, 5th & Sunday 6th April at 7.30pm
at Our Lady of Lourdes School Hall, Kingswood, Bristol BS15 8PX.

Tickets £8 & £6 available from Josie Reed through the Parish Office Tel: 0117 9498743.

Calling all gardeners!



This time of year many of you will be preparing seed trays in readiness to sow various varieties of bedding plants, tomatoes, cucumber etc.

If this applies to you, the Social Committee would like to ask you to prepare an extra tray, which perhaps you could kindly donate to the plant stall at this years Summer Fayre. 

The fayre is being held on Saturday, 28th June so time is on your side.

Thank you.

I-Reflect Lent Podcasts from Clifton Diocese

Click here to find the podcasts
I-Reflect is a series of podcasts from Clifton Diocese Youth Ministry for the season of Lent.
Sometimes our lives are full of noise and distraction and we need to take time to stop and reflect on the scriptures. We encourage everyone to download the audio and Gospel text each week and spend time in reflection and prayer, preparing for Holy week and Easter.
We invite young people especially to use Holy Week and Easter to re-engage with their parish and their faith.

Catholic Education Sunday- 16th February

On Sunday 16th February we celebrate Education Sunday. 
This year's ecumenical theme for Education Sunday is 'Going Above and Beyond...'
 (from www.catholiceducation.org.uk)
It is a day of celebration for our schools and parishes as they give thanks for all the pupils, staff and parents who work so hard in and for Catholic schools. 

It is also an opportunity for us all to reflect on the contribution that Catholic education makes to our communities.


Krystyna (Chris) Newman R.I.P.

We commend to God’s love and mercy
Krystyna (Chris) Newman

who died on 2nd February, at Frenchay Hospital. Chris (aged 67) was a school lunchtime supervisor who was much loved by many in our community.

Her body will be received into the Church here at Our Lady of Lourdes on Tuesday 11th February at 5.30pm and her requiem mass will be held on Wednesday (12th February) at 12.15pm.

You are invited to join the family after the Mass at Westerleigh crematorium or at Kingswood Community Centre. 

Please remember her family and friends in your prayers at this sad time.



Our Lady of Lourdes feast day celebrations




We will be celebrating our patronal feast day with refreshments after both Sunday Masses on 9th February and our School will be celebrating Mass on Tuesday 11th February at 9.30am.

You are welcome to come and join us!

Job vacancies at Clifton Diocese

Clifton Diocese is looking to recruit two new members of staff!

For more information please follow this link to the Clifton Diocese website.

Patrick Michallat-Cox R.I.P.

We commend to God’s love and mercy Patrick Michallat-Cox who died on Saturday, 4th January.

His body will be received into our Church at 5pm, Wednesday, 22nd January and his Requiem Mass will be held here at 9.45 am on Thursday 23rd January.

Please remember his family and friends in your prayers at this sad time.