Today is the Fourth Sunday in Advent and Father Francis lights another candle on our Advent wreath.
CHRISTMAS MASSES – Please note the masses for the coming week are as follows- Tuesday and Thursday will be the normal 9.30am mass, Friday, Christmas Eve the vigil mass will be at 8.00pm, Saturday, Christmas Day mass will be at 10.00am and Sunday, Boxing Day the normal 10.00am Sunday mass.
SOCIAL DISTANCING – Due to the rise in Covid cases the church will once again introduce social distancing and only every other pew will be in use.
Stewards will show the parishioners to a suitable seat and will lead everyone out for communion. Please try to maintain one metre distancing whilst entering and leaving the church.
COVID GUIDANCE FROM ARCHDIOCESE – There are no specific changes – there are no caps on attendance, no ban on singing, and none of the other restrictions that were previously in force. If we have been following the current guidance (sanitising, masks, track & trace, and ventilation) carefully we should already be complying with the new guidance.
One things is different: we are now encouraged to promote distancing between household groups, however there is no fixed limit (no 1m or 2m as previously). I know some churches have kept some distancing in force, such as having every second row blocked off – these types of measures could now be used in all churches. We also need to consider distancing in the Communion procession, consider whether our entrances and exits need changed to avoid crowding, and consider how to encouraging distancing around the crib, tree, or other focal points.
Once again The Justice and Peace Group invite you to use their Christmas Greeting Tree to send your Christmas Greetings to your friends and fellow parishioners, thus helping, in a small way, to protect our Common Home, Mother Earth – saving paper, money and your precious time! There will be a small donation box if you’d like to make a donation to a local charity.
Online Premiere – Mon 20th Dec 2021 at 6.00pm: AGAP Theatre “Sign of Contradiction: The Christmas Story” (Recorded live in 2018). Written & Directed by Stephen Callaghan. In a park in Glasgow, on a cold Christmas Eve night, a group of homeless people gather around an open fire to keep warm. Finding an old Bible in a rubbish heap, they are considering whether to burn it for fuel when a stranger appears and begins to take them through the story of Christmas in a way that they have never heard it before. Link on YouTube available via www.agap.org.uk
COLLECTIONS – 12 December 2021 – Gift aid £140.00, Collection £232.00, Pastoral Care £145.00, Stall £74.00 Pastoral Care boxes £15.00