There will be a special service of carols, prayers and readings in the grounds of Sacred Heart Church, Hindsford, on Tuesday 9th December at 7.00 pm. Please come along and join us in singing carols and praying together as we prepare for the season of Christmas. If the weather is too bad, we will hold the service in the Sacred Heart Parish Centre. All welcome.
Sunday 7th December at 4.00 pm
Holy Family, Boothstown
‘Christingle’ is an ancient Service of Light celebrated during Advent to welcome Jesus, the Light of the World. The service lasts about 40 minutes and is especially suitable for children, who will be invited to lead a procession of candlelight around the church.
This coming Sunday - the Feast of Christ the King - is National Youth Sunday. This year’s theme is “Reclaim the Future�. It continues the LiveSimply message of recent years by inviting us to think about how we can live sustainably in our communities. To Reclaim the Future means to look forward with hope and expectation, recognising the power we have to make a positive impact on our world. What we are able to do here and now makes a difference to the way the world is for future generations.
Brilliant God,
we celebrate your wonderful world
and we thank you for the gift of your creation.
On this National Youth Sunday
inspire us, we pray,
to Reclaim the Future!
Help us to see how our actions today
will make a difference tomorrow,
and bring us together in faith
to make that difference a positive thing.
Amen.
If you are in Year 10 at High School, or older, and would like to be confirmed next year, application forms will be made available in St Mary’s High School before the end of term.
If you would like further details before then, please contact Fr Steve or Fr John if you live in the parishes of St Joseph’s, Our Lady of the Rosary, Twelve Apostles and Sacred Heart, Leigh; or Fr Paul and Fr Dave if you live in the parishes of St Richard’s, Sacred Heart, Holy Family, St Ambrose Barlow and St Gabriel’s. Contact details can be found under the ‘Information’ section on this website.
The Bishops of the Democratic Republic of Congo have issued a “cry of grief and protest,” saying that they are “disturbed and overcome by the human tragedy in the east and northeast Democratic Republic of Congo. The great massacres of the population, the planned extermination of the youth, the systematic robberies used as a weapon of war…a cruelty and exceptional violence is once again being unleashed upon the local people who only ask that they can live in a decent manner in their homeland. Who is willing to take interest in this situation?”
The Bishops criticise the UN peacekeeping force, saying that “the most deplorable fact is that the violence is taking place right before the eyes of those whose duty it is to maintain peace and protect the civilian population.”
In order for this conflict to come to an end, the Bishops ask that the national and international community increase humanitarian aid to the people in refugee camps; inviting the Congolese population to “a national alert to live as brothers and sisters in solidarity and national cohesion”; and ask the Congolese government to “exercise the functions of their power to protect the population and the borders,” and they invite the international community to “make a sincere commitment to respect international law.”
There will be a special collection in all the parishes of the Pastoral Area for CAFOD’s Congo Crisis Appeal on Sunday 30th November 2008.
CHRISTMAS EVE
6.00 pm St Gabriel’s & St Richard’s
6.30 pm Sacred Heart, Leigh
7.00 pm Twelve Apostles
9.30 pm St Richard’s
11.30 pm Holy Family & St Ambrose Barlow
Midnight Sacred Heart, Leigh
CHRISTMAS DAY
8.30 am St Joseph’s
9.00 am Holy Family
9.30 am St Richard’s
10.00 am Sacred Heart, Leigh
10.30 am St Joseph’s
11.00 am Holy Family, St Ambrose Barlow & Our Lady of the Rosary
Tuesday 9 December
7.30 pm Twelve Apostles
Wednesday 10 December
7.30 pm St Richard’s
Thursday 18 December
7.30 pm St Joseph’s
Monday 22 December
7.30 pm Holy Family
This Sunday, 16th November, is a Day of Prayer for Prisoners and their Dependents.
We pray for the tens of thousands of men, women and teenagers held in our prisons today. We pray for prisoners’ families: for their mothers, fathers, children, wives, and husbands. We pray that they will be given the strength to deal with the stigma and the pain of separation.
We pray that you will support and heal those who have been wounded by the actions of others, especially the victims of crime.
We pray for all those who work with prisoners: prison officers, probation workers, social workers, prison chaplains, charity workers, and volunteers.
Your Son Jesus Christ said, “I was in prison and you visited me… whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me”. Help us to remember these words in our hearts as we go forward through Prisoners’ Sunday and into Prisons Week. Amen.
There will be a special collection at all Masses in the Pastoral Area on Sunday 23rd November to support CAFOD’s Crisis Appeal for Congo.
Please make a date in your diary for the Christmas Family Quiz Night which will take place on Friday November 28th at 7.00pm in the Parish Centre. The Quiz Nights have proved very popular so far. It is a good way of getting people together and it is great fun. Please try your best to come along. Tickets will be available very soon.
There will be a meeting for anyone interested in helping out with the Liturgy during Advent and Christmas on Monday November 17th at 8.00 pm in the Hall at St. Ambrose Barlow. The Music Group and Singers at St. Richard’s continue to practice for Christmas. Please listen out for an announcement about the next practice time and come along and join in.
There will be a Mass to remember children who died before birth, at birth, or anytime afterwards on Wednesday 26th November at 7.00 pm at Holy Family. All are welcome. If you know someone who might appreciate an invitation, please let them know about the Mass.