Live streamed Masses here
Dear parishioner,
There is no better vocation in life than Loving People. Proof of love is seen in giving to others and we know that it is in giving to others that we receive.
This time of year for all of us is traditionally a time of Giving and Gifting. Let’s not make this a festival of consumerism, but one of the gifting and giving of hearts. “The thing that gives me Hope at this time”, is that I Know in doing this I will get back a lot more love than I ever give away.
Fr. Alex
Weekend Liturgy:
Third Sunday of Advent B
Children's Liturgy:
Third Sunday of Advent B
Mass available in our three parishes
We would encourage you to make use of the phone option only if you are unable to book online. This will make things easier for those who are managing the booking system. Special arrangements for Christmas Weekend bookings. See below.
On-line and telephone bookings can be made from Monday mornings through to Wednesday at 5pm. You must receive a notice of confirmation in order to attend that weekend. We have prepared some guidelines about this and they can be found here.
We would encourage you to share this information with anyone you know or suspect may not have internet access. Let's stay connected!
Christmas Weekend Masses
We want to do everything we can to ensure that as many people as possible, given government restrictions, can come to Mass over the Christmas period. Therefore, those who wish to attend are invited to choose one of the Masses that will be celebrated over the four-day period, 24 to 27 December:
| Thurs 24th Dec | Fri 25th Dec | Sat 26th Dec | Sun 27th Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Catherine's | 8 pm | 11 am | ||
| St Gregory's | 10 am | 6 pm | ||
| St John Vianney's | 6 pm | 9.30 am |
A dedicated online booking system for the Masses over these four days will open on Wednesday 9th December and close on Tuesday 15th December. Parishioners will be invited to rank their first and second choice and, following the close of bookings, will be informed of the one Mass at which they have been allocated a place. To book use this booking form link, which went live on 9th December. Those who normally book for Mass by telephone will be contacted by one of the Team, you do not need to phone to book a place for Christmas Mass.
Christmas Eve Service for All Ages (Zoom)
Listen to Susanne tell us more about the additional Service for all ages at 4.00 pm on Christmas Eve, by Zoom. You can register here from 9 Dec to 24 Dec 12 noon. You will then receive a confirmation email with the Zoom details. We are still exploring the option of joining by phone. There will be carols, the Christmas story told by our children, a homily by Fr Alex, time for prayer, and more...
From Maintenance to Mission
If you wish, you are invited to print a copy of an A4 poster about our Zoom Service and to display it in your windows, both as an invitation to passers-by and as a sign of the hope we have as Christians. The file is here.
And continue to tell your family, friends, neighbours, colleagues. This is a family-friendly service for everyone, regardless of their faith background. Invite everyone you can find to the banquet!
Christmas Toys Appeal
Once again, we are calling on our generous parishioners to consider those families in the cluster who will be struggling financially to make Christmas special for their children in terms of presents. It has been a tradition for us to organise presents to be bought and wrapped for children (indicating whether for a boy or girl and suitable for what age).
The gifts can be delivered in a number of ways. Either bring them to one of the Churches at a Mass time, or take them to Mary Thomson (9 Mortonhall Park Drive EH17 8SS) or phone this number(07801 271 860) to arrange for them to be uplifted. In order for them to reach the children for Christmas the deadline for this appeal is Sunday 13th December.
If you would prefer to make a donation towards this, we suggest the easiest way would be to put money in an envelope marked “toys” and post it through the door of either St John Vianney’s Parish House or St Catherine’s Parish House. Details of these can be found here.
We appreciate that there are many calls on your generosity at this time of year and we know that you will give what you can to the various appeals. Your actions will help to bring some Christmas cheer to others and will not be forgotten by the God who wishes you “Peace and good will to all!”
... and not forgetting our elderly parishioners. Yet other elves were busy organising treats for some of our elderly parishioners. 80 bags full of Christmas cheer (chocolate, hand-warmers and wine etc etc.)
Well done and thank you!
What gives me hope this Christmas?
Only five days remaining! Email us your video clips by 17 Dec, with subject line “HOPE”. It could be a thought or a short story, or something that makes people smile.
Tell us “What gives me hope this Christmas?” in a 20 second video clip and we will include them in the Zoom service, or during the Christmas season. Children, families, young people, working adults, pensioners - we would love to hear from all ages and from the vibrant cultural diversity of our cluster. Invite others, too, to share their hope and be part of today's Christmas story!
Hymn of the week:
When is He coming, the Redeemer?
Chosen by Mary Thomson and sung by Hilary. Go
here.
St Gregory’s traditional Christmas raffle
Hi, this has been a difficult year for all and we realise although some people haven’t managed to attend Masses yet, you want to continue to support the parishes in any way you can. We have kindly been donated a hamper to raffle for Christmas to help us raise some funds for the parish. If you want to join in we suggest you put a donation of what you can afford in an envelope marked St Gregory’s raffle, your name and contact number on it (you could be the winner).
Envelopes can be dropped of either at Mass, my address 59 Walter Scott Avenue just along the road from St Gregory’s (just pop it through the letterbox) or Fr Alex is happy to receive them also which we thank him for!
Community has always been at the heart of what we do in St Gregory’s and we thank you in advance for any donations you can afford. Help us keep the parish financially viable.
Draw will take place on the Saturday 19th December. Jacinta - St Gregory’s
Thanking our primary school pupils
This week both St John Vianney's and St Catherine's each wrote 50 Christmas cards to be delivered to our elderly parishioners next week.
They were happy and excited, knowing that these cards would be greatly appreciated by those who received them. We think they have entered into the spirit of gifting and giving mentioned by Fr Alex today, and we thank them most sincerely - confident that Santa will not forget their generosity!
The winning number for November was
51. That's the last draw of the year so thanks to all who participated. 50% of the total monies raised went to the
St Gregory's Development Fund. So that was £463.
There are currently 86 numbers in the draw and it would be great if we could increase participation in 2021. Only £1 per number, per month, for 11 months. The more people who participate the bigger the prize money. More to follow on this in the next few weeks.
Ann Callaghan
The Prince of Peace by Akiame Kramarik
Our Third Advent Session will take place on zoom this
Monday 14th December at 7pm.
Jeff Bagnall (former RE lecturer at Craiglockhart) has agreed again this year to help us benefit from his extensive Scriptural knowledge. He will give a short talk and we'll go into breakout rooms for discussion. As well as this there will be input from parishioners about their favourite Advent
prayer/poem;
a memorable
piece of art
(see above) and a favourite Advent hymn. Each session will last about an hour. If you would like to take part, please reply to
cluster.alpha@outlook.com with the heading “Advent”.
We look forward to seeing you then.
Cauliflower and Chestnut Soup and...
A Mary Berry Zinger
Justice matters
The liturgical seasons focus on mysteries that shine in all of life. We have been living in a long Good Friday, but have hope because of the Resurrection. We’ve also been living an intense Advent…. The pandemic, and political and other powers bring chaos that is all around, and in this maelstrom we prepare the way for the coming of Christ, including in us, as members of His Body in the world.
John the Baptist pointed to the Truth, not being passive before the corrupt powers of his day. Today’s theme in Justice Matters is: what do you see in the world that calls you to speak and act for truth and justice?
See: There is a crisis of truth today. In part it’s a crisis of integrity in (some) politics and (some) commerce. Terrible things happen when people who have power imagine reality and God to be made in the image of themselves and their objectives. Anticipating the day after the election in the US, Trump tweeted, “ ALL THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA WANTS TO TALK ABOUT IS COVID, COVID, COVID. ON NOVEMBER 4th, YOU WON’T BE HEARING SO MUCH ABOUT IT ANYMORE” In each week since, thousands more Americans have died. In part the crisis of truth is cultural arrogance: people rightly demand that their opinions are heard and respected. However if opinions contravene objective fact, they need to be challenged not accepted. For example, each of these facts is challenged by ignorant opinion from time to time: the holocaust did happen; the Nakba (ethnic cleansing of Palestinians) began in 1947-8 and continues; the climate crisis is happening. For years we heard the BBC follow reports on climate change with an interview from a denier of climate change…. They reported the breadth of opinion unfiltered by proven science….. proven fact should trump opinion, not vice-versa.
Reflect As you recall the events and politics of 2000 years ago, and the Holy Family fleeing as refugees, what other connections do you see with the world today?
How is it that in the UK, one of the world’s biggest economies, 2.4 million people experienced destitution in 2019, a 54% increase since 2017?
Act: Do you have time to become more informed about one area of injustice? Which would it be?
Maybe as we prepare for Christmas there will be opportunites to choose fair traded produce (including gifts from Hadeel, 123 George St and to support today’s refugees through a charity.
Elsewhere in the newsletter is an invitation to “Write for Rights” to those imprisoned for speaking truth.
You are invited to join an Advent service with Rev Naim Ateek, a founder of Sabeel, the centre for Palestinian liberation theology, on 19th December at 4pm.
You are held in prayer
Please remember in your prayers those who are sick:
Eileen Kelly
Ronan Boyle
John Boyle
Binne Vries.
Hazel Martin
Paul Brennan
Maureen Phillips
Mary Boyle
Mary Dias
Catriona McAuley
Elaine Hepburn
Lorraine
Roney Fernandes
Christopher Browne
Xaverina Rodrigues
Anne and Helen
Sacred Heart sisters
in Avigliana, Italy
I am the Resurrection and the Life
We remember in love:
Dermot Homan
Madge Halliday
Sr Barbara Farquharson
Kuriakose Joseph
Irene McKay
Maria O’Neil
Anniversaries
St Gregory's
Margaret Harvey
Patsy McHugh, Bridget Coyle.
St Catherine’s
Margaret Greig
Jimmy Logue
St John Vianney's
James Devers, Allan MacLean
John Manderson, Matthew Milne
Herbert Cobb, Eddie Gardner
Jane Smith, Peter Archibald Clancy,
George Petrie Hay Wilson,
Grace Ford, Michael Devitt,
Helen Kay, Bridget Calvey,
Catherine Gannon Stanton,
Elizabeth McGowan, Nan Jappy,
Mary Macrae, Doreen Greco.
For those without internet access
If you know a parishioner without internet access please tell them about our podcast. For the cost of a local call, 0131 357 6463 they can hear our Lockdown Liturgy (available on Sunday) and how to phone to make a booking to attend Mass.
United in prayer:
Tues 2.45 & Weds 7pm
Our Prayer Foundation invite us all to join in 30 min of silent prayer. For prayer requests email
clare.roller@icloud.com
The relevant food bank for the cluster is: 47 Southhouse Broadway EH17 8AS
Phone number 664 9353
Items needed this week
- Eggs, rice, corned beef, ham, fruit, jars of baby food,
pot noodles
- disposable nappies size 4,5*,6 .
- Tinned items: Fray Bentos pies, Tuna , veg. , peas , carrots , mince, fruit, custard*.
- Jars of
jam any flavour , jars of mayonnaise, packets of super noodles, packets of pasta sauce, Mac cheese, ravioli, tomato ketchup, diluting juice (1 litre
).
- Selection boxes , Chocolate spread*, Chocolate treats, crisps*, snacks, biscuits, hot chocolate .
- Women's and men's shampoo, toothpaste, shower gel
(Asterisk items are in very short supply)
Thanks to the two parishioners for their cash donations.
Donation box at St Catherine's
There will be a box in the porch at St Catherine’s for donations for the Food Bank in Southhouse. This will be collected weekly and taken to the shop.
If anyone would like to give a gift then there are three ways this can be done:
- Use Online Banking:
Account name - R.Arch of St A St Cath 2
Account Number - 00693806
Sort Code - 80 02 73
Reference - Father Fallon
- Use a special collection offertory envelope and leave in collection box - marked, Father Fallon
- Use any envelope and leave in collection box - marked, Father Fallon
- If none of these are suitable for you then please contact Fred McConnell - fredmcconnell@btinternet.com or 07901 964 100 for alternatives.
Please make sure that it is clearly marked,
Father Fallon.
St Gregory's Girls
On Tuesday evening a team of volunteers from the cluster provided a warm welcome and a tasty meal for the homeless guests at the Haymarket Hub Hotel. The St Gregory’s Girls: Maureen, Grace, Margaret, Anne and Rose served up lasagne with salad, veg and crusty bread followed by sticky toffee pudding and cream for pudding. For the first time ever, there wasn’t a morsel of food left at the end of the evening with many guests asking for second and third helpings. The Bethany leader commented that the Girls were one of the best teams of the season! We KNEW that already!
SJV Primary School
Pupils have started to prepare for Christmas here at school, they have been learning about what Advent means and the Advent Candles and Wreath.
The whole school have made a great effort with bringing in food bank donations, see the picture of our first week's collection. P5 pupils are leading this-well done to them! Thank you to Maureen who dropped it all to the foodbank for us.
All our other classes are also busy. Primary 1 to 3 pupils are filming this year's Nativity. Primary 4 are organising our whole school wish for 2021. Primary 6 and P7B are making cards for the community and P7A organising Christmas messages across the school.
We are looking forward to Fr Alex celebrating Mass with our Primary 5 pupils next week.
Children's Winter Coats
If any parent or guardian is in need of a good winter coat for their child, could they get in touch with us through our email address: southedclust@btinternet.com. This request will be managed in the strictest confidence.
Double the love:
the government will match your donations!
From today until 31 Jan 2021 public donations made to our Double The Love appeal will be matched by the UK government, up to £2 million. A basket will be in the front porch or at the back of St Gregory's and St John Vianney's for this.
Sending Christmas cards this year? Here is the link to look at those from Mary's Meals.
For many years during Advent, the ‘Justice and Peace’ committee of SEECAT have sent cards and written words of support and encouragement to Prisoners of Conscience throughout the world. This year we all have the opportunity to be involved via the Amnesty International ‘Write for Rights’ campaign.
There are individual stories of people whose basic human rights are under attack and sample letters to show solidarity to the person you may wish to help and to the government authority who could effect change.
Many are feeling anxious and alone and your words could bring comfort and hope to them.
Here is the link
Barbara Dickson
Tue 15 Dec @ 7.30 pm. Legendary Scottish singer Barbara Dickson discusses her
thoughts on Christmas. Zoom details
here
Stories of Pain, Survival and Hope
Thu 17 Dec @ 7 pm. A talk leading to a Liturgy of Lament and Hope. Hyab Yohannes is an Eritrean refugee and researcher at the University of Glasgow and holder of the UNESCO RILA PhD Scholarship. Hannah Rose Thomas is an English artist and Durham graduate in Arabic and History, currently studying her PhD at Glasgow University as a UNESCO Scholar. Through her art Hannah gives voice to the voiceless. To book email SLN
Faith in Older People
is a small voluntary organisation which aims to enhance the quality of life and well-being of older people by working with those providing practical, pastoral or spiritual care. Look here