Cluster News

25/26 September

Next deadline for news inserts

Wed 29 September 12pm 

Dedicated Cluster contact number:

07877 121 402

Our Weekend Masses

For details see the section in this week's news and go to our dedicated page.

Live streamed Masses here

Sisters and brothers,

Welcome to the 4th Sunday in the Season of Creation!

Whenever kindness or compassion are to be found, there too is the face of God. As the church, we do not hold a monopoly of such God-given gifts; instead we rejoice in - and even learn - from all those who manifest God’s presence in this way.

Fr Alex

Online Liturgy:

26th Sunday B

Children's Liturgy:

26th Sunday B

Communion Services will resume at St Gregory's every Wednesday at 9.30 am. Details will be taken for Test & Protect.

Cha(t) time in all three parishes

Having gathered round the table of the Lord, what about gathering around a table in the hall? Spread the love, and have a catch up!

Fairtrade teas, fairtrade coffees and carbohydrates will be available on 2nd Oct (St Gregory's) and on 3rd Oct (St John Vianney's and St Catherine's).

"Lockdown" Liturgy Survey - the Results

Many thanks to all who completed our survey on returning to Mass and the online "lockdown" liturgy. Please go here to read the results of the survey. Having discussed the results, we have come to the following conclusions:

1. The lockdown liturgy has been a hugely valued pastoral resource over the last 18 months.

2. Parishioners are both appreciative of the considerable amount of work required to produce the lockdown liturgy and understanding if this could no longer be continued on a weekly basis.

3. We are grateful for the offers to help produce the lockdown liturgy. However, the most labour-intensive part is the video-editing which is still having to be managed by one person alone. We owe a debt of gratitude to Gordon Jackson for providing this service throughout the pandemic, as well as to Steve Rooney for sharing the task for much of the time.

4. With significant numbers now returning to Mass, we have a small group of 14 households who rely solely on the lockdown liturgy. A further 11 households would continue to use it weekly as well as attend Mass. In view of the considerable work involved, we feel it would be more proportionate from now onwards to move to an online liturgy on a monthly basis, with this weekend being the last weekly one.

5. We are very mindful of the 14 households who are currently relying on the lockdown liturgy. Four of these cannot manage to get to Mass and we will put visits from our Communion Ministers in place, if so wished, to maintain a close connection with the Cluster. The remaining 10 households are awaiting an improvement of the Covid situation before returning to Mass. Responses suggest that they have alternatives available to the lockdown liturgy, such as a live-streamed Mass. We would also strongly encourage joining a Connect Group (on Zoom) where the Sunday Scriptures are shared in a respectful and open way. For more information email Cluster.alpha@outlook.com. Technical help is available.

If you feel that your particular situation, or that of a vulnerable or elderly person you know, has not been adequately considered, please do email us and we will try to help. All other issues raised in the survey will also be given due consideration.

Online liturgies have proved a fantastic resource and will continue to play a big part, alongside face-to-face events, in bringing our Cluster parishioners together.

With heartfelt thanks to all our amazing parishioners and Fr Alex for sharing their time and skills for the weekly lockdown liturgy that pulled us through the darkest of pandemic times. We now look forward to seeing these gifts shared in new and creative ways!

The Strategy Group (Chairs/Rep of the Parish Pastoral Councils, Parish Coordinators and Leadership Team)

100th Cluster Walk Saturday 2nd October

Since it is our 100th I have decided to re-run our first walk (on 11th February 2011) and make it the Water of Leith from Balerno to Longstone, a distance of 6 miles. If anyone can not manage the full distance then there are cut off points. Bring a packed lunch which we can have at the Water of Leith Centre.

Since it is a special event, in particular for me, I hope we have a good turn out.

We will meet at Kaimes Crossroads at  9.50 am for the Lothian no. 400 Airport bus.

If you are interested, please contact me on (666 2236 or 07871 476297)     George McDermid

Our successful Playgroup is starting again on Tuesdays at St Gregory's church hall at 10 - 11.30 am. Ages 0 - 5. It begins  on Tues 21st Sept. For further details contact Lauren on 07789934818.

There is an information poster available here.

Children's Liturgy at Mass:  Review in October

Our amazing children's liturgists in the Cluster have done a sterling job providing online resources throughout the pandemic and we are very grateful for their faithful commitment. A review is now planned for October to consider the feasibility of resuming face-to-face children's liturgy at Mass.

Prayer Afternoon Sunday 3rd October 2 - 5pm

In keeping with the exhortation and prayers of Pope Francis “to hear the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor,” the Prayer Foundation are planning a time of silent prayer and reflection on Sunday afternoon 3rd October from 2 till 5 at St Catherine’s.

For reflection we will be using the words Pope Francis taken mainly  from his encyclical Laudato Si' to mark the  last weekend of "The Season Of Creation"  

The 3 hours will be broken into 20 minute sessions,  with a five minute lead into each session followed by 15 minutes of silent prayer and reflection. 

Brian McLaren

"Maybe it’s not too late for something beautiful to be born. 

Maybe the present moment is pregnant with possibilities we can’t see or even imagine" (Brian McLaren)

“We are engulfed by news and images of whole peoples uprooted by cataclysmic changes in our climate, forced to migrate,” Francis wrote “But what effect these stories have on us, and how we respond – whether they cause fleeting responses or trigger something deeper in us; whether it seems remote or whether we feel it close to home — depends on our taking the trouble to see the suffering that each story entails.”

Please drop in to pray and reflect for as long or as short a time as you wish. 

Journeying together

“The Church of God is convoked in Synod.” Does that sound exciting? So it should because Pope Francis is inviting the whole Church to question itself on synodality: listening without prejudice; speaking out with courage and parrhesia (freely and truthfully); dialoguing with the Church, with society, and with the other Christian confessions. These are the guiding principles for the synodal consultation (starting on 17 Oct), giving everyone a voice, especially those who find themselves on the margins. More details to follow!

The Preparatory Document and Vademecum (handbook) can be found on the Synod website, and short commentaries in The Tablet and the Vatican website.

Some Synod Scenarios: A View From Liverpool

Tue 28 Sept @ 7.30pm. Speaker Fr Philip Inch was the Synod Moderator for the 2020 Synod in Liverpool. Zoom details here.

Pope Francis has called for a ‘Synodal Church’ that listens, learns and shares mission. Synodality is a word that we may not have encountered too often but it simply means ‘to walk together’ and this was a vital component of the early Church.

 COP26: What can I do?

Ask world leaders to act now

The countdown to COP has begun. This November, in Glasgow, world leaders have a fortnight to set us on track to solve the climate crisis. With climate change already having a devastating impact on the world’s poorest communities, time is running out. 

Please watch the short video above then sign these two petitions.

The first is by SCIAF to the UK Government  and the second is to political leaders participating in COP15 and COP26, facilitated by the Laudato Si' Movement.

The COP26 pilgrimage from Dunbar to Glasgow will reach Edinburgh on Wednesday 20th October-click for details of the route

A Way Station will then be set up in the capital with a programme of events some of which are listed below. 

“The Edinburgh Way Station will have events on the Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sun. Thurs will be based in Portobello with a workshop on reworlding and an evening of song on the beach, Fri will be based at St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral with a focus on young climate activists followed by a ceilidh cabaret and food, Sat will be an interfaith walk with a focus on climate justice (from New College to Leith), Sun will focus on deep time, with a walk and workshop (close to Arthurs Seat)”

The pilgrimage sets off for South Queensferry on Mon 25 Oct."

Have you ever cared about particular trees?....or the truth about Palestine?!

I expect your answer is yes to both questions.  I’ll give my answers, initially thinking locally…

There are wonderful oak trees, many centuries old, in Dalkeith Country Park, between the North and South Rivers Esk, a few hundred yards from where they join.  I hope you know them. Perhaps we should have an outing there…(It would be a  2-3 mile walk on slightly rough ground.)

It was Sunday’s second reading that indirectly brought trees to mind – the mention of fire recalled how wonderful trees, like cathedral spires, in the Sequoia National Park (1st picture) are now in flames.  That then brought the oaks to mind, and then other trees that connect with this weekend, at the end of the Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel (WWPPI).

See

A few years ago I tended young olive trees on a farm (2nd picture) near Bethlehem, in the West Bank. I trimmed the lowest new branches, dug a small trench around each tree and filled it with dusty, dried donkey manure. I learnt to work from upwind….. I loved doing that, intensely aware of the importance to the family who had farmed the land for 100 years. Planting olive trees is a sign of hope, of community, of faith in the future, as well as potential for income. In recent weeks  in an arson attack many of the trees in the farm were burnt, and then others bulldozed. 

Reflect

The vindictive destruction of Palestinians’ olive trees is an assault on their future, their culture and their well-being.  Even worse of course is the extra-judicial killing of Palestinian children. It is commonplace. Recent children to die include  Imad Khaled Saleh Hashash, 15 and Mohammed Munir al-Tamimi,17,  shot in the back and killed: “An Israeli soldier inside a military vehicle shot Mohammad in the back as he was standing a maximum of three meters (10 feet) away from where the Israeli forces were deployed, according to information collected by DCIP.” 

The media rightly made the name of George Floyd known, but not these victims of equally violent, unjust and racially motivated assassination. Why is it not deemed desirable by most UK media to name the Israeli state as a violent apartheid regime?  They usually and wrongly portray the situation as a symmetrical “conflict” between neighbours! Israel’s laws and state organisations clearly deny rights to Palestinians – their homes are being destroyed or taken over, as well as their land.  Apartheid is a term applied by Palestinians and many visitors to Israel, for years. It is only recently that it has been applied by Israeli NGOs (Yesh Din  and B’Tselem), and by former Israeli ambassadors to South Africa.

Act

It takes effort to learn the truth about Israel-Palestine.  Do read some of the links above and pray the WWPPI prayer for this year.  

Do email to tell me about your favourite trees! mike.mineter@gmail.com

You are held in prayer

Please remember in your prayers

those who are sick:

Eammon McKelvey, Bridget Coyle,

David Smith, Mary McConville,

Nancy Barta, Alex McGinnity,

Belén Rodriguez, Patricia Simmons,

Michael Martin, Elizabeth Napier,

Laurence Friel, George Pringle,

Donna Buchan, John and Angela Mcintosh,

Jorge Rodriguez, Sr. Veronica,

Katharine, John,

Jennifer, Christopher Mackinnon,

Gilmour Forrest, Maureen Lawson,

Bailey Bruce McCann, Grettel Calvo Mendez, Betty Dickinson, Annette,

Catherine Hart, Karen Devlin,

Vo Van Tu, Scott Fraser,

Thea Maung, Anne Doig,

Sr May Lewis, Jessie & George Ritchie,

John Skinner, Fr Eugen,

Evelyn Levine, James Duffy,

Ronan Boyle, Hazel Martin,

Mary Boyle, Mary Dias,

Catriona McAuley, Elaine Hepburn,

Marie, Sophie,

Roney Fernandes, Christopher Browne, Xaverina Rodrigues, Anne and Helen,

Sacred Heart sisters in Uganda

I am the Resurrection and the Life

We remember in love

Those who have died recently:

George Lewis,

Charlie McAuley,

Olive Meehan,

William Doig.
 

Anniversaries


St Gregory's:

Pauline Monkhouse,

Tim O'Keefe,

Peter McCabe.


St John Vianney's:

Georgina Hutton Wilson,

William Hannigan,

James Ainslie,

Patricia Lapping,

John Jarvie,

Billy Taylor,

Sam McKeen,

Charles Sweeney,

Eddie Mulroy,

James Narrie,

Mary Helen Narrie,

Betty Craven,

Patrick Devine

Our Remembrance Gallery  is in memory of the loved ones we have lost during the pandemic. If you wish a loved one to be included, go here to find out how. You will also find information on what help our Cluster Bereavement Group offer for anyone who has been bereaved.

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).

United in prayer: Tues 2.45 & Weds 7pm
Our Prayer Foundation invite us all to join in 30 min of silent prayer. For an example of an opening prayer see here.

For prayer requests email

clare.roller@icloud.com

 18,00 emails have been sent to MPs up and down the country. There is still time. If you haven't yet done so, please Ask your MP

to stop the £20 cut to Universal Credit.

The relevant food bank for the cluster is:

47 Southhouse Broadway EH17 8AS     

Phone number 664 9353     

Email: edinburghfoodbank@blythswood.org

Needed this week:

  • Sponge puddings
  • Tinned rice/custard
  • Microwave rice
  • Chocolate treats
  • Toilet rolls
  • Washing up liquid
  • Chocolate spread
  • Crisps
  • Mens toiletries.

Welcome to our Bethany volunteers from our cluster, including anyone who would be interested in joining the catering team. Below are the dates we have been allocated to cater for the homeless guests. Please contact us if you are able to help on any of these nights. 

Many thanks,

Joe Murray and Jane Watson 

Joe: 07725582599   

Jane: 07787184524

  • Wednesday 6th October 2021
  • Wednesday 10th November 2021
  • Wednesday 15th December 2021 
  • Sunday 26th December 2021
  • dates in 2022 to follow

Are you struggling? We are here to help


If you, or anyone you know, is in need of financial support or a friendly telephone chat, call our SSVP in the Cluster:

St John Vianney's 07922 675196, 

St Gregory's 07757 845673, 

St Catherine's 07539 266411. 

If you would like to make a donation go here

Entitlements Page

What help are you entitled to?

There are many benefits and grants to which people are entitled. Please check our entitlements page. Let us also know of others. Scottish Child Payment: £10 a week paid monthly for each child under 6.

Still time to sample this delicious cuisine

  • If anyone would like to give a gift then there are three ways this can be done:

    1. Use Online Banking:

    Account name - R.Arch of St A St Cath 2

    Account Number - 00693806

    Sort Code - 80 02 73

    Reference - Father Fallon

    2. 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

    3. 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.

ACTA - A Call To Action

The ESV - Lost and Found in Translation

Thu 30 Sept @ 7-8.30pm. Speakers are author Rev Dr Joseph O'Hanlon and the Archbishop of Cardiff George Stack, Chair of the Dept of Christian Life and Worship. Register here. The commissioning of a new translation of Sacred Scripture will always raise key questions about how much any translation can meet the requirement to be faithful to original texts and, at the same time, aware of cultural needs. A series of talks on Zoom from Scripture scholars to explore some of these issues.

P7 House Captains This week all our P7 pupils delivered a speech to the rest of their house members from P1-P6.  They were absolutely fantastic and  we are very proud of them.   All pupils will now have the opportunity to vote for who they would like to represent their house as a House Captain. If you are interested in seeing any of these speeches please look at our school twitter page @stjohnvianneyPS

Fr Alex's Visit This week I met with Fr Alex, it was great to see him in school.  We have made plans for our class and school Masses and have begun to discuss the Sacraments.  We are hoping to try and work together more with both our Parishes this year.  Next week I will share the Sacrament dates and the dates and times of parent meetings for these too.

Spare Lego Our pupils love playing with lego.  If anyone has any lego that they no longer need, we would appreciate it being donated to the school.  Thank you

Aisling Christie

To participate in the reign of God, we have to stop counting.

We have to stop weighing, measuring, and deserving in order to let the flow of forgiveness and love flow through us. The love of God can’t be doled out by any process whatsoever. We can’t earn it. We can’t lose it. As long as we stay in this world of earning and losing, we’ll live in perpetual resentment, envy, or climbing.

Richard Rohr

He drew a circle that shut me out--

Heretic, a rebel, a thing to flout.

But Love and I had the wit to win:

We drew a circle that took him in!

Edwin Markham