Cluster News 28 March
Dear Parishioner of the South Edinburgh Cluster,
Reaching out to the housebound and those self-isolating
We are very grateful to the 30 people who have offered to help in our efforts to reach out to anybody who might have a need during these challenging times.
To date, we haven’t been notified of anybody who does have any needs. The feedback we are getting is that families, neighbours and friends are providing what people need. We will continue to be alert to this and if any needs are identified will coordinate a response through those who have offered to help.
What has also emerged during the past week is that a lot of people across our faith communities are making telephone contact with those who are housebound, self-isolating, etc. This is happening informally and is tremendous. It is a great way of maintaining that all-important sense of being part of an active community of faith.
Keeping our community and faith life going without physically coming together
A small team has produced the first of our weekly materials that can be used to help children and adults reflect on the Sunday scriptures. You can access these materials by clicking on the following links:
We hope you find these materials helpful and would very much welcome your feedback.
If you are aware of people who don't have internet access, could you contact them by phone, and let them know about our Cluster News and Prayer Resources?
Other resources you might find helpful
Here are some additional resources you might find useful:
St Ninian’s in Restalrig have links to Taizé evening prayers, reflections by Fr Jim Martin SJ and some of our Holy Father’s initiatives. You can access them by clicking on this link:
https://stninianandtriduanarcedinburgh.com/streaming-daily-mass/
Our Holy Father celebrates Mass each day in Casa Santa Marta and you can follow it by using this link:
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta.pagelist.html
Small group virtual meetings
Last week we said that groups may wish to consider coming together by video conference – for example, to reflect together on the following weekend’s Gospel. We recognised that the major limitation is that not everybody has access to internet and technology. Some people have expressed an interest in this.
The video conferencing technology works best with groups of no more than 5 or 6 people. If you would like to form a small group to reflect together on the Scripture readings, we suggest that the first step would be to contact 4 or 5 people and ask if they would like to meet with you. We will provide you with the materials – i.e. the Scripture reading and the questions for sharing. We will also provide you with an instruction on how to set up and use the video conferencing (Zoom). You can use video conferencing if you have a computer, mobile phone or tablet.
Latest update from the Archdiocese
Please feel free to forward this email to any parishioners you are in contact with.
We hope that this finds you and your families well. Here is our latest update.
We are very grateful to the 30 people who have offered to help in our efforts to reach out to anybody who might have a need during these challenging times.
To date, we haven’t been notified of anybody who does have any needs. The feedback we are getting is that families, neighbours and friends are providing what people need. We will continue to be alert to this and if any needs are identified will coordinate a response through those who have offered to help.
What has also emerged during the past week is that a lot of people across our faith communities are making telephone contact with those who are housebound, self-isolating, etc. This is happening informally and is tremendous. It is a great way of maintaining that all-important sense of being part of an active community of faith.
Keeping our community and faith life going without physically coming together
A small team has produced the first of our weekly materials that can be used to help children and adults reflect on the Sunday scriptures. You can access these materials by clicking on the following links:
- https://www.southedinburghrc.org.uk/childrens-liturgy-5th-Lent-A (materials for children)
- https://www.southedinburghrc.org.uk/5th-Sun-in-Lent (materials for adults)
We hope you find these materials helpful and would very much welcome your feedback.
If you are aware of people who don't have internet access, could you contact them by phone, and let them know about our Cluster News and Prayer Resources?
Other resources you might find helpful
Here are some additional resources you might find useful:
St Ninian’s in Restalrig have links to Taizé evening prayers, reflections by Fr Jim Martin SJ and some of our Holy Father’s initiatives. You can access them by clicking on this link:
https://stninianandtriduanarcedinburgh.com/streaming-daily-mass/
Our Holy Father celebrates Mass each day in Casa Santa Marta and you can follow it by using this link:
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta.pagelist.html
Small group virtual meetings
Last week we said that groups may wish to consider coming together by video conference – for example, to reflect together on the following weekend’s Gospel. We recognised that the major limitation is that not everybody has access to internet and technology. Some people have expressed an interest in this.
The video conferencing technology works best with groups of no more than 5 or 6 people. If you would like to form a small group to reflect together on the Scripture readings, we suggest that the first step would be to contact 4 or 5 people and ask if they would like to meet with you. We will provide you with the materials – i.e. the Scripture reading and the questions for sharing. We will also provide you with an instruction on how to set up and use the video conferencing (Zoom). You can use video conferencing if you have a computer, mobile phone or tablet.
Latest update from the Archdiocese
The latest information from the Archdiocese can be found here:
Please feel free to forward this email to any parishioners you are in contact with.
Let’s continue to pray for one another and especially those who are experiencing any difficulties during this challenging time. With our prayers, best wishes and blessings.
Fr Mike & Fr Alex