BULLETIN                                            8 SEPTEMBER 2019

TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME IN YEAR 3



CHURCH SERVICES
Saturday 7 September  

Our Lady's Day
Holy Mass at 10.00am for the parish sick and housebound
Twenty-Third Sunday of the Year
Vigil Mass at 5.30pm for Thomas Thompson RD

Sunday 8 September  

Twenty-Third Sunday of the Year
Holy Mass at 10.30am for Saint Peter's congregation

Monday 9 September  

Memorial of Saint Peter Claver, priest
Holy Mass at 10.00am for Jean Fenn RD

Tuesday 10 September  

Mass at 10.00am for those who are sick and housebound

Wednesday 11 September  

Feast of the Dedication of the Cathedral
Holy Mass at 10.00am for Father Joseph Zampese RD
Vigil of the Deceased at 6.00pm for Maureen Taylor

Thursday 12 September  

Requiem Mass at 10.00am for Maureen Taylor

Friday 13 September  

Requiem Mass at 10.00am for Sandra Rocks

Saturday 14 September  

Feast of the Exultation of the Cross
Holy Mass at 10.00am with blessing of house crosses
Twenty-Fourth Sunday of the Year
Vigil Mass at 5.30pm for Raymond Aves RD

  

Abbreviations - A anniversary, MM month's mind, RD recently deceased, SI special intention

The Holy Mass intention list is just over two weeks ahead. Please notify anniversaries as early as you can. Thanks.
Any changes to the above times caused, for example, by a funeral will be notified on the home page of this website.


SAINT MARY'S AND SAINT JOHN'S CHURCH SERVICES
 
Saturday 7 September  
Vigil Mass at 4.30pm
Holy Mass at 10.00am
Sunday 8 September  
Sunday Mass at 10.00am

Sunday Mass at 11.30am

Monday 9 September  
Service of the Word at 10.00am Service of the Word at 10.00am
Tuesday 10 September  
Holy Mass at 10.00am Service of the Word at 10.00am
Wednesday 11 September  
  Service of the Word at 10.00am
Thursday 12 September  
Service of the Word at 10.00am Holy Mass at 10.00am
Friday 13 September  
Service of the Word at 10.00am Service of the Word at 10.00am
Saturday 14 September  
Vigil Mass at 4.30pm Holy Mass at 10.00am
 
PARISH CENTRE EVENTS
Sunday 8 September  

11.30am

Tea and Coffee after Holy Mass

Monday 9 September  

9.30 to 11.30am
5.30 to 6.30pm
6.30 to 7.30pm
7.00pm

Parents and Toddlers
Rainbows
Brownies
Saint Vincent de Paul Society

Tuesday 10 September  
9.00 to 11.00am
5.00 to 8.00pm
7.30pm

Cardiac Rehabilitation
Irish Dancing
Ignatian Prayer Group

Wednesday 11 September  

9.30 to 11.30am
1.00 to 3.00pm
5.00 to 8.00pm

Parents and Toddlers
Knit and Knatter
Irish Dancing

Thursday 12 September  
11.30am Private Function
Friday 13 September  
9.30 to 11.30am Parents and Toddlers
Saturday 14 September  
11.30am to 4.30pm Irish Dancing


PRAYERS
Please remember in your prayers:
Maureen Taylor, Sandra Rocks, Thomas Thompson, Jean Fenn, Father Joseph Zampese and Raymond Aves who died recently;
Catherine Campbell 2003, James Duffin 1960, Margaret Logan 2013, William Loudon 1977, Joan McKnight 1976, Margaret Walsh 2015, Harry Kaye 2000, Susannah Kemp 1948, James Moore 1998, Florence Slavin 1998, Father Martin McCluskey 1996, Tom McLaren 2014, Cathie Hilferty 2009, Mary Mitchell 2004, Gladys Moore 2006, Mary Otto 2008, Mr and Mrs Daniel Brown, Samuel Cambridge 2005, Mary Crossan 1981, John Hazelton 1974, Jane McKechan 1998, Bridget McLaughlin 1997, John Burns 1997, Alberto Carrino 2009, Dolores Fairhurst 2014, Thomas Fernes 2011, James Love 1996, James Hughes 2010, Anne McCabe 1995 and Sister Annette, Cross and Passion 2016 whose anniversaries occur at this time and those who are sick.
If deceased members of your family are not on our anniversary list, please tell Father Duncan
, the parish office or contact WebsiteAuthor@SaintPeterinChains.net. If members of your family or friends are in need of our prayers, please tell Father Duncan or the parish office. If they are in hospital, Reverend Bill Corbett on 01292 521208 - assisted each week by the priest on call - is the chaplain to Crosshouse Hospital and can be contacted through the ward. Ayr Hospital and the Ayrshire Hospice have an on-call chaplaincy.

SUNDAY MASS TIMES
Sunday Mass times in Saint Peter's are 5.30pm Vigil and 10.30am. Sunday Mass times in other local parishes can be seen here.

SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION
The Sacrament of Forgiveness is celebrated on Saturdays between 4.45 and 5.15 pm and at other times on request.

READERS
Next weekend's readers are Margaret Munn at 5.30pm and Alfie Agostini at 10.30am.

MUSIC MINISTRY
Next weekend's musicians are the Choir at 5.30pm.

CHILDREN'S LITURGY
Our new session has begun for the pre-fives, Primary 1 and 2 and Primary 3 groups of our Children's Liturgy Programme during 10.30am Mass. All children aged three to Primary 3 are welcome to come through and join us. Next week's helpers are Geraldine Butcher for the pre-fives and Linda Martin and Jacqueline Smith for Primaries 1, 2 and 3. Primary 4 involvement starts on 6 October.

CHILDREN'S LITURGY VOLUNTEERS
As we begin the new session of our Children's Liturgy Programme we would like to take a moment to thank all of our volunteers that have given of their time over the past years to help build and run our fantastic programme. We are now looking for new volunteers to step up and help. Please speak to Clara Hyslop, Children's Liturgy Coordinator or Father Duncan if you can help.


REQUIEM MASSES FOR MAUREEN TAYLOR AND SANDRA ROCKS
Please pray for the Repose of the Soul of Maureen Taylor. She will be received into Church on Wednesday 11 September at 6.00pm. Her Requiem Mass on Thursday 12 September at 10.00am will be followed by her interment at Ardrossan Cemetery. Also, please pray for the Repose of the Soul of Sandra Rocks. Her Requiem Mass will be on Friday 13 September at 10.00am and followed by her interment at Ardrossan Cemetery. May they rest in peace and rise in glory!

BLESSING OF HOUSE CROSSES ON SATURDAY
Saturday of this week is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross and we will bless all our crucifixes from our homes on this day of grace. Please bring them to the 10.00am Mass and place them on the altar for blessing.

IGNATIAN PRAYER GROUP
The Ignatian Prayer Group will resume on Tuesday 10 September at 7.00pm in the Parish Centre.


FIRST SATURDAY FATIMA DEVOTIONS
First Saturday Fatima Devotions are always on the first Saturday of every month after 10.00am Mass. Everyone is welcome!


FOOD FOR THOUGHT
You came to me discouraged and began telling me about the problems in the world. Then, in the midst of our conversation you asked me "Do you think the world will ever change?" I replied "The world will certainly change. The question is, will it change for the better or for the worse? The world will change if you and I keep changing. While you and I keep changing for the worse, the world will change for the worse. But, when you and I start changing for the better, the world will change for the better.

THE GIFT OF GRATITUDE
I recommend praying the prayer attributed to Saint Thomas More - Grant me, O Lord, good digestion and also something to digest. Grant me a healthy body and the necessary good humour to maintain it. Grant me a simple soul that knows to treasure all that is good and that doesn't frighten easily at the sight of evil but rather finds the means to put things back in their place. Give me a soul that knows not boredom, grumbling, sighs and laments, nor excess of stress, because of that obstructing thing called I. Grant me, O Lord, a sense of good humour. Allow me the grace to be able to take a joke and to discover in life a bit of joy and to be able to share it with others.

PRAYERS FOR VOCATIONS AWARENESS WEEK
Loving Father, help the young men and women of our Parish Family to hear the call of Jesus Christ to follow him. Our needs are great and our people thirst for your presence. Open the hearts of many, raise up faithful servants of the Gospel, dedicated holy priests, sisters, and brothers, who will spend themselves for your people and their needs. Bless those who are serving now with courage, everyday sanctity and perseverance. Grant that many will be inspired by their example and faith. And so we turn to you in Christ's Name and pray with confidence.
Our Father, who art in heaven ...


THE ANT AND THE CONTACT LENS
Brenda was a young woman who was invited to go rock climbing. Although she was scared to death, she went with her group to a tremendous granite cliff. In spite of being scared, she put on the gear, took a hold on the rope and started up the face of that rock. Well, she got to a ledge where she could take a breather. As she was hanging on there, the safety rope snapped against Brenda's eye and knocked out her contact lens. Well, here she is on a rock ledge, with hundreds of feet below her and hundreds of feet above her. Of course, she looked and looked and looked, hoping it had landed on the ledge but it just wasn't there. Here she was, far from home, her sight now blurry. She was desperate and began to get upset so she prayed to the Lord to help her to find it. When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens but there was no contact lens to be found. She sat down, despondent, with the rest of the party, waiting for the rest of them to make it up the face of the cliff. She looked out across range after range of mountains, thinking of that Bible verse that says 'The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth.' She thought "Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me." Finally, they walked down the trail to the bottom. At the bottom there was a new party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out "Hey! Anybody lost a contact lens?" Well, that would be startling enough but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across the face of the rock, carrying it. Brenda told me that her father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer and the contact lens, he drew a picture of an ant lugging that contact lens with the words 'Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You.' I think it would probably do some of us good to occasionally say "God, I don't know why you want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But if you want me to carry it, I will." God doesn't call the qualified - He qualifies the called.

JUST FOR A LAUGH …
Lost on a rainy Friday night, a priest stumbles into a monastery and requests shelter there. Fortunately, he's just in time for dinner and was treated to the best fish and chips he's ever had. After dinner, he goes into the kitchen to thank the chefs. He is met by two brothers. "Hello, I'm Brother Michael and this is Brother Francis." "I'm very pleased to meet you. I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful dinner. The fish and chips were the best I've ever tasted. Out of curiosity, who cooked what?" Brother Charles replied "Well, I'm the fish friar." Father turns to the other brother and says "Then you must be...." "Yes, I'm afraid I'm the chip monk..."


EMERGENCY ON CALL
Father Duncan will be the emergency on call contact for Ayrshire Hospital from Sunday 8 to Sunday 15 September. Please pray for all those in hospital during this time.

LAUDATO SI CONFERENCE
Justice and Peace Scotland invites you to a Day of Reflection on Pope Francis' Encyclical Laudato Si - Care for our Common Home on Saturday 21 September 2019 at 10.00am at Blythswood Hall, Renfield Saint Stephen's Church, 260 Bath Street, Glasgow. Coffee will be served during registration from 10.00am. The cost is £10 and lunch will be provided.

IN AND AROUND THE CHURCH
A few things have been happening in the last few weeks. A complete survey has taken place on the Church building and a very comprehensive, thirty-six page report compiled. Serious repair and restoration work has to be undertaken in the near future. I'll keep you informed when we know more. We had a car crash into our perimeter wall last week causing extensive damage to about twelve feet of wall. The driver is okay. Once the insurance claims have been finalised, we hope to start to repair the wall and railing. The cables have been tidied in the choir loft and the amplifier has been remounted. Thank you for all the hard work!

FOODBANK COLLECTION
A Foodbank Collection wil take place at Sainsbury's in Saltcoats on Saturday 14 September from 10.00am to 4.00pm. Can you help by giving two hours? If so, please phone 07979 542319.

SCOTTISH CATHOLIC EDUCATION SERVICE (SCES) PARENTS' GATHERING
The annual SCES Parents' Gathering will take place on Saturday 21 September 2019 at Saint Francis Xavier's Primary School, Merchiston Avenue, Falkirk from 9.30am to 3.00pm.


SAFEGUARDING TRAINING - MODULE 2
Training Module 2 for volunteers is now ready and a suitable date for our Parish is Thursday 19 September at 7.00pm and will be held in the Parish Centre. Alternative dates are available in other parishes in our deanery. Please check the notice board in the Church porch for alternative dates.

CONVERSATION ABOUT SAFEGUARDING
There will be an Open Meeting hosted by the Independent Review Group (IRG) on Saturday 14 September from 11.00 at Saint Matthew's Parish Church Hall, Grassyards Road, Kilmarnock, KA3 7SH. This forms part of the work that the IRG is taking forward to support the implementation of the recommendations of the report of the McLellan Commission. This will be an opportunity for members of parish communities from across the diocese to meet with members of the IRG and the Diocesan Safeguarding team to discuss their understanding and experience of Safeguarding within the Catholic Church. If you are hoping to attend, please alert the Diocesan Office on 01292 266750. Tea, coffee, soup and sandwiches will be provided.

CHERNOBYL CHILDREN LIFELINE
Chernobyl Children Lifeline is holding a bingo to raise funds for a special project in Ukraine. It will be on Friday 13 September at 7.00pm in Saint John's Church Hall in Stevenston. Friday 13 is unlucky for some but not for you if you come to our bingo!! The cost is £2.50 for tea, coffee, cakes and and Irish bingo ticket. A book of tickets for eight games costs only £1. Tickets are available from Michael Lafferty on 07813 650411 and Liz Petrie or you can pay at the door.

THANK YOU
The Special Religious Education (SPRED) Galloway would like to that the people of Saint Peter's for the warm welcome and generous donations totalling £509.62. Thank you.

YOUNG ADULTS' MEETING
The second meeting of this new initiative will be held on Saturday 7 September at 6.30pm after Mass. Be there or be square.

PARISH STEWARDSHIP
Last weekend's Offertory collection amounted to £742.11 and the Maintenance Fund collection to £292.19 - thanks very much. The Organ Fund stands at £6842.95 - many thanks for all your support and generosity!

FINANCES
Bankers Orders for the Parish and Parish Centre amount to £3500 per month. We are grateful for your generous support in collections. If you can manage a little more from time to time, it would be a great help. A Standing Order would make the handling of money so much easier. Have you signed a Gift Aid form? If you are a taxpayer the Church would get 25p added to every £1 you donate.


GIFT AID
The updated new Gift Aid Forms have been sent to parishioners that will require them. Please send them back as soon as you can in the stamped-addressed envelope provided. Thank you so much for your support and help.

MARY'S MEALS BACKPACK APPEAL
A few months ago, we filled a further 121 backpacks, making a total of 2443 since we started approximately ten years ago. In the next few weeks, we are planning to fill at least a hundred more. We have most of the items we need but we're short of dessert spoons, toothpaste and jotters. If you can donate any of these items, please deposit them in the basket in the Church porch. Thanks in anticipation.

HOSPITAL CHAPLAINCY
If a member of your family or a friend is sick, please let us know and give us the details. Deacon Bill Corbett (01292 521208, 07904 248948, Rev.BillCorbett@btinternet.com) is the haplain to Crosshouse Hospital and is assisted by the priest on call each week.

SUNDAY TEAS
Tea and coffee will
be served after the 10.30am Mass next Sunday in the Parish Centre by Jennifer's and Niamh's team.

VISITORS
Are you visiting us for Holy Mass? Please know that you are very welcome. During the 10.30 am Holy Mass outwith holidays, there is a Children’s Liturgy provided for preschool children, children in Primaries 1 to 3 and a Sacramental Programme for children in Primary 4. After the 10.30am Holy Mass, tea, coffee cakes and buns are available in the Parish Centre. At both of our weekend Holy Masses, we have a second collection for Church maintenance.


ADVERTISER SUPPORT
Our advertisers would welcome your support. We are grateful for their continuing sponsorship. We are grateful for the support of Mr and Mrs Sohal, Nisa Stores, Glasgow Street for the weekly donation of tea, coffee and milk for the Sunday teas.

PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AND VULNERABLE ADULTS - MISSION STATEMENT
The Catholic Church in Scotland is concerned with the lives, safety, wholeness and well-being of each individual person within God's purpose for everyone. It seeks to safeguard the welfare of people of all ages who are involved in whatever capacity
with the Church and its organisations. As a Church community, we accept that it is the responsibility of all of us, ordained, professed, paid and voluntary members, to work together to prevent the physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect of children, young people and vulnerable adults.