Parish News

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time: 19th February 2023

Services this week

Sunday 19th February 2023    7th Sunday of the Year    Mass    10.00am

Monday    Holy Communion Service                                             10.00am

Ash Wednesday                                                                Mass    10.00am

                                                                                          Mass       7.00pm

Thursday    Requiem Mass – June Reilly                                      12.00pm

Friday         Holy Communion Service                                            10.00am

Saturday    Holy Communion Service                                             10.00am                                                              

                                                                                  Vigil Mass        6.00pm

Sunday 26th February 2023    First Sunday of Lent         Mass       10.00am

 

 In your charity, please remember in your prayers Father Forrest, Jean Blair, Mary Robertson and Gerry Henderson and all the sick and the housebound Also Bridget McLaughlin, George Madden, Kitty McMoran, Jane McCafferty, Ellen Kane, Alexander Clelland and Helen McFarlane whose anniversaries occur about this time. Also, June Reilly who died recently and whose funeral takes place at Noon on 23 February.

 

 

Latest News…

 

The Offertory Collections last weekend amounted to £389.30 including a donation of £20 - grateful thanks to all donors. There will be a special collection today for the Ecclesiastical Student Fund. There will also be a special collection next Sunday for the Turkey/Syria earthquake appeal.

SVP News. SVP needs new members; over the last few years we have lost a few members. There is not a lot involved; we meet only monthly, and that can last only half an hour. Many hands make light work! 

The 200 Club is restarting this month with tickets priced at £13 for the year; please see one of the Passkeepers if you want to renew your current ticket/s or if you want to join the 200 Club as a new member. There are plenty of tickets still remaining!

Lent at St Mary’s: Join us each Tuesday evening at 7pm throughout Lent to pray the Stations of the Cross, followed by a Holy Communion Service. All are very welcome to come along, to make the most of the season of Lent. 

Message from Archbishop Leo: Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and it is a day of fasting and abstinence to acknowledge our mortality and begin preparing ourselves spiritually for Easter. Lent is a time of prayer and penance and I encourage you to take the opportunity to go to Confession if you have not been for a while. It is there that we experience the loving mercy of God, who forgives our sins and offers us His grace as we look with hope to experiencing the joy of Easter when Jesus was resurrected from the dead. The Friday after Ash Wednesday is the Day of Prayer for Those who have Suffered Abuse, and we hold in prayer all those who have experienced abuse. I wish you all a prayerful and peaceful Lent.

Day of Prayer for Those who have Suffered Abuse; This day is marked each year on the Friday following Ash Wednesday (24 February). There will be a short prayer service at St Mary’s at 6.30pm and an invitation is extended to all parishioners to join us in prayer. We unite in prayer for those who have suffered abuse: Lord Jesus, we praise you for calling us to the service of others. We pray for a generosity of spirit to ensure the vulnerable are protected. We pray for a compassionate heart so that we will reach out to those who are wounded by abuse. We pray for courage and determination as we seek the safety of everyone in our parish communities. We dedicate ourselves to this work of service and pray that you will help us to do your will at all times and in all places. Amen.

Synod ; What happened at the recent Continental Assembly of the Synod in Prague? And what happens next? Find out in a series of feedback videos on the Archdiocesan YouTube channel. See bit.ly/synodplaylist

Lent talks: Discover Jesus Christ in the Servant Songs of Isaiah with four online talks from the Archdiocese. They are hosted by Fr Jamie McMorrin of St Margaret’s, Davidson’s Mains, and Sr Anna Marie McGuan RSM and take place at 7:30pm on Wednesday 1, 8, 15, 22 March. Register at bit.ly/lenttalks2023

Retreat: Save the date: A retreat takes place at St Kentigern’s Church, Parkgrove Avenue, Barnton, Edinburgh, from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 March. It is led by Fr Bart Parys, A Divine Word Missionary based in Ireland. The retreat is open to all to find time in Lent to draw closer to Jesus. No registration required. Details to follow soon.

Vacancy: The Justice & Peace Commission of The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland is looking for a Catholic Social Teaching Engagement Officer. The position is full time and the salary is £32-36k, dependent upon experience. To express interest and for full job description email to jill.kent@justiceandpeacescotland.org.uk. Closing date for applications is Friday 24 February.

Remembering Service­: A service for those who have suffered the loss of a child, from the beginning of pregnancy onwards, takes place today Sunday 19 February, 5:00pm at St John the Baptist RC Church, St Ninian’s Road, Corstorphine, Edinburgh. The service is ecumenical and open to all.

Ecumenical Prayer Service for Peace in Ukraine: Archbishop Cushley will join other Christian faith leaders for an Ecumenical Prayer Service for Peace in Ukraine on Friday 24 February, 7:00pm at St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh. Save the date and join fellow Christians in praying for peace.

Vocations Mass: The Archdiocesan Mass for Vocations is a chance to pray that more young people answer God’s call to the priesthood and religious life. The next one takes place at 5:15pm on Monday 6 March at St Albert’s chaplaincy, 24 George Square, Edinburgh. Refreshments served after Mass. 

Fellowship of the Least Coin: The idea for the Fellowship of the Least Coin emerged as a vision from God to Mrs. Shanti Solomon of India. She was part of the Pacific Mission Team of seven women from different countries that travelled in Asian countries after the World War II, in September 1956. It was organized by Dr. Margaret Shannon on behalf of the women of the Presbyterian Church of the United States. Shanti Solomon, who was refused a visa to Korea, went to Manila, Philippines while other members of the team proceeded to Korea. She reflected on the experiences of their travel in the war-torn countries of Asia and was inspired to promote reconciliation, justice and peace.

On the return of the team, she suggested that prayer could transcend every national boundary. She challenged the Christian women of Asia and the women from the Presbyterian Church of the United States to combine their efforts and resources and launch a project of justice, peace and reconciliation on an international basis. It was to be a project of Christian prayer and positive action in which every Christian woman could participate, no matter what her economic position was. Every time a woman prayed she was to set aside a “least coin” of her currency. It was an encouragement to the women of the team to demonstrate their unity in Christian faith, regardless of their country or economic circumstances. They all accepted it as their sincere desire to express their solidarity with suffering humanity and with women of every nation. In 1958, at the first Assembly of the Asian Church Women’s Conference (ACWC) held in Hong Kong, the ACWC agreed to launch the Fellowship of the Least Coin. At the second Assembly in Thailand in 1962, the Assembly voted to make the promotion of the FLC a basic outreach programme of the ACWC. The East Asia Christian Conference (EACC), now known as the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) administered the FLC fund from 1958-1970. In 1970 Mrs. Shanti Solomon, the founder, was named the Executive Secretary of the FLC and of the ACWC. From then on the ACWC took the responsibility to administer the FLC Fund.

If you wish to contribute your coins, please place them in the basket in the Church Hall.

Thank you. The coins will be taken to the Bo’ness World Day of Prayer held in St Andrews Church on Friday 3rd March at 2:00pm. All are welcome.