Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
 
Many happy returns to St Nicholas’ after lockdown. Returning after such a long time at home we know will be challenging. To all the staff and pupils of St Nicholas’, may the days ahead be filled with joy, happiness and many blessings. Take care. Stay safe. Pray safe.

First Confessions and First Communions  -  We can now begin to look at making arrangements for First Confessions and First Communions cancelled from earlier this year.    These can now go ahead at any time, as long as the children are suitably prepared.    We will arrange along with St Nicholas’ school to look at preparations for these celebrations.    The same precautions that apply at Sunday Mass will apply for these celebrations (social distancing, contact details of all attendees, face masks, hand sanitising, cleaning afterwards etc)  and the maximum of 50 in the church does severely restrict numbers and will prove challenging especially for the First Communion liturgies.    Information regarding dates, once set, and arrangements for these celebrations will be conveyed soon through the parish and though the school.  Please keep the children who are preparing for these sacraments in your prayers.
 
SPRED – It is likely to be some time before our parish’s  SPRED Group is able to resume. We keep all our friends in SPRED in our prayers.
 
The new August edition of Flourish is now online.  In this month’s copy – which is free to download and read – you can catch up on the re-opening of parishes round the Archdiocese for public Masses. Read about the final chapter in the story of St Peter’s Seminary, Cardross, find out why the Archbishop is encouraging us to write to our MSPs to protect freedom of speech, and read the amazing wartime memories of the late Mgr Gaetano Rossi which explain the background to the much-loved Italian Cloister Garden adjacent to St Andrew’s Cathedral.  All this and the new John L Allen column from Rome, Art of the Month and the latest news from parishes across the city and beyond.  Click here to read https://www.flourishnewspaper.co.uk/downloads/Flourish-August-2020.pdf
 
RCIA - If you or someone you know isn’t baptised or baptised in another Christian tradition and would like to enquire about becoming Catholic, please get in touch. Email standrew@rcag.org.uk
 
Masses have now resumed with 5pm Vigil and 10am and 12noon.
As seating capacity in the church is much reduced due to current social distancing guidelines, a booking system is required.  To register to use the booking system, please go to this page on this website. Please note that the obligation to attend Sunday Mass continues to be suspended. It is still fine not to go to Mass during these circumstances.
 
Our 10am Mass each day is now live streamed. You can access it via our parish website homepage.

Here's some helpful guidance from the Bishops' Conference of Scotland
 Please familiarise yourself with it ahead of attending Mass.
➡️ Read: bit.ly/BackToMass (includes video)
➡️ Phase 3 guidance: bit.ly/Phase3ScotGov
 
10am Weekday Mass Monday to Friday has started back.  No Saturday morning Mass. Please arrive earlier than usual, as contact details have to be taken, hands sanitised, and you will be led to designated seating. Remember and bring your face covering with you.
 
Wednesday Private Prayer time – Please note new time - Now 2pm – 3pm
 
Halls  The archdiocese’s advice just now remains that halls should not be used (except for the limited purposes previously allowed). Many activities – dancing, exercise classes, bingo, etc. remain prohibited – and even those things that are permitted risk distracting our volunteers from the ongoing work of keeping churches open in accordance with the cleaning regime. The Government previously stated their plan to allow some more activities later this month – although whether recent events will change that remains to be seen. The archdiocese hopes to update parishes further on the possibilities of using halls later this month, if the Government goes ahead with loosening these restrictions. 
 
Visors are no longer considered to be sufficient face coverings. People who wear them must now wear  a facemask as well or instead.  Face coverings are now mandatory from August 8 in church (and in many other places). We have, of course, already required this in our archdiocesan Guidance, but from August 8 it is a criminal offence not to comply (apart from those who are exempt from wearing face coverings – the rules on exemption have not changed). As previously explained in the archdiocesan  Guidance, priests (or other persons leading services) do not need to wear face coverings except for times when they must come within 2m of others, principally Communion time, but from now on at times such as entrance/exit processions, celebrating  baptisms, the celebrant will wear a face covering.  It will now be a criminal offence for a celebrant not to wear a mask if coming within 2m of other people inside church (unless there is a solid partition between the priest and the other people).   

Drumchapel Foodbank - Thanks to all of our Parishioners who are donating food and toiletries to our collection point in the Chapel House porch to be delivered to Drumchapel Food Bank.  Regularly your donations are  dropped off at the foodbank. Thanks for continuing to help.
 
Our parish’s soup-run volunteers continue to collect  supermarket food donations for delivery  to Drumchapel and St Gregory’s Foodbanks and the Wayside Club.
 
With our piety stall remaining closed, we are offering individual cards for posting, or collection from the chapel house porch. We have a full range of cards for almost every occasion, all £1 or 40p each. P&P is £1 per order (up to 4 cards) or free if collected from the chapel house porch. Email Annamaria (a.strachan@dunelm.org.uk) to place an order. Payment is by bank transfer or cheque.
 
Catholic Social Teaching Thought for the Week - 16 August. We cannot uphold an ideal of holiness that would ignore injustice in a world where some revel, spend with abandon and live only for the latest consumer goods, even as others look on from afar, living their entire lives in abject poverty.   Gaudete et Exultate, para. 101 

Sacrament of Reconciliation - if you would like Confession, that can be done using the gazebo in the Church grounds observing social distancing. Phone or email  beforehand to arrange a time. 
   
Parish Website – Bulletin - Just to say that on the latest page and the bulletin page, a subscribe button has been added which allows users to have a daily summary sent each morning with the previous day's posts. If you don't use social media, but would like to be kept posted, then all that's asked for is your email address  – you can unsubscribe at any time – it's all clearly marked.
 
Parish Bulletin: Any items for inclusion in the bulletin (including names for recently dead, month's mind and anniversary lists) should be put through the letter box of the Chapel House or sent by email: standrew@rcag.org.uk by12noon on the Wednesday before publication. Copies of the bulletin are available on Facebook, Twitter and on the parish website.

Recently Dead –  Patrick Ward, Suzanne Salt,  Dr Michael Muldoon, Michael Docherty, Tilly Ferguson, Bridget Sharkey,  Robert Knox, John Brannan, John Lappin.
Anniversaries –  David McCallion, Neil Doyle, Daniel Collins, William Doherty, James Baillie.