Update - Clergy visits and St Nicholas’    Updated guidance has been issued from the Scottish Government and sent to both parishes by St Nicholas’.   Due to the current ongoing local restrictions in EDC and the surrounding areas, visits to the school, including by clergy, are now being put on hold, for the time being.    The school is content for the outside visit / short liturgy for P1 still to go ahead. Plus, both parishes are working on live streaming first Friday of the month liturgies to pupils and staff in their classes.
 
Happy retirement - Our very best wishes to Mrs Cowie for every peace and happiness in her well earned and richly deserved retirement. We thank her for all her many years of hard work, dedication and commitment as teacher principal and deputy head teacher in St Andrew’s and St Nicholas’.  From all of us in St Andrew’s Parish, we wish you nothing but every happiness, good health and joyous days in your retirement, Mrs Cowie. Take care and stay safe.
 
This week is Vocations Awareness Week  ~ Discerning a Vocation to the Priesthood? If you think God may be inviting you to such a vocation, pray hard about it, and have a chat with one of the parish clergy. The archdiocesan Vocations Director, Fr  Ross Campbell, is also more that happy to be contacted for a chat -  rosscampbell81@gmail.com (339 4315)   Pray for priests. Pray for more priests for our archdiocese. Pray for our seminarians.
 
First Confession & First Holy Communion in St Andrew's – the boys and girls have been waiting so patiently over these past months for First Confession and First Holy Communion.
First Confession (Saturday 3rd or 10th Oct   10am – 11am).    A video of the rehearsal for First Holy Communion will be sent out soon to all families.   Please make sure that your video consent form for First Communion Mass has been handed in. Please let us know, as well, if you would like to purchase a video.    These Masses can be live streamed, but would require the consent of all, and we will be writing to parents soon to seek this. Many thanks.  
 
These First Holy Communion Masses at 2pm on 1st, 8th& 15th November, as I am sure you will appreciate, will be very different from what we are normally used to, but they will be no less special occasions of celebration for the boys and girls.  We keep them all in our prayers.
 
Remember, face coverings will need to be worn for both First Confession and First Holy Communion.
 
Confirmations – the archdiocese is currently working on arrangements for Confirmations of last year’s P7s (this year’s S1s), and as soon as we learn what they are we will write to all the families.
 
For all P3 and P4 Families    The intended dates for First Confession for the current P3s will be sometime during the Season of Lent 2021.   The intended dates for First Communions for the current P4s will be sometime after Easter 2021. 
 
Parish Confessions have now resumed - Saturdays 4.15pm – 4.45pm; and Sundays 9.15am – 9.45am. 
 
October Devotions will be live streamed on Sundays at 4.30pm.  
 
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
 
Catholic Social Teaching Thought for the Week - 20 September (Nearest Sunday to UN International Day for Peace (21 September))
The only path is to renounce violence, to begin anew with dialogue, with the attempt to find peace together, with a new concern for one another, a new willingness to be open to one another.      Pope Benedict XVI, Good Friday 2011 
 
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 www.standrewsbearsden   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.

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
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 food donations form M&S Byres Road 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.
 
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 –  Adrian Budas, Mary Murphy, Grace Jackson, Wilf Cook, Tony O’Malley, Agnes MacLeod
Anniversaries –  Annie McCallion, Paul Donnelly, Philip Porter, Samuele Guidi

September Flourish: The new edition of Flourish is now out in digital format, with a striking question on the front cover. “I was a stranger and you made me welcome … or did you?”
This month’s paper focuses on the upcoming Day of Refugees and Migrants called by the Holy Father and contains the Pope’s easy-to-read letter, inviting us all to do something to help those who find themselves far from home and in difficult circumstances. 
Also in the new edition: a seminarian’s story of life in the parish during lockdown; coverage of our newest Deacon’s ordination; Papal reservations about Medjugorje; Fr Raphael on how new visa rules and ideas for meditation using the Pope’s favourite painting! 
Full edition available to read now at http://www.flourishnewspaper.co.uk/
 
Catholic Social Teaching Thought for the Week - 6 September
We need to go forth from our own communities and be bold enough to go to the existential outskirts that need to feel the closeness of God. He abandons no one, and he always shows his unfailing tenderness and mercy; this, therefore, is what we need to take to all people.
Pope Francis, Message to Pilgrims gathered at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 16 November 2013
 
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 https://www.standrewsbearsden.co.uk/ 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.
 
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.
 
Our 10am Mass each day is now live streamed. You can access it via our parish website homepage.
 
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. 
 
Wednesday Private Prayer time – Please note new time – 
Now 2pm – 3pm
 
Parish YouTube Channel – A reminder that the Parish has its own YouTube Channel, which can be accessed from the website and directly on this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZPDUavaAGd6yOZ4xer2oSA
 
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.
 
First Confessions, which had to be cancelled earlier in the year have now been rearranged. They will be from 10am until 11am on Saturdays 3rd and 10th October. 
In order to assist with arrangements for social distancing, it would help if you could please email standrew@rcag.org.uk, if you haven’t already done so, to state your preferred date. Many thanks.
 
First Communions have also been rearranged and they will be celebrated on Sundays 1st, 8th and 15th November at 2pm. A letter has been sent to all families with the lists of communicants for each Sunday, which has been based on the lists drawn up previously.
 
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. 
 
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.
 
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 by 12noon on the Wednesday before publication. Copies of the bulletin are available on Facebook, Twitter, the parish website and on our new exterior noticeboard.  

Recently Dead: Wilfred Cook and Mary Murphy
4 Months’ Mind: Maurice Boyce