If you or someone you know are interested in becoming Catholic, or if you know anyone who might be interested in the Church, why not sign up for St Andrew's RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults)? This group – which meets from after summer through to Easter / Pentecost each year – is for those who are interested in becoming Catholic. No commitment is made until fairly late in the annual process. For more information, call 942 4635 or [email protected]
All in St Nicholas’ Primary who will be starting P6 next month are invited to become a Pope Francis Faith Award candidate. Invitations to enrol will be going out in the new school term, and sign up in both parishes will be arranged at that time too.
Caritas Award - If you will be in your final year of school this August, or just finished High School and are interested in becoming a candidate for the 2021 / 2022 Caritas award, speak to Fr. Mackle or contact Elizabeth Reid at [email protected]
One of the things that the recent easing of restrictions allows us to do again is sing at Mass 🎼 🎶 🎵 “The Christian faithful who come together as one to await the Lord’s coming are instructed by the Apostle Paul to sing together Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (cf. Col 3: 16). Singing is the sign of the heart’s joy (cf. Acts 2: 46). Thus St. Augustine says rightly, ‘Singing is for one who loves’ There is also the ancient proverb: ‘Whoever sings well prays twice over’”. General Instruction to the Roman Missal 39
Scotland’s bishops have welcomed the prospect of a meeting with Pope Francis when he attends the COP26 Conference in Glasgow in November. A spokesman for the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland said: "Having written to the Holy Father to assure him of a warm welcome, should he attend the Conference, they are delighted to hear that he does hope to attend and would be glad to meet with them in Glasgow.”
Archdiocesan Safeguarding ~ All volunteers in the parish who work with children, young people and adults with additional support needs who haven't yet attended training, must attend the mandatory Part 1 Induction Training. The same volunteers must also attend the mandatory Part 2 Training. Please contact the Safeguarding Office - [email protected] to register for video training using Zoom.
Induction Training Part 1 - 18th August at noon.
Training Part 2 dates are 2nd & 19th August and 6th September at 7pm.
Peer Support Group for Women Of Faith Affected By Separation or Divorce meets first Friday of each month. Next meeting will be Friday, 6th August at 6pm at St Patrick's Church Hall, Dumbarton. For information and details, see 'Faith Living' Facebook group, which is the Archdiocese of Glasgow's New Evangelisation Group, or contact Tricia Imrie on 07970928028.
Pope Francis on Twitter and Instagram. The Pope's Twitter (@Pontifex) and Instagram (@Franciscus) accounts are worth following for daily content relating to the Pope a d the Church in the world. Pope Francis uses his Twitter account to highlight topical issues as well as content from his writings.
The monthly Pope video is also a great resource of contemporary commentary by the Holy Father on current issues. The videos are available www.thePopevideo.org
A Senior Server is needed for one day a week at the 10am Mass ideally for Monday or Wednesday. If you can help, please say to Geoff or call 942 4635 or email [email protected]
Children’s Liturgy: each week in the form of a video of the week’s Gospel reading. Available at : https://www.rpbooks.co.uk/celebrate-following-your-faith This is an excellent resource for parents to use until the children’s liturgy at Mass resumes.
Your Giving to St Andrew’s A massive Thank You to all our parishioners who have continued to support our parish over these past sixteen months. We have, like many other charities, seen our income greatly reduced since March 2020. This is, of course, because of the lockdowns and closures and there being fewer people being able to attend church. Thank you, once more, in these difficult times for your generosity towards your parish. Fr Mackle
Year of St Joseph - Don't forget you can write out your petitions and place them under the sleeping St Joseph statue in the church grounds. It's also possible to send in your special petitions by post in a sealed envelope.
Drumchapel Foodbank. Regularly your donations are dropped off at the foodbank by our parish volunteers. Thanks for continuing to give the foodbank your support.
Our parish’s soup-run’s volunteers continue to collect food donations from M&S Byres Rd & Milngavie for delivery to Drumchapel & St Gregory’s Foodbanks, the Wayside Club & Aspire. Many thanks for good response to the recent appeal for help for holiday cover.
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: [email protected] by12noon on the Wednesday before publication. Copies of the bulletin are available on Facebook, Twitter and on the parish website
Catholic Social Teaching Thought for the Week - 25th July
Today Christ tells us it isn’t enough to distribute bread to those who haven’t got any. The essential thing is to work toward the creation of a more just world, in which there will no longer be a minority owning too much, among such multitudes of hungry people.
Servant of God Archbishop Hélder Câmara
Hélder Câmara was born in 1907 in north-eastern Brazil and served as Archbishop of Olinda and Recife. As a young priest he had been interested in the nationalist/ fascist movement Integralismo, but later rejected these ideologies becoming concerned with social justice, the plight of the poor, and availably of education in his region. He became known as the ‘Bishop of the Slums’ for his work with urban poor and encouraging people to seek social justice inspired by their faith. He became an archbishop in 1963 the same year as a military dictatorship took power in Brazil. Câmara championed human rights and democracy in the face of threats to his life, and became a ‘nonperson’; the media in Brazil were not permitted to mention his name. He participated in all four sessions of Vatican II, and in 1965 led 42 bishops in signing the ‘Pact of the Catacombs’; where they committed to living lifestyles consistent with the poorest of their parishioners, and rejecting all signs of material wealth or social privilege. More than 500 bishops signed the pact in the following months. Archbishop Câmara was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, however this was blocked due to pressure from Brazil’s military dictatorship. He died on 27 August 1999. In 2015 the Vatican declared nihil obstat (no obstacles) and his cause for canonisation is now open.
Recently Dead – Margaret, Borland, Johnnie Boyle, Elizabeth Keeley, Brendan McCormick, Anna McGinty, Andy Picken.
Anniversary – Clement Chateau.