Our Parish Pastoral Council meeting went well last Thursday.  

​Congratulations to George Allan the new Chair!  Our gratitude and appreciation to the outgoing chair, John Heath.  A huge thanks to John for the tremendous amount of work he has done over the years, and he remains a member of the PPC. Veronica McLaughlin has kindly agreed to continue as secretary and our thanks to her for that. We are in the process of electing a vice Chair.  

The Pastoral Council welcomed the new members, George Allan, Catherine Dunipace, Caroline Hanlon, Jim Hendrie, Ricky Jackson, Fred McDermott, Jenny McGahan, Marysia & Robert Paterson and Chris Sanders, who have joined the PPC’s existing members Mary Theresa Coyle, John Heath, Donal McDermott, Veronica McLaughlin, Elizabeth & Gordon Reid, Sadie Traynor, Deacon Tommy, Monsignor Ryan and Fr Mackle. 

The date of the next meeting will be Thursday 27th January 2022. 

The PPC works with the parish priest to discern needs, ensure that they are met and continually move the parish towards the greater fulfilment of its life and mission.

This week our Pope Francis Faith Award candidates have embarked on their journey and we know that they will be fantastic ambassadors for our school and parishes.
As a school we really miss coming together to celebrate Mass. Father Currie and Father Mackle have been a great support and through technology we have celebrated Mass online.

For All Saints day, our P7 classes will walk to St Andrew’s Parish and lead us in celebrating this special day in our liturgical calendar.

​The rest of the school will join online and we hope and pray that sometime soon we can all celebrate Mass together.

The Catholic Church in Glasgow is issuing an extraordinary appeal during the month of November to anyone who may have been affected by any kind of abuse at the hands of clergy or church officials … ‘tell us where we went wrong and how we can do better’.

During the designated month, The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) is conducting an external, independent review of the Archdiocese of Glasgow to hear from people with first-hand experience of how the Archdiocese has responded to reports of abuse.
A spokesman for the Archdiocese said:
​
“This is a genuine attempt to listen and learn. The Social Care Institute is a totally independent body which will conduct this month long audit. The Archdiocese will have no role except to help to publicise that the audit is taking place, and that the external team want to hear directly from abuse survivors.

“The Social Care Institute wants to understand what is happening today and what has gone wrong in the past. They are looking at the responses of people in diocesan roles to knowledge of abuse by clergy or risks posed by clergy and others in Church-related roles, paid or voluntary.

“While the audit will concentrate on the last 5 years, we recommend that anyone who has experience of how we have dealt with abuse claims should speak to SCIE staff directly. Nobody at any level in the Church will be told that they are taking part. What they you tell SCIE will be confidential and will not be shared with the Archdiocese except as part of an overall report which will absolutely not identify any individual.”

Dr Sheila Fish, SCIE Head of Audit and Review, said:

“We want to understand what is working well and where there are problems. We want to hear from people with first-hand experience of how people in diocesan roles have responded to disclosures of abuse or sharing of concerns.”

When the work has been completed the Archdiocese will publish the report and copies will be made available to survivors.

Anyone who may wish to report on their experience should contact SCIE directly by email at learningtogether@scie.org.uk or by phone on 07921 251614. SCIE will then get in touch to arrange a time to report to the auditors in a way that suits each individual.

St. Andrew’s Whist will take place:

• WEDNESDAY 27th October 
• Lower Hall
• 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. 
• Tea and coffee will be served. 
• Entry £2. 

​Looking forward to seeing everyone.
New members always welcome. 
COVID safety measures will be in place and face-coverings must be worn unless seated.

Huge thanks to the men of the Killermont Park Men's Shed for restoring a park bench and kindly donating it to be used in our Jubilee Garden 

The funeral for Raymond Appleby will take place with the Vigil at 6pm this Friday and the Funeral Mass on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. 

The funeral for Maria Giovanazzi will take place with the Vigil on Sunday at 6pm and the Funeral Mass on Monday at 10:00 a.m. 

Please pray for Maria and Raymond for the peaceful repose of their souls, and for their families.

Church Ventilation System ~  We have had new timer programmers installed in the church, which automatically switch on the church's fresh air ventilation and extractor fans for all our scheduled Masses. These fans are timed to be on for a period of time before, during and after each Mass.

With the church's ventilation system now operating daily, the exit door near the organ will now not require to be opened, especially during the winter months. 

Just a reminder as well that we still have two sizeable sections of the church dedicated for social distancing at each service. The stewards are always happy to assist, should you wish to be seated in this area.

Plus, with us faithfully following all the precautions over these months, thankfully, no cases have been traced back to the church.

The next cohort of P6 pupils for the Pope Francis Faith Award will be enrolled at a Liturgy tomorrow  which will be held in St Nicholas'. 

School, parishes and families have thinking caps  on for faith actions for the P6 candidates.

All the very best to all the P6s who are being enrolled. 

PFFA invites young people, when learning about the Sacrament of Confirmation, to use the gifts of the Holy Spirit and to see how they can bear fruit in their homes, schools and parishes.