​Turnbull High School are looking to expand their pool of invigilators for SQA Exams.

If you are interested in becoming an Invigilator at Turnbull,  please get in touch with Deputy Head Teacher, Clare McLaughlin 

Telephone: 0141 955 2393
E-mail: cmclaughlin@turnbull.e-dunbarton.sch.uk

Turnbull High will be holding an Invigilators’ Training Day in the School on Thursday 31 March from 9 am - 1 pm and would like all new invigilators to attend.

https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/35770.html

​During Lent weekday Mass is at 10am preceded by the Rosary at 9.30am. 

Stations of the Cross are on Fridays at 6pm. The church has been open until 5pm on Fridays, but will now remain open until after the 6pm Stations of the Cross. 

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is on Saturdays from 10am until 11am, with Confessions throughout.

Confessions are available also later on Saturdays, from 4.15pm – 4.45pm and on Sundays from 9.15am until 9.40am.

‘Wee box big change’ SCIAF boxes are available in the porch.

Wishing you a fruitful Lent.

The key message of the report by the Independent Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released last Monday is stark, stressing the need to take urgent action right now to avoid continuing permanent damage to ecosystems, species extinction and human wellbeing. The report’s authors state that climate change has already led to:

•  "widespread deterioration of ecosystems” as a consequence of increased heat, half of global species have already migrated towards the poles or to higher altitudes.
• Increases in heat are contributing to unprecedented levels of mortality and mass extinction of species.
•  The permanent melting of glaciers and the Arctic permafrost is “approaching irreversibility” and is likely to reach a tipping point if temperature rise exceeds 1.50 C . 

• The authors stress the urgent need for governments, institutions, business and individual citizens to mitigate the effects of global warming (Source: IPCC 6th Assessment Report, 2022).  This affects us all and if unchecked, will have an increasingly devastating effect on the wellbeing of future generations.  
  
• If you feel moved to do something you can perhaps read the report for yourself and express your concern about this to our MP Amy Callaghan and/or to MSPs Rona Mackay, Pam Gosal and Ross Greer. 

St Nicholas' Primary 6 pupils and teachers will be joining us for the 11am Ash Wednesday Mass tomorrow. Good on you, P6, keeping COP 26 alive with walking to Mass. 

Ashes aren't able to be distributed in the school due to the Council's covid restrictions.

For any pupils, parents and staff who might like to receive their ashes, please call in to either St Andrew's or St Joseph’s any time between 8am and 8.45am tomorrow morning.

The Bishops’ Conference has stated that:

"The Catholic Church in Scotland is concerned with the lives, safety, wholeness and well being of each individual person within God’s purpose for everyone. It seeks to safeguard the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults who are involved in whatever capacity with the Church and its organisations. As a Church community, we accept that it is the responsibility of all of us, ordained, professed, paid and voluntary members to work together to prevent the physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect of children, young people and vulnerable adults".

Pope Francis has asked that our families are made aware that they have every right to expect that they are safe and secure in ‘Our Father’s House’. 

As part of our commitment to Safeguarding, it is vitally important that we remember those who have been harmed or abused either by a member of the Church, members of their family or any other person. It is asked of us that we pray and care about them.

In 2019, the Bishops of Scotland established an annual Day of Prayer for those who have suffered abuse and individuals and communities who are affected by abuse.  This Day of Prayer is to be marked each year on the Friday following Ash Wednesday. This year the Day of Prayer falls on the 4th of March. This day allows the Church to renew its apology to anyone who has suffered and to stress its commitment to the essential work of safeguarding across our parish communities. In St Andrew’s we will be marking this day of prayer on Friday beginning with 10am Mass followed by the Rosary on the hour every hour through to 5pm with Stations of the Cross at 6pm.

The Archdiocese of Glasgow is fully committed to Safeguarding as an integral part of life in the Church. Both the Archdiocese and St Andrew’s embrace the special responsibility we have for all children, young people and vulnerable adults who are part of our faith community. In our church and hall porches there is a poster which highlights our Safeguarding manual and has contact details for the Parish, the Parish Safeguarding Coordinator and the Diocesan Safeguarding Team.  Please make contact with them or the Parish Priest if you have any concerns regarding the abuse or harm of any child, young person or vulnerable adult.

Safeguarding in our parish is with us in all aspects of our living faith.  Each year, as Parish Priest, Parish Safeguarding Coordinators and volunteers, we commit ourselves to these principles and to renewing and improving our practice.  We adhere to the protocols and procedures laid out by the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland in the document In God’s Image. These procedures, and the vigilance of those involved in the life of the parish, helps us to ensure that everyone should feel safe when they come to Mass, services, groups or social events. 

We welcome Archbishop Nolan who has demonstrated his commitment to safeguarding in Galloway Diocese and together, all of us involved in Safeguarding within the Archdiocese, are grateful for all the hard work done by all our Priests, Deacons, Parish Safeguarding Co-ordinators and our Parish volunteers.    

Thank you for reading.

A big thank you goes to all those who gave their time to attend the synod gatherings last weekend and Thursday night, which were positive with thoughtful discussions with good feedback, which will be compiled into a report, published, and taken to the Deanery for the next step of the journey. 

Please see the survey below or on this link St Andrew's Synod Survey
 
"Let's walk together as a Church with the Holy Spirit'

​Ash Wednesday  ~ St Nicholas' Primary 6 pupils and teachers will be attending the 11am Ash Wednesday Mass in St Andrew's. 

The Mass will be live streamed through to the school. 

We were hoping, in these exceptional circumstances, that teachers would have been free to distribute ashes to their pupils in their classes. East Dunbartonshire Council, however, have not issued an update to the school with regards to the 2 metres rule, which means, unfortunately, the teachers will not be able to distribute ashes. 

For any pupils, parents and staff who might like to receive their ashes, please call in to either St Andrew's or St Joseph’s any time between 8am and 8.45am on Ash Wednesday morning.

Later this month every household in the country will be contacted about Scotland’s Census.

This is the once-a-decade count of the population of Scotland, collecting information about where you stay and the people who stay there, including which religion you belong to.
The information you provide in the census, which may be completed online or by post, will help make decisions about how public money will be spent on schools, healthcare, roads and other important services in your local community. It is the go-to data source for social researchers in developing policy and is, therefore, very important. 

Parishioners should be encouraged to complete the census, providing accurate information about themselves and their households, including their religious affiliation. Parishioners should also be invited to encourage family and friends to complete the census.  

Some people might have difficulty either accessing or completing the census. Where possible, support should be offered to help these people to accurately complete the census. Parishes may wish to consider identifying parishioners who might be able to offer this support. 

The deadline for completion of the census is 20 March 2022, known as Census Day. 

You can find out more about the 2022 Census here: Scotland's Census 2022 | Scotland's Census (scotlandscensus.gov.uk)

You can access resources to help publicise the Census here (includes accessible formats and translations e.g. Polish): Stakeholder promotional materials | Scotland's Census (scotlandscensus.gov.uk)

​Until the changes announced by the First Minister come into effect, all parishes are to continue to follow the current requirements.
 
The Bishops in due course are to provide practical advice about how parishes implement these changes, balancing the desire to get back to full normality with the need to keep all coming to church safe and comfortable. 

There is no change yet to internal Church guidance on things like not shaking hands and not receiving from the Chalice. All parishes are to observe these practices until the Bishops make other provisions.
 
Hopefully, we are now arriving at the end of this difficult time.