of the
Good Shepherd
Good Shepherd - Newsletter
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Advent 2019 - Advent 2020: "The Year of the Word" celebrating 1400 anniversary of St. Jerome & 10th anniversary of "Dei Verbum" |
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| ADVENT: A new year in the life of the Church, in preparation for the Great Festival of the Resurrection of Easter, which in the Regnal Year of the Lord 2021, will be celebrated (according to the computation of the Great Synod of Whitby, Yorkshire in A.D 664/665) when the decision was taken to follow the Roman Computation of the great Easter Festival : i.e. The First Sunday after the First Full Moon of the Spring Equinox (mention it to the BBC for their next "Springwatch" programme, why not?) It is celebrated on 4th April 2021 this year. We share one of our longest Advents, with the festival of the Incarnation: the Christ Mass taking place on Friday, 25th December. |
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CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS: Please remember that the two great Feasts of the Holy Church (The Greatest being the Resurrection; i.e. Easter and the Second, Christmas), are characterised by the only festivals of the Church that have an Octave. In other words all eight days from the Feast are considered to be celebrations of that Festival, so that from Christmas Day until the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of the Lord on the 1st January is held to be equally celebrations of the Christ Mass. In these days of Covid 19 prevention, if you can't book in on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, why not make one of the other days of the Octave, YOUR CHRISTMAS MASS? There are some beautiful festivals in the Octave that we shall be encouraging you to share by way of our annual Christmas Card (with times advertised) now in preparation. This is the time to express our tremendous Faith in the Incarnate Lord by sharing Confession in Advent and Holy Mass during the Octave (24th December - 1st January). Amidst family joy, bring the whole family and book in for any of the Christmas Masses during the Octave and tell the truth to our Society round about us; that "God so loved the World, that He sent His only Son". Your parish is relying on YOU! |
BOOK YOUR CHURCH VISIT ON SATURDAY VIGIL & SUNDAY: or any weekday: At last, release from "Lockdown 2". Once again we are free to attend Holy Mass; but until guarantees of relief from Covid 19 we must continue to "book" our place. Please refer once again to the Diocesan Website ( www.massbooking.uk) as a central booking system that enables online booking for the Good Shepherd Church and other participating Churches in the deanery.) Once registered; follow the instructions. You can book any Mass celebration up to seven days ahead. People without internet access should contact Marie Langford directly by telephone on 0794 815 1264. To maximise seating at The Good Shepherd. Follow the booking instructions carefully. Household groups of up to three persons should book one "single" and larger household groups (of six, say) should book "a family pew". We look forward to welcoming you back. |
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PARISH REPOSITORY: Christmas is the time for gifting. "Do you know why it is so difficult to get hold of Advent Calendars?" "Their days are numbered!" (Think about it!) Yes they are available, as well as a few Advent Candles in our Repository. Mrs Godfrey is overwhelmed with the enthusiastic response we are making to order the new CTS Sunday Missal at only £8.00 (I know it's embarrassing that something so valuable on the journey of life is so cheap; compared to the magazines on the racks in W.H. Smiths, Sainsbury's, Tesco's and Morrison's, but there it is! Next time you browse for your favourite monthly, think! All of your Spiritual support needs; Nativity sets, Greetings Cards for all occasions, wrapping paper, rosaries, candles: they are all in the Repository. If you can't see what you need, why not ask? It can usually be obtained by return, and supporting your Repository is supporting your parish! |
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FIRST SACRAMENTS 2021: First Confession and First Holy Communion Enrolment Cards are now available from the Narthex and through the Good Shepherd Primary Academy (courtesy of Mrs Williams and her staff) for First Sacraments next year. Please ensure you fill out the card and return it to the Parish Administration Suite. Thank you. |
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CONFIRMATION: Candidates who had hoped to share this Sacrament in 2020 should now have received a mailing advising of the way forward. Please return your "advice form" as soon as possible so that plans can be made for 2021. We are already six months late and will begin to seek candidates for 2022 shortly. "Time flies", as the man said who threw the clock! |
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"POP IN FOR POP UP". Continued thanks for your tremendous support to "Pop Up". A fresh batch of marmalade, pickles and relishes are delivered. Don't miss out on the delicious flavours on offer! |
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ARNOLD FOOD BANK: The generosity of the people of the Good Shepherd Parish knows no bounds. Thank you for the constant and tremendous generosity of so many toiletries and groceries that we weekly forward to the Food Bank. It is gratefully received. Thank you. |
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"FAITH IN FAMILIES" (Previously Catholic Children's Society.) By tradition, any offerings that are left at the Crib in the Good Shepherd Parish were always forwarded for the work of the Catholic Children's Society, its successor, in fulfilling its work, is "Faith in Families". Once again we shall leave a basket for your Crib visits during the Christmas Season and if you feel moved to generosity to support the Children cared for by Faith in Families, your donation will be forwarded as soon as possible on receipt to continue its work. If you prefer to make an immediate donation to "Faith in Families" check out their website to forward your gift. Thank you for all of your support. |
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RED BOXES: THE APF: Our local representative for this illustrious work forward a word of thanks to all for leaving (and collecting from the narthex) your Red Boxes, that support Pope Francis in his work of evangelisation in Mission territories. Your generosity this year to date through the Red boxes has been £424:23. |
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FROM THE DIOCESAN OFFICE OF EVANGELISATION: Praying with Our Lady through Advent - We invite you to pray one extra Hail Mary each day in Advent, asking for Our Lady's prayers to help all of us as a diocese, open our hearts and minds to welcome Jesus afresh this Christmas. Our Lady was the first person to welcome Him into her life and her intercession can help us to draw closer to Him and feel His presence with us anew this Christmas. Every other day you will be able to watch people from our diocese pray the Hail Mary in different languages on the diocesan social media sites, search for Diocese of Nottingham or Bishop Patrick McKinney on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Living Advent Podcast - Living Advent is a weekly podcast series throughout Advent exploring the virtues of Hope, Love, Joy & Peace with people from across the diocese and how we can live them out. We speak to a young husband and father, a musician, a retired social worker and a police officer. You can find it on your usual podcast service by searching 'Living Advent Podcast' or visit www.dioceseofnottingham.uk/podcasts for links on how to stream or download it. Diocesan Carol Service - We will celebrate a short online carol service on Friday 18th December at 6 p.m. on Bishop Patrick's YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/BishopPatrickMckinney) with readings, music, prayers and reflections. Please join us as a family and invite others to join us too. 'Being a disciple web series' - January is a time when we try and work at being a better person. Why not explore how we can grow as a disciple of Jesus? On the four Thursdays of January we will explore a different aspect of what it means to be a Catholic disciple with Brendan Thompson the CEO of 'Catholic Voices' in a web series on Zoom. Catholic Voices is an international organisation that shares the Good News in the global media. This will be a great foundation for parishes, chaplaincies and individuals to explore how we can support each other in growing as Catholic disciples. Register here: zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMrcuygqjwpGdNBRC5NIQ46Eu1bleEg246A |
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NOVEMBER: THE MONTH OF THE HOLY SOULS & OUR BELOVED DEAD: The late Patrick McGhee RIP whose funeral rites take place in the Church on Monday, 14th December at 9:15 a.m. prior to interment at Redhill The late Giocomda Gualini RIP, whose funeral rites will be received at the Church on Tuesday, 15th December at 11.00 a.m. prior to interment at Redhill cemetery. The late Ted Bylina RIP whose funeral rites will take place on Wednesday, 9th December at 10.30 a.m. prior to interment at Redhill Cemetery. |
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Last updated 27.11.2020 |
3 Thackeray's Lane, Woodthorpe, Nottingham, NG5 4HT. Tel: (0115) 926 8288