Announcements This Week

IMPORTANT: Please note that our phone line is not working. Please call us on 020 7603 0814

Mass on Wednesday 11th December will be at 9.00 am only. There will be no evening Mass, owing to a charity carol concert being held in the church.

Leaflets and Booklets to assist our parish Readers with reading from the new translation may be taken from the outer sacristy.

The Christmas Eve & Day Volunteer Reader Rota is in the outer sacristy, ready for Parish Readers to sign up.

New CTS Sunday Missals (in red covers this year) are now in the porch stands ready for use by parishioners at Sunday Mass. They include the new Bible translation. If you would like to purchase a copy at £10, please enquire in the Parish Office.

Thank you to those who supported last weekend's appeal on behalf of the Missionary Society of St Columban, which has been the official mission appeal of the Westminster Diocese for 2024. It's still not too late to receive any further donations.

Walk with Me – A Journey of Prayer for Advent 2024: this popular booklet with a Bible reading, prayer and reflection for every day, is now on sale at £1.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady is this year kept on Monday 9th  December, (as its usual date of 8th is a Sunday.) Because this feast day Mass is longer than a normal weekday Mass, there will not be time for it to be followed by Adoration and Benediction this week.

Lourdes Parish Candle A special candle will be lit near the grotto for the intentions of our parish on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Many thanks to the donor! It is a very special feast for Lourdes pilgrims, as the climax of the apparitions to Bernadette in 1858 was when Our Lady at last revealed her identity, with the words, 'I am the Immaculate Conception.'

Advent Retreat Morning, next Saturday 14th December. This is designed for all those who have a ministry in leading our worship – Eucharistic Ministers, Readers, Adult Choir Members and Servers, Stewards and Catechists. If you are one of these and have not received an invitation, please let us know. Speaker – Mary Crowley.

Blessing of Bambinelli at 10.00 am Family Mass next Sunday 15th December, Gaudete Sunday: We invite children to bring the figures of the Baby Jesus for their Christmas Cribs at home, so that they can be blessed before use.

Christmas Offertory Envelopes may be taken from the back of the church from now on and returned at any time convenient to you, especially if you will be away before or at Christmas. This collection goes towards the support of the priests of the parish.

Flowers are not used in church during Advent, apart from the Immaculate Conception on 9th December, and Gaudete Sunday on 14/15th December. We are very grateful for those who generously give flowers for the shrines in church each week, but apart from the dates above, please wait until Christmas to bring these again. Thank you!

Christmas Flowers: Donations towards the cost of these will be gratefully received.

Christmas Service and Confession Times :

Collection of Non-Perishable Foodstuffs for Hammersmith & Fulham Foodbank - please bring these with you to Mass and leave in church porch next weekend of 15th /16th December. Specially needed are festive items such as chocolates, biscuits, jam, cranberry sauce, pickles, and gravy granules.

Holy Trinity Carol Concert, given by our Family Mass Choir, directed by Laurence Carroll, is on Monday 16th December at 7.00 pm. Admission free – Retiring Collection for Glass Door, with whom we run our Parish winter weekly night shelter for homeless women. Mulled wine and mince pies in the Parish Centre.

St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in our Parish is looking to recruit two Foundation Governors and would be pleased to hear from those who may be able to serve the cause of Catholic education in our Parish in this way

Prayer Workshop: on Thursday 9th January 25 at 2pm at Nazareth House. All welcome.

SCAM Alert! May we please bring to your attention a concerning rise in scam emails targeting parishioners. These emails impersonate the parish priest, often using a similar email name and masking the real email address and typically request the recipient to purchase Amazon or other gift cards as gifts for the priest. The priests would never email you asking for gift cards. Please double-check any suspicious email by directly contacting the parish office.     

Music at Family Mass:  There is now a button here on our website that allows parishoners to listen to and practice the Sunday hymns ahead of time. 

Music at 11.30 am Solemn Mass

Today: D'ambleville – Messe des Jesuites. Motet: Rheinberger – Rorate caeli desuper.

Next Sunday: Cererols, J – Missa 4or vocum 2us tonus. Motet: Guerrero – Canite tuba.

The Catholic Children's Society welcomes (new) Christmas gifts which they distribute to disadvantaged children: including young carers, children who have recently lost a loved one, and families fleeing domestic abuse. They expect a high level of need again this Christmas and would be very grateful for any new toys, books or clothing you can donate. If you would like to support their Christmas Gift Appeal, please deliver your gifts to the parish office by Friday 13th December. 

If you wish to request a Certificate of Catholic Practice because you are applying for a place in a Catholic School for your child, please email the parish office for a priest information form.

Holy Trinity Cine Club: for children in Year 7 to Year 9, and  Year 10 to 12 on a Friday evening once a month. Quality ‘surprise’ movie followed by discussion and pizza. All are welcome, suggested donation of £5 towards running costs. Contact cineclubbg@gmail.com. See poster in the church porch.

SACRAMENTS

Preparation for the Sacrament of Baptism: If you have a child for Baptism under 5 years old please email us for an application form. You will be contacted once the form has been received. A copy of one of the Catholic parents’ baptism certificate will be required.  Baptisms can only take place on Saturdays at 11am. The next baptism preparation course is on 12th December.

Adults who would like to enquire into the possibility of becoming Catholics, or adult Catholics hoping to be confirmed, please speak to one of the clergy or contact us by email.

Thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund, we have received a grant to help refurbish the parish centre. We provide a weekly night shelter for homeless women from November to Easter and the money we have received has enabled us to make the hall more comfortable. The West London Scouts also had their storage area made safe and easier to use. Other community projects will now be able to resume thanks to the lottery fund. This is what your money pays for when you play the lottery (if you don’t win, that is :) )

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