St. Patrick's, Greenock, Scotland
Parish Priest: Very Rev G.J.Gallagher
POPE FRANCIS’ PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR NOVEMBER
For the Pope
We pray for the Holy Father; as he fulfils his mission, may he continue to accompany the flock entrusted to him, with the help of the Holy Spirit.
CHILDREN’S LITURGY OF THE WORD @ 11:00am Mass
We invite all the boys and girls of Primary School age to join us each Sunday for this celebration of God’s Word.
PARISH CHRISTMAS DINNER
On Saturday 2nd. December at 1:00pm in the Parish Hall. For your invitation, please call into the Hall after the 11:00am Mass this Sunday or next Sunday to add your name to the list or speak to a member of our parish SVDP conference.
BINGO MATINEE
Thanks to everyone who helped organise, or who came along to, our Bingo Matinee last Saturday. As well as having a lovely time, a magnificent £425 was raised for the Hall Refurbishment Fund. We hope to get the front entrance hall and the toilets spruced up a bit to bring them up to scratch with the interior of the Hall.
SYNOD 21-24
The Synod of Bishops completed its first session last weekend and the summary document can be found here: Documents (synod.va)
The Synod process now returns to the local churches (dioceses and parishes) and any comments on the document can be sent to
Synod23@rcdop.org.uk
ADVENT TALKS
A series of three talks for the Season of Advent will be given by Fr. Maurice Callaghan in St Joseph’s Church, Bow Road at 7.00pm on the three Tuesdays (5th, 12th & 19th) of December. The talks will each be 30-40 minutes duration with opportunity for questions followed by tea and biscuits.
RCIA
R.C.I.A. The Rites of Christian Initiation of Adults is the process by which adults become members of the Catholic Church. If you are interested in becoming a catholic or would simply like to find out more about the catholic faith, please speak to Fr. Gerry. The season usually concludes at Easter the Easter Vigil with the celebration of Baptism, Confirmation and First Holy Communion.
INVERCLYDE ROYAL HOSPITAL
In addition to our 24/7 emergency chaplain cover at IRH, we also have a catholic chaplaincy team who are happy to visit patients in the hospital for non-emergency visits. Please just let Fr. Gerry know that you or your relative would like a visit from a catholic chaplain and he will organise it. This change in how visits are arranged is due to the data protection and privacy laws now in operation.
THANK YOU
for last week’s Offertory Collection which raised £919.48.
PARISH STALL
Christmas cards and 2024 Calendars now on sale on Sunday after 11.00am Mass. Box of 18 cards, £3, single cards, 60 pence, Calendars £1.
THE INNOCENTS
Pregnancy testing and counselling done in confidence, Mondays and Thursdays 7.00-9.00pm. Tel. 743809
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS Ecumenical Service on Sunday 26th. November at 2.00pm in St. Mary’s Church, Greenock as part of the annual Sixteen Days of Activism to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls. The Service will be led by Bishop John along with leaders from other Christian communities. Refreshments afterwards.
SCIAF ISRAEL-PALESTINE EMERGENCY APPEAL:
The Ongoing conflict in the Holy Land, particularly the Occupied Palestinian Territories, is causing unimaginable fear and suffering.
Through the global Caritas network, SCIAF is working with local organisations to act as soon as possible. Your donation will provide emergency support to those most in need. Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas in the world and its residents have no way to leave Gaza, and are running out of food, water, and safe shelter. Please donate to our funds for essential support to the families in urgent need by following the link:
https://www.sciaf.org.uk/get-involved/appeals/579-israeli-palestinian-emergency-appeal
THINK VOCATION
“Where two or three meet in my name, I will be there.” Priests are called to gather Jesus’ followers, to bring them into his presence and show them his mercy. Could that be you? Talk to our Vocations Director Fr John Morrison tel:01418895056 or email vocations@rcdop.org.uk
QUESTIONS ABOUT ADMISSION TO HOLY COMMUNION
1. There still seems to be some confusion around about the question of divorce and admission to Holy Communion. If you are divorced but have not re-married and you are not “living with someone”, then you are not barred from participating at Mass or Holy Communion. Indeed, the conditions for you to receive Holy Communion are the same as for everyone else; you must be in a state of grace and you must fast for one hour before receiving Holy Communion. People were told in the past that if they got divorced, they were “excommunicated” - this “information” was not correct.
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If you have divorced and then remarried “outside the Church”, or if you are “living with someone”, then you are still very welcome to come to Mass but that may change your situation about admission to Holy Communion.
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2. If at one time you “married outside the church” and your situation has since changed, (e.g. if your spouse, sadly, has died, or if that marriage has ended) and you have not re-married “outside the church” or started “living with someone” then you can be re-admitted to Holy Communion. The conditions for you to receive Communion are the same as for everyone else; you must be in a state of grace and you must fast for one hour before receiving Holy Communion.
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3. If you are in any of these situations (or other marriage situations) and are not sure about how to proceed, please talk to one of our priests or deacons about it and they will be happy to help.
PARISH PRAYERS
We pray for all who are ill or housebound: in particular, we remember:
Lexi Kerr (baby), Amy Hunter,
Miriam Slaven, Mary McCauley,
Maura Gallagher, Linda Scott,
Pat McCabe, Charlie McEleny,
Maureen Hanvey, Sebastian Kesson, Ross Moran, Emma Sinclair, Maureen Houston, John O’Donnell, Anne Kane, Jessica Glover, Caroline McNeil, Joanne King, Teddy O’Neil.
We pray for all who have died recently, R.I.P.
Isabella Clarty,
Jean Gisbey,
Joe Donoghue,
Thomas Jones (Toronto, Canada).
We remember those whose anniversaries are at this time, R.I.P., especially:
Jean Nolan, Molly McBride,
Sandra Henry, Daniel Boyle,
Teresa & Hugh McCann,
Bernard & Mary Gallacher, Jane Lee, Neil Fulton, Ian Hamilton.
Eternal rest, grant unto them, O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.
SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
The Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill, tabled by Gillian MacKay MSP, will soon be debated in Holyrood. This Bill will introduce “buffer zones” around abortion clinics. It removes a lifeline for women who want to keep their babies but feel they have no other choice than abortion. It also bans prayer in certain areas, which is a threat to religious freedom. Please contact our Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) to make your views known. SPUC has created an easy-to-use webtool, which can be found here:
https://www.spuc.org.uk/nobufferzonesScotland.
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Entering your postcode brings up who our MSPs are, together with an editable email template. You can then edit the email template and submit the email to all eight of our MSPs.
TEAS & COFFEES
After 11:00am Mass in the Hall today. Thanks to all who support our teas & coffees.
ADVENT DAY FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN
The Diocese is hosting an Advent Reflection Day for pupils in P 4,5, 6+7 next Sunday (26thNovember) at St. Mary’s, Paisley, 2.00-5.00pm. Places must be pre-booked by e-mailing Fr. John Morrison at
vocations@rcdop.org.uk
or phoning 0141 889 5056.
The event will include Mass.
Children must bring with them a consent form. This can be obtained from your parish, or school or by e-mailing
vocations@rcdop.org.uk.
Due to safeguarding regulations, participating children must be collected from St. Mary’s by a parent/carer/guardian.
Protecting your Privacy
The privacy notice contained on our website is that of the Diocese of Paisley, St. Patrick’s is a Catholic parish of the Universal Church in the Diocese of Paisley, which is led by Bishop John Keenan, in communion with our Holy Father Pope Francis, in Greenock.
We want you to know that Diocese of Paisley respects the information we hold on you and that we take the security of your information very seriously.
New data protection rules, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), come into effect on May 2018. These regulation will give people greater control over how companies and organisations use their personal information.
We have updated our Privacy Notice in line with GDPR, which sets out information on how we hold and handle your data. It includes:
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what kind of information we collect
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how we use it
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when we may need to share it
Many thanks for your understanding. You can read our full Privacy Notice at by clicking here or a hard copy can be requested from the Parish.