Below are a few interesting news items from this week’s Bulletin. To download the full version of our latest Bulletin, please go to our Bulletin page. Thank you.
THOUGHT FOR THE FEAST OF THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD
ANOINTED SERVANT OF DIVINE LOVE
Conceived in the Spirit long ago, yet now, in His adult freedom and questing, comes to welcome the Spirit and hear the Father’s voice. The Voice over the waters speaks of the Father’s embrace of Love for the Beloved Son – and something, Someone, is brought to birth afresh: the Son is reborn as Servant precisely because He is Beloved beyond all imagining.
The waters of the Jordan River become the Waters of Creations rebirth, for now a New Creation has begun: a New Creation that we are to complete in the power of the same Spirit. For we too are beloved daughters and sons, loved by our Father and filled with the Spirit to become the same Servants of Divine Love that ‘recreates the face of the Earth’.
Now the ministry begins, now the poor and broken will hear Good News, now sinners will be reconciled and the despairing find unconquerable hope. For here is the Son who invites all to share His ‘Belovedness’, to become co-heirs with Him, to receive the same Spirit of the Father’s Love equally lavished upon us as upon Him, the Only-Begotten One!.
CRIB OFFERINGS These are gifts that support the work of our outstanding Diocesan Children’s Society. With their offices in Pennywell Road, they are indeed a part of our parish! Please pray for their work, give generously, and pray for more adoptive parents to come forward – could you be such an adoptive family? Contact tel: 0845-122-0077.
SACRAMENTAL PREPARATION PROGRAMMES The First Eucharist Programme meets every Thursday at 4.00-5.00pm in the Assisi Centre. The First Reconciliation Programme meets every Friday at 4.00-5.00pm (Assisi Centre). There are also be parents meetings at the same time every two weeks.
CLEANING OUR CHURCH Thank you to everyone who responded to the shout-out for cleaners before Christmas.We are actually short of people for the weekly clean. This normally happens on a Friday morning, so if anyone has a little time then, some more hands would be very helpful. If you can’t come at that time, see Eddie and negotiate a time when you could do some of the cleaning. It’s like Tesco – every little helps!
INVITED TO VISIT ST BONAVENTURE’S CHURCH COMMUNITY – AN INITIATIVE FOR THE JUBILEE YEAR OF HOPE – GETTING TO KNOW OUR PASTORAL AREA PARISHES “You are warmly invited to a Parish Open Morning on Saturday 11th January 2025 at St Bonaventure’s Church, Egerton Road Bristol BS7 8HP. We will start with Mass at 9.30 followed by refreshments. Representatives from our parish groups will speak briefly about what they do, then afterwards there will be time to talk informally and find out more about what goes on at St Bons. You will also have a chance to look around our church and grounds if you wish, before making your way home for lunch. We are holding this event to mark the beginning of the Church’s Jubilee Year in 2025, and look forward to welcoming parishioners from neighbouring churches in our Pastoral Area. Our car park is accessed from Berkeley Road not Egerton Road BS7 8AF
‘SWEP’ – SEVERE WEATHER EMERGENCY PROTOCOL This winter as in previous two years, St Nicks is a place of refuge, warmth and safety in the coldest conditions for rough sleepers – those sleeping in the open with frost and severe cold descending. Thank you to Michael Conway and Eddie Mgbeoduru who welcome those who staff and those who use this facility in or Parish Hall. ‘I was homeless and you welcomed me into your House’. Thanks be to God!
HEALING MASS FOR WORLD DAY OF THE SICK – SUNDAY FEBRUARY 9th Come to this special Healing Mass for the World Day of the Sick here at St Nicks on Sunday 9th February at 10.00am. The Sacrament of Anointing the Sick for Healing will be offered to all who wish to receive the Healing Jesus and His Spirit in this way. A very special experience, Jesus touches us with healing love through the prayer of the Church gathered together. Jesus’ Word of Healing is an event of transformation as we pray with and care for the sick and housebound, the troubled and anguished. Come yourself and bring others to Jesus.
AREA HOUSE MASSES TO RESUME The Area Masses we celebrated earlier this year was successful in gathering parishioners (and others) living in those particular parts of Bristol; and the Parish Pastoral Council wish to invite people to offer to host such a mass on a Friday evening. After Mass we have simple refreshments – tea/coffee, biscuits (may be cake), but no more.
JUBILEE YEAR OF HOPE 2025 Every 25 years the Church celebrates a Jubilee Year – a Year of Renewal and recommitment, a Year of Thanksgiving. This 2025 Jubilee was inaugurated in our Diocese by Bishop Bosco on Sunday 29th December at 11.15am Mass and the theme is ‘Hope’ … Hope for Peace
WHY PRAY AND WORK FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY? At the Last Supper, Jesus prayed for the Church through the ages: ’Father, may they all be One as you and I are One, may they be so completely One that the world will believe’. Jesus also said about his followers (us): ‘By your love for one another shall all people know you are My disciples’. As long as the Church is divided we are damaging our witness to the love of Christ for our world. As long as we are divided, we failing to love one another and are less disciples of Christ. As long as we are divided, we fail in our Mission to bring liberating truth, light and love to transform our world. How much longer will we ignore the Spirit’s call to commit ourselves to building unity, healing the Church?
A Year of Hope: An Introduction to the Jubilee Year with the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development 2025 is a Jubilee year, but what does that mean? How will the Church be celebrating it? What can I do? Join us for an introduction to the Jubilee with our special guests including Fr Jan Nowotnik, Director of Mission for the Catholic Bishop’s Conference, Christine Allen, CAFOD Director, and Kayode Akintola, CAFOD’s Head of Africa. Hear highlights of how we’re celebrating as a church and see how we can be tangible signs of hope and build a better world together throughout this holy year. And a special appearance by Ooberfuse. Saturday 18 Jan, 10:30am-midday, online. Register here for free
Housing Support Register Co-ordinator post available at Bristol City Council
The HSR coordinator post in the ISAT Team is being advertised. I use to do this job before I joined the commissioning team and I really enjoyed it. I would highly recommend the role. If you know of anyone who would be interested please let them know it is being advertised on BCCs jobs webpages:
Job Reference VAC006361 Application Closing Date 26/01/2025
Location 100 Temple Street, Redcliffe, Bristol BS1 6AN
Salary £31,067-£33,366 Full time Hours 37
If anyone is interested in applying and would like an informal chat about what the work, there are contact details in the job advert.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE IN HOSPITAL: When a Catholic goes into hospital, the patient or their family MUST request a visit from the Catholic Chaplain – data protection and confidentiality rules in hospitals prohibit the passing on of information to chaplaincies otherwise. The Chaplain cannot visit a patient without prior request to visit.
SHORT TALKS ON YOUTUBE During Covid Lockdowns Richard gave talks and celebrated Mass on FaceBook. He has been asked to give short talks (15-20 minutes) on YouTube. The first was posted last Sunday on YouTube (@St Nicks RC Church Bristol) and hopefully will include contributions from others together with Richard. The themes during Advent are different forms of prayer.
WORDS OF A CATHOLIC SURVIVOR WORKING TO BUILD A SAFER CHURCH Please take a moment to really listen to the voice of survivors of abuse within the Church. Have you been moved by the accounts of Church victim survivors you have heard this week? Have you felt that pain? If not, what has put you outside the mystical body of Christ? Time, time, and time again survivors are telling you what is still wrong with our culture, our formation and our structures. But are you listening? Are you really listening? The impact of what is ‘wrong’ lands on survivors – and it lands heavily. So many left with broken lives, trying, decades after the original abuse, to deal with savagely intense pain compounded by what, for far too many, seems like a cold or desperately inadequate response from their Church. If you speak about ‘safeguarding’ , please think carefully before you emphasise ‘how far we’ve come’, and make it crystal clear that there is a very very long way to go. Whatever your place in the Church is, please, recognise the power and dignity that your baptism gives you. Lose your excessive deference – it harms people. Hear the call to listen to those who have been harmed and advocate strongly for justice for them. We talk about a Church being a safe space or sanctuary – this Sunday please have a long hard look at yours, and try to imagine how it’s perceived through the eyes of someone whose ability to trust has been shattered by Church abuse.
GLOBAL SYNOD ENDS … OR JUST BEGINS? The final Report has been published and the Assembly in Rome has concluded. You can read on our website the 4 page summary of the 52 page document – it is essential reading! Now it is up to us to ensure that the radical reform of the way decisions are made in the Church is embedded at every level – from global (Vatican), to national (Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales), to diocesan (Clifton Diocese), to Pastoral Areas, to our parish of St Nicks. This calls for a ‘synodal conversion’ and the formation of ‘missionary disciples’. Every voice needs to be heard, every person is to be equally valued and engaged in being Church and Parish.
HALL BOOKINGS For hall bookings please contact Astrid (our Parish Administrator) in the office, either using the Parish Office email or phone number (see front of bulletin for both) or her work phone number: 07354895768.
ARE YOU SKILLED AT DESKTOP PUBLISHING? We’d like to have a think about redesigning our parish bulletin. Would you like to help? Do you have lots of ideas? Please speak to Fr Richard or to Margaret, or contact the parish office (email on the front of the bulletin)
COMMUNITY STEWARDS The Community Stewards team can be contacted either through the parish office (by phone or email) or on Community Stewards’ phone ( Number to be announced). Please feel free to contact them if you have a query or suggestion in a specific area, or for any pastoral needs which arise in Fr Richard’s absence. There is shared responsibility as a Team. Each Community Steward will seek to involve other parishioners in sharing the work, while their role is oversight – ensuring that the work is done and the parish and area is served.
Richard remains our parish priest while living outside the parish but in Bristol, not retiring (health permitting) until 2028, when he will be 80!
Richard is no longer living in the presbytery, so he cannot be contacted there, but appointments can be made to see him in the Assisi Centre on his working days – Thursday to Sunday each week.
URGENT NEED for CATECHISTS Have you ever thought about helping in the work of preparing our children for the sacraments? Our community always has a need for more people to help with this. You do not have to be a teacher or to have had previous experience as a catechist – training is available, and you can always start by supporting the catechists we already have. If you would like to think about the possibility a bit more, speak to Mary Hopper or to one of the people who currently help with one of the Catechetics groups.
Thank you for your help!
URGENT NEED for CLEANERS Work commitments and change of address have reduced our church cleaning team to one or two people, both of whom also have work commitments which sometimes prevent them from coming in on a Friday morning. Do you have an hour or two to spare to help with the really important work of looking after our beautiful church? If we had a big enough team it would not take too long at all. Could you occasionally spare the time, even if you can’t commit every Friday?
Speak to Taz or Eddie , or contact the parish office. Thank you for your help!
CALLING OUR YOUNG PEOPLE TO THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION We would like hear from those of our young people (13years or older by January2015) who have not yet been confirmed in the Holy Spirit and want to think about whether God is calling them to this commitment. There may also be some adults who have not yet be confirmed and would like to consider making this step to complete their Christian Initiation which began at Baptism. We expect to celebrate Confirmation in the Spring of 2025, so young people and adults who are interested, please contact Margaret in the Parish office to register your interest.
DO YOU WANT TO VOLUNTEER TO SUPPORT THE PARISH MISSION? The Parish Pastoral Council was delighted that at our last Parish Forum on the future of our parish many expressed the wish to offer some time and energy in support of the life and mission of St Nicks. So the PPC established a ‘Volunteers Whatsapp’ to let people know the needs and opportunities for volunteering either on a long-term or an occasional basis. Some cannot commit themselves to a regular slot or programme but could volunteer from time to time and for limited periods. However hardly anyone has come forward as willing to join such a team of volunteers on this Whatsapp Group. WE REALLY NEED YOU TO OFFER WHAT TIME YOU CAN TO SUPPORT THE PARISH’S WORK AND MISSION. Please contact the Parish Office or Patience Bird (07411406411) giving your mobile no. Thanks!
POPE FRANCIS SPEAKS ON DIVERSITY OF GIFTS, CHARISMS & MINISTRIES: “The most beautiful experience is the discovery of all the different charisms and all the gifts of his Spirit that the Father showers on his Church! This must not be seen as a reason for confusion, for discomfort: they are all gifts that God gives to the Christian community, in order that it may grow in harmony, in the faith and in his love, as one body, the Body of Christ. The same Spirit who bestows this diversity of charisms unites the Church. It is always the same Spirit. Before this multitude of charisms, our heart, therefore, must open itself to joy and we must think: “What a beautiful thing! So many different gifts, because we are all God’s children, all loved in a unique way”. Never must these gifts become reasons for envy
NEED FOR WELCOMERS It is so important that when people come to Mass on Sundays (especially if they are visitors or have not been to Church for a long time) that they are warmly welcomed. We need more volunteers for our Welcoming Ministry. It makes such a difference when people are greeted at the door. Welcomers will need to arrive no later than 9.30am for this Ministry, ready to hand out the bulletin and any Liturgy sheets.
URGENT NEEDS OF OUR FOODBANK [1] Volunteers urgently needed – we need members of our Christian community with a heart for the disadvantaged and poor to volunteer in our foodbank. Can you give one morning a week? (opening times – Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9.30am to 1.00pm). Some of our existing volunteers cannot help during the school holidays because of childcare. Please see Michael Conway (mob: 07482425539).
[2] Food and Toiletries needed – It has become much more difficult to source suitable food and other items and often we have little to offer those with great need. Please bring anything you and ask your friends and neighbours to help and share with those who have so little. We need fresh meat (which can be frozen), bread, eggs, fruit and vegetables; pasta, rice, breakfast cereals, milk, sugar, tea/coffee, pasta sauces, and tinned fruit, vegetables, meat and fish, baked beans etc. Some vegan foodstuffs also needed as well as some pet food. And of course also washing powder, cleaning materials and toiletries. Please bring what you can at the Offertory on Sundays – larger deliveries by arrangement with Michael, our foodbank manager, (mob: 07482425539). THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!
WEEKLY PARISH EMAIL: To improve communications among our diverse parish community, we will begin to send weekly a brief Parish News Email, highlighting key news or issues that we all need to be aware of. Please check your emails for the Parish Update!
CALLING SISTERS AND BROTHERS WHO FEEL ALIENATED FROM THE CHURCH
There are so many who have been hurt by their experiences in the Catholic Church and many reasons for that hurt. A particularly destructive hurt has been abuse especially by priests and religious. Yet Christ calls us to be a welcoming, safe and healing community.
Here at St Nick’s we seek to offer an unconditional welcome and a safe and respectful place to be and to speak your voice. We seek to echo the words of Jesus: ‘Come to me all you who labour and are burdened and I will give you peace’. So we want to welcome you, be a community where you can if you wish speak your pain, voice your hurt and anger, or just come and be. We understand that for many it is impossible to trust the Church again, and we do not expect or deserve that trust. But we do want to earn it and so offer to share your journey and make together the safe space that is your right. ‘Our community currently includes those who have expressed some of their own experience of this particular hurt. They, particularly, would like you to know: “If you come to see us you won’t be alone – it isn’t easy but we do seek to journey together gently.”We understand it may be difficult for some to enter the Church. If you wish to make contact please tell us what might help to make things easier for you.
CHURCH CLEANING – FRIDAY MORNINGS Thank you to those who have been serving the parish in this way each Friday morning from about 10.00am onwards. Some have found work so we urgently need more volunteers who can commit once or twice a month to come. Please Contact Eddie or Richard to volunteer for this ministry, this act of service to God and the whole community. Thank you!
THE PARISH DATABASE The Parish Pastoral Council seeks to create a comprehensive database to include all our parish members. Today forms will be distributed asking for some essential information – names of all family members, address with postcode, telephone and email contact details etc.The purpose of this is to enable effective pastoral care, community building and effective communication. The information given will be used solely for internal parish and pastoral reasons and will not be divulged to any other party. Please sign the forms giving your permission for us to hold your details on our database – this is essential for compliance with GDPR (Data Protection legislation). THANK YOU!
URGENT APPEAL FOR BAME BLOOD DONORS The NHS has issued an urgent call for more Black people to give blood to meet increasing demand for Asian, Black African, Black Caribbean or mixed ethnicity donors. Some 16,000 new donors from these ethnic groups must be recruited this year as demand rises for life-saving transfusions for people with sickle cell disease, according to the health service. Sickle cell is the fastest growing genetic disorder in the UK, affecting 15,000 people with around 300 babies born with the blood disorder each year; the illness can cause organ failure, stroke or loss of vision, sometimes even leading to death. The disorder is more common in Black people and, as such, people from this ethnic group are more likely to have the rare blood sub-group Ro that many Black sickle cell patients need. The Church strongly encourages blood donation as a life-saving gift to others. PLEASE CONSIDER BECOMING A BLOOD DONOR – ONE PINT OF BLOOD CAN SAFE UP TO THREE LIVES! To become a blood donor today, register today and book and appointment by visiting www.blood.co.uk, downloading the GiveBloodNHS app or calling 0300 123 23 23.
GOD’S CALL TO SERVE THE LIFE AND MISSION OF YOUR PARISH It is very clear that our parish, together with all churches and voluntary organisations around the country, has not yet recovered fully from the effects of the Covid Pandemic and the restrictions placed upon our meeting together during that time. A significant number of our community are not coming to Mass here for a variety of reasons. It is a joy to welcome new families and individuals who have found their way to St Nicks. However there has been great difficulty in drawing members of the parish into being part of the many ministries and tasks of the parish. Whether it is the SVP, the welcoming Ministry, Church Cleaning, the Foodbank, Catechists, too few are doing too much in support of the parish’s life and mission. We are all called by our baptism to serve and build the Church as a mission community. We are all called to sacrifice time and energy to build our parish community and supports the Mission of Christ entrusted to us. I realise only too well that many have heavy commitments caring for children or elderly family members and juggling work and family. They are indeed serving Christ in these ways. But I do ask everyone to reflect whether some time can be given to sustain the parish’s life and mission as we move towards a lay-led parish. This will be a great challenge for all of us. Please pray about this urgent need in building the future of our unique parish.
ST NICK’S AND COMMITMENT TO ‘SYNODALITY’ We have played our part in contributing to the Church’s world-wide ‘Synod’, as last year we gathered in different groups to listen to one another and share our thoughts and feelings about being part of the Catholic Church. The result was a 60 page report (which remains on our parish website for all to read) which we sent not only to our Bishop but also to those overseeing the Synod in the Vatican in Rome. But this is only the beginning! For the first time the ‘International Synod of Bishops’ in October in Rome will include 70 non-bishops (clergy, religious, lay men and lay women) with full voting rights. This is a very significant step forward – but there is a long way to go yet! But what is equally important is that your Parish Pastoral Council is committed to finding ways of embedding ‘Synodality’ in the life and ‘governance’ of our parish community – prayerful listening to one another in order to discern what the Spirit is saying to us in our parish about the way forward into a future different from the past yet fully alive with Prayer, Community and Mission. The Synod’s working document emphasises that those who experience being excluded from church life “are bearers of Good News that the whole community needs to hear” and that “whenever we encounter another person in love, we learn something new about God.”
WHAT IS OUR COVENANT WITH THE POOR? In preparation for the great Millenium of year 2000 the Bishops of England and Wales asked every parish to draw up and make a ‘Covenant with the Poor’. As part of our parish’s Covenant we pledged to pray regularly for Justice & Peace, to serve the homeless and poor who come in increasing numbers to our extensive Food Bank and the Wild Goose Café and to encourage parishioners to volunteer time and energy to work in the Food Bank and the Wild Goose Café; and also to give non-perishable food (especially rice, pasta, tinned fruit and tomatoes, tinned fish and meat etc) and/or money (in special envelopes) to be used for the poor. This food and money goes to support our ministry among the poor of our area. During Lockdown this as greatly expanded and very many people inn Bristol are supporting us, in addition to our parishioners. We also founded and developed our Borderlands Charity (‘from exclusion to belonging’) to serve our asylum & refugee community that has remained serving throughout the periods of Lockdown. In normal times, the Offertory Procession at Mass regularly sees gifts to be shared with the poor and vulnerable, carried to the Altar (restoring the ancient meaning of the Offertory Procession). So the Covenant with the Poor that we renew solemnly at each Patronal Feast of St Nicholas of Tolentino (early September) has continued to grow and develop and as such has shaped the life, mission and witness of our parish community. The development of the ministry of the Parish Office has enabled us to develop our ‘Option for the Poor’ in obedience to the Gospel Let us praise God for such rich grace and love poured out upon our community, and though our community to many in their need.
LOVE THE CHRIST OF THE POOR – WORDS OF ST JOHN CHRYSOSTOM “Would you honour the Body of Christ? Do not despise His nakedness; do not honour him here in church clothed in silk vestments and then pass him by unclothed and frozen outside. Remember that He who said ‘This is my Body’ also said ‘You saw he hungry and gave me no food’. I am insisting that nothing can take the place of care for the poor. What use is it to adorn the altar with gold cloths and deny Christ a coat for his back? He would be outraged!”
MEN AND WOMEN EQUAL IN MINISTRY There are many charisms and ministries in the Body of Christ – each one of us, young and old, male and female, lay and clergy, and whatever our gender identity – all of us are ‘beloved children of the Father’, each of us is gifted by the Holy Spirit to serve, to proclaim, to build the missionary Body of the Christ and to transform the world. In our parish we are moving towards a parish community led and served by predominantly lay ministry, served and supported by the ordained ministry including a part-time (non-resident) priest. We are committed as a parish to promote, empower and train many different forms of ministry. The ministry of women and men are equally valued, the ministry of lay people and ordained deacons and priests are equally valued. All of us over 40 years old have almost certainly grown up in a church that has neglected and minimised the ministries of lay people. We are still in a clergy (and therefore male) dominated church and this has caused major problems while being unfaithful to the New Testament. Some ministries are denied to women (and not just ordained ministries) … therefore there is an urgent need to enable voices of women to be heard, their gifts to be recognised and their ministries to be released, for the good of the whole Church and its Mission and witness. This is to correct the imbalance and injustice that has been the norm for centuries. Please do not misinterpret this as diminishing or demeaning the ministries of our brothers, lay or ordained. We are all called to work together for the Kingdom as equal partners in the Lord’s work.
IS GOD CALLING YOU TO FOSTER OR ADOPT A CHILD? 109 children are taken ‘into Care’ each day in this country! 109 children everyday looking for security, for a home where they can belong and thrive. Also there is an increase in the number of unaccompanied child refugees arriving in this country (which will increase with the Afghan Exodus). I know from my own personal experience how important adoption is to give a child a new start in life. Many children are from the BAME community and there is a great need for more fostering and adoptive families from these diverse ethnicities. Could God be calling you, your family, to this healing vocation for a child in care? Contact CCS Adoption (tel: 0117 935 0005 or email info@ccsadoption.org) or ‘Home for Good’ (clare.walker@homeforgood.org.uk )
WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE IN HOSPITAL: Can I remind everyone that when a Catholic goes into hospital, the patient or their family MUST request a visit from the Catholic Chaplain – data protection and confidentiality rules in hospitals prohibit the passing on of information to chaplaincies otherwise. The Chaplain will not know of your presence in hospital and cannot visit a patient without the patient’s prior request and permission.
SCRIPTURE SHARING GROUP We meet on Thursdays at 5.30-6.30pm: come & share reflections, questions, insights on the Scripture Readings used at Mass on the following Sunday: ideal for all of us, but especially for Lay Readers Ministers of the Eucharist, and Catechists. Contact John Flannery (email: j.flannery@btinternet.com) for the Zoom link.