Second Sunday Of Advent 6th December 2020
Anniversary & Month’s Mind Masses
Mass will be offered for the following people on the occasion of an Anniversary or Month’s Mind. We remember them, their families and loved ones in our prayers.
Sunday 6th December 12Noon Mary Lou Kelly
Monday 7th December 10.00am Angela Bowen
Monday 7th December 7.30pm Helen Doherty
Tuesday 8th December 10.00am Bridie McGill
Tuesday 8th December 7.30pm Seamus Bradley
Wednesday 9th December10.00am Mary & Bernard Clarke
Wednesday 9th December 7.30pm Jackie & Aggie Downey
Thursday 10th December 10.00am James McDaid
Thursday 10th December 7.30pm Cormac Wilson
Saturday 12th December 10.00am McConomy & Harkin Families
Saturday 12th December 6.00pm Joe McLaughlin
Rest In Peace: We extend our sincere sympathy to the family and friends of; Anthony Connor- Sevenoaks & Michael McNaught- Knightsbridge.
Visitation of the Sick: For urgent sick calls please contact the Parish office on 028-71262301 or 02871262894.
Baptisms: Please contact the Parish Office for dates.
Parish Office: You can contact the Parish Office by Phone on 028-71262301 or via email longtower@derrydiocese.org
Christmas Mass Bouquets are now available from the Parish Office or the Sacristy. Cost £2.00 each.
Long Tower Christmas Cards are now available from Parish Office or the Sacristy. Cost is £4.00 for a packet of 12 cards each containing 4 different images of the Long Tower Church.
The next Padre Pio Mass for Healing in Mind & Body will be on Monday 14th December at 7.30pm via webcam.
Mass Guidance
This week the Church will open to facilitate private prayer from after 10am Mass until 7pm. Please note times may change if there are funerals or weddings. From Friday 11th December Masses will resume with a congregation present. We please ask that you continue to adhere to guidelines, to wear a face covering at all times, observe social distancing, use the hand sanitiser on entering & leaving the Church and to receive Holy Communion only in the hand.
Christmas Mass Booking
There is limited availability for the following Christmas Masses, 9pm Vigil, 8am, 10am & 12 Noon on Christmas Day. To book please telephone or call at the Parish Office between 9am & 12 Noon to book a ticket. We thank our volunteers for all their help during past week. PLEASE REMEMBER BOOKING TIMES FROM 9AM UNTIL 12NOON.
This Tuesday 8th December, we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We celebrate Mary who, from the first instant of her existence in the womb of her mother Anne, was ‘by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God, preserved free from all stain of original sin’. Due to current restrictions Mass will be via Webcam, Vigil at 7.30pm on Monday 7th December and 8.00am, 10.00am and 7.30pm on Tuesday 8th December
Emergence
Sometimes it is difficult to admit our mistakes. When we do, it can take time to change our ways as we are creatures of habit, ritual and pride. For some this can take years, decades, even millennia. Sometimes we hide behind a façade with others – convincing ourselves that what we do is for the common good – let’s not worry about the others. Sometimes we emerge changed. We have heard the voice crying in the wilderness of our hearts – to make our path straight again. It feels this is happening for many all over the world at this time. People are seeking change in all aspects of life; old structures are falling as new ones are being conceived. We want a cleaner earth, ocean and sky – and most importantly we need powerful hearts to bring love and truth back into our communities. As we enter the second gate of Advent let us prepare to join all the others who are emerging to create a new world at this time. All of us working together to begin anew. Reference and further reading: Mark 1:1-8.
Annual Solemn Novena In Honour of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
Annual Solemn Novena in honour of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Nine Sundays before Christmas in Long Tower Church at 6.00pm, continuing this Sunday 6th December 2020 via webcam. Pope Francis wrote his latest letter to us all on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi on 4th October. In it he asks us, in the spirit of St. Francis, to pray for and work at brotherhood and solidarity with all our sisters and brothers of all faiths and none. We will pray for this spirit of fraternal love through our Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Each night will comprise of the Rosary, Novena prayer and petitions with a short talk given by various guest speakers and a ceremony of healing with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Our speaker this week is Bishop Donal McKeown. Bishop Donal McKeown was appointed Bishop of Derry in February 2014. Previously he served as auxiliary Bishop of Down & Connor and worked extensively in the area of Catholic education. We welcome him to the Long Tower as we continue our Novena in honour of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. We encourage everybody, including those in particular need of healing in their lives to join us.
Bishop Donal McKeown will launch a year-long series of events to mark the 1500th birthday of St Columba, with a special online Mass at Long Tower Church, on Monday 7th December at 10 a.m. The 7th December, marks the traditional birthday of the city’s patron saint, and this year the date kick-starts 365 days of celebration until 7th December 2021. Local people are invited to tune into the Mass at 10 a.m. which will be followed by a digital launch of the St Columba Year at www.Longtower.com at 1pm. This short film includes the leaders of the Catholic, Protestant, Presbyterian and Methodist Churches. A number of events will take place across the North West next week to mark the beginning of celebrations. These include an all-night vigil of prayer in St Canice’s Oratory in the Celtic Prayer Garden, IOSAS Centre, Muff. The vigil will begin at midnight on Sunday 6th December and continue until 6 am the next morning where prayers will be said through the intercession of St Columba for health and healing.
SVP – Christmas Appeal 2020 If you are looking for help we are here to help you in whatever way we can. Please ring us on 028 71265489 or online https://svp.ie/get-help/request-help-online.aspx. Christmas time is the busiest time for the SVP giving out lots of toys and food parcels kindly donated by the public. However this Christmas is going to be different with COVID-19 and government restrictions. The safety of the public and our members is paramount. Therefore we are asking the public that instead of buying a physical toy or items of food that they buy a voucher or make a donation for the amount they were going to spend. The Annual Church Collection will take place on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th December 2020. We have also a fundraising page for donations on our SVP website; https://www.svp.ie/get-involved/do-your-own-fundraising/current-fundraisers/fundraisers/derry-city-appeal.aspx
Children in Crossfire’s Advent Appeal has begun. You can still pick up an Advent box at the back of the chapel if you are in for private prayer. You can also donate online: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/advent-appeal. This year’s appeal is raising funds to help provide hand washing and sanitation facilities to 700 schools in Tanzania, especially vital right now. We have also launched our 2020 Christmas gift cards. This year’s cards focus on Songambele Primary School in the Kongwa district of Tanzania’s Dodoma region. We believe this is a beautiful gift to share with your loved ones this Christmas. They can be purchased via: Our online shop, Veritas stores in Derry/Londonderry, Newry and Letterkenny or by contacting Aishling on 028 71269898 (Mon – Fri 9am – 5pm). Thank you for your support.
Care4Calais, Winter is upon us and this year we need your help more than ever before. In Northern France more than 3,000 refugees are currently sleeping rough. Temperatures are rapidly dropping and police raids and evictions are worse than ever. This winter our goal is to provide each and every one of these refugees with a warm winter coat. To do this we urgently need your help. Visit the Coats4Calais page for more information. Alternatively you can also make a donation and leave it at Parish Office.
This Christmas, Trócaire will deliver life-saving support to thousands of families across the developing world. As well as supporting people living through conflict and natural disasters, Trócaire has launched a special appeal to support families who have not been able to grow food or earn money due to Covid-19. Please consider supporting this vital work this Christmas. You can purchase one of 17 special gifts for families, or else make a general donation to the Trócaire Christmas Appeal. Please visit trocaire.org to make a donation or buy a gift.
Are you aged 60+ and living in the Creggan area? If so, we want to hear from you to ensure you are on the Old Library Trust database so that we can include you in future plans such as the lead up to Christmas this year. Family members can also phone on behalf of parents and grandparents to ensure they are included. Don’t miss out, call Amanda at 028 71 373870
Can You Foster? Could you give a home to a vulnerable child when they need it most? Fostering is about giving them a safe, secure place to live for a few weeks, months or even years. Barnardo’s Fostering NI is looking for foster carers. Foster placements can be: long-term, short-term, emergency, short breaks and parent and child together. You must be over 21 to foster and must have a spare bedroom in your home. Foster carers are offered a fostering fee and allowances; they are given training and support. To learn more please Tel: 028 9065 2288 or visit our website https://www.barnardos.org.uk/foster
Help protect babies with cleft lip, cleft palate and club foot: Sadly, abortion is currently available in the UK, right up to birth, for babies with cleft lip, cleft palate and club foot. All of these conditions can be corrected. A cross-party group of MPs from the three largest parties in the UK Parliament have come together to bring forward the Abortion (cleft lip, cleft palate and club foot) Bill. The Bill will change the law to clarify that cleft palate, cleft lip, and club foot are not grounds for abortion in the UK. Can you help with getting your MP to support the Bill? Please visit www.standupandsmile.org.uk to email your MP asking them to support the Bill. It only takes 30 seconds.
Accord Derry Virtual Interactive Marriage Preparation Programme. Course Dates, January 12th and 13th 2021, February 9th and 10th 2021 & March 9th and 10th 2021. Booking now online at www.accordni.com.
Accord’s free and confidential ‘Relationships Support Phone Line’ for marriages, families and relationships offers support to those experiencing extra pressure due to social restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The three numbers are: Accord CLG – 01 531 3331, Accord Dublin – 01 905 9555, Accord NI – 028 9568 0151 or 00353 1 531 3331.
Webcams Around the country, some parish churches and cathedrals have installed webcams for the broadcast of Mass and these can accessed on the following websites; https://www.churchservices.tv/churches/
https://www.mcnmedia.tv/cameras
https://www.parishwebsites.ie/
Radio Maria Ireland is an Irish-run Catholic Talk-Radio Station. Prayer, Catechesis, Uplifting music, Talks, Interviews and Testimonies – Listen via TV on Saorview – Channel 210 and Freeview – Channel 826; Download our FREE APP – “Radio Maria Ireland”, streaming on www.radiomaria.ie or via PHONE – get live radio feed by telephoning +353 (0) 1 437 3277 (no extra charges apply). Please join our growing faith family. Why not drop a line to our Priest Director, Fr. Eamon McCarthy by email; info@radiomaria.ie
