Third Sunday Of Advent 13th 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 13th December 12Noon Sarah Campbell
Monday 14th December 10.00am Sheila Coyle
Monday 14th December 7.30pm Marjory & Patrick Taggart
Tuesday 15th December 10.00am McSwine Family
Tuesday 15th December 7.30pm Darren McCormick
Wednesday 16th December 10.00am Raymond & Kathleen Doherty
Wednesday 16th December 7.30pm Rose McCallion
Thursday 17th December 10.00am Toal Toland
Saturday 19th December 10.00am Clare McDaid
Saturday 19th December 6.00pm Finucane Family
Rest In Peace: We extend our sincere sympathy to the family and friends of; James Doherty-Alexander House & Frances O’Reilly- Donegal Place.
Confessions: Monday – Friday 7.00-7.25pm, Saturday 11.30am- 12.30pm & 5.15pm-5.50pm
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
Mass Guidance
As we resume attendance at Masses and other Church services, we please ask that you adhere to the mandatory guidelines. Everyone attending must continue 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. It is up to each of us individually and as a community to keep each other as safe as possible as we continue to live alongside the virus. We appreciate your understanding and support as we continue to gather together in these uncertain times.
Christmas Mass Booking
There is very limited availability for Christmas Masses. To book please telephone or call at the Parish Office between 9am & 12 Noon to book a ticket. We thank all our volunteers for their continuing help, which is very much appreciated.
PLEASE REMEBER BOOKING TIMES FROM 9AM UNTIL 12NOON.
Padre Pio Intercede for Us
Weekly Mass for Healing in Mind & Body continues this Monday 14th December at 7.30pm.
We shall share in a spiritual network of prayer, love and support in these difficult times. While we may still be apart in person, we remain heartfully present with everyone and wish to further connect with all who are ill, unwell, feeling isolated and struggling with the pressures of life.
Through the gift of this Mass we will unite in prayer for all. We pray to be surrounded by the light and warmth of God’s love to heal our brokenness at this time of isolation, suffering and loss. We hope at the end of each Mass to give a Spiritual Blessing using a 1st class relic of Padre Pio.
We ask everyone’s assistance to help others connect with this Mass through our webcam – especially the elderly, frail and vulnerable. Please share as best you can knowledge of this Mass with your family & friends.
You can access the Mass via our parish website: www.longtowerchurch.org then click on the link for the webcam or alternatively by logging on to www.churchmedia.tv
Recover Better – Stand Up for Human Rights
This is the theme for the International Human Rights Day, which was observed this week on 10th December 2020. It is a theme that will echo throughout the coming year as we move through the huge changes across the world, in our communities, families and workplaces. The burning question is, how will we adapt to these changes. Will we keep doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result? Or will we change our ways. The ways we treat each other – not just in person, but in our hearts and in our minds. The ways we discriminate, ostracise and neglect those who don’t ‘fit’ into our world – our material world and our spiritual world. Deep down below the surface, let us dig deeper – and deeper still. Until we hit the pipe that bursts and releases the blocked ideals, beliefs and stigmas that separate us from the ‘others’ who need our us. And find that, ‘among you stands one who you do not know.’ (John 1:26). As we enter the third gate of Advent may we recover better – and stand up for the human rights of every person in our world, community, family and workplace. Further reading: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Documents/UDHR_Translations/eng.pdf
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 13th 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 Mrs Mary Murphy. Mary is a native of Co. Galway and is no stranger to the Long Tower. She was the host of Murphy’s Law on Radio Ulster. Formerly head of English at Thornhill, she has extensive experience in meditation and praying the Scared Scriptures. We welcome her 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.
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.
Simon Community: A safe place to call home has never been more important. But for many this winter will be their first without a home. Each day approximately another 50 people become homeless here in Northern Ireland, and we only expect this to rise with the economic impact of coronavirus. Each night this December, Simon Community NI will provide 388 warm, safe beds across 21 accommodation sites for those with no home. They will be adults, children and families, all anxious and frightened for their future. We will provide them with vital shelter and support when they need it most, saving and rebuilding lives. We need help to make their Christmas and New Year a little brighter. If you would like to make a donation to help someone without a home, please send a cheque payable to Simon Comunity C/o Mrs Amanda Scott, Simon Community NI, 25-27 Franklin Street, Belfast BT2 8DS or go to https://www.simoncommunity.org and donate or phone 028 9023 2882. If you would like further information, please do not hesitate to contact; amandascott@simoncommunity.org.
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
