Our Lady of Good Counsel

& Guardian Angels Parish

54 Harvey Street,
Elton, Bury BL8 2RD
Tel: 0161 764 1630

Email: olgcga@b nternet.com

Parish website:
www.guardianangels-parish.org
Parish Twier: @olgcga
Diocesan website:
www.salforddiocese.org.uk

Newsleer for the weekend - 12th/13th December 2015

The Third Sunday of Advent (Year of St. MahewYear C)
PLEASE REMEMBER
IN PRAYER
OUR SICK:
Bro. Nicholas Hutchinson,
David Lindley, Elaine Hardman,
Joan Hearle, Alex Riley, Bill
McPhee, Joe Barrett, Patsy Frazer,
Steven McGuiness, Barbara
Kendal, John Durcan, Caroline
OKeefe, Rebecca Russell,
Maureen McNicoll, Steven
Rogers, Lana Nuttall, Patricia
Gough, Val Heywood, Phil
Williams, John Dutton, Val
Herbert, Ann Corrigan, Fred
Allen, Denis Haydock, Joan
Grimshaw, Mavis Walsh, Colette
Stabler, Sean OKeefe, Michael
Dewsnap, Joyce Greenhalgh,
LATELY DECEASED:
Moira McKee, Bill Murphy,
Hannah Maria Buckley,
John Cassidy, Peter Baker,
Margaret Hays, Joseph Brennan
ANNIVERSARIES:
Marie Dawson, Eileen Dawson,
Anna Haniak, Mary Larkin,
Bernadette Thorpe, Pete Gibbons
To include someone on the prayer list
please give their name to Fr. Paul, put
it through the letterbox of
the Parish Office, call the
Office on: 0161 764 1630
or e-mail to
olgcga@btinternet.com
Please use the
White Mass Intention
envelopes for Mass intentions which
you will find in the porches. Thank
you. When adding the name of
someone sick please ensure that you
have their permission (or the
permission of their family). The list is
updated each week. and because of
space the names of the sick will be
removed from the list after four weeks.
You can ask for them to be added
again.

You are now able to access the

weekly parish newsletter from
our twitter feed @olgcga

THIS WEEKENDS
SCRIPTURES
First Reading: Zephaniah 3:14-18
The Lord will sing joyfully because
of you
Psalm Isaiah 12: Sing and shout
for joy; for great in your midst is the
holy one of Israel.
Second Reading: Philippians 4: 4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always, for the
Lord is near.
Gospel Reading: Luke 3:10-18
They all asked whether John might
be the Christ

NEXT WEEKENDS
SCRIPTURES (Year C)
First Reading: Micah 5: 1-4a
Psalm: 80
Second Reading: Hebr ews 10: 510
Gospel: Luke 1: 39-45

'CIRCLE OF PRAYER'
St Theresa of Lisieux
Deanery
For the week beginning Sunday
13th December we pray for our
own people and Parish of
Guardian Angels.

SERVICES THIS WEEK

Saturday 12th December: The Third Sunday of
Advent (Gaudate Sunday)
7.00 pm: Mass
Sunday 13th November: The Third Sunday of
Advent (Gaudate Sunday)
8.45 am: Mass
10.30 am: Mass
12.15 pm: The Celebration of the Sacrament of Baptism
Monday 14th December: St John of the Cross
9.15 am: Eucharistic Service
Tuesday 15th December: Advent weekday
6.30 pm St Gabriels H.S. Carol Service
7.00 pm: Eucharistic Service
Wednesday 16th December: Advent weekday
9.15 am: Eucharistic Service
Thursday 17th December: Advent Weekday
9.15 am: End of Term Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes
11.00 am: Funeral Mass for Peter Baker
Friday 18th December: Advent Weekday
9.15 am: end of Term Mass at Guardian Angels
Saturday 19th December: Fourth Sunday of Advent
7.00 pm Mass
Sunday 20th December: Fourth Sunday of Advent
8.30am Mass
10.30am Mass
Sacrament of Reconciliation
Saturday 12th December 6.00pmConfessions
Saturday 19th December 6.00pmConfessions
The Rosary (for the sick and peace)
7.00 pm every Monday

Are you coeliac? We have special hosts for those

who are coeliac. If you need a special host, please come
to the sacristy before Mass and ask the sacristan to put a
coeliac host out for you. Please also let Fr Paul know
that you will be coming up for a coeliac host.
Dont forget we have Tea and Coffee in the
Parish Centre after the 10.30 am Mass each
Sundaycome and join us!

WEEKLY OFFERINGS

The Offertory Collection for:

For the weekend 6th/7th December was:
Envelopes: 298.56 Loose collection: 864.07 Total: 1162.07
Thank you for your generosity.
Once more this weekend we are distributing the gift aid offertory
envelopes for 2016, please collect them from one of the team. Please
take the time to collect your envelopes, and therefore save us on
postage costs of sending them out to you.
Also if you wish to join the Gift Aid scheme please see a member of the
Parish Management and Resources Group at the back of Church after
Mass. Last weekend we had 15 new Gift-aiders sing upthank you to
them. It only takes a couple of seconds but it brings in extra revenue to
the Parish! Many thanks
MINIBUS DRIVERS
If you cannot fulfil your rota duty, please arrange a swap with another
team. Thanks.
This weeks team: Marcia & Lawrence Cook
Next weeks team: Gareth Davies & Barbara Ashton
Spaces on the Minibus: We cur r ently have some spaces on the minibus for the 10.30 am Mass minibus run. If you or someone you know
would benefit from this fantastic service please call the Office. We still
need a volunteer driver for Christmas Daycontact the Office if you
can do it.
Please contact the Parish Office if you would like to volunteer or for
more information.

Helping Hands Sunday

Sunday 13th December
(This Weekend3rd Sunday of Advent)
We always have a Helping Hands Sunday in Advent, so that we are
able to distribute a lot of stuff just before Christmas, and perhaps bring a
little cheer into some peoples lives. In case you cant remember the sort
of things we need, heres the list again:
Selection boxes (which will be distributed to the homeless)

Breakfast cereal, Sugar, Jam, Marmalade etc

Tins of meat, soups, beans etc (i.e. food stuff that wont go off)
Toiletries, (all the usual things, toothpaste, combs, toothbrushes,
soap, etc)
Sleeping bags (new or used) which will be distributed to the homeless for the cold winter nights.
Gloves, scarves, woolly socks, shirts, jumpers, cardigans, coats,
etc (new or used) Thank you.
We will be sorting everything out on MONDAY 14th DECEMBER
after the Eucharistic Service at approximately 9.45 am in the Parish
Centre. If you are able to join us, that would be most helpful
many hands make light work!
If you have forgotten to bring your offerings for Helping Hands
Sunday, you can drop them off in Church on Sunday up to about
1.15 pm (after which the Church will be locked) or bring them
straight to the Parish Centre on Monday morning.
A big thank you in advance for your generous
donations of food and clothes.

PARISH DIARY
Sunday 13th December3rd Sunday of Advent
Helping Hands Sunday
New Offertory envelopes will be distributed at all Masses
please collect them this weekend.
Tuesday 15th December
Tuesday Club: 12.30 pm Christmas Lunch (The club then
closes until 5th January 2016)
6.30 pm St Gabriels H.S. Carol Concertin School
UCM: Advent service 7.30 pm in the Parish centre
Wednesday 16th December
7.00 pm: Rehearsal for Christmas Liturgies for Singers &
Musicians in church (new singers & musicians are very welcome)
7.30 pm Book Club Christmas Party in the Parish Centre
Thursday 17th December
9.15 am End of Term Mass for Guardian Angels School
6.00 pm: Family Crib Relay painting of the Cribs in the Parish Centre
7.30 pm Baptism Meeting (one week early because of Christmas)
Friday 18th December
9.15 am End of Term Mass for Our Lady of Lourdes School
Our schools break up today for the Christmas Holidays
Sunday 20th December4th Sunday of Advent
Tuesday 22nd December
10.00 am Funeral Mass for Joseph Brennan
12.00 noon: Altar Servers Christmas Masses Practice in
Church.
7.00 pm Parish Advent Reconciliation Service
Wednesday 23rd December
7.00 pm: Rehearsal for Christmas Liturgies for Singers &
Musicians in church (new singers & musicians are very welcome)
CHRISTMAS MASS TIMES
Thursday 24th December: 7.00 pm Vigil Mass
11.30 pm Midnight Mass
Friday 25th December: 8.45 am Christmas Day Mass
10.30 am Christmas Day Mass
Saturday 26th December: 7.00 pm Mass (The Holy Family)
Sunday 27th December
8.45 am (The Holy Family)
10.30 am (The Holy Family)
The Parish Minibus Fund
Many people have been very generous over these past few
weeks with individual donationsthank you so much. In the
past week we received donations of 20, 50. 50. 267
(from the Wine tasting evening), 5 & 50 therefore the
running total in the fund currently is: 9922.00.
We are now actively looking at vehicles that will suit our
needs. As I mentioned previously we discovered recently that
a minibus is a commercial vehicle, therefore purchasing one
attracts VAT which means we will have to factor that into our
calculations and our discussions!

THE TEN WEEK DRAW!!!!

To receive our Parish Newsletter by e-mail each weekend, simply email the Parish Office on: olgcga@btinternet.com with the tag line
newsletter and we will add you to the list. Follow us on Twitter also
@olgcga for reminders and updates on parish events, & a link to the
newsletter each weekend (which hasnt been working for the past few
weeks, but hopefully is back up and running now!)

Winners of the 8th Week are:

50.00 Ticket No: 138 David McIntyre
Agent: Bill Lowry
25.00 Ticket No: 20 J Beard
Agent: Joan Marsh
Come and join us for the draw during Tea and Coffee
after the 10.30 am Mass in the Parish Centre.
N.B. Its the big draw next weekend during tea & Coffee

AWAKENING FAITH AND SEEKING CHRIST

We have now had our final meeting before Christmaswatch
this space for details of the dates of meetings after Christmas.
We had our final session before Christmas on Thursdaywe will resume after Christmas to look at the
final chapterswatch this space for details of the
dates of the remaining meeting.
St Gabriels R.C. High School
Invites our parishioners to join St Gabriels staff and pupils for
their annual Carol Service on Tuesday 15th December at 6.30
pm, at St Gabriels Roman Catholic High School. There will be
light refreshments served afterwards.

Planning on getting married in 2016 or even

2017 at Guardian Angels?
Please remember that all couples are required to
give at least 6 months notice (by Diocesan Law) in order to
marry in the Church. So, if you are planning on getting married in 2016
and have not yet made contact with us and booked in your wedding,
please do so as soon as possible.
Please telephone the office (0161 764 1630) to make an appointment for an initial meeting with Fr Paul, so that the availability of the
Church can be checked and details can be put in the Parish Diary. We
have now set the date for our pre-marriage preparation daythose who
have booked in a wedding in 2016 should receive a letter from Fr Paul
this week.

Our own brand puddings!

APFMILL HILL November 2015
Would APR-Mill Hill Promoters please collect their books,
calendars etc, from the library. The amount collected last quarter
was 1114.09. Many thanks
If anyone has not had their Red box opened in the last12
months and would like it opened, please phone 761 5195 and we
will arrange to empty it.

The puddings that were ordered two weeks ago have arrived Because it is so busy at the back of church this
weekend, please collect your ordered puddings from the
Welcome and Information Centre (the library area of
church). Please pay for them when you pick them up. They can also
be collected from the Parish Office during the week.

Work that has been going on this week in the

parish buildings.

Family Crib Relay

(An exciting venture for the families of our Parish)

As we mentioned on last weekends newsletter, we have

replaced the toilet in the church building (the one at the end of the
sacristy corridor)There is now hot and cold running running
water in there. The decorating of the room is almost complete (will
be finished on Monday), the toilet roll holder and paper towel
dispenser should arrive on Monday, and the new flooring will
hopefully be put down on Monday. Although there are just the
finishing touches to be completed, the toilet is now able to be
usedwe think you will find there is a great improvement on what
was there before!
Also if you go into the porches in the Parish Centre, you
might think your eyesight has suddenly improved! - we have had
the light fittings changed to LED panels which are more efficient
and brighter than the fluorescent ones that were in there!

Come together as a family to re-discover the true meaning of

the first Christmas.

Guardian Angels Parish Pilgrimage

to the Holy Land
th
Saturday 28 May Sunday 5th June 2016
(Half-term week)
A pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the footsteps of Jesus
brings the scriptures alive!
We will be visiting the important sites in Jerusalem,
Bethlehem, Bethany, Jericho, Emmaus, the Jordan River,
the Galilee region, Capernaum, Mount of Beatitudes,
Caesarea Phillipi, Tabgh, Nazareth, and Cana.
(The itinerary is subject to minor changes)
At the moment we are awaiting confirmation on
the full itinerary and also awaiting the final cost from our
tour operator ITS (who we have used for many pilgrimages, including all the pilgrimages to the Holy Land) but
we wanted to get the dates out to you.
If you would be interested in joining our parish
pilgrimage to the Holy Land, or would like further
information please contact the Parish Office and then
as soon as we have the final costings we will contact
you directly.

This will be our third Advent having a Crib relay. We would

like to start the relay on the 17th December this year, which is the
day when we enter into the second part of advent.
We will have a couple of Crib sets, going throughout our parish. still have a few days unassigned to families. So all our families
are invited to join in the Crib relay.
Once the first day of the Relay arrives, the cribs will be taken
to a family, the idea being that they can then take a little time that
night to discuss together the story of the first Christmas and the Nativity scene, and say a prayer together (everything will be provided
by us).
The crib is then packed away and the next day it is delivered
to the next family on the list, if they are not in it could, at a pinch, be
left on the doorstep as a gift, and then that family repeat the storytelling and discussion about the crib, and then the process continues.
Each family keeps the crib for only one night as we share this
relay amongst the families in the Parish taking part.
This continues until the final family brings the crib back to
church for one of the Masses on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
We are getting together to make and decorate the Cribs in the
Parish Centre on THURSDAY 17th DECEMBER at 6.00 pm
come along and join in the fun, and then the Family Crib Relay
begins that evening.
If you would like to join in the Family Crib Relay, just fill out
this slip and either give it Fr Paul or Sharon after Mass or post it
through the Parish Office letter-box no later than Sunday 13th
December.

Name of Family..
Address...

E-mail.
Telephone No.

Having your child baptised at Guardian

Angels.
If you are planning on having your child baptised, please pick up a leaflet from the Welcome
and Information Centre, which outlines our baptism preparation programme.
Please note that the first thing that parents have to do is contact the
Parish Office (telephone on 0161 764 1630 or call in) to book onto
the First Meeting, held on the first Sunday of each month. Please do
not just turn up for the meeting without first booking in through
the Parish Office. This means that our Baptism Preparation Team have
a workable number of people each month.
Flowers on the Sanctuary.
If you would like to have the flowers on the
sanctuary in memory of someone or something special
just let Fr Paul or Sharon know and they will arrange it,
or you can simply put all the details on an envelope, and
put the donation in the envelope and pop it through the
office letterbox. Please note that during Advent we only
have greenery on the sanctuary, not flowers.
Flowers for the Sanctuary at Christmas
If anyone would like to make a donation towards the cost of the flowers in
the Church over Christmas (perhaps in memory of a loved one), please
contact the Parish Office, or put it in an envelope and pop it through the
letter box of the Parish Office.
Childrens Liturgy of the Word.
Just a reminder that we have the Childrens Liturgy of the Word at the
8.45 and 10.30 am Masses each week now.
We are also hoping to start it at the 7.00 pm Mass on Saturday evening
in the new year.
If you would like to be a part of the team leading the Childrens Liturgy
of the Word at any of the Masses, please contact the Parish Office for
further information.

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Lighting of the Advent Wreath at home.
Family Prayer & Action
As the family gathers for their meal together, you
could use the following:
Leader:
As we light three candles on our wreath.
May the wreath and its light be a sign of Christs promise to bring us
salvation.
May he come quickly and not delay.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
All: Amen
Light the first, second & third (pink) candle.
Leader: Let us bless the Lor d.
All: (Making the sign of the cr oss)
Thanks be to God.

Christmas Family Quiz 2015

Our resident quizmaster has been busy again!
The Quiz is now available1.00 a copy
from the back of church or from the Parish Office
All proceeds to the minibus fund

THE JUBILEE YEAR OF MERCY

The Holy Year of Mercy began on Tuesday 8th December 2015. Below you will find Pope Francis Homily at the Mass
in St Peters Square to open the Year of Mercy.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In a few moments I will have the joy of opening the Holy
Door of Mercy. We carry out this act, so simple yet so highly
symbolic, in the light of the word of God which we have just
heard. That word highlights the primacy of grace. Again and
again these readings make us think of the words by which the
angel Gabriel told an astonished young girl of the mystery which
was about to enfold her: Hail, full of grace (Lk 1:28).
The Virgin Mary was called to rejoice above all because
of what the Lord accomplished in her. Gods grace enfolded her
and made her worthy of becoming the Mother of Christ. When
Gabriel entered her home, even the most profound and impenetrable of mysteries became for her a cause for joy, faith and
abandonment to the message revealed to her. The fullness of
grace can transform the human heart and enable it to do something so great as to change the course of human history.
The feast of the Immaculate Conception expresses the
grandeur of Gods love. Not only does he forgive sin, but in
Mary he even averts the original sin present in every man and
woman who comes into this world. This is the love of God
which precedes, anticipates and saves. The beginning of the
history of sin in the Garden of Eden yields to a plan of saving
love. The words of Genesis reflect our own daily experience: we
are constantly tempted to disobedience, a disobedience expressed in wanting to go about our lives without regard for
Gods will. This is the enmity which keeps striking at peoples
lives, setting them in opposition to Gods plan. Yet the history
of sin can only be understood in the light of Gods love and forgiveness. Were sin the only thing that mattered, we would be the
most desperate of creatures. But the promised triumph of
Christs love enfolds everything in the Fathers mercy. The word
of God which we have just heard leaves no doubt about this. The
Immaculate Virgin stands before us as a privileged witness of
this promise and its fulfilment.
This Extraordinary Holy Year is itself a gift of grace. To
pass through the Holy Door means to rediscover the infinite
mercy of the Father who welcomes everyone and goes out personally to encounter each of them. This will be a year in which
we grow ever more convinced of Gods mercy. How much
wrong we do to God and his grace when we speak of sins being
punished by his judgment before we speak of their being forgiven by his mercy! But that is the truth. We have to put mercy
before judgment, and in any event Gods judgement will always
be in the light of his mercy. In passing through the Holy Door,
then, may we feel that we ourselves are part of this mystery of
love. Let us set aside all fear and dread, for these do not befit
men and women who are loved. Instead, let us experience the
joy of encountering that grace which transforms all things.
Today, as we pass through the Holy Door, we also want
to remember another door, which fifty years ago the Fathers of
the Second Vatican Council opened to the world. This anniversary cannot be remembered only for the legacy of the Councils
documents, which testify to a great advance in faith. Before all
else, the Council was an encounter. A genuine encounter between the Church and the men and women of our time. An encounter marked by the power of the Spirit, who impelled the
Church to emerge from the shoals which for years had kept her
self-enclosed so as to set out once again, with enthusiasm, on
her missionary journey. It was the resumption of a journey of
encountering people where they live: in their cities and homes,
in their workplaces. Wherever there are people, the Church is
called to reach out to them and to bring the joy of the Gospel.
After these decades, we again take up this missionary drive with
the same power and enthusiasm. The Jubilee challenges us to
this openness, and demands that we not neglect the spirit which
emerged from Vatican II, the spirit of the Samaritan, as Blessed
Paul VI expressed it at the conclusion of the Council. May our
passing through the Holy Door today commit us to making our
own the mercy of the Good Samaritan.