Parish Bulletin

18th October 2021

Twenty Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time

 

In the Gospel this week Jesus teaches us about humility and service.  James and John thought that because they were apostles they were entitled to ask for great rewards.  But the Lord tells them that his followers must be willing to make sacrifices the way that he himself did.

 

There’s a lesson here for us too.  Last Sunday Jesus promised us that he has many
blessings to give us and that we will be repaid many times over for anything we give up for God.  But he doesn't want us to be demanding or to feel entitled.  Instead he wants us to follow his example and to put others first. 

 

The more we are willing to serve rather than be served, the more like Christ we become.  May Jesus help us to follow his example in the week ahead.

 

 

THIS WEEK

Parish webcam can be viewed on our YouTube channel
(search for Ballymoney Parish)

 

SATURDAY 16th   6pm Vigil Mass

 

SUNDAY 17th       10am Mass
                                   5pm Mass

 

Parish Office closed from Monday 11th to Friday 22nd October.

 

 

FRIDAY 22nd     5.30pm Confessions

                                    7pm Mass

                                               

 

Our Lady & St Patrick’s is open every day for private prayer—usually from 11am to 4pm.

 

 

WE PRAY FOR THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED

 

Anniversaries

Patsy Beckett, Rosena Coyles, Sarah Devlin, Eilish Gillan, Lawrence Greene, Sammy McLaughlin, Danny McKay, William McKay, Margaret McKendry, Annie McKillop, Jim McMullan, J. P. McNamee, Eamonn Muldoon.

 

REQUIESCAT IN PACE

 

 

 

PARISH OFFICE CLOSED

The parish office is closed this week and Fr Damian is on leave.  Many thanks to the priests from Dunloy parish who are covering our Masses this weekend.  They will also cover any funerals if necessary.  Our normal schedule restarts on Friday evening with confessions and Mass.

 

 

 

PARISH FINANCES

Thank you for your support of our parish collections. 

Collection envelopes can be left in the church at Mass times or left at the parochial house any time.  You can also set up a standing order or make a one-off payment to our account with these details:

 

Parish of Ballymoney & Derrykeighan

Sort code: 95-06-79 

Account No: 10020192.

 

Please make cheques payable to:

Parish of Ballymoney & Derrykeighan

 

 

 

OLD & NEW @No.5

Our parish shop is open Wednesday - Saturday, 10am - 4.30pm at 5 Gate End, Ballymoney and we hope to see you this week!

 

 

 

ST VINCENT DE PAUL

If you need help or you would like to find out more about getting involved in the work of the SVP contact us on 07860 455 549 or by speaking to any member of the society.

 

 

 

THE MONTH OF THE ROSARY

October is the month of special devotion to the rosary.  For this third week of the month we might focus on the Sorrowful Mysteries:

 

1 The Agony in the Garden (Matthew 3: 13-17)

2 The Scourging at the Pillar (John 2: 1-12)

3 The Crowning with Thorns (Mark 1:15)

4 The Carrying of the Cross   (Luke 9: 28-35)

5 The Crucifixion (Mark 14: 22-25)

 

Our friends at the Catholic Minute Facebook page pray the rosary together at 8pm each evening from Mondays to Thursdays. 

 

 

 

GARDEN OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Work is continuing on our Garden of the Good
Shepherd.  A new path has been laid and flower beds will be planted.  Many thanks to Sean Kerr and Aidan Reid for their work on this project.

 

We are hoping to commission a stone relief panel showing Jesus the Good Shepherd to be mounted on the garden wall.  The proposed panel will measure 74x55cm and the cost will be around £2500. 

 

If you would like to make a contribution to the cost of the garden it would be much appreciated.  Cheques or cash can be left at the parochial house (please mark on the envelope that they are for the Garden Appeal).  You can also make a one off payment online to our bank account using the details on the opposite page.

 

 

 

OUR LADY & ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST CHURCH

Last weekend we welcomed Paula McKeown from the Down & Connor Living Church office to our Sunday Masses.  Paula spoke about a new project to create a retreat centre in this area as a place to bring primary school children before they receive their sacraments.  These retreats would be a way for local parishes to make connections with the children’s families, many of whom do not currently come to Mass.

 

The project team have identified Our Lady & St John the Evangelist church in Dervock as the best place for this retreat centre.  It is a beautiful church, centrally placed in the North coast area.  They would like to use the church in Dervock for at least the next year.

 

If this goes ahead, it would mean that we would not be restarting regular Masses in Dervock at this time.   This will come as a disappointment to many parishioners, but we have to be realistic about the future.  The decrease in numbers in recent years means that we can’t justify the number of Masses we had previously.  We also know that the availability of priests in this area is reducing every year.

 

That’s why this project is so important.  If we want  the Church to grow we need to do things differently by reaching out to those who aren’t here at the moment—especially children and young families.  The retreat centre plan could be a new start for Dervock church and a chance to begin a new chapter in its history.

 

The parish and the Living Church office would like to hear your thoughts on this idea and answer any
questions.  You can contact us by email :
office@ballymoneyparish.com or
livingchurch@downandconnor.org