During Advent and Christmastide we are asked to pray for these intentions:

Next Sunday there will be a retiring collection for Advent Alms, in aid of St Cuthbert’s Care, our Diocesan Charity. There are envelopes at the back  of Church for your donation 

During Advent there will be a Sunday Evening Service at 4pm. On 17th December this will be our Advent Penitential Service.

The Fair Trade Stall is this weekend. This is the last one before Christmas, and we have  decaffeinated tea bags and salted cashew nuts. Let’s help give our brothers and sisters in the Third World a decent wage. There will be no stall in January so stock up today !  

Church Art Calendars are available from the Repository, also Northern Catholic Calendars are now on sale at £2 each.

Come along on Tuesday evening  (this week) and take some time to prepare for Christmas in quiet and meditation. This week we will look at the Annunciation and reflect on the message of longing and waiting. We will meet for an hour in St Cuthbert’s Chapel from 7.00pm.  All are welcome. The following week we will meet on Wednesday 20th.  

Our first display on ‘Sport’ will be in church in December. Thanks for all your contributions. To celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord in January we will focus on parish baptismal records and display any photos or certificates of baptisms at St Joseph’s , that you may have. So please search through your old photos and pass them on. They will be treated with loving care and copied. N.B. All copied photos mat be used for display . If you submit them, we accept this as your permission to display them. There’s not much time, so let us have them soon, Ring Ann (.

Amnesty International are asking us to send cards with messages of hope and solidarity to victims of human rights violations and those who defend them. Cards are available this weekend after Mass.

Many people have told us that instead of sending Christmas cards to friends & family they see regularly, they would rather make a donation to charity. To help, we will do an additional page in the newsletter with your names, and whatever greeting you want, in return for a donation to the Grace House Appeal. Please give us the details as soon as possible

If you would like to make a donation towards decorating the church for Christmas, perhaps in memory of a loved one, please put your donation in an envelope and either place it in the Offertory Basket  or hand it in to the presbytery. All donations must be received by Tuesday 19th December for names to be added to the memorial book.

At our Liturgy meeting recently it was decided that the children should help to celebrate in our Christmas Day Mass. We are asking parents, who will be attending Mass with their children (aged 5-11) on Christmas Day, to come to a short meeting after 9.30am Mass this weekend to help prepare the children for this special event.  

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the priests, parishioners and anyone who helped in any way to make Mary Butler’s Requiem Mass such a joyful occasion. Thanks  also for Mass offerings—a Mass will be celebrated for your intentions. God bless you all. …. Maureen Walton

The Youth Group have organised a Table Top Sale in the Social Centre on Saturday 16th December  - 10am-12pm. Please come along and support them. 

The 56th Annual Catholic Charity Ball will be held in The Lancastrian Suite , Federation Brewery, Dunston on Friday 26th January 2007—8pm to 1am. Proceeds in aid of St Cuthbert’s Care.  Tickets are £10 and are available from Gemma Thompson at St Cuthbert’s Care. See notice board for more details.

In 1975 the Justice & Peace Group set up a system for monthly collections in order to fund development projects for the poorest communities who were desperately trying to improve their own lot, but were lacking in funds to carry out the work. Initially 80 families took CAFOD envelopes for their monthly contributions, but over the years the number of envelopes distributed has dwindled to a current 56 families, however, the actual number each month has dropped to about 12 !!

We have no way of knowing which families are continuing to return the envelopes as the envelopes are not marked  to preserve anonymity.

As the cost of delivery of the envelopes is expensive in terms of money and time (with only a small number of J & P supporters able to deliver the envelopes ). We would like to know who would who would like to receive the said CAFOD envelopes for monthly donations.

Would you therefore please complete the “tear- off” slip below ,and place it in the offertory basket, if you would like to receive a supply of CAFOD envelopes. In any event there is always a supply of CAFOD envelopes at the back of church.

Over the years, because of the generosity of St Joseph’s parishioners we have supported development projects to the tune of £88,000 through the envelope scheme. Special appeals for emergencies are not included in this amount.

Thank you.

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YES, I would like to receive a supply of monthly CAFOD envelopes