Autumn Maintenance
Category: Eco
St Clement’s Harvest Festival
St Clement’s, St Ninian’s sister parish held their International Harvest Festival this weekend. Once again, the parishioners rose to the occasion, some dressing in their national costume and all bringing gifts of fruit which is to be distributed between the school, the local housebound and care homes. Well done St Clement’s!
International Harvest Festival
This past weekend, as part of the Season of Creation, an “International Harvest Festival” was held during both Masses at St Ninian’s .
Parishioners were encouraged to come dressed in their traditional attire or in bright clothing and many did! They were also asked to bring gifts of fruit and their response was amazing! Both Masses were a real celebration of the fruits of the harvest.
After the Offertory procession and handing over the gifts of fruit to Fr Johney, the children sang their own harvest song.
The fruits of parishioners’ labours were gratefully received by four groups in our community. Their generous gifts of all kinds of fruits were distributed to our local primary schools, St Ninian’s and Tayview. Both schools expressed their appreciation and said the children would enjoy the healthy snacks of apples, oranges and bananas.
The elderly residents of Menzieshill house also appreciated the produce, with staff commenting it was a real treat to get healthy food donated.
The final recipients of their generosity were clients of the Salvation Army hostel in Ward Road. The chef there was delighted to get the plethora of pears and other vegetables and fruits, which he planned to turn into tasty dishes for the residents.
So, well done St Ninian’s parishioners, you are definitely the pick of the bunch!
Supporting wildlife this Winter
It’s time to admit to feeling that “chill in the air” as the days grow shorter. We know the autumn and winter are setting in, not just because “Strictly” has returned to our televisions but because we are seeing less of the summer wildlife.
However, they need our help just as much as they did in the summer when we planted and nurtured our fruits, flowers and veg. Even if we don’t have a garden, it might be possible to do just one thing which makes a difference.
Here are some ways we can support them.
- There are plants flowering into autumn such as dahlias, asters and anemones which continue to feed those bees trying to make it through the winter
- Get prepped for next year by planting bulbs such as crocus, daffodils and snowdrops for flowers as early as February – even planting just one container as a “bulb lasagne”!
- Gather up any fallen leaves but don’t bin them! Pile them up in a corner for wildlife to cosy in. When the warmer weather returns this pile will turn into “gardeners gold” – a rich compost which is great for adding to your soil
- Leave seed heads such as sunflowers, rudbeckia, poppies and eryngiums for birds to feed on and for insects to hide amongst and lay their eggs (don’t say “eughhh” – we need them!)
- Don’t be tempted to tidy up the garden too much as any dying plant life provides shelter for many little guys out there in the cold
- Put up bird boxes and bug hotels (we don’t have to wait until Spring)
- Provide food and water for birds and, if you’re lucky enough to see any hedgehogs, they apparently enjoy a wee bowl of cat or dog food!
September Garden
It’s hard to tell whether summer is on its way out or on its way back in! We must be grateful for this lovely sunshine at the beginning of September. The Mary Garden is definitely changing, less prolific flowering but nevertheless plenty to see. This week we saw the return of “Jim Ruddy’s Asters” which were one of the first perennials we planted – now blooming for the third year.
The Cosmos (always a joy) are keeping the bees happy and the brambles (which give us such a job because their roots are so invasive in every spare space!) can definitely be forgiven as they are now providing food for the birds – and a few happy gardeners 😉
Garden Update
The Garden Gang have been working away every Thursday in rain, hail and sunshine, ensuring the Mary Garden is kept in good shape, the garden produce is fed and harvested and flowers picked for CC’s and the altar. They also have a rota for watering the gardens to ensure our lovely flowers and plants don’t dehydrate :). Thank you Garden Gang!
From Garden to Jar
Last week we had a bumper crop of strawberries, thanks to the dedication of our fabulous Garden Gang and of course, Mother Nature who provided the sun and rain (a lot). Brian was our official taster and with the help of his trusty ‘sidekick’ Jim, picked 3kg of strawberries which have now been made into jam. This will be served very soon as an accompaniment to scones as part of the Afternoon Tea menu.
Fatima Pilgrimage
14 Pilgrims from St Ninians and St Clements recently spent 5 days in Fatima and Lisbon. Unfortunately Fr Johney could not join them since he could not obtain his visa .
Bernadette Dailly was the organiser of this pilgrimage ( what a great organiser she is too!) and has written this account of their trip
In the sanctuary we visited the Holy Trinity Church, the Basilica, celebrated Masses in the Chapel of Apparitions, visited the museum where we saw the crown of Our Lady of Fatima which contained the bullet that hit Pope John Paul ii in 1981, walked the Way of the Cross, the Candle lit procession with the statue of Our Lady of Fatima and the next evening, in the Blessed Sacrament procession.
We also visited Aljustrel where the three children lived.
Also Nazare with its lovely beaches and ended the pilgrimage with an overnight stay in Lisbon visiting St Anthony’s Church and Lisbon cathedral .
We arrived home feeling very privileged to have had the opportunity to be part of such a special pilgrimage.
