St Ninian's & St Clement's, Catholic Churches Together
The Garden Gang were kept busy building the crib for the church while in CC’s, a special Christmas Afternoon Tea was served up to our customers……and of course, our little robin from the Mary Garden, pops up occasionally to let us know he’s not been forgotten amidst all this activity.
On Wednesday 7th December, we were joined by parishioners from Auchterhouse, Fowlis, Liff, Lundie and Muirhead Churches and St John’s Cross Church, Dundee for a beautiful ecumenical Advent Service, organised and devised by Maureen Ruddy.
Fr Johney was supported in this prayerful service by Rev. Donna Hays and Rev. Grant MacLaughlin. The service comprised of prayers, readings, reflections, hymns and a candle lit procession which was particularly lovely.
We send a heartfelt thanks to Maureen for making this special event happen and thank you also to Angela, our organist and Colette, our Cantor for the wonderful music.
As one of the parishioners commented, “It was a beautiful uplifting service -so lovely to have the involvement of the other churches.”
View the slideshow below, to get a flavour of the evening…..
After the service? A chance to chat and make new acquaintances over a cuppa and mincemeat pie.
Sunday Mass was an extra special one as Canon Kevin presented us with our much awaited plaque! We won the award almost two years ago following hard work and dedication as a congregation, to tackle climate change and do our own part, however large or small.
The Church building has undergone impressive changes to reduce our carbon footprint, we have strived to help people locally and overseas and, as a caring and friendly community, we have pulled together to make amazing changes.
We are proud to be the first Parish in Dundee and one of the few in Scotland, to achieve this award. So now, with the support of all our Parishioners, we are GOING FOR GOLD! Thank you to everyone for your efforts.
Thursday past, despite the very poor weather conditions, 8 youngsters turned up after school for the first of monthly meetings of CC’s Juniors. (Gardening Club). Louise, Bernadette and Maureen had a busy but fun time with the children- sowing seeds, planting bulbs, making bird feeders from peanut butter + toilet roll!
They also enjoyed a healthy snack of fruit kebabs.
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!
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!
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.
