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From the desk of Father Keith
Dear Friends in Christ
On Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. This marks the last week of the church year. It is a feast on which to renew our loyalty to Jesus our Saviour, shown in the way that we love our neighbour. The shepherd-theme is prominent, both as basis for our trusting God’s care, and as a challenge to be co-workers with the great Shepherd of our souls.
In his weekly reflection, Fr Ron Rolheiser makes the important point that:
“when we think of the essentials of the Christian faith we generally associate these with belief in a certain creed, acceptance of various dogmas, adherence to a certain moral code, especially as it pertains to private morality, involvement with a church community, and with having some personal relationship to Christ in our lives. Now, while these things are essential and may never be denigrated, Jesus would add something else. For him, a criterion, in fact the criterion, for the practice of the Christian faith is the exercise of the corporal works of mercy. Have we fed the hungry? Given drink to the thirsty? Clothed the naked?”
Jesus’ command to practice the corporal works of mercy is direct, uncompromising, and everywhere present in the entire New Testament. It is easy to be a little overwhelmed when we see the amount of suffering and economic devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Christ our King is our reminder that we can make a difference in the world.
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One of our parishioners is having a milestone birthday this month (I won’t say what it is 😊) and she has asked each guest not to bring a birthday present for her. Instead each guest is invited to take a tag from the Christmas Tree at the church door, find an age and gender appropriate present for an underprivileged child – and bring that to the party! Our birthday girl will bring all the gifts to the Parish Office for distribution by our teams.
I think it is a wonderful idea and I challenge lots more of our parishioners to be creative in getting Christmas gifts for our Christmas Tree for the poor. We want to be able to put a smile on a child’s face this Christmas.
More details about the Christmas Tree can be found on the website – and there is even a link to get a tag if you are unable to come to the church.
God bless, Fr Keith
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SPRED
SPRED is an organization that supports the religious and spiritual development of members of our Parish community with developmental disabilities. SPRED is an acronym that stands for ‘Special Religious Educational Development’. The aim of SPRED is to enable members of our community with disabilities to participate fully in the liturgical life of our Parish.
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We consist of a group of volunteers who act as ‘faith companions’ to each of our special ‘friends’. We currently have 5 faith companions and 5 friends, a liturgical presider and co-ordinator. Our SPRED group meets approximately once a month to conduct our religious services. During the pandemic we have been able to conduct our sessions online with our friends which has confirmed that the message of the Lord is not limited by space. The SPRED program is universal and has been developed to specifically support the faith development of our members by developing relationships of love, acceptance and welcome.
We welcome any members of our Parish who wish to join us or find out more about what we do, and we encourage everyone to ‘SPRED’ the word of our organization so that we can involve as many members of our community in our Parish as possible.
For more information contact Bongi or Lara
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Prayer
Dear Father God
We come before You bringing the requests of the people of The Parish of the Resurrection. Lay your hands of healing, peace and love upon: Amberleigh Mayhew, Brian Richardson, Caroline Williams, Delia Brady, Di Hamann, Domenico De Gregorio, Didi Tomsett, Gail Solomon, Jean Broens, Lesley-Anne & Caitlin Culhane, Magrieta Engelbrecht, Mary Amm, Mazadza family, Pierre Kedziersk, Rose Duley, Roseanne Harris and Yvette, Ian & Ryan. Anonymous Child of God.
This week we ask that You give us the hunger and thirst to support those who are struggling to sustain themselves with enough food and drink each day. We have only to look into the eyes of the beggars on the side of the road to see how destitute many of Your people are. Fill us with compassion as we see Your people, who are calling out to us for help. Give us the courage to help those who need us and the willingness to support the many feeding schemes in our communities.
Father, we know that many of Your children do not hunger only for a ‘ bowl of rice’ but for a kind word, friendship and love. Teach us to be Your servants as we reach out to the lonely, the depressed and the unloved.
“It is easy to love people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home for this is where our love for each other must start.” Mother Theresa
Amen
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Pensioners and Children Support Group
PACS aim to provide 1000 families with hampers this Christmas.
They plan to provide the following in each hamper:
Rice, spaghetti, Sugar, oil,
Tea, Coffee creamer,
Soup, Tin Pilchards, veg, tomatoes, peaches,
Jelly, Biscuits, jam, custard, Oros
Dishwashing liquid, dishtowel,
Face cloth & soap
This dream is only possible with your help. At the end of November, they are hosting a pop-up shop selling second-hand clothes. See the poster for details. All proceeds will go towards the hampers. Donations of food and clothing can be dropped off at the Parish Office. Thank you!
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Baptism
Two children were baptised on Saturday 14 November 2020:
Madison de Kock daughter of Kaylin and Melina de Kock
Tshiamo Lebethe son of Orapeleng Lebethe and Nonhlanhla Msimango
Welcome to the family of Christ
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In Memoriam
A funeral was held at our church for:
Virginia Borges (1 May 1940 - 14 November 2020)
May her soul rest in peace.
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Livestream Training
The Digital Team will be hosting another training session on Saturday 5 December 2020. Come along to the 8h00 mass and see how it is done. Straight after mass, there will be a Q&A session and you will have the opportunity to learn more.
Did you know that one of our team members is a plumber, another is a senior citizen. Proof that God will equip you with the skills you need.
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Digital Snapshot
Click on Picture to Link
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Giving
We extend a great big thank-you to everyone who continues to support the parish financially. Your generosity makes all the difference and allows us to keep going in the online and in-person space. At present we appreciate your help in covering the maintenance costs of the church buildings.
If you're not signed up for dedicated giving but would like to continue to support the parish, you can make donations via snap scan or follow the link online.
As always, your generosity is appreciated, and we are especially grateful during this time.
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