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ST.
AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY
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Roman
Catholic Church, Harehills Road, Leeds, LS8 5HR.
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ALTAR
SERVERS
Our
mission is to assist the Priest to celebrate the liturgy with
dignity.
It is an important calling from God for young
people to assist the priest on the sanctuary.
How do I become an altar
server?
You need to have made your first communion and
be at least eight years old. New servers are trained before
they are allowed to serve and you have to be able to act in
a dignified way at all times on the altar.
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How many altar servers are there?
At the moment there are about fifteen girls and
boys who serve, the Saturday evening Mass and the Sunday morning
Mass are well attended but we need volunteers for Sunday evening
as there is only one regular server for this Mass at the moment.
Is it just serving?
No, we do have fun and try to arrange get-togethers
especially around Christmas and Easter when there is a lot of
hard work and sharing to be done.
What do I do if I am interested?
Have a word with your parents and the Parish Priest
and he will get you sorted.
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RING
THOSE BELLS!
The bell is rung before Sunday morning Mass by
one of a team of four bell ringers.
For ten minutes the bell is tolled in triplets (Father, Son
and Holy Spirit).
Then follows five minutes of continuous ringing (Hurry up,
hurry up)
The bell is also rung after funerals.
More ringers are needed for all Sunday Masses.
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Bidding
Prayers
Members of the parish prepare the bidding prayers for each
Saturday/Sunday Mass. There are several people involved at present,
and so each one's turn comes around every seven weeks.
The people who write the bidding prayers are not necessarily
involved in reading at Mass.
We pray for the Church, especially the hierarchy and priests,
and we pray for our own people at St Augustine's and in our
sister parish in Tanzania. We pray for the world, especially
any urgent matters in our own country or abroad. We pray for
the sick and for our dead.
Anyone prepared to compose bidding prayers and join the team,
would be most welcome.
Specimen bidding prayers can be provided as models, until people
feel confident enough to develop their own style of prayers.
If anyone is willing to take part in writing our bidding prayers,
please contact Fr Michael.
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PASTORAL
CARE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
MISSION STATEMENT
Our youth is part of our present and the hope of our future
Church created in God's image. We have a responsibility to nurture
and support all individuals on their journey of faith, having
regard for the uniqueness and value of each person.
Therefore we aim to:-
- Ensure that young people in our care are safe, secure
and free from harmful influence.
- Promote their moral, spiritual and cultural development
that they may "have life in its fullness." (John
10:10)
- Foster a climate of trust and confidentiality
- Issue appropriate guidelines, policies and procedures
to all parties involved with our young people, and monitor
their implementation.
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Counters
Each week a team of two people count the Saturday
and Sunday collection and any second collection, which has taken
place.
There are at present four such teams and each
is called upon every four weeks.
The teams count the loose money and open the envelopes,
count the money inside and enter on the envelopes the amount
donated.
Each envelope has a number on it and the counter
has no knowledge of the relationship of the number to the giver.
No counter has any way of knowing the identity of the giver.
The amounts collected are entered on to an official
form for the scrutiny of the diocesan treasurer.
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ECUMENISM
and INTERFAITH
Representatives from St. Augustine's attend the
regular meetings of the "Chapeltown and Harehills Churches
Together", where the different Christian denominations
in the locality meet and share and discuss local issues.
The C.H.C.T. organises regular ecumenical gatherings
including monthly prayer meetings , Lenten activities and a
silent walk carrying a cross through the streets on Good Friday
culminating with an open air ecumenical service in the local
park. At Christmas time representatives also take part in an
open air Carol Service at Oakwood.
Contact has been made with one of the local Mosques
and regular meetings are held to enable the communities to discus
ways of promoting friendship and understanding.
Women's Interfaith Group "Women Together"
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FLOWERS
There are currently only two of us involved in
this Ministry and we work together as a team. We buy fresh flowers
from the wholesale market each fortnight and mix them with artificial
flowers (to save money) when we make up the arrangements each
week. We also decorate the church and do the flowers for weddings,
in the brides colour scheme, and also for other special
occasions.
We not only try to reflect the seasons of the
year but also the Liturgical seasons and special feasts such
as Christmas and Easter. We do not have flowers in church during
Advent and Lent but we make an Advent wreath and make an arrangement
with Palms for Palm Sunday. For Remembrance day at the beginning
of November we make up an arrangement using poppies.
During Our Ladys months of May and October,
we make up a special display in front of her statue, and during
the month of June we do likewise in front of the statue of the
Sacred Heart.
We find it both enjoyable and rewarding and would
welcome more parishioners to join us.
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LITURGY
COMMITTEE
Our mission is to bring alive
the liturgical life of the parish.
The liturgy committee was set up by the Parish
Assembly to bring colour and life into the worship in our parish
community.
There are those who are there because they co-ordinate or fulfil
a particular ministry within the liturgical life of the parish
but the meetings which are held four or five times a year and
last about one hour, are open to everyone.
Please come and have your say in the way we give glory and praise
to God.
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THE
MUSIC MINISTRY
Our mission is to sing praise
to God, lead the singing and enhance the liturgy.
Music is an essential part of the liturgy
In our Parish we have several groups who help to enhance the
liturgy.
Barry and Judith play the organ.
A group of young people play musical instruments
and lead the singing on Sunday evenings at the 6.30pm. Mass.
The 10.00am singers and musicians lead the singing
every other Sunday in the morning.
There is the St. Augustines Choir for Festive
occasions who lead the singing on the big feasts such as Christmas
and Holy Week.
The role of all the musicians is to help the congregation
praise God and give Him glory.
The words of the preface tell us what to do;
"With all the choirs of
angels in heaven, we proclaim your glory and join in their unending
hymn of praise."
All groups are looking for new musicians and singers
to join them,
The choir for Special Occasions needs sopranos, altos, tenors
and basses.
Please come and join.
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