Patrickswell news for w/e November 30th

CHURCH NOTICES: Eucharistic Ministers for this weekend, December 1-2, The First Sunday in Advent, Year C, are as follows; Saturday at 7pm Christy Murphy, Rita Madigan, Joe Tierney. Sunday at 10am Noreen Murray, Eileen Nally, PJ O’Grady. Sunday at 12noon, Patrick Kirby, Rose Kelliher, Rita Madigan. Please arrange a replacement if you are unable to fulfill any duty allocated to you. Items for the weekly Parish Newsletter should be handed into the sacristy by 9-30am on Friday mornings or contact Fr. Muiris O’Connor on 353711 or 0866075628. Alternatively they can be emailed to muirisoc@eircom.net. Devotions to Our Lady of Fatima will take place before the 7pm mass on Saturday.

EXPOSITION: There will be Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in the Prayer Room on the Fridays of Advent from 7 to 9m commencing on Friday December 7.

CHURCH GATE COLLECTION: The collectors who braved the bitterly cold weather wish to thank you most sincerely for your generosity to last weekend’s collection, which was in aid of the Redemptorists’ Poor Campaign.

 BLOOD DONORS: The Irish Blood Transfusion Service requires three thousand donations again this week and donor clinics will be held at the following locations to facilitate that requirement, the Greenhills Hotel, Ennis Road, this coming Monday, December 3, from 5 to 8pm, and the Pastoral Resource Centre, Kilmallock, on Tuesday and Wednesday December 4-5, from 6 to 9pm.You can visit any blood donor clinic as long as ninety days have elapsed since you last gave blood, and you are urged to please give regularly. There will be donor clinics in Castleconnell and Castletroy the following week. For more information contact the Donor Information Line on 1850 731137, or their website.

GAA: The AGM is scheduled for Tuesday December 11, and will take place in the clubhouse at 7-30pm.The meeting will be followed by the Club Person of the Year Award and the Christmas Raffle in Punch’s Bar. The annual mass for deceased members will be held in the Church of The Blessed Virgin on Sunday December 9 at 10am.

COMMUNITY GAMES: The AGM of Crecora-Patrickswell Community Games which was held recently, reflected on the fourth year of existence of community games in the area, and a year in which the participation levels grew once again. Our participants enjoyed the various events throughout the year and 21 different children had the opportunity to participate at the National Finals in Athlone. The programme of events for 2012-13 is about to begin with Draughts, Indoor Soccer and Primary School Quiz. Anyone interested should contact any of  the committee for 2012-13 which is as follows, Chairman Noel Kennedy, Secretary Mike Heffernan, Treasurer Tom Moore, Assistant Secretary Ger Egan, Assistant Treasurer Greta O’Byrne, Paddy O’Neill, Caroline Bennis, Carmel Kirby, Sandra Mulqueen, Barry Munnelly, Mark Leahy, and Kieran Burke.

ACTIVE RETIREMENT: The gardening class has now finished for this term, but members are hopeful that the VEC will be able to cover another session in the spring. We were delighted to hear during the week that Ailish our tutor has been successful in her application to design a garden for next year’s Bloom Garden Festival, which will be held in Phoenix Park over the June Bank Holiday Weekend. Ailish gave us a brief overview of her design with all its attendant challenges, as a finale to this term and we wish her well in her endeavours. We also thank her sincerely for taking such an interest in us and our gardens, and for delivering such a worthwhile, practical and inspiring course.

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: November 25, which was last Sunday, is designated by the United Nations as International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Monday December 10 is the annual worldwide celebration of Human Rights Day. The intervening period is a global campaign known as “Sixteen Days of Action Against Violence Against Women”, with this year’s theme,”You Don’t Need A Bruise To Be Abused”. The campaign aims to highlight the causes and effects of  violence against women, especially the various forms of violence other than physical, which now exist, including verbal, emotional, financial, sexual, and spiritual. The scale and nature of the issue is often hidden, and as part of its response to this,West Limerick Resources in conjunction with Newcastle West Film Club and ADAPT Domestic Abuse Services will be offering a free screening of ‘Tyrannosaur’, Winner of the Special Jury Prize and Best Director Award at the Sundance Film Festival 2011, on Thursday November 29 at 8pm in the Desmond Complex, Newcastle West.  The film is being shown as part of Limerick’s 16 Days of Action, and is open to all adults over 18 from the West Limerick area.  A short film entitled ‘Spiralling’ will also be shown by BDAF to raise awareness of how subtle abuse can escalate in relationships. (http://www.bdaf.org.uk)  Snacks and refreshments will be served.

WORLD DAYS:  Since 1988, December1 which is this Saturday has been observed as World Aids Day dedicated to raising awareness of the Aids pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. It is also about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. The theme for 2012 is, “Getting to Zero”.

World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done. The red ribbon is an international symbol of AIDS awareness. Around the world there are hundreds of activities taking place to mark World AIDS Day, including candlelight vigils, art shows, marches and religious services. Monday December 3 is International Day of people with Disabilities. Described as “The World’s Largest Minority”, fifteen per cent of the population live with some form of disability, and often face barriers to participation in all aspects of society. Barriers can take different forms, including those relating to the physical environment, information and communications technology, or those resulting from legislation or policy, or from society’s attitudes or discrimination. The result is that persons with disabilities, including those who are recovering from a brain injury, do not have equal access to society or services, including education, employment, health care, transport, political participation or justice.