Advent

I watch for Your Presence

 

As a beacon guides a ship to harbour

Lord, guide my wandering spirit.

Lest I drift away and flounder.

 

Shine the light of Your love

into the darkness that surrounds me,

so I can find my way to you.

 

Lord, I watch for You,

For the light of your presence,

that makes my heart rejoice.

 

May I never falter in keeping vigil,

alert in looking for your help.

 

Yes, Lord, you are my beacon of light.

You are the light of the world. Amen.

 

 

Advent: Time of Watching

'Be still before the Lord, and watch.'

Psalm 37

 

Advent Wreath: Holly, the old pagan symbol for good luck, became the symbol for Christ's crown of thorns and his blood shed for us. By his wounds we are healed. Holly and ivy intertwined symbolise peace in our world and harmony between man and woman.

Christmas Events coming up in Bantry

Gaelscoil Bheanntraí is holding a Bumper Craft Fair on Tuesday, 4th December between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Great fun for all the family with Daidi na Nollaig’s Magical Grotto, Wheel of Fortune, Facepainting, cake sale etc. Everyone welcome.

 

Meet Santa in his Grotto and help Mrs. Claus in her kitchen. Play with the elves in their magical snow garden. A photo with Santa & a gift for every child. €5 per child. CHRISTMAS BAZAAR: Raffle, Bottle Stall, Festive Gifts, Christmas produce, Cakes, Lucky Dip, Games – Crazy golf, darts, Guess weight of cake, Guess Santa face,Teas/Coffees. Our Lady of Mercy N.S. Bantry – Sun. 2^nd Dec. 12 – 4p.m. Entry: €2 at the door to include prize draw ticket

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The Bantry Lifeboat Carol Concert will take place on Sunday 9^th Dec. in the library of Bantry House. Under the candle chandelier, surrounded by the atmosphere of open fires, mince pies and mulled wine, this is a lovely way of getting you in festive mood with the opportunity to sing along to traditional Christmas Carols in this wonderful setting. There will be piano accompaniment and the lifeboat crew will give their own special rendition of Home From The Sea. A great night for all the family to enjoy and all proceeds will go the Bantry Lifeboat. Tickets are €10 for adults and €5 for concessions, entry fee includes tea, coffee, mulled wine and minced pies. Singing starts at 8pm

Bantry Annual Community Carol Service, St Brendan's Church, Sunday 23rd December at 8pm. A truly spiritual start to Christmas."

'Celebrate Advent with West Cork Choral Singers on Sunday 2nd December at St. Brendan's Church, Bantry at 8p.m. Enjoy a delightful selection of festive carols. Director: Diana Llewellyn; Accompanist: Annabel Adams.

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The Bantry Business Association craft Fair will be held this Year in the Westlodge Hotel Bantry on Sunday 9th December from 12noon to 6pm. Stall include craft, food, jewellery, homewares and much more. With a special visit from Santa, the Santas Grotto will be kindly provided by the Westlodge and Bantry Lions Club. Various children's activities include face painting, Hair Braiding, colouring competitions and much more...Stall holders wishing to book, please call Tracy on 0831230031

 

Bantry Bay Rugby F.C. Bazaar & raffle to fundraise for badly need new pitch, on Saturday December 8^th in old cinema from 11am-4pm. Requesting donations of toys, books, bric-a-brac, homebaking, etc. Tea/coffee served. Lots of bargains & fun for all.

 

Cancer Connect Fundraiser

 

 

CANCER CONNECT FUNDRAISING EXHIBITION MATCH :

• ALL IRELAND CHAMPIONS TO HELP IN CANCER CONNECT FUNDRAISER:
• NOV 25TH : 2PM: WOLFE TONE PARK, BANTRY, CO CORK
• CORK SENIOR LADIES V WEST CORK LADIES SELECTION
• CORK LADIES MANAGED BY EAMONN RYAN
• WEST CORK SELECTION MANAGED BY GRAHAM CANTY

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HALF TIME MASCOTS GAME WITH U10 GIRLS FROM WEST CORK CLUBS - THE FUTURE OF CORK LADIES FOOTBALL: Admission - €5 Children €2

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WHAT IS CANCER CONNECT?
Cancer Connect is a free, flexible & confidential service to Cork Hospitals from West Cork for people receiving cancer treatments (radiotherapy, chemotherapy, etc). The service runs from Castletownbere through Bantry & Goleen through Skibbereen to various Cork hospitals every day (Monday to Friday) at times to suit passengers

Radiotherapy Service: 2 eight seater vehicles are used to provide the services and both are driven by volunteer drivers. The servive is normally to Cork University Hospital and the hospital has facilitated Cancer Connect passengers with appointment times of between 12noon and 1.30pm approx. thus minimising delays as far as possible.

Chemotherapy Service: this is privided every day (Monday to Friday) to the various Cork Hospitals. Similar to the Radiotherapy service it is supported by volunteer drivers who drive their own cars. It is usually provided 'one to one' as the appointments generally tend to take longer and the times of appointments can vary.

Contact: For details of any of the services or on becoming a Voluntary Driver one may contact Cancer Connect at West Cork Rural Transport Office

Tel: 027-52727

MOb: 087-1224404

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Community Notices - Bantry Parish Newsletter

Saturday Confessions:

From the 1^st weekend in December there will be Confessions in Bantry Church at 12.00 noon on Saturday. It might be helpful to anyone in town shopping. The Angelus Bell might remind you. The Confessional in the Hospital Chapel has been removed – anyone can still request the Sacrament in the Sacristy.

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You are invited to a Service of Healing & Reconciliation at All Saints Church, Drimoleague on Saturday, 1^st December next. (2.00-6.00pm). Conducted by Eddie Stone, a leading Catholic lay evangelist from Emmanuel House of Providence, Confert. He will speak on the importance of Faith for us today.

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Reflecting on the Advent Readings: An evening for Ministers of the Word and others.
An opportunity to reflect on the Word of God in Advent. This event is especially suitable for Ministers of the Word, but open to everyone.

Tuesday 20th November – 8.00pm Douglas Parish Centre. Tuesday 27th November – 8.00pm Parish Hall, Clonakilty All Welcome. Organised by the diocesan Scripture group and Liturgy Commission

Please let us know you are coming. Anne Francis 087-228-2134 abfrancis@eircom.net

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BANTRY LADIES FOOTBALL:Best of luck to the Minor ladies in the County Final this weekend (Sunday Nov. 18th) at C.I.T., Bishopstownon, kick off at 12.15pm where they will be playing St. Michaels.

ALL IRELAND CHAMPIONS HELP OUT CANCER CONNECT All Ireland Champions: CORK SENIOR LADIES Vs WEST CORK LADIES SELECTION
in AID OF CANCER CONNECT - A voluntary transport service bringing Cancer patients to Cork for treatment. Sunday November 25th @ 2pm. WOLFE TONE PARK, BANTRY, CO CORK. The West Cork Ladies team will be managed by none other than our own Graham Canty. This promises to be a fun even and it is is a very worthy cause, we ask everyone to come out and support it.

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Mealagh Valley Community Centre

Fund Raising Car Boot Sale & Coffee Afternoon - Sunday 25th November 2.00pm - 5.00pm at the Mealagh Valley Community Centre. Charge €10.00 per car. Must be set up before 2.00pm. Great chance to get rid of unwanted clutter or if you are looking to get a bargain. All proceeds go towards renovation of the Community hall. If it's raining, sale will be held inside.

 

Bingo with a prize fund of £500 will be held at The Community Hall, Ards, Mealagh Valley on Thursday November 22nd. at 8.30P.M.. The usual bus service will run from Bantry. Your support would be greatly appreciated.

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Historical Society: The local Historical Society is privileged to host the inaugural talk given by Ms Julianna O Donoghue – Underwater Archaeologist – and leader of the team of experts who examined the Coconut Wreck, a ship that sank just off the West Cork coast in the 1600’s. This illustrated talk will take place in Christian Fellowship Church on Monday next 19^th November at 8.00pm. Come and get first hand information about the exotic cargo on board this ship which was just recently discovered. Everybody welcome.

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Message for Sunday 18th November

 

The Deep End – A race against time.

Can you remember a time before everyone had mobile phones? It’s only twelve years since I got my first one. Back then, in the pre-mobile world, we had to stick to plans we had made. There was no such thing as ‘text me when you’re on the way’ or ‘I’ll call you if I’m running late’. If someone didn’t show up for a meeting or appointment, we had no way of checking where they were or what the hold-up was.

Nowadays there is less waiting around. We are instantly able to find out where other people are; if someone is late for a meeting our first reaction is to call them. We are not used to waiting anymore, and we don’t handle uncertainly well.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks to his disciples about time. The world as they know it is passing away, He says. But here’s the uncomfortable truth; nobody knows when. The disciples though it would be in their own lifetime, that they would see the Son of Man coming in the clouds ‘with great power and glory’. Yet countless generations later, here we are with the same uncertainly. We do not know God’s plan for the world, or for our lives. But we must be ready for whatever that is.

We can be behind time, running out of time, keeping an eye on time. We can manage our time as best we can. But we have no control over God’s plan for us. We must have faith, and stand ready for whatever is to come.

Triona Doherty.

Email: trionad@gmail.com

Remembrance

By this time of the year the world of nature is almost in total hibernation. Growth has come to a stop for a while & the place  is full of leaves that have fallen from trees. In the springtime we talk of new life, at this time of the year the opposite is the case. November is the month of the Holy Souls, the month when we remember our dead. We do that all through the year, we remember in a special way our loved ones at times of birthdays & anniversaries.  November is the month when we remember all our dead, not just the members of our families, or our friends & all the people we have known, but all the dead. Recently a sign has been put inside the gate of the Abbey telling us that we should respect our dead & take our rubbish home. As we all know the Abbey in Bantry has a beautiful view across the bay. It is a cemetery, a sacred place, a place where the mortal remains of many people we have loved & known are laid to rest. They are not dumped there & neither should our rubbish. Sometimes we like to get rid of our problems, it’s a bit like out of sight & out of mind. Just because we can’t see something doesn’t mean that it has stopped existing. We cannot see our loved ones who have died. However we do believe that they are now in a new & different existence with God in eternal life. Because of that we know that while the bodies of our loved ones are in the cemeteries they were buried in, in reality they are not there. We should not use that as an excuse to see a cemetery as a public place, that if we leave our rubbish there somebody else will look after it and it won’t be our problem anymore. Just because we can’t see our problems or the problems we cause doesn’t mean that they don’t exist.                                                                                                      Fr. Anthony