FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT (YEAR B)
THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY & JOSEPH (YEAR B)
View/download the printed newsletter
Bishop’s letter for the Fourth Sunday of Advent 2023
Go to: Parish Notices | Upcoming Events | Masses & Intentions | Parish Donations Portal | Ways To Donate | Safeguarding | Our Facebook Page | Our Youtube Channel
Parish Priest: Fr Anthony Dampson
Assistant Priest: Fr Marek Balawender
Christmas 2023
| Christmas Eve | 6.00pm at Our Lady of Peace Church – Children’s Mass. 7.00pm at St Andrew’s – Carols & Nativity Play. 8.00pm at St Andrew’s – Christmas Vigil Mass. 11.30pm at Our Lady of Peace Church – Carols & Readings, Midnight Mass. |
| Christmas Day | 9.30am at Our Lady of Peace Church 11.30am at St Andrew’s Shared Church |
| Tuesday 26th – St Stephen’s Day (Altar servers) | 12 noon at Our Lady of Peace Church |
LIGHT THE ADVENT CANDLE
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Light the Advent candle, four:
think of joy forevermore;
Christ Child in a stable born,
gift of love that Christmas morn.
Refrain
Candle, candle, burning bright,
shining in the cold winter night;
candle, candle, burning bright,
fill our hearts with Christmas light.
Christmas
Light the Christmas candles now:
sing of donkey, sheep, and cow;
birthday candles for the King,
let the alleluias ring.
Parish Notices
FR ANTHONY & FR MAREK wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year. Their sincere thanks to all parishioners for the love, friendship and support throughout the year. May God increase our love and affection towards each other in the coming year. God bless you all.
BISHOP DAVID’S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE Bishop David has released his Christmas message for 2023 on the Diocese’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/zayN3NZttuI?si=lKfhw0xRLxeuFr8Z
PARISH OFFICE CLOSURE Just a reminder that the parish office will be closed from midday on Friday December 22nd to reopen at 9 am on Wednesday 3rd January.
PARISH CHRISTMAS CONCERT We thank Anna Goldberg and the organisers of the Christmas Concert for the hard work and active participation. The organisers are now very pleased to announce that the Christmas Concert raised £2,274 for the refurbishment fund! A tremendous team effort with thanks to everyone who contributed. Special thanks to all the talented performers – Sing4U, Monika Anton, Chris Grimmett, Brid and Our Lady of Peace Choir with a special mention to Aoife for her lovely solo.
SAINT STEPHEN’S DAY Saint Stephen is the patron saint of Altar Servers. There will be a special Mass on Tuesday December 26th at 12 noon at Our Lady of Peace Church dedicated to thanking God for the selfless volunteering of each altar server, for their generous service and the important role they play in the life of the parish. We invite all Altar Servers to attend this Mass.
CHRISTMAS OFFERING Christmas and Easter are two times in the year when your offerings go directly to the Priests as a significant part of their wages. Should you wish to give a Christmas Offering to our priests, through the offertory envelopes, there is a blue one with inscription Christmas Offering for this purpose. You can also make your Christmas gifts by using the various online giving platforms detailed in the FINANCES/DONATE section of this newsletter and on our website. Please use the reference: ‘Christmas Gift’ or ‘Christmas Offering’.
OFFERTORY The collection for 17th December amounted to £539.94. The DONA plate offerings amounted to £93.02 for this weekend. The Tea & Coffee collection for 17th December amounted to £37. We are very grateful for your continued support.
LOVE CHRISTMAS – WHAT A RESULT! Both of our Giving Trees were jam-packed with gifts kindly donated by you for the two charities we supported. Caritas and Burnham Care & Share were overwhelmed by your generosity and enormously thankful. What wonderful parish we have – thank you so much for your kindness for people in need this Christmas.
CAKE SALE Two young parishioners will be selling cakes on Sunday 24th December after the 9.30am Mass at OLOP. The cake sale is in support of a fundraising in aid of their desire to participate in a youth pilgrimage to Rome as they seek to grow in faith and be more effective witnesses to our generation. Please remember to bring cash to help these children. Thank you very much.
OUR CHRISTMAS CARDS This year we have designed and printed our very own Christmas cards which will be on sale after all weekend Masses for a donation of £1.00 per card. Proceeds from the sale of all cards will go towards the church refurbishment project.
24-HOUR ADORATION ‘Come, my soul, redouble your ardor’ it would be a foretaste of heaven; everything else would become insipid to us.”- St. John Vianney. There will be 24 hours of adoration at Our Lady of Peace Church beginning at 10 am on January 5th and ending at 10 am on Saturday. Please choose an hour for adoration and note it on the lectern’s hourly schedule.
HOUR OF GRACE Will take place on Friday, January 5th, beginning with a Mass at 7 pm at Our Lady of Peace Church, Burnham. Come and be blessed as it promises to be a spirit-filled time of praise, worship, and ministration. “Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the people praise you!” Psalm 67:5.
VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED – LITURGY OF THE WORD FOR CHILDREN
There will be a liturgy of the word for children every other Sunday for all children attending school years Reception to Year 3. Our aim is to return to our weekly sessions, but we desperately need more leaders/helpers (role is subject to a DBS Check) to enable us to achieve this! If you are interested and would like a Chat to find out more information, come and see Lisa or Evka after Mass or alternatively you can email Lisa Mennone frankiematt3[AT]hotmail.co.uk.
CAFOD has partners working in Gaza and is making an appeal for financial support. If you feel able to donate please find CAFOD online at cafod.org.uk Thank you.
SHOP ONLINE AND AUTOMATICALLY RAISE FUNDS FOR OUR LADY OF PEACE Give as you Live Online is a free and easy way to raise money for Our Lady of Peace Church when you shop online with 6,000+ stores. Boost donations by simply registering first and then clicking on the ‘share’ link and sharing with your friends and family – an extra £5 is donated to our church when the first £5 is spent! Link: Shop Online & Raise Money – Give as you Live Online
MOTHER’S PRAYERS Will be taking a break until the Spring.
TEA AND COFFEE The money raised from the teas and coffees will be for the Church Refurbishment Fund. Refreshments are available each Sunday after the 9.30am Mass.
COFFEE SHOP is held at St Andrew’s every Saturday morning from 10.00am – 12.00noon. It is open to everyone, please pop in and enjoy tea/coffee and cake!
OLOP REFURBISHMENT We are all reminded that donations to the refurbishment of our Parish Church of Our Lady of Peace are now very welcome. Please find the blue envelopes supplied at the entrance exclusively for monies donated towards church refurbishments. The Dona Plate is also currently set up to accept kind donations for this project, and those who donate via bank transfer or standing order are advised to specify that the payment is specifically for the refurbishment of Our Lady of Peace Church (OLOP Refurbishment). May God, whose house you are helping to build, bless your lives with his Divine blessings.
ORGANISING ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS ACROSS THE PARISH For anyone organising activities and events in OLP or St Andrew’s, please contact the Parish Office and advise Venecia so she can ensure that the diary is always current and check for clashes of venue or dates.
FAMILIES NEEDING HELP If anyone is aware of people who require assistance/help, please provide names and contact information to the parish office.
WIDOWS & WIDOWERS There is a support group in the parish for widows and widowers. Please email the parish office if you would like help with bereavement. office.ourladyofpeace[AT]northamptondiocese.org
SAFEGUARDING Please remember that Bishop David is available to meet with anyone affected by abuse in our Church. To make an appointment (at short or long notice) please contact our diocesan safeguarding office.
SAFEGUARDING DBS CHECKS If you have any DBS forms that need to be checked and validated, please contact Máirín Comfort. She can be reached via email at safeguarding.olop[AT]northamptondiocese.org, or at OLOP church after the 9.30am Mass. Kindly get in touch with her to arrange a suitable time for form validation. Thank you for your cooperation.
WYCOMBE HOMELESS PROJECT Please see poster on parish noticeboard of this local charity supported by the Knights of St Columba who are raising funds to help homeless people in South Bucks who need emergency accommodation and specialist support to avoid illegal and unfair eviction, also access to health services and much more. You can help directly by sending monies to Bank Account 07517319, Sort Code 60-11-01 “Knights of St Columba” with reference to the WHC Project. Any queries or more information can be obtained from Paul Hogwood on 07740-812414 or email: pjhogwood[AT]btinternet.com
SLOUGH FOODBANK For details on how to donate see https://slough.foodbank.org.uk/give-help-2/donate-food/ or please view the poster on the parish noticeboard.
ST GILBERT’S MISSION PROJECT There are little bottles in the Church porches for any spare change! Please take one home and return when filled up.
OUR PARISH LIST OF THE SICK There is a book where you can enter the name of the person to be prayed for. In line with Data Protection legislation please obtain the consent of the person before entering their name in the book. This book will be placed on the altar during each Mass in Our Lady of Peace Church.
GOING INTO HOSPITAL? If you wish to receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion and Anointing of the Sick before going into Hospital please let us know. A visit can be arranged from Fr Anthony or Fr Marek.
CONFIRMING OUR PARISH NAME In discussion with Bishop David recently, it has been decided to firm up the name of our combined Parish by combining the two names together in a new logo. Going forward we are ‘Our Lady of Peace and St Andrew’s’. The Bishop is happy with this slight amendment as it helps in some way for people to understand that we are truly one Parish and not two separate entities. You will see the new logo appearing across the Parish in future.
BULLETIN If you require any notices to be included in the next Bulletin, please email Venecia on office.ourladyofpeace[AT]northamptondiocese.org or drop in the Presbytery door. Deadline for notices is Thursday by 11.00am.
PARISH OFFICE Email office.ourladyofpeace[AT]northamptondiocese.org or you can telephone the Parish office on 01628 605764 and leave a message, or contact Fr Anthony on 07853 106000, email franthony.dampson[AT]northamptondiocese.org.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Our Lady of Peace Parish Council Chair: ppcc.olop[AT]northamptondiocese.org
Our Lady of Peace Safeguarding Representative: safeguarding.olop[AT]northamptondiocese.org
Our Lady of Peace Head of Finance: financechair.olop[AT]northamptondiocese.org
Upcoming Events
ROSARY GROUP The Rosary Group recite the Rosary after 9.30am Mass each morning in Our Lady of Peace Church. Please join them if you can.
WEDNESDAY COFFEE MORNING Once-a-month-coffee morning at Our Lady of Peace Church. Join us at OLOP after Mass on Wednesday 3rd January for tea/coffee/cake & chat.
TRINITY CONFERENCE: REAWAKENING THE CATHOLIC VISION On Saturday 17 February 2024, 9am to 5pm, you are invited to explore all of this and more at the Trinity Conference: Reawakening the Catholic Vision. How can the Catholic Church respond to an increasingly disaffiliated and disengaged generation? What is the future of our Catholic parishes, schools, and homes? TC24 will explore the context of ‘post-Christendom’ society, and the implications this has for the Church’s mission today. For the full timetable and booking info see: https://www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/events/events/trinity-conference-2024-reawakening-the-catholic-vision.php
SUBMISSIONS FOR THE PARISH WEBSITE OR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER can be sent to the Parish Office. Items on paper and print are also accepted and can be given to Fr Anthony, or delivered to the Presbytery.
A PARISHIONER HAS VERY KINDLY OFFERED TO PRINT AND DELIVER COPIES OF OUR WEEKLY BULLETIN to those unable to attend Mass each week, this would only be posted through the letterbox. If you know of anyone who would like a copy delivered, please contact the Parish office on 01628 605764. Please obtain the permission of the Parishioner to provide their address.
MASS BOOKINGS Kindly drop off your intentions at the Presbytery, place it in the donation box in the Church or give it to Fr Anthony. You can still make a request for Masses by email and telephone.
PARISH ONLINE PRAYER SERVICE A dedicated email has been set up for you to send prayer requests. The email address is: prayerministry.ourladyofpeace[AT]northamptondiocese.org Meanwhile, let us continue to support and pray for one another in the parish.
Appointments
ST THOMAS CATHOLIC ACADEMIES TRUST are looking to recruit a Chief Finance and Operations Officer working across all the schools in our Trust, in Luton, Bucks and Slough. For more details and to apply please visit https://www.mynewterm.com/jobs/320797/EDV-2023-STCAT-45441. Closing date for applications is Midday on 29th January 2024.
Parish Donations
FINANCES We are extremely grateful, not only for your financial support, but also to the volunteers who help in so many ways for the Church to remain open for Masses.
Your valued ongoing support to the Parish can be made through the following options:
- Donating by phone: ‘Giving Tuesday’ – Telephone Donation In addition to the online donation facilities currently available, the Diocese has begun a ‘Giving Tuesday’. Each Tuesday between 10:00am and 4:00pm, you can call this number, 01604 712065, and donate to your parish.
- Online Donation We are now using a new provider ‘Invest My Community’ who work with other Catholic Diocese, schools and charities. You can access our online giving page via the donate button on our Diocesan Website or by using the following link https://northamptondiocese.org/donate/ If you would like to use this facility to make your regular, one off donations please ensure you indicate this along with the name of your parish, and any other message detail in the ‘Public Message’ box. Please note this information is not made visible to the public.
- Standing Order via donor’s own bank: You can set up a standing order for donations to your parish using either your online bank account or in branch. You can also make a one-off payment to the parish. The information required to make the donation is as follows:
Bank: NatWest.
Sort Code; 60-06-11.
Account Name; 46716203. Account Name; RCDN Our Lady of Peace.
Payment Ref: Our Lady of Peace, Slough. - Standing Order using the form: https://northamptondiocese.org/wp-content/uploads/GAD-general-June-18-v2-revision.pdf You can complete the standing order form for donations to your parish with the option to Gift Aid. Please indicate on this form if you are not a tax payer but would like to set up a standing order only. There are two sides/sheets to this form, it should be printed, completed, signed and returned to our Parish office, we will then forward to central offices at Bishop’s House for processing at a later date. Please remember to state which parish this standing is for i.e. ‘For the benefit of Our Lady of Peace, Slough Parish’ section at the top of the form. Banks will require 7 working days from receipt of these forms to activate the request so please ensure the start date reflects this 7 day period to ensure the S.O. can take effect.
- There is also a donation box in Our Lady of Peace for Mass intentions, offertory, donations, etc.
- Contactless Donations 💳 We have installed ‘Digital Collection Plate’ contactless terminals in the Churches, allowing you to donate using a contactless debit/credit card, NFC smartphone or watch. Simply enter the amount you wish to donate and hold your card (or NFC device) to the reader. You can also opt-in for Gift Aid to increase your donation by 25%. If you are a UK taxpayer then donating with Gift Aid means that we can claim an extra 25p for every £1 received.
- Parish Donations Portal 💳 After a successful trial of the physical digital collection plate in our Churches, we are pleased to announce that a web portal is now available as a queue-free alternative. Either use the link (Gift Aid giving is available using one-time registration): https://portal.mydona.com/assets/webPay/index.php?cid=419 or with your QR code reader mobile app, scan the code in the printed newsletter, click on the link to mydona.com, and it will give you the same options available on the Digital Plate in Church. Also look out for the DONATE HERE sign with QR Code in the Church. Thank you.
N.B. To access this service, select links titled: Parish Donations Portal.
Thank you for any help you are able to give and God bless.
News Links
- Diocese News
- Diocese ‘X’ page (includes the Bishop’s weekly engagements)
- The Vine (Journal of the Diocese of Northampton)
- Diocese of Northampton Youtube
- Diocese of Northampton Flickr photo albums
- News from the Catholic Church in England & Wales
- Videos on Vimeo from the Catholic Church in England & Wales
- Catholic Church in England & Wales Flickr photo albums
- News from the Vatican (in English)
Masses & Intentions
Go to: 23rd December – 30th December | 30th December – 6th January
Sunday Readings: Year B.
Weekday Readings: Cycle I.
Universalis – Daily Mass Readings (updates automatically).
Live streaming of Sunday Mass at Our Lady of Peace can be found on
Facebook: ourladyofpeacecatholicchurchburnham and YouTube: youtube.com/@ourladyofpeacecatholicchur3404/streams
24th December – 30th December
| Saturday 23rd December | FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT Mass Readings (Year B) 6.00pm Our Lady of Peace – Zoltan Torok RIP (R. Group), Connie & Ann Sugrue INT (Sugrue Family) |
| Sunday 24th December | FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT Mass Readings (Year B) 9.30am Our Lady of Peace LS – Peggy Boundy INT (R. Group), Magdalene Otue Esangbedo RIP (Iyoghen Adoh), Anne Maasch RIP (Denise) 11.30am St. Andrews – Young Families INT (R. Group) Cardinal Ernest Simoni Int, living Martyr of Albania (R.G), Danny Shaw and Family |
| Sunday 24th December | THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD, JESUS CHRIST Mass Readings 6.00pm Our Lady of Peace – Billy Macdonald RIP (John Macdonald), Bobby & Mary-Ellen Hutchinson RIP (Kelly Payne) 7.00pm St Andrew’s – People of the parish |
| Monday 25th December | THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD, JESUS CHRIST Mass Readings 12.00am – Midnight Mass – Our Lady of Peace LS – John & Mary Lawlor RIP (Goldberg), Mary Harris RIP & Francis Flynn RIP (Cafferty), Irene Ali and Family N.B. No Adoration and no Morning Prayer today. 9.30am Our Lady of Peace – Kathleen Galea RIP (Tony Galea), A. Macdonald RIP (John Macdonald) 11.30am St. Andrews – Cardinal Ernest Simoni Int, living Martyr of Albania (R.G) |
| Tuesday 26th December | ST STEPHEN N.B. No Adoration and no Morning Prayer today. 12.00pm Our Lady of Peace – Genowefa Morgownik RIP 1st Anniversary (Christine Harajda & Family), Alfred Nunes Birthday (Borges Family) | Mass for the Altar Servers |
| Wednesday 27th December | ST JOHN, Apostle & Evangelist N.B. No Adoration and no Morning Prayer today. 9.30am Our Lady of Peace – Thanksgiving for Lisa & Eldred INT (Zeena), Bridget Batt RIP Anniversary (Batt) |
| Thursday 28th December | THE HOLY INNOCENTS, Martyrs 8.30am St Andrew’s – Adoration 9.15am St Andrew’s – Morning Prayer 9.30am St Andrew’s – Bridget Batt RIP (Batt), The Ripley Family INT (John Basey) |
| Friday 29th December 8.15am Our Lady of Peace – Adoration 9.15am Our Lady of Peace – Morning Prayer 9.30am Our Lady of Peace – Thanksgiving for Anitha & Clement Wedding Anniversary, Mary Warner INT (Val Warner), Kathleen Rumble INT (Val Warner), Chris Pegado Birthday (Borges Family) |
| Saturday 30th December 8.45am Our Lady of Peace – Adoration 9.45am Our Lady of Peace – Morning Prayer 10.00am Our Lady of Peace – Madaline Brown – Lawes Family (Pauline Lawes), Preciosa Godinho RIP (Borges Family) |
| Saturday 30th December | THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY & JOSEPH Mass Readings (Year B) 6.00pm Our Lady of Peace – Ray Shiels RIP (Ann & Leigh), Fr. Sean Healy INT (Val Warner), Fr. Pius INT (Val Warner) |
30th December – 6th January
| Saturday 30th December | THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY & JOSEPH Mass Readings (Year B) 6.00pm Our Lady of Peace – Ray Shiels RIP (Ann & Leigh), Fr. Sean Healy INT (Val Warner), Fr. Pius INT (Val Warner) |
| Sunday 31st December | THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY & JOSEPH Mass Readings (Year B) 9.30am Our Lady of Peace LS – Peggy Boundy INT (R. Group), Maureen Cronin RIP (Sugrue Family), Thanksgiving for Raj Family INT (Virgo Raj), Mr & Mrs A.S. Raj & All the Souls (Virgo Raj) 11.30am St. Andrews – Angelo Nazareth RIP (Sepala) 10.00pm St Andrew’s – New Year’s Eve Vigil Mass for 2024 |
| Monday 1st January | SOLEMNITY OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD N.B. No Adoration and no Morning Prayer today. 10.00am Our Lady of Peace – Liz & Family INT (Kay) |
| Tuesday 2nd January | SS BASIL THE GREAT AND GREGORY NAZIANZEN, Bishops, Doctors of the Church 8.15am Our Lady of Peace – Adoration 9.15am Our Lady of Peace – Morning Prayer 9.30am Our Lady of Peace – Estrocio Coutinho RIP 1st Anniversary (Louisa Almedia) |
| Wednesday 3rd January 8.15am Our Lady of Peace – Adoration 9.15am Our Lady of Peace – Morning Prayer 9.30am Our Lady of Peace – Grace Bennet RIP (Angela & Tom Lamb) |
| Thursday 4th January 8.30am St Andrew’s – Adoration 9.15am St Andrew’s – Morning Prayer 9.30am St Andrew’s – Danny Shaw and Family (Kay) |
| Friday 5th January 8.15am Our Lady of Peace – Adoration 9.15am Our Lady of Peace – Morning Prayer 9.30am Our Lady of Peace – Anthony Pegado Birthday (Borges Family), Ellen Sansom RIP (R. Group) 10.00am Our Lady of Peace – 24-hour Adoration 7.00pm Our Lady of Peace – Young Families INT (R. Group) |
| Saturday 6th January 9.30am Our Lady of Peace – Benediction 10.00am Our Lady of Peace – Fr. John Moloney INT (Kay), John Souvenir Fernandes RIP (Fernandes Family) |
| Saturday 6th January | EPIPHANY OF THE LORD Mass Readings (Year B) 6.00pm Our Lady of Peace – Kim HCPT INT (Kay) |
Notes:
LS = Mass livestreamed on Facebook and Youtube. R. Group = Rosary Group
Liturgy Office resources:
Calendar notes for 2024 (PDF)
Our Lady of Peace Church – Lower Britwell Road, Burnham | SL2 2NL
St Andrew’s – Elmshott La/Washington Drive, Cippenham, Berks | SL1 5RE
Our Lady of Peace 