Welcome to the Church of St. Columba

Sixth Sunday of Easter                9/5/2021 

 The first in a series of monthly Family Masses to accompany families preparing for the Sacrament of First Communion will take place next Saturday 8^th May at 6.00pm. Families of children in 2^nd and 3^rd classes in St. Columba’s, St. Vincents’s and Lindsay Road primary schools are invited to participate.           The Mass will be accessible via webcam only at www.ionaroadparish.ie

The Sacraments Implementation Group [SIG] has prepared a parish resource for Confirmation preparation. It is called Walking with Families and consists of 3 zoom sessions, each lasting thirty minutes.

The sessions are based on three short videos with the following themes:

• Strength for the Journey
• Gifted by the Spirit
• Called by Name

The videos are intended to stimulate faith conversation at home between parents/guardians and daughters/sons for Confirmation.

These sessions aim to complement the great work of teachers in schools.

We are excited at the prospect of reopening the church to parishioners for weekday Mass from this Monday 10^th May and for weekend Mass from next Saturday 15^th May. The following guidelines may be of assistance to you.

*The church will be divided into pods (one pod only on weekdays), and stewards will be on hand to count parishioners in and guide you where to sit, so that we can maximise the number who can attend while ensuring all safety measures are observed.

*We ask parishioners to wear a face mask while attending Mass and to sanitise your hands using one of the dispensers available as you enter the church.

* You will be invited to take a number from the table at the entrance and to leave this on the seat you have occupied at the end of Mass.

*Stewards will guide you as you approach the altar for Holy Communion, with people on one side of the central aisle approaching first, then the other side.

*We ask you to follow the guidance of the stewards in exiting the church at the end of Mass.

*Mass will continue to be streamed on the webcam for those who choose for the moment to continue to participate from at home:  www.ionaroadparish.ie

The church remains open each day from 11.00am-3.00pm for private prayer.

We thank parishioners for your generous Easter Dues, which contribute to the remuneration of the priests of the parish and of the diocese. We also thank parishioners for continuing to drop in your contributions to the First and Second Collections and to the Family Offering. Contributions can also be made through the ‘Donate’ button on the parish website www.ionaroadparish.ie

Thanks also to parishioners who have left in contributions to Trocaire, and towards our local conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. You can still drop in donations towards either organisation in the coming weeks, and we will make sure to pass them on.

A meeting of the Glasnevin Grouping Committee will take place on Tuesday 11^th May at 7.00pm.

A weekly zoom meeting to read and reflect together on the Gospel for the forthcoming Sunday continues each Friday at 7.30pm. It’s ideal preparation for hearing the Gospel proclaimed on Sunday. If you would like to join in any Friday evening, just give your email address to the Parish secretary and a link to the meeting will be sent to you.

FAITHFEST – POWERED BY THE SPIRIT

Calling all teenagers! Join us for an evening of games, music, workshop, chats and prayer.  Faithfest will take place 21 May from 6:30 – 8:30 online. You can register online using this link: https://forms.office.com/r/ZRLPXhUvSP   Registration closes on the 13^th May at 5pm.  For more information email: st.pauls@dublindiocese.ie

Archbishop Dermot Farrell has established a Task Force on a Church for the Dublin Archdiocese of Tomorrow under the title: Building Hope. Archbishop Farrell said: ‘I am very pleased that the Task Force reflects the diversity of the Archdiocese of Dublin, in terms of geography, expertise and the balance between lay and clerical, and male and female members. The dialogue within the Task Force will stimulate engagement with the whole diocesan family and shape an inclusive approach to a pastoral strategy appropriate to our times.’ The work of the Task Force begins with an assessment of the needs of the people of the Archdiocese emerging from COVID-19 and it hopes to support parish communities to undertake a radical renewal, looking to the future with creativity. The Archbishop has asked the Task Force to present an interim report by the end of June and to conclude its work by the end of the summer.

Fr. Richard Sheehy

Helpful contact is our community Garda Paddy Dunne 083 8182230

Please click on image to view Webcam for this service. Mass times may vary.