The Word - 2nd Sunday of Advent [Isaiah 11: 1-10] The spirit of the Lord will rest on the offspring of Jesse, and he will judge the wretched with integrity. [Romans 15: 4-9] Christ came to bring salvation to all, pagans as well as Jews. [Matthew 3: 1-12] John the Baptist calls us to prepare a way for the Lord through baptism and repentance. Diocesan Prayer Link: Clifton Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT Year A

[Psalter 2 & Proper of Season]

Sunday 8th St Joseph’s

9.00am Mass [Sammy’s 4th Birthday]

St Nicholas’ Mass 11.00am

Monday 9th SOLEMNITY OF THE IMMACULATE

CONCEPTION OF THE BV MARY

St Nicholas’ 7.00pm Rosary

Tuesday 10th Weekday of Advent

St Michael’s Rosary 9.10am

Wednesday 11th Weekday of Advent

St Joseph’s Morning Prayer 9.00am

Mass 9.30am

PARISH CHRISTMAS LUNCH AT TILLY’S

7.00pm St Joseph’s Penitential Service

with visiting priests

Thursday 12th Weekday of Advent

St Nicholas’ 10.00 Mass

Our Narthex will be used as a Polling Station

Friday 13th Memorial of St Lucy

St Joseph’s Rosary and Morning

Prayer 9.30am

St Nicholas’ Winchcombe

9.00am Morning Prayer & Exposition

Saturday 14th Memorial of St John of the Cross

St Joseph’s Morning Prayer 9.10am

Followed by Exposition

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT Year A

[Psalter 3 & Proper of Season]

Saturday 14th St Michael’s B Cleeve

Vigil Mass 5.30pm [Confession available]

Sunday 15th St Joseph’s Mass 9.00am

St Nicholas’ Mass 11.00am

PLEASE REMEMBER IN YOUR PRAYERS

ANNIVERSARIES John Cole, Vera Croucher, Don McCaffer, Michael Nelson, Julia Noone, James O'Brien and Will O'Mahoney. THE SICK:

Gordon Thompson, Betty McCarthy, Breda and William Vince, Maria Roberts, Alezandra Francis, Beth White, Sister Anne Benyon, Ewan Taylor and Helen Glenn

OUR STEWARDSHIP

1st December 2019 - Loose £ 75.07 GAD Envelopes £ 15.00

Thank you to everyone who supports our parish either weekly or by monthly direct debit

Chance Street, Tewkesbury, GL20 5RF. Clifton Diocese Registered Charity No: 1170168

With Saint Nicholas, Winchcombe, GL54 5HX and St Michael, Bishops Cleeve, GL52 8BA

Parish Office Phone: 01242-602412 01684 293273 Email: Tewkesbury.stjoseph@cliftondiocese.com Parish Deacon John Torr - Phone: 01684-294333

Parish Website: www.saintjosephstewkesbury.org.uk Diocesan Website: www.clif.tondiocese.com

NOTICES FOR THE WEEK

SECOND COLLECTIONS Last Sunday our parish sent a contribution of £60 for the Poor Missions of our Diocese. This week we collect for Christmas Flowers in our church. Please give generously for our church to be beautifully decorated. PENITENTIAL SERVICE AT ST JOSEPH’S This coming Wednesday, 11th December, at 7.00pm there will be a number of priests available at St Joseph’s in Tewkesbury to hear our confessions, so that we can all receive this important sacrament as part of our preparation for Christmas. BIG CLEAN FOR CHRISTMAS From 9th - 14th December there will be a list in the Narthex of ‘extra’ tasks that require to be done at Christmas to make our church shine even more brightly than ever. The rotas for the ‘regular’ monthly clean are also available. If your new year’s resolution for 2020 is to ‘get more involved in your parish’ you could join the cleaning rota. Email Claire@douglas-uk.com LITERATURE IN THE NARTHEX All parishioners are reminded that publications and prayer booklets etc placed in our Narthex are free to take home and use. To prepare for Christmas the parish has purchased a small supply of Day-by-Day Advent prayer guides. Also available are CAFOD World Gift catalogues for gift ideas.

Liturgical Diaries are still available and make a great gift, also. At jut £6.50 these give us a great guide during the year to all the feast days and a place to note down all the parish activities and events. CRIB DONATIONS Once again, our crib donations this year will be for CCS Adoption. Please encourage your children to visit the crib, once it has been set up mid-December, so that they can dwell on the real meaning of Christmas.

SEASON’S GREETING TO FATHER PETER All parishioners sending Father Peter a Christmas card should address it to: St Nicholas Church, Chandos Street, Winchcombe, Gloucestershire GL54 5HX

AN EVENT AT ST GREGORY’S Rev Roderick Strange leads an evening on ‘Newman: Advent Holiness’ at St Gregory’s, Cheltenham, on Wednesday 18 December, 7.00pm. Mgr. Strange, Professor of Theology has written & lectured on Newman extensively and has worked as an adviser to the BBC. There will a chance to buy his book “Newman: The Heart of Holiness”, and have it signed by the author. MASS FOR LGBT+ COMMUNITY IN BRISTOL Each month new people are welcomed to the prayerful celebration of the Eucharist at St Nicholas of Tolentino in Bristol. Some are re-connecting with the Church after many years which encourages the team there who organise regular services. Pope Francis is unlikely to change Church doctrine in this field, although he has shown a clear preference for the Church to be known as a church of social justice rather than as a church that primarily polices sexuality. The next Mass in Bristol will be on 15th December at 3.00pm with refreshments and a social gathering afterwards. CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT All are invited to join St Peter’s RC High School Choir for a festive evening of music and readings at 7pm on Friday 13th December in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Stroud. Tickets £3 (£1 concessions) are available from the school Reception (01452 520594) or boxoffice@sphs.uk.com or even on the door. Everyone will be most welcome. YEAR OF PRAYER The season of Advent is a very real time of waiting and hoping. It might not feel like this because we are so busy doing, rushing from one shop to another, busy in the kitchen, anxiously checking this and checking that, just to ensure that the one day that has become ‘Christmas’ is a real success. When we stop and ponder on the mystery that is unfolding before us we might find ourselves wondering about who is waiting and who is hoping, Is it us or is it the Lord? It is likely that in our hearts we do have a real sense of longing and of hoping for God and if this is the case how much more might God be longing for us? So many things can get in the way of us experiencing the intimacy of God who longs to console us, to wrap arms around us, to hold us. Advent is a good time to reflect on what might be getting in the way of us being intimate with God. What are the things that prevent us from feeling confident in the presence of God? Though it is important to prepare for Christmas on a practical level, we might want to guard against avoiding the need to prepare on a spiritual level, because the tinsel has become all important.

ADMINISTRATOR AWAY Chris will be absent on Friday, attending a funeral.