Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

St John the Evangelist Parish
Aurs Rd., Barrhead, G78 2RW.
 
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
7th September 2025
 
Rev Monsignor John Canon Tormey: Parish Priest
Rev Fr Joseph J McGill: Assistant Priest
Rev Denis Murphy:  Deacon
Email: [email protected]  Tel- 0141 881 0769
Website: www.stjohns-barrhead.org
 
MaryHallan: Safeguarding Co-Ordinator: [email protected]
 
LAST WEEK’S COLLECTIONS
First Collection GA: £327.10 NGA: £895.33
Building Fund GA: £10.00
Church Restoration Donations: £100, £2000
 
Response to Psalm:
“O Lord, you have been our refuge, from generation to generation.”
 
Children’s Rosary: The Children’s Rosary returns on Friday 12th September at 6pm. Children of all ages, including babies, are invited along. Please bring your children and grandchildren to take part in this wonderful opportunity for prayer.
 
Church Hall Coffee Mornings: A reminder that the Coffee Bar on a Tuesday has restarted as have teas and coffees in the hall after 10am Mass on a Sunday.
 
Church Hall Quiz Night: We resume our monthly quiz nights with the next one on Friday 12th September at 7pm. It is always a great night, so please bring a friend and help with the parish fundraising. BYOB.
 
Jumble Sale in aid of the Restoration Fund:
There will be a jumble sale in the Parish Hall, after 10am Mass on Sunday 14th September from 11am-2pm. Please come and support this parish fundraiser.
 
Sacred Heart Prayer Group:
The Prayer Group will meet in St John’s tea room on Tuesday 9th September from 1pm – 2pm.
 
100 Club Winners for August:
1st £100 no 33 Margaret M Donnelly
2nd £50 no 13 Bernadette Rocks
3rd £30 no 59 R&S Young
4th £20 no 44 Peter Millar
5th £20 no 48 Kevin Foley
 
Church Restoration Donations: A very special thank you goes out to two parishioners who made a £2,000 and £100 donation for our church restoration project in the last week.
We pray for those who have died recently:
Paul Gallacher, Jim Tierney and Alexander Wheelan.
We pray for the anniversaries of: Agnes Brennan, William Brennan, Jim Carroll, Jimmy Docherty, Margaret Docherty, Michael Docherty, Belle Henrietta Finnie, John Gillan, Susan Gillan, Dan Lafferty, Annie Logue, Dominic McCue Sr, Dominic McCue Jr, Ellen McKelvie, Margery Anne Tormey and Michael Welsh.
 
Funeral Mass this week:
The Requiem Mass of Alexander Wheelan will be celebrated on Friday 12th September at 10am.
 
RCIA for St John’s Parish:  If you know of anyone who wishes to enrol for the RCIA to become a Catholic, please let one of the priests know. We hope to start on Wednesday 24th September at 7pm in the Church House.
We hope to start the courses in late September, most likely on a Wednesday evening at 7pm, if this suits everyone. Please contact Fr John or Fr Joe if you have an interest in joining the RCIA for the autumn.
 
Story of a North Korean Christian: Hear the powerful testimony of a Christian who escaped the brutal regime in North Korea.
Reserve your ticket at https://www.trybooking.com/uk/FDYV. For more information, please contact the ACN Scotland office at [email protected] or call 01698 337 470.
The event takes place on Wednesday 10th September, St Joseph’s Church Hall, Clarkston, 7pm – 9pm.
 
 
Diocesan Vocations Mass: We are pleased to invite you to the Diocesan Vocations Mass on Thursday, September 11th, at 7:00pm, held at St. Mirin’s Cathedral in Paisley. Bishop John warmly encourages your attendance as we come together to pray for an increase in vocations to the Priesthood, Diaconate, and Consecrated Life.
 
Acutis Relic Tour:  Days after his canonisation, a relic of then-Saint Carlo Acutis will visit the Diocese of Paisley, from 9-13 September. These days will doubtless bring many blessings for our Diocesan family. Bishop Keenan invites you to a Holy Hour from 6.30-7.30pm in St Mirin’s Cathedral on Tuesday 9thSeptember to welcome the relic and the delegation from Assisi. The relic will be available for veneration in the cathedral on Wednesday 10th September (11.30am – 3pm), Friday 12th September (10.30am – 4pm) and Saturday 13th September (9am – 11am); and in St Mary’s, Greenock on Thursday 11th September (12.30pm – 5pm). All are invited to a Mass of Thanksgiving in the cathedral on Saturday 13th September at 11am, after which the relic will leave the Diocese. 
Diocese of Paisley Young Adults: The Young Adults new series begins with a series on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass - “Heaven Meets Earth” 
Starting on Wednesday 24th September at 7.30pm in the Diocesan Office, with ’The Introduction to the Mass’ by Fr Paul Laverty. All young Catholics 18-35 are welcome. For more information contact Fr. Joe McGill at [email protected] or Fr Paul Laverty [email protected] 
 
Faith Formation at St Joseph & St Patrick's Church, Wemyss Bay: Following the success of the Lenten Talks, the parish of St Joseph & St Patrick's, Wemyss Bay have two talks scheduled for the month of September and we would like to extend an invitation to all parishes across the diocese. On Wednesday, 24th September, Fr. Matthew Carlin will deliver the second talk on the theme of Lay ministries in the Church. Each talk will take place at 7pm in the Church with refreshments available afterwards in the Church Hall.  We look forward to seeing you then.
 
Acutis Evening (S4-S6): The first Acutis Evening of the new term will take place on Friday 12th September in St James’s church, Paisley, 6-8pm. The relic of then-Saint Carlo will be present. These evenings provide catechesis, dinner and prayer for young people in S4-S6. 6-8pm. Please note that (one-time) online registration for these events in necessary. Parents/guardians should visit www.tinyurl.com/dpy-acutis-evenings. Email Fr Ryan Black for more info at [email protected].
 
Marriage Preparation Courses 2025 (Diocese of Paisley): We invite engaged couples to register for the last Marriage Preparation course of 2025. The course consists of two evening in-person sessions, and one Saturday morning workshop, which will be held in St. Mirin’s Cathedral Hall, Paisley. For any additional details or queries, please contact Rebecca Harrison at [email protected]  
 
Beginning Experience: The Beginning Experience are holding a weekend for those who find themselves suffering bereavement through divorce, separation or widowhood. The weekend will take place from the 26th – 28th of September 2025 at Conforti Centre, Coatbridge. For details, contact Maggie on: 01389 751677 or email: [email protected]. Applications must be completed and returned by the 12th of September 2025.
 
Ongoing Maintenance Report and Budget Spend for 2025:
The hall gutters and downpipes which were blocked have been repaired by Cairn Building Solutions for £576. The Roof of the Hall will be repaired at a cost of £5,197.00 plus VAT. Some ridges had been blown off in the February storm. All of the top ridges will be taken off and replaced with new ones.
The hall stage is being prepared for the celebration of Mass. New lights have been fitted. The hall fuse boxes have been completely redone at a cost of £2,000.
The hall stage will have new curtains and rails fitted with an estimate cost of £2,400. These are good quality curtains to provide a long-lasting feature for the church hall. We have also acquired an altar and tabernacle stand which will be painted and cleaned for £500. The ceiling of the stage will be varnished, and some paint work will be done around the walls of the stage with an estimated cost of £500.
A further £250 was spent on the annual electrical testing for the church and house, by DS Electrics. This will bring our budget spend for this year to around £12,673. We have set aside £30,000 for this year’s ongoing repairs and improvements to the parish.
This month, the boilers will have their annual maintenance check. We do not have an estimate for this as of yet.  We are well within our projected budget for ongoing work for 2025 and we will keep you informed on how our parish funds are being used to improve the parish buildings.
 
SQA Invigilators – St Luke’s High School:
St Luke’s High are currently looking to recruit additional invigilators for the 2026 SQA exams which take place from Wednesday 22 April until Monday 1st June 2026.
Invigilators play a crucial role in supporting the exam diet. All invigilation activities are carried out under the direction of a chief invigilator.
Full training is provided, and no prior experience is required. You will also be supported by your chief invigilator throughout.
To find out more about the invigilator role or if you have any questions or need more information, please contact Mrs Hunter, Depute Head Teacher at the school:
Tel: 0141 577 2400 or email: [email protected]
 
 
Fr John will be away from the parish for the next four weeks recuperating after a hernia operation. Please keep him in your prayers. Thank you. 
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