Catholic Church of St Mary-on-the-Quay Clifton Diocese, Bristol

RCIA

2011-11-27T07:20:00.001-08:00

There will be a study group (RCIA) for adults seeking to join the Catholic church in the middle hall once a week on Friday evenings at 6.30pm. This is an ongoing Programme and it opens to all who seek to deepen their faith. For more information, please contact Mr Bill Flint at billflint@tiscali.co.uk or Fr Nico at parish@stmary-on-the-quay.com

Lectio Divina Prayer Group

2011-11-27T07:16:00.000-08:00

A Lectio Divina prayer group drawing on the spirituality of St Benedict of Nursia meets on alternate Wednesdays from 6.15pm - 7.45pm in the middle hall. All are welcome. For more info please email:jamesebruce@btinternet.com.

Children's Liturgy of the Word

2011-11-27T07:08:00.000-08:00

Children’s Liturgy of the Word: Our first Children’s Liturgy of the Word will start next Sunday, 4th December. It will take place during the first part of the 5.15pm Sunday Masses. The children's Liturgy is aimed at children up to the time when they make their First Holy Communion at the age of 8. Once they begin the programme towards this they are expected to remain in church for the whole of the Mass. Children under the age of 4 have to be accompanied by an adult.

The purpose of the Children's Liturgy is to enable them to understand the theme of the readings, especially the gospel, for that Sunday in a way appropriate to their age. The children rejoin the rest of the people in the Mass at the Offertory when they join the procession and present what they have done to the priest. For more information please contact Lily Rodrigues at lilyjjames@yahoo.com

Music Ministry Wanted

2011-07-09T14:51:00.000-07:00

The 5.15 Music Ministry will shortly be losing a lot of its membership and we are in need of new singers to help out. We are also in need of a new organist. The group ministers on the second and fourth, and occasional fifth, Sundays of the month. If you can help please contact Helen - hlcj@hotmail.com or Fr Nico - parish@stmary-on-the-quay.com or come to speak to a member of the group.

International Meal

2011-04-23T15:02:00.000-07:00

We had an International Meal in the Church Hall after the Easter Vigil, 23rd April. It was a wonderful night. Thank you all.

Indonesian Mass

2011-03-05T13:57:00.000-08:00

We were very pleased to welcome the Indonesian Community for their first Indonesian Mass in Bristol on Saturday 5^th March at 1.30pm. It was a great day for the community who came to say their farewell to Fr Gaby as well as being a historic a historic occasion for St Mary-on-the-Quay.

Women's World Day of Prayer 2011

2011-03-04T13:42:00.000-08:00

The Women’s World Day of Prayer service was held at St- Mary- on-the-Quay on Friday 4th of March. Women from Broadmead Baptist, St Stephen’s and Bristol Cathedral joined us at St Mary’s for this interdenominational service, which this year was prepared by the Christian women of Chile, its theme being “How many loaves have you”?

The service was indeed a blessing and due to the able playing of the organist, Andrew, our singing of the hymns was rousing.

Afterwards there was an opportunity for fellowship with each other over a cup of coffee/tea and some lovely “eats” kindly provided by the women of the various churches, some with a Chilean flavour.

A big “Thank you” goes to all who helped in any way. – Special thanks to Cherry, Mary, Rosalind and Father Nico. A.O

SMQ Youth Prayer Group

2011-01-16T15:25:00.000-08:00

We meet on the third Sunday of each month. If you are 12 to 16 years old, you are welcome to join us. For more information, please contact Fr Nico or email him at parish@stmary-on-the-quay.com

Christmas at St Mary's 2010

2010-12-30T09:16:00.000-08:00

Please click the slideshow for larger image.

Confirmation at St Mary's

2010-10-28T16:07:00.000-07:00

"We thank Bishop Declan for being with us this evening

and we congratulate all those whom he confirmed.

Thanks also to all those who have been involved

in the preparations for this celebration."

Confirmation at St Mary on the quay Bristol, 28th October 2010 at 7.00pm, followed by refreshments in the parish hall.

Please click the slideshow for larger image.

Confirmation preparations

2010-10-24T15:55:00.000-07:00

In preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation on Thursday, 28th October at 7.00pm, there were training sessions for those to be confirmed on Sundays 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th October at 2.00pm in the Parish Hall. These are some of the photos during the confirmation preparations:

Please click the slideshow for larger image.

GLORIAM DEI

2010-10-23T14:16:00.000-07:00

Westfield Productions in association with the Royal British legion (Somerset County) present "GLORIAM DEI" (live at the Clifton Cathedral) to raising money for St Joseph's Home Cotham and the Little Sisters of the Poor on the 22nd of October at 7.30pm. Two of the brightest up and coming stars in classical music, Tim Pitman and Rebecca Robinson performed in the night. Tim has worked on some of the biggest stages in the country including the "Birmingham Tatoo" in front of 24,000 people. Rebecca has toured the country and has a worked with some of the top orchestras around. These are the photos during the concert:

Please click the slideshow for larger image.

Afternoon Tea on the Quay

2010-10-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely concert of classical and light jazz music at 4.00pm on Saturday 16 October in our Parish Hall. The concert was held to raise money for the parish’s maintenance and music funds. Grateful thanks to all who organized and took part in this concert. Thank you also to all those who supported this event.

Please click the slideshow for larger image.

BILL FRY RIP

2010-10-09T16:18:00.000-07:00

It was a great sadness to hear of the death of Bill Fry at the BRI on the 5^th of October 2010 at the age of 95. Bill was a well known and distinguished musician and organist and played for some years at the 11.00 Mass, eventually retiring in 2008. To his family we send our sympathy and the assurance of our prayers. May he rest in peace.

The Funeral service would be held at St. Monica's Chapel, Cote Lane, BS9 3UN on Thursday, October 21st, at 2.30 p.m. All welcome. No flowers please. Donations if desired for St. Monica's Trust Amenity Fund may be sent to R. Davies and Son, 63 Westbury Hill, Westbury on Trym, Bristol, BS9 SAD. Telephone 0117 9628954.Telephone 0117 9628954.

Papal Mass - Cofton Park, Birmingham

2010-09-22T18:47:00.000-07:00

At 4.45 am on September 19th, little groups of sleepy people, laden with folding chairs, blankets and thermos flasks, might have been seen gathering outside St Nicholas church in Lawford’s Gate. Pilgrims from St Mary’s, St Nick’s and Christ the King, we were about to set off to the Papal Mass in Birmingham. Soon the coach arrived, and we joined those from Holy Cross who were already on board. A short prayer from Father Richard, and we were off.

No doubt each pilgrim had their own reasons for making the journey. I wanted to be present for the beatification of Cardinal Newman, having admired him for many years – ever since, as a student at Oxford, I attended Mass in the Newman Rooms. But I also wanted to help demonstrate that, despite the media’s hostile attitude to the Church in general and the Pope in particular, ordinary Catholics are still prepared to stand up and be counted. We reached Cofton Park in the dawn and the drizzle, and joined the enormous throng filing through the security checks, pitching chairs and rugs on the wide grassy slopes, and waiting patiently, huddled into anoraks and under umbrellas.

Miraculously, as the Pope arrived and the Mass began, the rain stopped and the sun appeared. It was a lovely Mass – it felt, not like a grand ceremonial occasion, but like an ordinary Sunday Mass which just happened to be attended by thousands of people and celebrated by the leader of our Church on earth. The beatification was solemn yet surprisingly simple; we sang familiar hymns, heard bidding prayers in a variety of the languages spoken by British Catholics, and heard the Holy Father speak of his pleasure at being among us. The Mass ended, the Pope left us to go and make a private visit to Newman’s Oratory, and in true British fashion everyone got out their picnic lunch – spread out over the grass in the sunshine, we resembled a modern version of the feeding of the 5000!

So what will I remember from the day? The amazing variety of my fellow British Catholics – men, women and children, originating from many different countries and speaking with many different accents, yet all united in faith and in love for their Church. The spirit of happiness which seemed to possess everyone – even the policemen lining the route to the park were relaxed and cheerful, despite the rain. The way huge yellow-and-white striped umbrellas sprang up among the crowd when it was time for Communion, marking the place where a priest stood with the Blessed Sacrament. And the moving sight, after it was all over, of the coaches leaving to carry pilgrims back on their long journeys to their homes in every corner of the country. Let us pray that we all bring the grace of this wonderful occasion back into our parishes and our everyday lives.

Blessed John Henry Newman, pray for us.

Clare Griffel

Please click the slideshow for larger image.

SVP Outing - Montacute House

2010-09-12T18:04:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful day out to the magnificent Montacute House on Saturday 11th September. The weather, the house, the garden, and the view were splendid and memorable. Thank you to Adrian Brown for organizing this SVP- Parish Outing. We are very grateful and appreciative for his hard work and great commitment. Thank you also to all who took part in this journey.

please click the slideshow for larger image.

New Plaques of St Arnold Janssen & St Joseph Freinademetz

2010-09-04T07:40:00.000-07:00

Music on the Quay: A Spring Musical Gala 2010

2010-04-17T04:16:00.000-07:00

please click the slideshow for larger image.

Place: St Mary on the Quay
Date: 17 April 2010
Photos: Nilora

Vanessa Webb - Clifton Diocese Podcast & BBC Bristol Website

2010-03-31T08:49:00.000-07:00

We thank Vanessa for her beautiful works of restoring the three altars in our Church. Recently Tom Bigwood, the communication officer of our diocese, had an interview with her. You can listen to the pod-cast on the Clifton Diocese website.

The news of the restoration also can be found on the BBC Bristol website - "Artist restores stunning altar in Bristol church".

Farewell to Mauro Siragusa

2010-03-14T18:01:00.000-07:00

We in the 5.15 music ministry are very sorry to lose one of our very loyal and talented members, Mauro Siragusa, who is moving to the US to embark upon postdoctoral research at the highly prestigious Yale University.

My first recollection of Mauro is from two years ago: I recall becoming aware of a good-looking young man with a fine baritone voice, singing enthusiastically from the pews. He was keen to join the music ministry and though his sight-reading was initially basic, he proved to be a very quick learner – an indispensable attribute for ministers, who have to assimilate often unfamiliar music in the rehearsal before Mass thoroughly enough to be able to lead the congregation with confidence.

Later, Mauro asked me to teach him to read music and he progressed extremely rapidly. He also became a cantor, leading psalms and Gospel acclamations from the front with great aplomb, though he was always emphatic about putting in as much preparation as was feasible in order to do justice to the role of the music ministry as well as to himself.

As the number of leaving parties he attended before his departure testifies, Mauro lived by the ‘work hard: play hard’ maxim. SMQ benefited considerably from the fact that singing was a pastime he used to help him relax away from his studies, though this in no way detracted from the level of commitment he brought to the ministry.

We in the music group are very privileged to have known Mauro as a colleague and a dear friend and will miss him greatly; regulars in the 5.15 congregation will be aware of how much he has contributed to leading the worship in this Mass. We are, however, delighted that he has gained a placement at one of America’s leading universities and wish him every success, with both his continued research and future musical endeavours.

Helen Jacobs

Photos: Mauro's Collection.

Parish News - Fourth Sunday in OT 2012

2010-02-26T03:58:00.000-08:00

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Ash Wednesday 2010

2010-02-21T09:49:00.001-08:00

"Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Season of Lent. It is a season of penance, reflection, and fasting which prepares us for Christ's Resurrection on Easter Sunday, through which we attain redemption. Read more ...."

Please click the slideshow for larger image.

Photos: Nilora

A Day With Mary

2010-02-14T16:27:00.001-08:00

“A Day With Mary” was held at St Mary’s on Saturday 6th February. It was a day of prayer and devotion, including Mass, Scripture Rosary, Meditations on the Passion, Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction, Talks and Confessions. Many felt this was a blessed day.

Please click the slideshow for larger image.

Photos: Nilora

Lenten Reflections

2010-01-30T14:21:00.000-08:00

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Restoration of the Altars

2010-01-24T03:46:00.000-08:00

We are delighted to have Vanessa Webb back with us to restore the three altars in the church. Vanessa designed and stencil-painted (with a previous colleague) the back drop to the main altar back in the late 80’s at the request of Fr Maher SJ. She will now be restoring it to its former glory following damage by damp, using the same design of celestial blue and gold bunches of grapes.

Vanessa, who is based in Bristol, has extensive experience of restoring antique paintwork and gilding. Among other projects, she has worked on the Manor House, Uphill Manor, at Weston-super-Mare, restoring stencilling from the 1860’s. This work has been done previously by Crace and Son, decorators to royalty for three generations.

She said: “I do not like to paint over antique painting that is good. I like to work with the old decoration, enhancing its beauty and picking out significant features, reinstating only what is damaged.”

She has highlighted all the gold paintwork in our Italianate main back altar, and redefined the edges and the shape where the stonework was chipped. She has been right up to the top of the dome, even restoring the gold within the cupola. The ‘piece de resistance’ is the pelican over the tabernacle, which she rightly regards as the main feature of the altar. This has been completely re-gilded so it reflects the light.
She has also redone the gold at the base of the pillars. Moving on to the Lady Chapel, she will once again restore the paintwork and highlight the gold, as well as clean the statue itself. She has repainted the gold panels at the base of the altar originally done by Kevin Boyle , and restore the blue edging. Finally, she will re-gild and paint the Sacred Heart altar and clean up the statue.

She said: “St Mary’s is my favourite Bristol church and has been since I worked here in the 1980’s. Someone came up to me then and said ‘Thank you for making our church the prettiest in Bristol’ and I really appreciated that remark. It is really my pleasure to work here: I love the church and I love the work.” She hopes to finish in the early part of 2010. For further details of Vanessa Webb’s work, see her website: www.stunningfx.co.uk (Marion Morgan)

Three Months in Exile

2010-01-24T03:39:00.000-08:00

As the main Church building closed for the redecoration, we moved to the Hall for all Masses. We soon got used to going in by the side door and through the Crypt corridor, finding the Hall looking remarkably like a church. The altar had been put on the platform, with the St Damiano crucifix above it; a tabernacle was in the corner one side and the hymn board on the other. There was even the small font there.

The musicians took their place at the back, with an electronic keyboard which played either as an organ or a piano, according to the preference of the organist.

There were pluses and minuses to this arrangement. On the positive side, there was a good feeling of warmth and companionship as we pushed together on the chairs to make room for everyone. On the more negative side, we missed the statues and the candles (too much of a fire hazard in the squash) and there was a certain confusion getting everyone seated, especially as the back chairs always seemed to fill up first! Embarrassed members of the congregation arriving half way through the Mass were escorted to seats right at the front. Kneeling down was out of the question.

The organist could not see the celebrant when the congregation were standing, and sometimes had to guess when to come in.

On top of all this, we were still going through the swine flu restrictions: no chalice and just a nod at the Sign of Peace.

All in all, although we were grateful to have had such a good place in which to worship as a temporary measure, it felt like a real return from exile when we at last returned to the main Church on the second Sunday of Advent. Phew!

(Marion Morgan)

Quay Prayer

2009-11-27T16:01:00.000-08:00

Bidding Prayers for Epiphany Sunday 2012 (B)

Priest: Let us pray for our own needs and those of all nations called to behold the light of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Reader: May the star which led the Magi to the infant Saviour lead us towards our heavenly home.