Breffni Service

The Christmas Communion Service will be led by Rev Steve Clarke on Christmas Eve at 2 pm.
It’s great when other parishioners come along and share in the service with the residents especially at Christmas.

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Kildallon Bazaar

A big thank you to all those from both the parish and the wider community who came and supported the annual bazaar. At the time of writing the amount raised was €3920. This is quite a bit more than last year despite the weather!

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Scribe Magazine

Please note that the Scribe subscriptions are now due.
The cost is only €16.50 or £12.50 for a year.

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Christmas Bells

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The Carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said;
‘For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!’

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
‘God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!’

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God’s Shepherd

A Christmas story

The frost of forty winters had etched deep lines into the shepherd's face. Having spent his entire life outdoors on Bethlehem's hills, he was old at forty -- and cold. The hillside where he sat this day was cold, too, and he pulled his mantle close about him to block the wind.
Every so often he would shift position, not out of discomfort so much, but from a sense of unease, anxiety, crowdedness. Instead of hundreds of sheep with whom he felt quite at home, this hillside was flocked with people -- thousands of them -- listening attentively to the Teacher. They could hear him fairly well, except when the wind whisked away his words.
Tobias ben David (pronounced da-VEED) was the shepherd's name, though people called him Toby. His flocks were in good hands this week, cared for by his grown sons, but Toby had left them to listen to Jesus of Nazareth. Today the Teacher was talking about salvation, how God came to save his people from their waywardness and sins, to rescue them and gather them close.
Now Jesus' illustration turned to sheep. Toby felt better. He knew a lot more about sheep than people.
"The good shepherd," Jesus was saying, "lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand who doesn't own the flock runs away when he sees the wolf coming, but not the good shepherd...." One night, years ago, the men Toby had hired to watch the flock with him fled when they saw a mountain lion roaming the hills. But Toby had stayed. Shepherding was his livelihood. He knew the sacrifices that good shepherding required. He knew about defending defenceless lambs. He knew about putting his life on the line for the sheep. That's what good shepherds did.
Jesus continued, "Suppose you have 100 sheep and when night comes one is missing. What do you do? You leave the 99 sheep all safe together and then climb the hills, looking, searching until you find the lost sheep. Then you pick him up, put him on your shoulders, bring him down the hill to the camp, and ask your fellow shepherds to rejoice with you."
"Your heavenly Father is like that," Jesus said. "When you have lost your way, he will rescue you and save you and never give up on you until he finds you -- and you find him."
Toby's heart was racing. He felt a lump in his throat. He understood. Toby had combed the hills for lost sheep, not stopping, not quitting. He knew the joy of discovery, of rescuing the sheep from a thicket, of bringing it back and celebrating with his friends. He had been that kind of shepherd.
But he also knew how it felt to wander off, feeling lost, aimless, trapped. Clueless about where he was and where he was going. Flailing about, struggling to climb out of what seemed like a steep ravine. That's why he came today to hear the Teacher, hoping to regain the faith he had felt as a child, a ten-year-old child.
His mind spun back to the evening of his tenth birthday. Like nearly every night, he was out on the hills with his dad or his uncles, caring for the sheep. The stars were brilliant, dancing in the black sky. But suddenly an overpowering bright light flooded the hillside. A voice boomed out, "Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people. For to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord!"
A saviour, a rescuer -- shepherds' work. He had often wondered about the boy-child they discovered that night, lying in a manger, just as the angel had said. Toby had knelt down and worshipped the baby who bore the world's destiny upon his tiny shoulders. What had become of him, this baby? By now he must be thirty-something. Had this saviour saved anyone yet? Rescued anyone? Could he rescue me from my aimless existence? Toby wondered.
Just then the wind caught Jesus' words and blew them in Toby's direction. "I am the Good Shepherd," Jesus was saying, "who lays down his life for the sheep. Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me," he said with warmth and joy full on his face, "for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
I wonder? thought Toby as he felt big tears begin to roll down his cheeks and into his beard. I wonder? thought Toby as joy and the certainty of God's love began to fill his heart until it seemed like he would explode. I wonder? thought Toby, if this Jesus is the little baby I saw that night, the Saviour of the world? Yes, thought Toby, he must be. His words found me and, frankly, he sounds just like he's ... God's shepherd.

This story quotes Matthew 11:28-29; John 10:11-13 and refers to Luke 2:8-18.
Dr. Ralph F. Wilson

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Time for a smile! s

Church Service?

It was a very cold and misty Christmas morning in the very depth of winter after a heavy fall of snow. Only Farmer Foster who had come on his tractor and the Reverend Ralph Richards who had walked to the church arrived for the morning service.
'Well,' said the minister laconically, 'I guess there's no point in having a service today.'
'Well that's not how I see it.' said Farmer Foster smartly. 'If only one cow turns up at feeding time, I still feed it.'

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Time for another smile!

New Zealand Parking Ticket

Nelson City Council, in South Island, New Zealand has withdrawn a parking ticket issued to a Salvation Army van as it was loaded up with Christmas presents for needy children in a show of real Christmas spirit which should be commended.
The van was parked on yellow lines while it collected the donated goods in Nelson. Local residents Sue and John learned that the parking warden even apologised to the driver as he handed over the $60 ticket. The council said it had received a satisfactory explanation from the Salvation Army for the infringement and the notice had been cancelled. God Bless and Merry Christmas is what we say!

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Christmas Eve Prayer

“Give us , O God, the vision which can see Your Love in the world in spite of human failure. Give us the faith to trust Your Goodness in spite of our ignorance and weakness. Give us the knowledge that we may continue to pray with understanding hearts. And show us what each of us can do to set forward the coming of the day of universal peace.”

Frank Borman, Apollo 8 space mission, 24th December 1968.

Apollo 8 was the first human spaceflight to leave Earth orbit; the first to be captured by and escape from the gravitational field of another celestial body; and the first crewed voyage to return to planet Earth from another celestial body – Earth's Moon. The three-man American crew of mission Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders became the first humans to directly see the far side of the Moon, as well as the first humans to see planet Earth from beyond low Earth orbit. The 1968 mission was accomplished with the first manned launch of a Saturn V rocket. Apollo 8 was the second manned mission of the Apollo program and the first manned launch from the John F. Kennedy Space Centre.

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Service Schedule for the rest of December and January

Day Date

Time

Location

Service

Leader

December
Sunday19th

10.00

Swanlinbar

Carol Service

Brendan

10.30

Newtowngore

Cancelled due to snow & ice

11.30

Templeport

Carol Service

Richard

Noon

Kildallon

Cancelled due to snow & ice

3 pm

Ballyconnell

Carol Service

Richard & Brendan

Christmas Eve
24th December

2 pm

Breffni

HC 1

Rev Steve Clark

6 pm

Ballyconnell

Cancelled due to snow & ice

8 pm

Newtowngore

Communion

Brendan

9.30 pm

Kildallon

Communion

Brendan

11 pm

Templeport

Cancelled due to snow & ice

Christmas Day
25th December

9 am

Ballyconnell

Communion

Brendan

10.30

Swanlinbar

Communion

Brendan

10.30

Corrawallen

Cancelled due to snow & ice

St Stephen’s Day

10.30

Ballyconnell

Group Family United

Richard

January
Sunday 2nd

10 am

Swanlinbar

HC 2

Brendan

10.30

Newtowngore

MP 1

Richard

11.30

Ballyconnell

MP 1

George

11.30

Templeport

HC 2

Brendan

Noon

Kildallon

MP 1

Richard

Sunday 9th 

10 am

Kinawley

MP 2

Brendan

10.30

Corrawallen

MP 2

Richard

11.30

Ballyconnell

HC 2

Brendan

Noon

Kildallon

MP 2

Richard

Sunday 16th

10 am

Swanlinbar

MP 1

Richard

10.30

Newtowngore

HC 2

Brendan

11.30

Ballyconnell

MP 1

Mervyn

11.30

Templeport

MP 1

Richard

Noon

Kildallon

HC 2

Brendan

1 after Service type indicates Traditional    2 after Service type indicates Contemporary
After the United Services there will be a cup of tea in the Church or local hall