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Breffni Holy Communion Service

The February Communion Service will be on Thursday 21st at 2pm and will be led by Rev. Brendan McCarthy
At the same time on Thursday 28th March Rev. Brendan will also lead the Easter Communion..

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Youth Nights

On 23rd February we will be hosting a youth night welcoming young people in the Arva and Killeshandra groups. This fun filled evening will take place in Newtowngore Hall from 7.30 to 9.30pm.
On 9th March our own young people are invited to an evening in Ballyconnell hall from 7.30-9.30pm. On 23rd March we will be visiting the Killeshandra Group.
Youth Nights are open to all young people of secondary school age. Please come!

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Mothers Union

Don’t forget Members Night on Tuesday 12th February in Kinawley Minor Hall at 8pm. The Theme will be ‘Using our Talents’ Please bring along any items you have made i.e. sewing, painting, knitting or any other craft.
It will be most interesting to see all the amazing talents we have in our group!

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Tomregan Parish Dance

The Supper socials and dances continue in Tomregan hall this month. The next Tomregan dance night is on Friday 22nd February from 10pm to late. Music will be by Francie Smith Addmission:€10.00.  Everyone Welcome. This will be the last dance until next Autumn
We are pleased to announce that €880 was raised at the last Friday Night Dance.

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Bereavements

John Proffatt from Mullaghmore, Kildallon died on 21st January and was buried two days later in his parish graveyard at Kildallon. Our sympathies are with sisters May Poyntz, Drung; Annie Allison, Drumard; Sarah Donnelly, London and the rest of the family.
Our sympathies are also with Violet Clements, husband Thomas (Swanlinbar Parish), and all the family following the death of Violet's mother Annie Elizabeth Hamilton. Annie was buried in Derryheen Parish on 2nd February.

Bereavement Prayer
Heavenly Father, give us faith and light in times of darkness. May our trusting in you help us live with questions unanswered. Grant us a certain hope in You, that will grow to surpass immeasurably the greatest depths of despair felt now. In you our Lord we put our trust.

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A New Bishop!

On 4th February it was announced that we have a new Bishop! The Revd Ferran Glenfield, Rector of Hillsborough Parish (Down) succeeds Bishop Ken Clarke, who as we all know is now Director of SAMS Ireland.
The Revd Ferran Glenfield is a graduate of Queen’s University Belfast. He was a teacher before training for the ordained ministry and completed theological studies in Trinity College Dublin and the University of Oxford. He was ordained deacon in 1991 for the Douglas Union of Parishes, and continued to serve in the Dioceses of Cork, Cloyne and Ross as the Rector of Rathcooney Union of Parishes. In 1996 he moved to Dublin Diocese to become the Rector of Kill o’the Grange Parish in Blackrock where he served for sixteen years before moving to Hillsborough in 2012. In addition to parish experience, he has been involved in the Irish College of Preachers and the Church of Ireland Theological Institute. He is married to Jean, who is Head of the Preparatory Department in Wesley College, Dublin and they have three children.
The bishop–elect said: ‘I am very surprised but deeply honoured to be asked to serve in this capacity as Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh. I look forward to working in the United Dioceses which is a very special part of the world.’
The Most Revd Dr Richard Clarke, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, said, ‘I have known Ferran since we were both clergy in Cork Diocese and am an admirer of his intellect, energy and spirituality, and I wish him well in the future.’
Following approval by the House of Bishops, the bishop–elect will be consecrated as a bishop on a date to be determined.
Hopefully we will be welcoming our new Bishop to this part of the world soon.

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Social, Cookery and Flower Arranging Evenings

Social Evenings are to be held in Kinawley Church Hall on 11th and 18th February from 8pm. to 9.30pm.
In Kinawley Minor hall on 25th February a Cooking Demonstration will be held.
On 4th March there will be a Flower Demonstration. Everyone will be made welcome at these events.
Contact Alice Gould for more information on 048 67748749.

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The Two Loves of Gabriel Foley

A hilarious Comedy presented by The Acorn Players (including Philip Flood, Pauric McLoughlin & Monica O’Reilly) "The Two Loves of Gabriel Foley" will be staged in Templeport Community Centre on Sunday March 3rd at 8pm.
There will be a raffle on night.
The proceeds are in aid of Bawnboy Workhouse preservation.
Admission for adults is €10 and for Children is €5.

The photo on the right shows the recemtly reconstructed lych gate..

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Jar of Grace

This is our fifth year supporting Beryl in her work as a Christian nurse in the Chaco region of Paraguay. Our gifts have been hugely valuable as she has been able to use them to buy medical supplies for her work. This is a most practical way to share the love of Christ. We continue to support Beryl this year through our Jar of Grace appeal and the loose plate collections at each of our Lenten services in our Group of Parishes. Please give generously and don't forget they will be received at our Easter Day Celebrations.
Below you will find an open letter from Beryl, please read it and say a prayer for her and her assistants.

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Beryl Baker's Prayer Letter

Casilla 1124, Asunción, Paraguay, January 12th 2013

Dear Praying Friends,

Ecclesiastes 3; 1,2 A Time For Everything.
For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die, A time to plant and a time to harvest.
Saying "Hello" is easy but saying "Goodbye" can be incredibly hard.
Saying "Au revoir" to my brother Ted who died on 7th January is very sad for me and his five children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. However, the assurance that he is with the Lord is the greatest comfort there can be.
Other completely unexpected "Goodbyes" have left the Indian communities at El Estribo reeling as two of the young people committed suicide within the space of a month.
Please pray for Francisca Sosa, ex Makthlawaiya trainee Health Promoter, on the loss of her son and Nelson and Carmen Franco whose 17 year old daughter took her own life this past week.
One of the Project Paraguayan volunteers by the name of Martin Holman went to be with the Lord last Sunday after a battle with cancer for a year.
Berta Zavala at Makthlawaiya also passed away the day before yesterday so now is reunited with Enrique, her husband and daughter Fermina both of whom died last year.
Tim Curtis' little dog, Terry, also suffered a fatal accident and was found dead under a bridge of the Transchaco Road.
Paraguay is a very hot place to be and the lack of rain is now making things very hard. Hot raging north winds contribute to wilting and withering of all the grass and plants and the remaining water is going down fast.
19 year old Ana in my house has been in bed with Dengue Fever but praise the Lord she is well enough to go to the young people's church service today. The hospitals are working all out to cope with the number of people with Dengue.
The brighter news is that Joni Rodas, a 12 year old from 2 Palmas, El Estribo is now out of the Intensive Care Unit and responding well to his treatment for meningitis and tuberculosis.
The illustrated Bible in Guarani is a big hit and people who open its pages are enthralled young and old alike.
My brother's funeral is not until 8th February and as I have been kindly offered my expenses to be covered I hope to get back to the U.K. so I well may be seeing as many of you as I can very soon, DV.
May you all have a very happy and blessed 2013.

Love and prayers,

Beryl

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Stories of Hope

St Paul’s Kinawley (Swanlinbar Parish) will be hosting a series of special Lent evenings with our catholic neighbours. With the continued unease in Belfast these are real stories of hope, forgiveness, perseverance and faith to encourage us. These evenings are open to all. Please invite your neighbours and parishioners from neighbouring parishes.

Each evening begins at 8pm and ends with light refreshments.
Our Lent journey will lead us into Holy week. Our Story is placed on the cross which we hope younger representatives will be able to place on our most local hill Benaughlin. A beacon will be lit at the Sunrise Service in Kinawley when we celebrate the joy of the resurrection.

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Looking Forward to Lent

Lent and Easter come early this year with Ash Wednesday on 13th. Rev. Andrew Quill is the speaker for the Lent services across our group. On Thursday evenings at 8 o’clock he will be leading a series of thoughtful reflections on some of Jesus' parables.
Please come along and remember Beryl with your prayers and financial help.

Parables of Jesus
Date	Venue	Title	Reference
14th February	Swanlinbar	The Rich Fool	Luke 12:31-21
21st February	Corrawallen	The Lost Son	Luke 15:11-32
28th February	Kildallon	The Great Banquet	Luke 14:15-24
l 7th March	Templeport	The Shrewd Manager	Luke 16:1-8
14th March	Newtowngore	The Unmerciful Servant	Matthew 18:21-35
21st March	Tomregan	The Lost Sheep & Coin	Luke 15:1-10
14th February will include Holy Communion as we begin our Lent season.

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Easter Communion Services

Day	Venue	Time
Easter Saturday 30th March	Templeport	8pm
	Swanlinbar	9.30pm
Easter Sunday 31st March	Tomregan	9am
	Newtowngore	10.30am
	Kildallon	Noon

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Swanlinbar Kildallon Group Holy Week

This year we will again seek to come to Jesus reflecting on his great love and sacrifice in a fresh way. There will be three memorable evenings starting at 8 o’clock in Holy week.

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Recipe Book Thank you

Newtowngore Parish would like to say a huge thank you for great support from everyone who has purchased the recipe books. The sale of the recipe books has raised €4,500 so far which is brilliant. Whether for yourself or as a great gift, there are only a few copies left. Please take the opportunity before they all go.
Newtowngore Hall is back in use and it was great to see the badminton running on a Monday evening from 8.30pm again with a great turnout. Newcomers are very welcome.

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Killeshandra Resource Centre Recruiting

Focus Family Resource Centre Killeshandra are now recruiting interested members of the community to their voluntary board of management and to their volunteer pool. If you have time on your hands and are interested in helping run this dynamic and vibrant community project, please call (049) 4364065 and speak to Noeleen or drop into our offices on Main Street.

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Attention all Sunday School and GFS Leaders

TnT Ministries in partnership with Kilmore Dioceses invites all who work with or are interested in Children's Ministry (under 12s) to a one day conference in Billis Hall near Virginia, Co. Cavan. Subsidised cost is only €15 or £12 per person. This includes: Training, Resources, Refreshments and a Full Hot lunch.
This should be a really significant day to inspire us all in our children's work.

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Breaking of Bread

In the Acts of the Apostles, we read that the first disciples of Jesus ‘devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer’ (Acts 2: 42). ‘Breaking of Bread’ included celebrating the Lords Supper (or Holy Communion) in one another’s homes, recognising that as members of God’s family, it was natural for them to spend time together. Unfortunately, today, the term, ‘fellowship’ has a bit of a formal feel to it; ‘the craic’ might be a better translation for us! The ‘apostle’s teaching’ is our New Testament while ‘prayer’ is what we do when we recognise that we are in God’s presence.
It is not possible to turn the Apostles’ approach to our faith together in fresh ways; in ways that might help us to experience more of its life and energy.
With this in mind, Richard and I want to explore, together with you, the possibility of following in the first disciples’ footsteps during Lent by meeting in homes across our group of parishes, celebrating Holy Communion in an informal setting with songs of worship, prayers, the Scriptures…..and a bit of craic. However many people want to host such an event for family, friends, neighbours and other parishioners, we will do our very best to accommodate. We don’t want anyone to go to any great trouble catering or to feel pressured into being hosts: a cup of tea and a few biscuits after Communion would be nice, but not necessary. (We can discuss the nuts and bolts of this so that no one has to incur expenses). While evening might be the best time for many people, morning or afternoon might suit others better; we intend to take a very flexible approach.
Our Lent services will continue as usual (this year on Thursday evenings) with Revd Andrew Quill as our guest speaker each week. Our Breaking of Bread events will be in addition to them.
Please think about it and if you would like to host such an event just fill in the slip in the printed Newsletter or send an email to either Richard or to me any time before Ash Wednesday (13th February) and we shall make out a schedule…..this could, indeed, prove to be a very special Lent for all of us. You may also send an email to the office which will be passed on.

Slan agus beannacht

           

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Could You Contribute to Future Newsletters?

If you have a digital camera or a camera on your mobile phone please take photographs of your local parish activities. We would love to hear from you or, just send your photos to the group office.
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    Please put 'website reply' in the subject line. .

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Points to Ponder

Aphorism: A short, pointed sentence expressing a wise or clever observation or a general truth: adage_

1.    The nicest thing about the future is that it always starts tomorrow.
2.    Seat belts are not as confining as wheelchairs.
3.    If you don't have a sense of humour, you probably don't have any sense at all.
4.    Money will buy a fine dog, but only kindness will make him wag his tail.
5.    A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you're in deep water.
6.    How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night?
7.    Business conventions are important because they demonstrate how many people a company can operate without.
8.    Why is it that at class reunions you feel younger than everyone else looks?
9.    Scratch a cat and you will have a permanent job.
10.   No one has more driving ambition than the boy who wants to buy a car.
11.   There are no new sins; the old ones just get more publicity.
12.   There are worse things than getting a call for a wrong number at 4am; like this: it could be a right number.
13.   No one ever says "It's only a game" when their team is winning.
14.   I've reached the age where the happy hour is a nap.
15.   Be careful reading the fine print. There's no way you're going to like it.
16.   The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket.
17.   Do you realize that in about 40 years, we'll have thousands of old people running around with tattoos? (And rap music will be the Golden Oldies!)
18.   After 50, if you don't wake up aching in every joint, you are probably dead!!

Submitted by Vi Breen & Marbeth Hill .

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Time for a Smile!

Error!

I was having trouble with my computer so I called Mark, the 11 year old from next door whose bedroom looks like Mission Control, and asked him to come over.
Mark clicked a couple of buttons and solved the problem.
As he was walking away, I called him, "So what was wrong?"
He replied "It was an IDtenT error".
I didn't want to appear stupid but none the less inquired.
"An ID ten T error? What's that? In case I need to fix it again."
Mark grinned. "Haven't you heard of an IDtenT error before?"
"No," I replied.
"Write it down," he said, "and I think you will figure it out." So I wrote it down - ID10T.

Submitted by Pearl Armstrong, & Vi Breen .

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