​Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ from the burning heat of North Eastern Nigeria, Adamawa, Yola
On behalf of Fr. Julius and I, I use this medium to register our profound gratitude to the very wonderful people of the Ballinteer group of churches. Our stay in the parish and working among the people in the three churches has filled us with a wealth of experience that all the colleges we have attended wouldn't have given us. We are grateful and we will remain eternally grateful.
They say procrastination is a thief of time. I have not only procrastinated but I have written and discarded quite a number of messages to this effect because of the feeling that they have not been able to capture everything.
We are back to Yola not only armed with our various col-lege qualifications but with us is the love that is sustaining and memories that linger. You will always be in our thoughts and prayers.
Fr Julius is being appointed to St Francis of Asisi Parish as the parish priest while I have also been assigned to St Au-gustine Guyuk as the PP. We pray that we will be able to increase our homily time to at least thirty minutes so as to accommodate and assuage the yearnings of the people.
May the peace of the Lord be with you all. Continue to re-member us in your prayers even as we do same for you.
Anselm kachalla

​CHRISTMAS SHOEBOX APPEAL This year the ChristmasShoeboxAppeal is going to be run differently. Due to the effects of Covid-19 restrictions, it is not possible to send gift-filled shoeboxes from Ireland this year, so we’re asking schools, families, friends, communities and businesses to TeamUpForTeamHope by donating gift-filled shoeboxes online. These donations will allow our network of local partners in Africa and Eastern Europe to purchase items for shoeboxes, which will then be delivered straight into the hands of children affected by poverty. Often these shoeboxes are the only gift that a child will receive at Christmas and the joy that they deliver is incredible. On their NEW WEBSITE - www.TeamHope.ie you can now: DONATE: Every €20 donation will enable another child to receive a Christmas Shoebox. BUILD A BOX: Use our fun packing tool to create your own shoebox! PERSONALISE YOUR SHOEBOX: Print our colouring pages which you can upload to be added to your shoebox.

​Returning Home to Nigeria - A Time for Farewell Frs. Anselm and Julius return home to their families and their Diocese of Yola, Nigeria on Friday 2nd October. We are incredibly grateful for their commitment and sharing in our Pastoral Area. They came here to study in Maynooth College. Fr. Anselm studied and obtained a Masters in Moral Theology and Fr. Julius studied Health Care Chaplaincy. While with us it was incredibly sad for Fr. Julius to be unable to attend his Mother’s funeral earlier this year in Nigeria. Fr. John and I, together with our parish teams, will be at a loss not having their services and commitment. They have been with us for over two years now. Their stay was extended due to Covid-19 and we were blessed to have them. We wish them every happiness in the years ahead and a safe journey home. Due to Covid restrictions a replacement will not happen at this time. While Bishop Stephen has appointed two priests to come to us, it is not possible to do so at present. When the Covid situation eases it may be possible. Any parishioner wishing to give a gift to Frs. Anselm and Julius can place it in an envelope, leaving it in Ballinteer or Dundrum Church. Frs. Liam and John.

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Thank you to everyone who has returned their CHY3 tax forms to the Parish Office. We appreciate it. For those who have not yet returned their forms, you can still do so. Many thanks 

To book a place at 10am Mass in St. Attracta’s Oratory:
We encourage you to book one week ahead as places are limited.
Please call the Parish office on 012987401 during office hours only – Mon, Wed & Fri 10am-1pm to reserve your seat or email info@meadowbrookparish.ie
Please check in at the entrance to the Oratory and a Stewart will bring you to your seat. Do not walk into the Oratory without checking in as we need to record all attendees for tracing purposes.
We are operating a one-way system so please adhere to this when entering and exiting the Oratory.
Please arrive 10 minutes early for Mass and bring a face covering and a small hand sanitiser.
Thank you for your understanding.  

We wish to thank all the parishioners of Meadowbrook Parish for such a successful first few weeks of private prayer. We thank you for your patience and we appreciate your help in maintaining social distance and following the guidelines when entering and exiting the Oratory in a safe manner. Our Parish will continue to endeavour to make the health and well-being of all our Parishioners our highest priority as we move forward.
 
For those who may be unaware, our Oratory is now open every weekday Monday through Friday 10.30am-3.30pm for private prayer.
 
We encourage the use of  face coverings inside the Oratory and we ask Parishioners to arrive with a pocket hand sanitiser. Hand sanitiser should be used before entering the church and before receiving Holy Communion. Parishioners should maintain social distancing while arriving at the Oratory, wait until indicated to approach for Holy Communion and turn away to say 'Amen' privately after receiving.  We discourage anyone who is medically vulnerable or unwell to visit the Oratory. There is still  no obligation to attend Mass.
 
We are delighted to announce that the public celebration of weekday Mass will commence in St Attracta's Oratory on Monday July 6th at 10:00 am.
 
You will no doubt appreciate that, given the social distancing required in the Oratory at the moment, there will be far fewer people able to attend these Masses. In order to make sure that no one is turned away  we will operate a booking system.
 
So that all Parishioners can avail of Mass, we have a dedicated booking system available to arrange a place at Mass the week before you'd like to attend by contacting the Parish office on 012987401 Mon, Tues or Wed between 10am -12noon or by email to info@meadowbrookparish.ie. To make certain that everyone has a fair and equal opportunity to attend Mass there will be only one booking per week allowed. We appreciate parishioners understanding the need for this.  The Oratory will continue to be open for private prayer. 
 
There will be no ministers of the Eucharist or altar servers for the moment. There will be just one minister of the Word at each Mass and that person will read all readings required. After 10 o'clock Mass Parishioners are kindly asked to vacate the Oratory. This will allow time for the Oratory to be sanitised for others who come to the Oratory for private prayer. We would ask Parishioners to observe the one way system in operation in the Oratory and note that that entry is ONLY through the main entrance.  

We are very pleased at the easy manner in which our Parishioners embraced the new habits required when visiting the Oratory recently. We are confident Parishioners be willing to book a place at weekday mass and understand the need for this new arrangement.
 
We wish you all of God's blessings.
Fr Liam Belton and St Attracta's Parish Pastoral Council
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