Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.
NEWSLETTERS
You are welcome to download copies of our weekly newsletter for your own personal use. If you do not want your details to appear on the newsletter available on the site then please contact the parish office via the "Contact Us" section on this website by email.
Bulletin for 15th Sunday Year A
Also now available is the St. Peter's Primary School 12th March Newsletter.
OTHER NEWS
Here we include other items of news from the parish.
On Saturday 21st June Bo Sanchez, the Preacher in Blue Jeans, visited Aberdeen and spoke at St. Peter's. Having never heard of him before I was interested to see what he would be like. Well, he turned out to be a gift for us. What a speaker! A real encouragement to all of us who listened. After the talks were over Bo interviewed me for his daily podcast. I thought you might be interested in watching it.
As I can´t seem to get the thing going properly you might want to to have a look at the abiove website under "Videos" and the "4th July".
My Journey and My First Day by Gemma Hunt
Sunday 23rd March
I got up very early in the morning and went on a long bus journey to Prestwick Airport. It was good in the plane – I sat by the window. When I arrived at the hotel I found out that I was sharing a room with 2 other girls from my group – Group 118. It was wet the first day. I got badges to put on my hat.
My Second Day
Monday
It rained all day. I bought a groan tube at a shop. I drew a picture on Fr. John's stole. Rachel, a 
carer, Hilary, a youth carer and me went on the stage waving flags during the HCPT concert. Then I went to a café and joined in the singing and dancing to Father Abraham Had 7 Sons.
My Third Day
Tuesday - Rain
We had mass in the small Rotunda on the prairie. After lunch we went on a train and fired water
pistols at other groups. It was fun. Then we went to a café and had ice cream. Lots of other groups were there singing. At night I held a torch at the Torchlight Procession.
My Fourth Day
Wednesday - Rain
I went to the baths this morning but the queue was very long, so I went to the grotto instead.
I lost a lens from my glasses in the morning on the way to the grotto. There was a fancy dress party in the evening, it was super. Everyone was dressed.
My Fifth Day
Thursday - Rain
Ged, my Group Leader, found my lens in the cereal bag – miracle! There was Trust Mass in the underground basilica – lots of singing, bubbles and face paints, in the afternoon we all had our photo taken. We looked around the basilica – lots of lovely wall pictures. I had ice cream in another café.
My Sixth Day
Friday
Today I got a bus to Bartres, the village where Bernadette lived. There were sheep in the fields. 
Hilary took a picture of me colouring in my journal. I walked up to Hosanna House where there 
was a lovely view of the Pyrenees Mountains that had snow on them. I put on my party top to go to the café – it was sunny all day.
My Seventh Day
Saturday
It was sunny today. We walked to where St. Bernadette lived and went into two churches. We got our faces painted. I had a green crocodile on my face. Then we bought a candle each to the grotto to remember all our families. We had a leaving ceremony for the Youth group and gifts from HCPT were handed out to everyone.
My Eighth Day
Sunday 30th March
We went to a café for breakfast, and then got the bus to the airport where we had a picnic lunch. The plane journey was great fun. I wanted it to be bumpy.
Two members of St. Columba's RC Church Bridge of Don, Maureen Cromar and Margaret Duncan spent the month of February travelling to various mission stations in India. They write:-
The first two weeks of our trip were spent in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh where the work of the Church goes on despite opposition from certain anti-Christian factions. In particular, the Divine Word Missionaries (SVDs) undertake to educate the poor tribal children who otherwise would be destined to spend their lives as uneducated day labourers earning less than one pound per day. The SVDs provide hostels and schooling at various sites to help break this cycle of poverty and it was at one such place that we spent the first week. Money which parishioners had kindly donated will be put to good use in providing better facilities for these poor children. 
The joy of these children is infectious despite their lack of material things and it is humbling to see how a few coloured pencils are so gratefully received and how little it takes to make their faces light up. The SVDs continue to strive to improve conditions at the mission stations and a new school is currently under construction at Muvalia where we stayed. 
In addition we visited several tribal villages where the villagers eke a meagre living from the poor, dry land. It is hoped that funds can be raised to drill a well which will enable the villagers to grow crops all year round and be less dependant on the vagaries of the rainy season. Despite their dire poverty, we were treated as honoured guests
and served with cups of hot sweet Indian tea, known as 'chai'.
In the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, we were welcomed by Fr. James Puppady, a diocesan priest from Kerala who has devoted his life to working amongst the poorest villages. Fr. James has one large parish church and sixteen outstations where mass is conducted once a month. Some villages have managed to construct a tiny church whilst others have mass in what is little more than a shed with three sides and a leaky roof! 
As Fr. James has only one young assistant priest to help him, he relies on the work of faithful catechists who travel around these villages and we were pleased to be able to provide funds to purchase several new bicycles for them. In addition, a number of parishioners had kindly agreed to sponsor the education of a poor child for a year at a cost of £80.00 per child. These children are particularly bright children who without the help of Fr. James would otherwise be unable to complete their education.
It was heartening for us to see the simple faith of these poor people lived out in the struggles of their daily lives and we both felt that our faith had been enriched and strengthened. We were most impressed by the dedication of the priests and sisters who live out their lives in poverty alongside the poorest and most marginalised members of society. Indeed the words of Christ were demonstrated: "Whatsoever you do for the least of these my brothers, you do unto me" ( Mat 25:40).
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill
Cardinal Keith O'Brien is using YouTube to warn of the dangers in the Government's "Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill". In this 5 minute film, which will be copied to DVD and sent to all UK MP's, the Cardinal reiterates his opposition to the creation of animal-human hybrid embryos and highlights recent opinion poll findings on the subject.
Parish Resource Pack
With the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill currently passing through the UK Parliament, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales has sent out a resource pack to parishes to raise awareness about the Bill and to help Catholics pro-actively respond to it. The parish resource pack highlights Church teaching and looks at the ethical considerations of elements like hybrid embryos, stem cell research, the welfare of the child and the Bill's possible impact on abortion legislation.
Public meetings (pdf)
Click here for the cover letter – Archbishop of Cardiff (pdf)
Click here for a one-page parish briefing (pdf)
Click here for the Parish Resource Pack (pdf)
Click here for a flyer highlighting public meetings in 2008 (pdf)
Click here for weblinks to documents/references in the parish resource pack (pdf)
Read the Bill (as introduced and with amendments)
Majority of Peers oppose use of human embryos; Lord Alton calls for Hunt Test to be put into law
View the Survey of Members of the House of LordsDecember 2007 (pdf)
Write to your MP
To find out the name of your local MP on the parliament.uk website
You can email your local MP through the writetothem.com website
In 2000 to mark the Millennium we hosted an ecumenical carol service, Carols by Candlelight, little realising that it would become an annual event. 
This year our singers were joined by 20 more from local Christian churches, and by young readers and instrumentalists, 
to put on a programme of readings and carols followed by mulled wine and mince pies.
As a result we helped raise £340 for Mary's Meals, to provide school dinners for children in developing countries.
