Parish Announcement – 28th August, 2022

PARISH PRIEST’S DESK:

1. SOARING ON THE WINGS OF GRACE

We wish to encourage us to continue to soar on the wings of Grace this 2022 by:

• Attending masses regularly.
• Reading the Word of God daily.
• Spending time in prayer and adoration daily.
• Join a society and get involved in the Church Activities.
• Get a Mass Journal and write something from the homily every Sunday.
• Grow in the knowledge of the Faith and Church Doctrines.

May God continue to bless us all!!! Amen

2. MASS TIME: Due to the state of insecurity in the country and after due consultation, we wish to announce that henceforth our 6am Sunday mass at the Parish and the Event Center will now begin at “6:15am”. All other masses remain at the same time. Thanks for your understanding.

3. CHAPEL OF ADORATION: Parishioners are encouraged to spend some time with the Lord in silent adoration at the Chapel. It has also been observed that some of the Bibles placed at the Chapel for public use are not well taken care of. We are encouraged to handle them with care.

4. STEWARDSHIP: To encourage participation and commitment in the activities of the Parish, Stewardship Commitment forms were distributed at all the masses. Unfortunately, the turn-over of these forms were low. This is a special call to every parishioner to kindly return the filled forms indicating areas of fresh commitment to the affairs of the church. Submission can be done at the bulletin stand on Sundays and at the Parish Office on weekdays.

5. POWER CONSUMPTION: Due to the rising cost of diesel, we wish to inform our beloved parishioners that we may have to make some adjustments to our use of the generator in the Church. Kindly bear with us.

6. PARISH SECURITY UNIT TIPS: In line with the growing rate of insecurity in our nation, let us take note of the following:

i. Parishioners who come to church with their vehicles, especially on Sundays are hereby requested to comply with the directives from the parish traffic warden when they want to park their vehicles. This is to ensure orderliness and safety of the vehicles.

ii. Vehicles during weddings should drop off couples inside the compound and park outside and their booths must be thoroughly checked before entry into the church.

iii. Parishioners should not carry big bags to the Church premises. All bags are to be thoroughly searched at the entrance before entering the church. And so, if you must come with a bag(s) it should be transparent.

iv. Parishioners are to submit themselves for scanning and searching by the security personnel at the Church gates.

v. Everyone must be security conscious and alert; parishioners should cooperate with the security personnel in the church and should always report any suspicious move or activity within the church premises to them.

vi. As much as possible do not display very flashy and expensive bags and items within the church premises or inside parked vehicles as they could attract criminals.

vii. Do not leave any of your valuables on your seat while going to the altar or during offertory.

viii. Parishioners should endeavor to install security devices in their vehicles in order to forestall any form of theft or vandalization.

ix. Be security conscious and be your brother’s & sister’s keeper.

Kindly cooperate with the security personnel(s) of the parish accordingly. May the Lord protect us from every evil. Amen.

  ………..PARISH ANNOUNCEMENTS…………

1. SPECIAL BLESSING FOR THE MONTH: Today is the Last Sunday of the month. There shall be a special thanksgiving for those born in the month of August and those who had wedding anniversaries or any special celebration during this month.
2. CHILDREN/YOUTH HARVEST: Our 2022 Children/Youth Harvest of Peace comes up next Sunday, 4^th September, 2022. Masses for that day shall be at 6:30am & 10:00am (Parish) and 7:00am (Event Center). Let us all prepare to participate actively with hearts full of joy and thanksgiving.
3. CHILDREN/YOUTH HARVEST RETREAT: The Harvest Retreat for our 2022 Children/ Youth begins this Wednesday, 31^st August to Friday, 2^nd September, 2022. Time: 6pm daily. Let us all participate in this important retreat and pray for peace in our world. Please note that there will be no SCC or Societal meetings.
4. The Legion of Mary and Marian Societies invites all parishioners to our Blessed Virgin Mary’s Birthday Celebration with the theme; “Mary: Sanctuary of the Holy Spirit”. Our parish one-week retreat will run from 5^th to 9^th September (during the Evening Mass) and end on Saturday, 10^th September 2022 with a Rosary Procession after the 6:30am mass. Finally, there will be sales of Ankara Cloth by the Bulletin Stand. Price: ₦3,000.
5. PARISH YOUTH WEEK: This is to inform parishioners of the parish youth week scheduled to hold from 19^th to 25^th September 2022. Theme: Millenial Youth, Proclaiming the Truth. Activities includes Relationship Talk, Political Drives, Praise Night, Variety Night and Movie, Excursion and lots more. we enjoin all youth in the parish to actively participate in the parish youth week. It is for all Parishioners … All who are young in heart.In preparation for this event, there will be sales of cake(s) by our parish youths within the Church Premises (downstairs) at the close of each mass. Kindly encourage and support the youths by buying some.

For God and for youth…… through Christ

1. SEMINARIAN: Our seminarian, Unogu Linford has completed his 6 months pastoral work here with us and will be leaving us after the Children/Youth Harvest. We are all encouraged to remember him in our prayers.

1. ADMISSION: Admission into Eucharistic Heart of Jesus Model School, 21 Road, C Close, Festac for the 2022/2023 Academic Session is ongoing. Application forms are available in the school for purchase. For more enquiries: 08094503999, 07018811347, 08162746240.

1. TITHE SUNDAY: Next Sunday is Tithe Sunday, those who wish to pay their tithes should pick up an envelope for use next week.  You can also make your transfers to our Fidelity Bank 5080032193 in favour of Holy Family Catholic Church, Festac.

1. FIRST FRIDAY COMMUNION TO THE SICK AND HOME-BOUND: The First Friday visit and communion to the sick and home-bound comes up this Friday, September 2^nd, 2022.

1. FIRST SATURDAY: The First Saturday Marian Devotion and Rosary Procession comes up this Saturday, September 3^rd, 2022. After the 6:30am Mass.

1. NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF KNOTS: Our Parish novena to Our Lady Undoer of Knots comes up every month from the 1^st to 9^th of the month. Let us participate actively with the prayers on the various parish platforms.

12. DONATE A PEW: We wish to express our deepest appreciation to all our parishioners for your generosity towards our “Donate a Pew Project Launch for our New Church Building”. May God bless you all abundantly. Further donations and pledge redemption can be done to the account- Holy Family Catholic Church, Zenith 1011876127, at the Parish Office or at the Booth opposite the Parish Bookshop.

1. PLEDGE REDEMPTIONS: We wish to thank our dear parishioners for their sincere efforts in redeeming pledges made. We also use this medium to kindly appeal to all who are yet to redeem any outstanding pledge(s) for Harvest or Church Building to please do so at the Parish Office (Weekdays), the Harvest Booth opposite the Bookshop (Sundays) or pay directly to HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC CHURCH, FESTAC- Zenith Bank: 1011876127. May God bless us all for our generosity.
2. MUSIC CONCERT: Catholic Church of the Annunciation is organizing the maiden edition of Music Concert in the parish, this would be the first of its kind. Date: Sunday, 11^th September, 2022. Time: 4pm. Venue: Catholic Church of the Annunciation. In view of the above, we are inviting Holy Family Parishioners to attend the concert and enjoy good music. Admission is Free!
3. MUSIC ORCHESTRA CLASS: Registration for the Music Orchestra Class/Training for children has begun. The classes which will run through the holiday period will feature training on musical instruments like violin, piano, guitar etc. Time: 1:30pm – 3:00pm. Fee: ₦10,000. Kindly register your child/ward at the Parish Office or call 07039417674 for more enquiries.
4. HOLY CHILD CHOIR: Are you a child between the ages of 7- 16 years and a lover of music? Do you want to develop the art of singing? Then join the Children Choir on Fridays (Omisesan Hall) – 5:30pm and Saturday (Upper Hall) – 12:00pm. Parents are also encouraged to support and permit their children/ward(s) to join the Holy Child Choir.
5. SKILL EMPOWERMENT: Annual Skill Empowerment Program is here again!!!! This year, we will be having training(s) on: Hair making; Bead making; Catering; Make up & Digital marketing.
   We are also pleased to let you know we have added a few more social lucrative skills such as, Bag Making, Shoe Making and Photography. The program is slated to hold from the 1^st August 2022 to 8^th September 2022. We have scheduled morning and afternoon classes from 10am -1pm and 2pm to 5pm. We encourage you to be part of this life changing opportunity!! Forms can obtained at the parish office or library at just ₦5,000.
6. PARISH ID CARDS: This is to inform parishioners that the Parish ID cards of those who registered since last year and beyond are ready for collection at the Parish Office, kindly go to the Parish Office to check. Also, we encourage our new members to please register at the Parish Office and those whose card is expired can as well renew at the Parish Office.
7. HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC PARISH LIBRARY: We are pleased to inform you that the Anthony Cardinal Okogie Reference (Parish) Library located beside the Anthony Cardinal Okojie Lower Hall is here to serve you better. At very affordable prices, we offer the following services: Photocopying, Lamination, Binding, Spiral Binding, Typing, Printing, Colored Photocopy etc. We also offer a vast range of books ranging from Literature to Accounting to Economics and a lot more. Working Hours: Mondays to Fridays. Time: 9am- 4pm. God bless you as you patronize us. For further enquiries on how to use to library or any of its services, please call: 09036389533 or 08169228063 (Ms. Chinwe).
8. (1%) ONE PERCENT BIBLE CHALLENGE: We wish to encourage all Parishioners to read and study the word of God for at least 15minutes every day; which is about 1% of 24 hours. For this week, we shall be continuing with the Letter of St. Jude. Take up this challenge faithfully as stated below and be enriched spiritually.
9. RETURN TO THE SACRAMENTS: We wish to encourage those who have been estranged from the sacraments for one reason or the other especially the Holy Eucharist, to return to the Sacraments. Kindly meet any of the Priests if you are having any difficulty in this regard. May Christ grant us life through His Body and Blood. Amen.