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March Birthdays LATEST NEWS This section highlights special events or comments relating to the current weekend. In addition certain articles from previous weekends are left standing since they may be of general interest to people for a while.
CHECK OUT THE LATEST NEWS ON THE 'BUILD WITH US' CAMPAIGN 
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Due to absence and illness the Build With Us programme did not start in January this year, for which we do apologise. Happily, there are four dates to note in your diaries:
Talking about Christmas, a recording was made of last December’s wonderful “Celebration of Christmas Music from around the World”. If you’re interested in ordering the DVD, which costs €10.-, please sign up at the Build With Us table or contact Beryl Pavey on 070 – 360-3576/06-1448 7204/e-mail. Sunday 7th March 2010 LENTEN ADULT FORMATION PROGRAMME
This year our Campaign is more about Awareness, rather than fund raising. As climate change is the motivation for the national campaign, in our parish we are focussing on ‘green’ issues and how we can achieve a more sustainable environment in our own parish, our homes and our workplaces “Every initiative that saves energy gives energy”. At Easter we hope that our 'Tree' will be have been transformed into a Tree of Life with lots of energy saved and received from our participation in the Lenten Campaign. PLEASE DO DOWNLOAD THE GREEN TEAM'S EXCELLENT INSERT THIS WEEKEND FOR MORE IDEAS AND INFORMATION. You can see the flyer on water by following this link and the general introduction to the campaign by following this link. HOW TO HELP HAITI OUR PARISH CAMPAIGN
Until 14th March you could donate to our Parish Bank Account #59.93.46.264, with the Description
“Haiti”. We will hold a special Door Collection on the weekend of 13th/14th March to close our campaign. All the money collected by our parish campaign will go to the Miniemen Sisters, Diestsestraat 160, B 3000, Leuven, Belgium. The Auxilia/Brasili-Ja Group will also donate to our campaign. So far we have raised €5,772 for Haiti. Another €3500 will be added to this as a result of the kind donations in memory of my mother. Thank you all for your generous support. Fr Sjaak
 
PONTIFICAL JUSTICE & PEACE MASS 14TH MARCHNational Justice & Peace Coordinators from 20 countries will participate in a special Mass in our church on Sunday 14th March. The main celebrants will be Archbishop John Onaiyekan from Nigeria and Archbishop Gérard Defois from France. Priests from various countries will concelebrate. The Festive Mass (4th Sunday of Lent Lataere) will have a flag parade and African music. After Mass all are invited to meet our guests during a reception. (Our African group is providing the main part of the catering but donations of simple finger foods (sandwiches for example) will be gratefully received) The Mass ends a European/African Conference organised by Cordaid and the papal organization of Justitia et Pax. Sunday 28th February 2010 BULLETIN SUPPLEMENT You can download the Bulletin Supplement for this week here. The 2-week bulletin remains posted (and has been updated )and can be viewed here LENTEN CAMPAIGN This year our Campaign will be more about Awareness, rather than fund raising. As climate change is the motivation for the national campaign, in our parish we would like to focus on ‘green’ issues and how we can achieve a more sustainable environment in our own parish, our homes and our workplaces. Our ‘Green team’ have thought of a number of suggestions which are included on a separate sheet WHICH YOU CAN DOWNLOAD HERE. “Every initiative that saves energy gives energy”. At Easter we hope that our Tree will be have been transformed into a Tree of Life with lots of energy saved and received from our participation in the Lenten Campaign. LENTEN CAMPAIGN ADULT FORMATION THIS SUNDAY there will be the first of three Adult Formation sessions centred on the Lenten Campaign. This week, in tune with the second Lenten Campaign flyer which YOU CAN DOWNLOAD HERE there will be a presentation focussing on the availability of water and the uses made of this precious resource. Fr. Sjaak
Sunday 21st February 2010 LENTEN CAMPAIGNS • Diocesan/National Level This year the Roman Catholic Church in The Netherlands will organise its 50th Lenten Campaign. The attention in 2010 is on the Diocese of Mzuzu in Malawi which has 2.7 million people. Due to climate change this Diocese suffers from terrible drought on the one hand and severe floods on the other. Together with the Catholic Development Commission (CADECOM), new farming techniques, education projects and empowerment of women are being organised. Our Parish will join the Golden Jubilee Project through 4 initiatives.
The Message of His Holiness Benedict XVI for Lent 2010 has as its theme "The Justice of God has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ." (cf Rm 3,21-22) You can DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THAT MESSAGE HERE Sunday 14th February 2010 BULLETIN SUPPLEMENT You can download the Bulletin Supplement for this week here. The 2-week bulletin remains posted and can be viewed here Sunday 7 February 2010 IN MEMORIAM EMMA DE BOER-KRAAKMAN, 74 
Last Sunday at 13.00 my youngest brother phoned me to say he had found Mam peacefully dead in her
bed. She must have died on Saturday. She was a very strong lady in a weak body. With lots of positive
energy and a joyful faith she was able to uplift many people. Even though she hardly ever travelled
herself, she received visitors from all over the world in her small hospitable home. During the wake
last Tuesday someone said "I offer you my condolences as well as congratulations for such a mother".
My brothers and I feel truly blessed for her life and the way she died. I felt deeply moved and
supported by the outpouring of all the gestures of sympathy. A large delegation from our parish
came to her funeral last Wednesday. I can't tell you how much that meant to me! Because Mam knew
the Sisters from Leuven in Belgium very well we dedicated the money we received instead of flowers,
and the collection, to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake through the work of the Sisters.
VALENTINE'S DAY 2010 The Love Feast in honour of St. Valentine falls on a Sunday this year. A really nice opportunity for renewing your wedding vows. Couples who wish to do this will be invited during Mass. Sunday 31st January 2010 KERKBALANS - THE LIVING CHURCH CAMPAIGN The weekend of 30/31 January will see the annual fund raising drive for the pastoral work of our church. READ MORE ABOUT THIS ACTION HERE. Our Treasurer has produced an end of year report. YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE END OF YEAR FINANCIAL STATEMENT HERE and to see what the particular project is this year where the money collected will be directed PLEASE CLICK HERE (and I'm sorry about the wierd colour!) Sunday 24th January 2010 
HAITIAN DISASTER
Here is a letter from the Miniemen Sisters from Leuven Belgium. The sisters have worked in Haiti for many years. The superior of the house Sr. Pia has been a very good friend to me for more than 20 years. The sisters have been hard hit by the earthquake in Haiti. Here is her first reaction to my mail asking how they were coping On Thursday 21st January Sr. Pia mailed me to say that 15 of the Sisters died in the earthquake. "Thank you Father Sjaak for your empathy. The sisters in Port-au-Prince have been hit badly. Total destruction! The main convent "Bel-Air" has been raised to the ground, the adjacent school buildings now inaccessible. Schools at three other locations in the city have been completely destroyed. Fortunately, the children had already left for the day. We don’t know yet however if they are still alive. The total chaos caused by the earthquake is indescribable. The collapsed "Bel-Air" convent housed a community of 27 sisters. There were often more passing through en route or visiting from the provinces. The Regional Superior died of her injuries on the first day. Twelve other sisters have been injured, some of them severely. The Superior General, who was in the Dominican Republic at the time, has managed to arrange for the wounded sisters to be transferred from the Haiti hospitals, or makeshift field hospitals as they are in the current situation, to a large and well-equipped hospital in the Dominican Republic. The President of the Dominican Republic has visited the sisters in the hospital and confirmed that they will not be charged anything for their care. Several sisters are still buried under the buildings. One of them, an old Provincial Superior was pulled from the rubble, dead. The death toll is expected to be very high! The rescue workers trying to pull bodies out from the rubble were hindered in their work and the Superior General had to bring in soldiers to accompany and protect the rescue workers. Communication with the sisters in the country is impossible. Fortunately I am able to reach the Superior General in the Dominican Republic by telephone. The sisters have lost everything. There have already been various after shocks (4.6 and even 5 on the Richter scale). The sisters who are still in Elie Dubois (another community in the capital) are afraid to sleep in their building, which is still intact. They are sleeping outside. The same goes for Pétionville, which is about ten kilometres from the capital. There too the sisters are sleeping outside. The Cathedral is totally destroyed, the chapel of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour idem ditto. Many schools and universities, the seminary and many seminarians with it have gone. Armed looters steal anything and everything; even the sisters' clothes hanging in the laundry (which is still standing). Even if the sisters recover physically, what psychological damage will remain after such an apocalyptic trauma? There are no words to describe what has happened to us. After almost 100 years of being in the country (in October 2013 we would have celebrated our 100th anniversary in Haiti) much of the laboriously built up support of the population was destroyed in less than a minute. The church in Haïti has also been hit badly. Most of the churches have been obliterated. But even worse: the Archbishop, Monseigneur Miot, did not survive the earthquake. Many seminarians were killed when the seminary collapsed. Many religious orders suffer similar losses. The whole thing is so incredible and searching for meaning is pointless! Slowly but surely rays of hope will show us the way. Dear Sjaak, as soon as it becomes clear where the most urgent needs lie, I will let you know. In the meantime, thank you for the help offered, in whatever form. Thanks also for your prayers and for your caring empathy." Sr Pia HOW TO HELP HAITI
• INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGNThrough the Church In Need (Kerk in Nood). Info on their website www.kerkinnood.nl • OUR PARISH CAMPAIGN
Fr Sjaak
Sunday 17th January 2010 BULLETIN SUPPLEMENT You can download the Bulletin Supplement for this week here. CRAFT GROUP DAY CHANGE Our Craft Group will change their meeting day to from Tuesday to Thursday, starting 21st January. The time will remain from 10.00-13.00. Please come along and join us for a fun and rewarding morning. BAPTISMS Please note that there will be no Baptisms during Lent which starts with Ash Wednesday on 17th February this year. Baptisms will be held on Saturday 6th February at the evening Mass and the next opportunity will be at the Mass on Easter Sunday 4th April. Sunday 10th January 2010 WELCOME BACK The Holidays are over and most of us are back at work or school. I hope you all had a good time with relatives and friends and I wish you all the best for 2010. In The Hague we had a very rewarding Christmas with a good turn out for all the Masses in spite of the snow and ice. The New Year will see the start and hopefully the completion of our building project. It will be a year of big changes. Once the renovations are finished we will sell the Parish House and move the office and all activities to the church location. I will then move to an apartment. We hope that what has been planned for so long will finally materialise. I also hope that your plans will come true and wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year. Fr Sjaak
NEW BULLETIN FORMAT To improve our ‘Green’ status and also to save time and printing costs, the Parish Council has decided to publish a bulletin every two weeks. On the weekends in between we will publish any relevant news on the back of our ‘Sunday Plus’ page. This means that all groups or organisers of events need to notify the office early enough in advance. The Parish website will be updated every week for more detailed info IN THIS 'NEWS' SECTION - the basic bulletin will remain posted for 2 weeks. Sunday 13th December 2009 ‘CLIMATE TOP’ BELL RINGING This Sunday at 15.00 Bells will ring all over the world for the success of the ‘Climate Top’ in Copenhagen. As world leaders focus on sustainability the Church continues to promote eternity. The two goals come together in our concern for the wellbeing of God’s creation. Our bells will ring to remind us of our own Parish Mission Statement: “We, the International English Speaking Roman Catholic Church of Our Saviour in The Hague, want to share our talents and opportunities to serve as messengers and instruments of Christ's Gospel. Through the wide variety of cultures and international networks, our parish offers a unique opportunity to share the vision of God's Kingdom with the global community. We aim to show our love for God in the love for our neighbour and our environment and to connect our spirituality, religious formation and daily lives with the promotion of justice and peace”. Sunday 6th December 2009  ADVENT CAMPAIGN SOLIDARIDAD 2009 ‘FAIR COCOA’ During the holidays chocolate is one of our favourite foods. For the farmers who produce this it has a very different taste. Solidaridad helps cocoa farmers in the Ivory Coast, Peru and Ghana as follows:
WORK DAY AT CHURCH SATURDAY 12TH DECEMBER We'd like to organise a work day on Saturday 12th December at the church to make sure everything is ready for the renovations to start. The Choir Loft is presently being painted and made habitable which means that it will soon be ready for use. Some of the things which need doing are: 1) The top floor of the annex needs to be cleaned out. This floor will be reconstructed first. Some items need to go to the cellar and some to the new church storage lofts. 2) Smoke alarms need to be placed in the choir loft and hallway. (Might be done professionally) 3) Emergency lighting needs to be placed in the choir loft and hallway. (Presently being worked on) 4) 2 lights need to be placed in the Choir Loft area. One in the stairwell and one in the hall prior to the choir loft. 5) Outside light needs replacing at the Choir Loft entrance. 6) Child safety gate needs to be installed in the choir loft. 7) One light needs replacing in the church ceiling and one light socket in a chandelier needs fixing. 8) A light in the church attic needs a new bulb socket. 9) Lock needs replacing. 10) anything that may come up... We need to inventory who has electrician expertise. Please let us know if you have some experience in this field. We really need help with all these small maintenance jobs, so please think about giving us some of your time. Contact Hans Bloemen: Tel: 06-24218891. e-mail or Arthur Faulkner: Tel: 070-3010246. e-mail Sunday 29th November 2009 SPECIAL VISITOR THIS WEEKEND FOR WORLD AIDS DAY We are honoured to have Moira Boshoff from Port Elizabeth (South Africa) among us this Sunday. She is visiting The Netherlands on the invitation of Cordaid to receive a Cordaid award. In total, more then 200 nominations were received from over 30 countries from around the world for the categories organisation and individual. 180 nominations were reviewed twice by 5 organisations (Round 1 and 2), to come up with a shortlist of 12 finalists (7 organisations and 5 individuals). The shortlist was reviewed by a review panel composed of 10 international organisations. The expertise these organisations have around Home Based Care (HBC) issues has ensured a high quality selection process. More information on the website http://www.cordaidpartners.com/rooms/hiv-and-aids-award-2009 The handing out of the prize (€5.000) will take place be in Amsterdam on World Aids Day (1 December 2009). 
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL SIGNATURE CAMPAIGNThe Amnesty Campaign this weekend is to urge the Chief Prosecutor of the Republika Srpska in Bosnia to investigate further the death of Fr. Tomislav Mantanovic and his parents. They disappeared in 1995 and their bodies were found in September 2001. They had been shot at close range with police-issue guns. Please sign the letter inserted in the bulletin. All signed letters will be sent directly to the Chief Prosecutor. Together we CAN make a difference!! Thank you. You can download the letter here if you don't make it to church. Sunday 22nd November 2009 CHARITIES FORMS Now that Food Fair has happened, the Charities Committee is ready to accept applications from registered parishioners for support of charities known to them. The forms will be available from this weekend. They can be downloaded HERE or you may ask for them by contacting the Parish Office. Please read the criteria for applications very carefully. The deadline for the forms to be returned is 31st January 2010. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL ACTION FOR CLIMATE CHANGE Together with a range of other NGOs Amnesty International is calling on people to sign up to an appeal to world leaders to really take action against climate change. Leaders will meet in Copenhagen this December so the more voices the better. You can sign by following this link http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/upholding-human-rights-while-confronting-climate-change. Sunday 15th November 2009 PARISH IN THE NEWS If you visit the following Websites: http://cgi.omroep.nl/cgi-bin/streams?/rkk/algemeen/wereldkerkengels.wmv (for Television) or: http://audio.omroep.nl/radio5/rkk/rkkzevenmaalzeven/20091108-19.mp3 (for Radio) you can see and hear programmes which were broadcast last Sunday. Thanks go to Francesca van Duren and her Soup Kitchen Team and Janete Bloemen from Hospitality for leading the Press to interesting topics. Enjoy!! MEXICAN FLU PRECAUTION Please note that due to concerns about the spread of the 'Mexican' influenza, as from next weekend, we will not offer Communion under both species. Only the host will be given. We look forward to resuming our usual Communion with Bread and Wine at Easter again. The Liturgy Committee
Sunday 8th November 2009 LAUNCH OF THE NEW "GREEN TEAM" It was agreed at the last Justice and Peace group meeting to create a new "Green Team" initiative in the parish, and to invite participation from interested parishioners to help define and pursue initiatives under this banner. As suggested by the title, the Green Team will focus on reducing the parish's use of resources, to minimise waste, and make smart choices that allow us to live a happy life without harming the quality of life of others or of future generations. It is easy to forget that compared to people in poorer countries or less privileged situations, we live very comfortable lives. Our relative affluence and buying power means that we can afford to use resources that are vital to poorer people. In a world with limited resources, we need to consume wisely and avoid wasting what others might need. The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes us all responsible for the stewardship of God's creation: “In the beginning God entrusted the earth and its resources to the common stewardship of mankind to take care of them, master them by labour, and enjoy their fruits. The goods of creation are destined for the whole human race.” and, “Man must … avoid any disordered use of things which would be in contempt of the Creator and would bring disastrous consequences for human beings and their environment.” The Green Team's activities will support the activities of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and will therefore focus on environmental and social justice initiatives along four main themes: informing and educating, preparing and running initiatives, networking within and outside the parish, and advocacy within the wider community. If you have any ideas you'd like to share, or are interested in helping with this, please contact Stefano Gambro (e-mail). Sunday 1st November 2009 GOING INTO THE LAST MONTH OF THE LITURGICAL YEAR The falling leaves and longer nights make us aware of the changing seasons. With All Souls Day we celebrate our part in the great circle of life and death. In the month of November the liturgical year comes to a grand finale on the Feast of Christ the King, on the 22nd and then starts a new year on the First Sunday in Advent on 29th. A year goes very fast. Celebrating all the major events of salvation, history, in one liturgical year, means going from one emotion to another, very much like real life. November offers us opportunities, before the hectic holidays, to pause for a moment and reflect on our own lives and how the living and the dead, the ‘sinners’ and the ‘Saints’, all stand in the greater light of God’s presence. NOTE FOR ALL SOULS MASS This weekend is the last opportunity for depositing the Mass intentions for the deceased in the boxes near the doors. For every prayer intention a candle will be lit during the All Souls Mass on Monday 2nd November, at 19.30. Offerings for the Mass can also be put in the envelopes. UPDATE ON OUR LENTEN PROJECT 2007 TO BUILD HOUSES IN THE PHILIPPINES In 2007 we collected an astonishing €24000 in our Lenten Campaign for ‘Kalinga Esperante 21’ a group who builds houses for the poor in the Philippines. This is an update on the Kalinga project, sent in by our ex-parishioner Richardo Barcelona. “Since we last spoke, we have managed to raise €460,000 to build more houses for Kalinga Escalante Negros in various cities. Aside from Escalante, we have now expanded to cover Sagay, Cadiz, Toboso and Calatrava. Together with what we started, 110 houses for the Dutch Friendship Village, we are at various stages of adding another 418 houses. Including the Dutch Friendship Village, by early 2010, we should be completing 528 houses in five different cities in northern Negros. It is indeed amazing that in the middle of a severe recession, we still have donors who are prepared to shell out cash to help the poor uplift themselves from poverty. What I am more amazed about is their desire to remain anonymous. For this reason, we have not publicised as much the progress that the program is making to respect the donors´desire for anonymity. This is a short note to let you know that the seeds we have planted in Escalante has inspired others to equal the generosity and solidarity that our parish had shown with the Filipinos. We are equally thankful that the people who benefited from such generosity were spared from the effects of typhoons that gravely affected parts of the Philippines. Please pass this short update to our friends in the parish, and those who have helped us. Regards.Ricardo Sunday 18th October 2009
NEW SOUND SYSTEM This weekend we have our new sound system operational. Even though the system has been tested, we may still need to make some further adjustments. If you have any comments about the new system, please email either myself Hans Bloemen at bloemen@peoplepc.com or the parish office. In your email please include the position where you were seated/standing and what your reaction is to the new system. We will use your feedback to "fine tune" the new system. Without your generous financial support, this system would not have been possible. THANK YOU!! Sunday 11th October 2009 APPEAL FOR HELP TO THE PHILIPPINES On 26th September, the Philippine capital Manila and its neighbouring provinces suffered one of nature's worst beatings when typhoon ‘Ondoy’ poured more that a month's worth of rain in six hours, submerging 80% of the bustling metropolis drowning at least 300 people and leaving over half a million displaced as of 29th Sept 2009. There are two ways we can help:
A NEW SAINT FROM BELGIUM AND HAWAII This Sunday Joseph De Veuster, born in Tremeloo Belgium in 1840, will be canonised. In a recent poll he was elected the greatest Belgian of all time. Fr. Damian, as Joseph was called after his ordination, spent his missionary life among the lepers in Molokai Colony, Kalaupapa. For twelve years, before he succumbed to Hansen’s Disease at the age of 49, his presence among the lepers focused the State’s attention on the needs of these victims and helped to combat discrimination of the handicapped. In 1995 his remains were taken from Molokai and placed in a tomb in Leuven, Belgium. This Sunday Pope Benedict will add Saint Damian to the long list of role models from the Catholic Church. Sunday 4th October 2009 BRASILI-JA DONATIONS Twenty three years ago at Fr. Sjaak’s ordination, the Mayor of his hometown started a support group to help with projects in Brazil. After Father’s return from Brazil this group was renamed Brasili-Ja/Auxilia. The Foundation has helped many projects around the world including our FOOD FAIR projects. Recently assistance has been given of €3000 to the Mill Hill Fathers, €3000 to the Vincentians for Food Pantries, €5000 to a project in Columbia. €1000 to our former Justice & Peace member Alphonse Mulefu in Rwanda, and €2000 to a Nairobi slum project. Last Sunday’s visit to Brugges by Fr. Sjaak raised €2000 for a water project in Sierra Leone. For more information please visit the website: www.auxilia-brasili-ja.nl WORK IN AND AROUND THE CHURCH IN OCTOBER As you probably noticed, a lot of painting work is being done on the outside but that is not the only thing. For October the following maintenance and building jobs are planned.
Sunday 27th September 2009 AMNESTY SIGNATURE CAMPAIGN THIS WEEKEND
The Amnesty International signature campaign this weekend is on behalf of Suliamon Olyfemi, a
Nigerian national, who is at risk of imminent execution in Saudi Arabia following an unfair
trial. Please read the details concerning this on the letter included in your Parish bulletin
and please sign in order that we can send this to the Saudi Arabian Ambassador in The Hague
asking for his death sentence to be commuted. It only takes a moment to sign, but it is a really
important thing to do.You can download the letter here.
FRIENDS GROUP RESTARTS 
We have a new Friends Group Coordinator Adrian Pais: Tel: 06-2070 0068.
e-mail who has written this letter. "Many thanks
for signing up for the Church of our Saviour friends group. The purpose of this group is to
provide opportunities for people to engage socially in a Christian-based environment and to be
a 'home' for new members of the Parish seeking to make friends. ... or put simply: to have
FUN and enjoy the blessings of life. I know that Fr Sjaak and the Parish Council are fully
supportive of our group and would like to see it 'move forward. Our first event will be going
out for a drink to get to know each other and discuss the types of activities that interest
the group on Saturday 3rd October after evening Mass (around 8.30pm). If you are interested in
coming along, please meet me at the front of the church soon after Mass. Looking forward to
seeing you".
Sunday 20th September 2009 PEACE WEEK OPENING WITH YOUTH CHOIR 
This weekend Pax Christi, The Netherlands, starts her annual Peace Week. The European Peace
Flag will fly from many churches and other public buildings. The rainbow flag tradition
started in Italy and has spread all over the continent. This Sunday we have the Wervershoof
Youth Choir with us who will dedicate three songs to universal peace and love.Throughout the week there are many initiatives and meetings. For more information on these visit www.vredesweek.nl or contact Bep Verhaar on 070-385 9856. The theme for this year is 'Towards a new climate of peace'. It highlights all the positive steps that have been taken to rid the world of nuclear arms. Since the Cold War the number of nuclear weapons has seriously declined, but there are still too many around ........... MEDITATION GROUP The Church of Our Saviour’s Christian Meditation Group has begun. Christian Meditation is deeply rooted in the Christian tradition. It is a quiet pilgrimage of spiritual growth. We find Christ in the Silence, Stillness, and Simplicity of our hearts. Join us on Thursdays, at 19:15 in the COS room. We enter through door number 2 at the side of the church on Koningin Marialaan. We also plan on Meditating after the Parish House Mass on the first Friday of every month, beginning 2nd Oct. Mass is at 9:30am and Meditation at 10am, or shortly after. Anyone can join these groups at any time, whenever they have time. For more information please call Janet Warner: 070 415-5998. THE CONSEQUENCES OF NELSON MANDELA'S BIRTHDAY Of course the former President of South Africa did not want a birthday gift for himself. All he wanted was that South Africans would do some volunteer work to improve community relations. The staff from the South African Embassy in The Hague also took this to heart and committed themselves to helping out at the Rotterdam Soup Kitchen run by the Missionaries of Charity (Mother Teresa's Order) one Saturday per month. When we talk about Peace Week initiatives, here's one! Sunday 13th September 2009 MEET THE PARISH WEEKEND/START OF THE NEW PASTORAL YEAR This Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th September is the Annual ‘Meet The Parish’ Weekend. All the Groups in the parish have set up stalls in the Church which provide information on their activities and also look for new energy in the form of volunteers. Ours is a living Church with over 50 groups so there is actually something for everybody to participate in, depending on what you would like to do and also the time that you can commit! By becoming an active participant even in 1 group, you will double your blessings and make many new friends and, above all, contribute in an active way to the LIFE and ENERGY in our Church. We'll take a little time during Masses this weekend to acknowledge our existing team of volunteers - our 'TREASURES'. GREEN LIGHTS - THANK YOU!!  Our church is now 98% "green" when it comes to lighting! The new energy saving lights were
installed last Saturday. These bulbs give 25% more light while only using 19% of the energy of
the previous light bulbs. This will be a welcome factor for the upcoming winter months. The
estimated savings amount to ±€800.00 annually. A BIG THANKS to all of you that donated
towards the purchase of the new energy saving lights. A group of parishioners spent almost
5 hours of hard work replacing the lights. Thanks to James, Nigel, Ian, Peter, Arthur &
Hans for investing a Saturday for this project.
THE HAGUE ON LINE  TheHagueOnLine’s 'International Community Fair' in 2009 will be held in the Atrium of The Hague Town Hall on Sunday 20th September, between 11.00 and 17.00 hours. The Church of Our Saviour will participate, and for more general information about the event please log on to www.feelathomeinthehague.com Sundays 9th & 16th August 2009 PARISH TRIP TO ITALY THIS 18TH-24TH OCTOBER - STILL SOME PLACES AVAILABLE It is still possible to sign up for the parish trip to the beautiful Veneto region of Italy this autumn. Please feel free to contact Stefano or Rachel Gambro stefgambro@casema.nl or ragambro@casema.nl. Full details of the itinerary can be seen on the website - follow this link. Sundays 26th July & 2nd August 2009 MANY THANKS FOR SUPPORT OF THE SUMMER STRIPPENKAART ACTION This year as usual we are running our annual ‘Summer Strippencaart Campaign’. It has been very successful in the past enabling us to distribute bus/tram cards to some members of our community who otherwise find it difficult to have a day out or sometimes even to come to church. If you would like to donate a card please put it in the collection plate or give it to one of our Welcome Table volunteers. You can also send it to the Parish Office. Thank you very much to those of you who have already sent us cards - they are much appreciated NEWS FROM OUR BUILDING TEAM A Municipality permit has been granted to our church to a) break down parts of the existing building and b) go ahead with our building renovations. This permit is subject to some conditions which we aim to fulfil. The building team is now focussed on completing negotiations with the builder and finalising contracts with various parties. Currently numerous parties, including the builder are on the 'building vacation' ('bouwvak'). Discussions with these parties will resume after the building vacation period, which is targeted for mid August. We are still awaiting the final permission to re-site the Mary statue on the garden façade. A scale model of the new building has been made and will be displayed at the opening of the new pastoral year. For those who can not wait that long... you can see it at the parish house during office hours. Sunday 15th June & 21st June 2009 STATUS OF BUILDING PERMITS Last week the City Council sent us two letters stating the following:
Sunday 19th April 2009 LENTEN CAMPAIGN 2009 RESULT!! So far we have raised €6000 for this year’s Lenten Campaign. Out of this we will pay €1000 to the National Campaign and the rest will be used to set up our own Fair Trade shop. The Children’s Liturgy team did a great job with the ‘shop’ and lots of you sponsored or took part in our Palm Sunday walk. Many thanks to everyone who raised money and to all our parishioners for their generosity. Sunday 5th April (Palm Sunday) & Sunday 12th April (Easter Sunday) 2009 
FAIR TRADE - OUR LENTEN CAMPAIGN For lots of background information about Fair Trade CLICK ON THIS LINK UPDATE ON THE 2008 LENTEN CAMPAIGN FROM THE MICROFINANCE GROUP One year after our successful 2008 Lenten Campaign, we would like to report on our progress to all of you who made it possible. Last year we raised €7,453, which were converted to US$11,167, to lend to the working poor throughout the world via Kiva.org. To date we have contributed to 102 loans in 33 countries and have lent a total of $15,550. This is possible because as loans are repaid, we can re-lend the funds. You can view our portfolio of loans at: http://www.kiva.org/lender/esirc9993. For example, your donations have supported Ni Ketut Niliwati from Indonesia, whose family was having a hard time due to the economic crisis. She has two children, one in university and the other in elementary school. She and her husband, a construction worker, work hard to provide for their children and pay for their education and health care costs. Ketut Niliwati wants to ensure that her children receive a better education than she did. Ketut Niliwati is in the business of raising and selling pigs that are sold to be “babi guling” – Indonesian suckling pigs – when they are 2-3 months old. With the loan, she increased her piglet production from one to two and could buy high quality feed, speeding up their growth. The loan has thus enabled her to increase her family's income and security. Find more interesting stories at: http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=listJournals. Thanks again for your generous contributions! The Micro-Finance Group
For more background on microfinance follow this link
Sunday 29th March 2009 THE LENTEN HUNGER BANNER In the church above the Tabernacle can be seen the ‘Hunger Banner’ Lenten Tapestry. It was made by Tony E. Nwachukwu. Each year the Lenten Campaign invites an artist from the third world to give his or her view on the journey towards Easter.  Sunday 15th March 2009 AN AMAZING PRESENCE OF THE CHURCH... Please read the Bulletin insert this week ( You can download it here). I received this article from Fr. Tony Chantry, our Mill Hill Superior General who just returned from a visit to the missionaries in the Sudan. He went there with my class mate Fr. Michael Corcoran. It illustrates the tremendous loyalty of the Church to people in the most difficult situations. The press often publishes negative news about the Church, Here is an article that shows that many church people and other caregivers all over the world still give an amazing witness of their faith in the Gospel and selfless love of their neighbour in need. Fr Sjaak
Saturday 28th February - Sunday 8th March 2009 LENT AND EXPERIENCING HUNGER In fasting we voluntarily accept a state of hunger which millions of our brothers and sisters are forced to accept every day of their, often all too brief, lives. Fasting is thus a privileged entry into the experience of a vast portion of the human family with whom we seldom associate. In sharing their experience, we come to an understanding of their plight unavailable to those who simply think about the sufferings of the poor. We might even say that this experiential knowledge makes all other knowledge seem like blindness about their world. The season of Lent is a time of coming to fresh clarity about the responsibilities which we accept at Baptism. The man born blind and given vision by Jesus almost immediately found himself in trouble as a result of his new sight and its source. Those who willingly accept the hungers of the poor will undoubtedly be led to address the needs of their brothers and sisters. Thus the connection between fasting and alms. Fasting, however, is not just a way to raise social consciousness. It is a trigger which brings us to new thankfulness for the gifts God has given us and which Christ asks us to share that we might embody our communion with all God’s children. 
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2002 © ESIRC - English Speaking International Roman
Catholic Parish of The Hague
Parish House - Ruychrocklaan 126 - 2597 ES Den Haag Tel. 070 - 328 0816 |
We are very proud to present Valentino Achok Deng in our Speaker's
programme after Mass. His life in the midst of conflict in Sudan was recorded by Dave Eggers in
a novel entitled 'What is the What?' This novel has been highly acclaimed: 'The emotional power
of an epic. An eloquent testimony to the power of storytelling; this is an extraordinary work of
witness, and of art' (Scotsman) 'A masterpiece, monumental ...... one hell of a fine
accomplishment. An intimate epic, a sweeping journey, a reading experience from which the
booklover emerges as a changed person. A work of deep psychological trauma and impossible,
marvellous triumph.' (Sunday Herald). So come and join us in the Scouts room after Mass to
listen to this remarkable story.