AFRICAN COMMUNITY GROUP

The African Community Group helps the church fulfil her role in the community by bringing all the African parishioners together in a fellowship that expresses and shares love for family and neighbour displayed in liturgy and in the traditional African extended family custom. The Group helps to coordinate African representation and full participation in church organised activities and liturgy, reaching out to new and departing members, caring for those in need, and ensuring peaceful coexistence within the diversity of the church community. Contact: Chidozie Obiorah e-mail

CHRISTIAN MEDITATION

Are you looking for inspiration in your prayer life?

Would you like to experience the Divine Presence that lives in the silence of your own heart? Were you ever drawn to the gospel invitation to 'pray without ceasing' (1 Th 5:17)? Or would you just like to get away from the stress of work and home to spend half an hour in a deep and restoring silence? Christian Meditation is a way of praying that is a little different, yet rooted in the Christian monastic tradition and incredibly simple to learn. Come along and discover what may very well become the turning point of your spiritual life!. After the Parish House Mass/Liturgy on the first and third Friday of each month, we have an hour of meditation at the Pastoral Centre (Room 6).

For more information on the monthly Friday meetings contact Odile van der Hof e-mail

COUPLES GROUP

The Couples Group provides a chance to get out with your partner, meet other couples and discuss a variety of topics and issues relevant to married life. Relaxing, thought-provoking, community building and fun. For engaged couples this group also provides part of our Marriage Preparation programme. Regular monthly meetings are held (usually the third Thursday of the month) and full details of these meetings are published in the bulletin.
Contacts: Sylvain & Ayesha Alliot or 070-753 2791

CRAFT GROUP

CULTURAL TRIPS

From time to time one of the groups or an individual in the parish takes the initiative to arrange a trip out for any interested parties. This could be a trip to a place of tourist interest, a lunch party, a foreign journey.

PARISH TRIP TO SLOVENIA – EASTER 2012

PRESENTATION ON SLOVENIA TRIP
After Mass on 12th February the Ambassador of Slovenia, H.E. Leon Marc, will give a presentation to promote our parish trip and give us an idea what to expect. Everyone is welcome You’ll find further details of the trip below.

The Slovenian Ambassador (and our parishioner) Leon Marc has put together a Parish Trip to Slovenia leaving on Monday 9th April 2012 and returning on Saturday 14th April.

We would fly by Adria Airways to Ljubljana from Amsterdam and from there transfer by coach to our hotel at the coastal resort of Portoroz, visiting the Postojna Caves and the medieval city of Piran with its beautiful monastery on the way. The next day we would visit the salt pans and then travel to Koper to visit the Roman Catholic publishing house there, a beautiful church with modern mosaics by Marko I. Rupnik, a wine-tasting and much more .. We will dine at Majerija Restaurant (a personal favourite of Leon) before transferring back to Ljubjana where we will stay for the rest of the trip. On Day Three we will have a walking tour of Ljubjana itself before visiting the 1930s church by Jozef Plecnik and on to the Cistercian monastery in Sticna. Day Four will take us to Stajerska (Styria) and the Cultural Capital of Europe 2012, Maribor as well as the pilgrimage church at Ptujska Gora. Our last full day will take us to Bled with its imposing island castle and the Basilica of the Virgin Mary in Brezje.

Ambassador Marc will be joining us for the trip as well as our unofficial guide!

The price includes 5 nights bed and breakfast in three-star hotels, lunch and dinner on Day One, dinners on Day Two (including local drinks) and Day 5, all entrances and fees or local taxes, English speaking guides throughout and all transfers. Other drinks and meals for own cost. For further details and photographs of the places we will be going to, you can downloada full Power Point presentation HERE.

Cost is now €950 per person (double occupancy) or €1120 for a single room calculated on the basis of 20 participants (this is lower than the originally published price!. If you wish to reserve a place, please mail the Parish Office quoting your names as written in your travelling documents (passports or ID cards). The deadline for application is 17th February. 30% deposit is required with confirmation of booking and the remaining payment needs to be made by 23rd March.

DIOCESAN CONTACTS

The Church of Our Saviour is a part of the Diocese of Rotterdam. Fr Sjaak has regular contact with the Diocese but we are also represented at many meetings by Elly Derksen.

ECUMENICAL CONTACTS

There is regular contact between our parish and the other churches of the region and from time to time an ecumenical service is arranged. The Churches advertise each other's activities and ecumenical participation in discussion groups etc. is actively encouraged.

FRIENDS GROUP

INFANT & TODDLER PLAYGROUP

The Infant and Toddler Playgroup meets most Wednesday mornings from 09.30-10.45 in the Parish Hall (at the church). Enter the Hall from Helenastraat. The group is a loosely structured opportunity for Mums and babies to socialise with others. Age appropriate activities and toys are available and there is a short singing and circle time. Drop in anytime to play and learn!
The Coordinator is Claire Bennett.

PARISH VOLUNTEERS

There are many people who volunteer their time and effort to support the working of the Parish. We are always looking for extra volunteers and would encourage any one who thinks they could contribute in any way - men or women to sign up at the Welcome Table after Mass, or contact the Parish House.

• Church Cleaning - Every last Saturday of the month a team from the Church of Our Saviour gathers to clean the church building. For this volunteers are always needed! We start at 09.30 and with plenty of support can be done in a couple of hours. If you can help please contact Sue Bichsel



• Hospitality & Welcome - A great way to get to know people! Hospitality includes a wide range of activities from providing coffee, tea, soft drinks and donuts after Mass, to arranging receptions after special occasions during the year. Volunteers to help are always welcome! Wine and Cheese receptions are held sometimes after Sunday evening Mass. If you are able to help, please contact Wanda Smart or Janete Bloemen.



• Individual Care Support - As a Parish we try to be aware of various problems that may face families within the community and to provide such help and support as we can. This could take the shape of visiting the sick, helping provide lifts for people who are ill and have transport difficulties, or even providing an occasional meal for people in need. If you need help in this sort of way, or know of a family that does, then contact the Parish Office. Equally if you could help us provide this kind of support let us know.



• Maintenance/Men's Group/Money Counters - This is not a formal group in the sense of regular meetings or events but the men of the Parish are very supportive in helping organise special events such as the Parish Barbecue or in giving us a hand when we need 'scene shifters'. A small regular number comprise the money counting team. In addition a more fluid group helps coordinate maintenance of the parish buildings and carry out small scale DIY tasks. For this there are sometimes "Work Saturdays" organised. Volunteers to help with ongoing maintenance are always more than welcome.
  
  Contact: Arthur Faulkner or Hans Bloemen



• Parish Information & Registration - After Mass the Welcome Table at the back of the church provides the place where your questions can be answered. We have Welcome Packs for newcomers (which include registration forms) and information books on all the activities in the parish for a small fee to help cover printing costs. Sign-up sheets can also be found here for occasional social and special events run by the parish. If you want to help man the table then contact Norah Moneypenny



• Public Relations - Beryl Pavey is our PR lady and makes sure that events of our parish are brought to the attention of the local media.



• Remembrance - We try to acknowledge the special events of our parishioners and their families so please let us know of any births, marriages, deaths etc. in the Parish so that an appropriate card or gift may be sent.

PRAYER GROUP

We have an Intercessory Prayer Group at the church. Obviously after All Souls particular attention is given to praying for the departed loved ones remembered on that day. However all through the year prayer intentions can be deposited in the blue prayer request boxes located at the church entrances. You can also e-mail prayer requests to Cheryl Carr. All intentions are kept strictly confidential.

ROSARY PRAYER GROUP

On Sunday evenings in May and October at 17.00 in the Entrance Chapel at the church, a group of parishioners come together to say the Rosary.
The leader of the Prayer varies.

SAN EGIDIO MOVEMENT

San Egidio is a movement founded in Rome in 1968 by lay people who heard the powerful call of Jesus' love for the poor. The movement aims to give this love a face through friendship with the poor of the cities. The combination of prayer and involvement is one of the most important characteristics of the spirituality of the Saint Egidio movement. The members of the community live in communal brother/sisterhood. They do not make vows and do not live in a communal house. Each lives their own individual family and professional life. On a local and international level the involvement is directed to ecumenism, the dialogue between religions and the solidarity between North and South. In armed conflicts Saint Egidio works for peace and reconciliation. Saint Egidio achieved worldwide recognition for her mediation efforts in, among other places, Mozambique in Africa. In the Benelux the Saint Egidio movement was started in the Eighties in Antwerp, Belgium. Here she works with children and the elderly in the poorer parts of the city, also with the homeless, refugees and people from other countries. In different parts of Belgium and the Netherlands communities were have been formed in the past years. The communal evening prayer shapes the soul of the community and is an event open to everybody searching for a moment of reflection and time to listen to the Gospel.

For more information see www.santegidio.org (the site is available in a range of languages).
Our Parish Contact is Jacques van der Meer - 070-329 2049 or e-mail.

SCOUTS

Children from our Parish participate in different Scout groups. We do not run a group ourselves but occasionally invite representatives to join us in worship for special occasions. We stay in close touch with the Dutch Scouts group that regularly meets at our church and also have contact with an American troop of Cub Scouts.