February 28th, 2021

Adamstown Parish Newsletter

Weekend of Sat 27th Sun 28th February 2021

Volume 22       Number 7.                                                                                 www.saintabbans.com

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ADAMSTOWN N.S. PARENTS ASSOCIATION

STEP IT UP AND OUT FUNDRAISER FOR MARCH

Adamstown N. S. P/A step it UP AND OUT to fundraise to upgrade the school playground – Parents, Teachers, Staff, Children, Grandparents, Friends & Families to get involved in this fundraiser Hashtag#ANSSTEPITUPANDOUT

Are you up for the Challenge?

We need you to volunteer to step it UP AND OUT for the month of March by taking on an active challenge and then sponsorship will be raised through IDONATE to raise funds for the upgrade to the school playground.

Here are the challenges:  The challenge is to walk, run or cycle one of the following either as an individual or as part of a team.

• English Channel – 21 miles / 33 km
• Mount Everest  – 40 miles / 64 km
• Adamstown to Dublin – 87 miles / 139 km
• Adamstown to Cork – 99 miles / 159 km
• Ring of Kerry – 124 miles / 200 km
• Great Ocean Road – 149 miles / 240 km
• Grand Canyon – 280 miles / 451 km
• Camino de Santiago – 480 miles / 772 km
• Route 66 – 2,280 miles / 3,669 km

Every individual will record their distance in either miles or kilometres or on Strava or on any other app. For the four weeks of the challenge the individuals or the team captain will keep note of distance recorded each week by team members and a weekly report will be compiled and the weekly update will be shared with everyone.  This event has been created on The IDONATE page see link below –

https://www.idonate.ie/event/2725 adamstown-ns-step-it-up-amp-out-challenge.html

Every individual or team can set up their own fundraiser page – all you need to create the fundraiser is your name and email address. This fundraiser page then can be shared with family and friends or if you prefer you can just use the fundraiser page that is already set up – see below –

https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/11398007 michelle-payne-s-page.html    

Once fundraiser pages are set up they can then be shared and funds will go directly into the Adamstown NS account and will be allocated towards the funds for the upgrade of the school playground. Maybe we can get some healthy competition going and get Adamstown NS stepping it out for the month of March. Let’s get a positive vibe happening.

To volunteer your time & get active at the same time, please complete the following details & send information back to Michelle Payne on 086 8516291 or Liz Moran at 087 278 8947.

Challenge Entry Form:

Type of entry: Individual (adult) or (child) or Team or Family

Individual Name or Team Name  & team member names

Activity (Walk, Run, or Cycle or mixture)

Challenge (pick one from list)

Contact person / Team Captain

Contact Number

If you would like to get involved & would like to join a team, please send me on your details and you will be added to a team. Any questions, please just ask. Please return you details in the coming week. Your support whatever way you can is very much appreciated.

THE WALK – (From a Parishioner)

What is life, if full of care,

We have no time to walk.

My walk each day

Carries me away.

Sooths my soul,

Stills my mind,

leaving all my cares & worries behind.

It awakens all my senses

And puts me in tune with Nature,

Telling me all the while

of my wonderful Creator.

The rolling hills,

The lush green landscape.

The stately trees standing tall,

The happy sound of children playing,

The church bell ringing in the background.

The gentle breeze tossing my hair,

The warm sun seeping into my bones.

The people I meet and greet,

The traffic whizzing past,

The smell of fresh cut grass.

I walk, I notice, I listen,

I hear, I think, I pray.

Sometimes I just walk!

The same walk, but different, every time,

Leaving me

Energized,    Rejuvenated,     Uplifted.

 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY – Monday 8th March

International Women’s Day is celebrated on 8th March every year. It is dedicated to honouring the achievements of women throughout history and all across the globe, and is typically a day for women from all different backgrounds and cultures to band together to fight for women’s rights across the world.  This year women are invited to wear purple on that day.

COLÁISTE ABBÁIN – Lorraine Simmons: Deputy Principal

We are looking forward to welcoming our 6th years back to in person teaching on Monday 1st March. We are delighted to be back to a new sense of normal and look forward to supporting our 6th year students reach their full potential over the remainder of the academic term.

ENROLMENT IN ADAMSTOWN N.S.

If you have a child due to start in Adamstown National School this coming school year, we are now open for Enrolments. Please e.mail the school at

scoilabbain@gmail.com. or phone 053 9240694 to have one posted out to you.

We extend our good wishes for a safe return to school for

our teachers, staff and students.

CHURCH NOTICES

IN MEMORIAM

Sat 27th – John & Elizabeth French, Oldcourt & deceased members of the French Family, and Marian O’Gorman (A)

Sun 28th – Gillian Bradley, Ballyvergin & Julian Rothwell (A)

Sun 28th — Aidan Hickey, Kellystown (A)

Sat 6th March – Seamus & Nan Fortune, Clonroche (A)

Sun 7th – Greg & Annie Bolger & Nell Bolger, Misterin (A)

May they rest in peace.

FEAST DAYS THIS WEEK

March 1st – St. David – Patron Saint of Wales.

Fri 5th – St. Ciaran

TRÓCAIRE

Its not just a box, it’s a life line. Please collect your Trócaire Box, if it’s safe to do so, from St. Abban’s church porch.

Trócaire is the Irish Language word for compassion. For almost 50 years Trócaire has put the compassion of Irish people into action. If you would prefer to donate online visit

www.trocaire.org        Thank you.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

The Circle Around My Life  (Anon)

Much of our lives is spent in keeping people out.

We have private houses. Private clubs, and so on.

Of course there are times when we need to be alone.

Yet there is a sense in which our size as human beings

can be measured by the circles we draw to take other people in:

the small the circle the smaller the person.

A strong person isn’t afraid of people who are different.

A wise person welcomes them.

By shutting other people out we dent ourselves

the riches of other people’s experience.

We starve our minds and harden our hearts.

In the beginning God gave the earth its shape.

He made it round. He included everybody.

So should we.

A PRAYER FOR LENT

Truly dust we are, and to dust we shall return;

And truly yours we are, and to you we shall return.

Help us to discover you

In our loneliness and in community,

In our emptiness and in our fulfilment,

In our sadness and in our laughter.

Help us to find you when we ourselves are lost.

Help us to follow you on the journey to Jerusalem

To the waving palms of people’s hope,

To their rejection, to the cross and empty tomb.

Help us to perceive new growth amid the ashes of the old.

Help us, carrying your cross, to be signs of your kingdom.

Amen. (Jan Sutch Pickard – Irish Catholic)

POPE’S INTENTION FOR MARCH

(Evangelisation):

Let us pray that we may experience the sacrament of reconciliation with renewed depth, to taste the infinite mercy of God.

CHURCH ALTARS & DECORATION

Thanks to the ladies from Doononey/Rathkyle for the month of February. It is now the turn of parishioners from Kellystown for the month of March.

DOUBLE DUTCH – Fr. Martin Delaney, Irish Catholic

Two Irish sailors were at Mass in Amsterdam. As the Mass was in Dutch they were not sure what was being said so decided on the following plan, that whatever the man in front of them would do they would also do immediately. In this way they hoped to avoid notice. Halfway through the sermon the man in front stood up and the two Irish lads were on their feet straight away. However, there was no one else standing. As a matter of fact, everyone else seemed amused or embarrassed by the whole affair. And, so red faced and embarrassed they crept around to the sacristy afterwards to find out what had gone wrong. “Well”, said the priest in broken English. “I announced we were going to have a Baptism and I asked the father of the child please stand up!”

ADMIRING THE VIEW!   – History  (Ireland’s Own)

In Southern Japan there was once a train station in the middle of nowhere, with no entrance or exit. You get off, but you can’t go anywhere. To leave you have to wait for the next train. The station’s sole purpose is to remind people of the importance of stopping to admire the view.

A YEAR ON FROM COVID-19 

As we reach the 1-year mark of Covid-19 the following is an excerpt from Fr. Michael Commane OP – the way I see it in the New Ross Standard.

May I make a suggestion? We stop criticising all those who are right now trying to get us through this pandemic.

It’s time we stopped the criticism. Remember, there is a great resilience about us. Look at our history and see how we have overcome great suffering and difficulty and come out the other side stronger and better. Our frontline workers are saving lives and they deserve our heartfelt support and respect. Day-in-day-out nurses, doctors, cleaners, cooks, maintenance staff save lives. Can you imagine what it must be like to do extremely heavy work, wearing all that PPE gear for extended periods of time. And then to return home, exhausted, to their families, where they have to turn around and do more work. The majority of people, are putting their shoulder to the wheel and playing an integral role in banishing this plague. Our bins are being collected, our grocery shops are open, our mail is being delivered, public transport is running and that’s all because of the dedication of those who do the work. And do it with a smile. It is inspirational to see how an emergency brings out the best in most people. And what makes it so strange is that they are right in front of our eyes. This pandemic certainly has brought them into the limelight. We need to keep them there.  And what can we say about those who have flaunted the rules during these terrible times? Not much.

We’ll be victorious without them. Roll on the vaccine.

We remember in our prayers the 4,300 people who have lost their lives to Covid in Ireland over the past year. May they rest in peace.  We remember also those who grieve their passing.