Castlebay Parish First Communions 2009

admin — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:42:08 +0000

Sunday 14th June was First Communion Sunday un 2009 at the church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea. The First Communicants are pictured below with fr Michael and Sr Maire before they made the traditional pilgrimage to the historic St Columba’s Well on the west side of Barra for the Rosary.

First Communions at Castlebay 2009

Funeral Arrangements at Barra for Mrs Peggy MacKinnon, Barra & Corpach.

admin — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 09:42:39 +0000

The remains of the late Mrs Peggy MacKinnon of Barra and Corpach, will be recieved at the church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, Castlebay, on Monday 8th June at 8:30pm. Funeral Mass will be at 11am on Tuesday. The community on Barra offers prayers and sympathy to Mrs MacKinnon’s family in the Fort William area.

Funeral Arrangements for Mrs Clare MacNeil of Tangasdale

admin — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:53:03 +0000

The community on Barra offers sympathy and prayers to Iain and the family following Clare’s sudden death. Clare’s remains will be received at St Brendan’s Church, Craigston at 7pm on Monday 27th April. Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday at 11am.

Easter 2009

admin — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:19:48 +0000

Throngs of visitors, residents and “family-come-home” packed the churches of Barra for the Triduum and Easter celebrations. Teams of parishioners polished and cleaned, rehearsed and finely-tuned their contributions to Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the great Easter Vigil. The Easter season has begun well on Barra & Vatersay in 2009.

Easter at Castlebay 2009

Funeral Arrangements for Mr John Grant RIP

admin — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 08:56:36 +0000

The prayers and sympathy of the parish are expressed to the family of John Grant, who died at St Brendan’s Hospital, Barra, on Holy Thursday evening.
Mr John Grant’s remains will be taken to the church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea at 10pm on Holy Saturday. Burial at Eoligarry will follow the 11am Mass on Easter Sunday.
(There will be Rosary at 9pm on Good Friday.)

Funeral Mass for Mrs Flora Galbraith RIP

admin — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 07:09:34 +0000

The mortal remains of Mrs Flora Galbraith will be received at St Brendan’s Church, Craigston on Tuesday 3rd March at 5pm. The Funeral Mass will be on Wednesday at 11am.

Catechism Class 2008-9

admin — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:49:33 +0000

Sr Maire and the Catechism Class 2008/9

Sr Marie Tighe SND takes the children for Catechism Class. These children are preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation in advance of their First Holy Communion in June. The Diocesan system of Sacramental Preparation has the children being confirmed in the autumn, having their first confession in Lent and First Eucharist in May/June.

This year, the Castlebay parish pupils will be having their First Holy Communion on the weekend of the feast of The Body and Blood of Christ (June 13/14th), with celebrations at Castlebay Church and Craigston Church. The Northbay celebration will be one week later.

Sr Maire visits Castlebay School and Eoligarry School to make the preparations for the children to celebrate these important sacraments of initiation in the church.

The Parish supports by prayer and participation in the liturgical celebrations. Parents have the main responsibility of bringing the children to church, praying with the children at home and spending time helping the children to learn their prayers and use their workbooks. Grandparents typically play a huge role, too! Parents who are interested in having their child enrolled in the programme should speak with their parish priest when the child enters p4. Please note that preparation for sacraments is a parish activity and, though supported by the school, is not an automatic p4 event.

Ash Wednesday 2009

admin — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:37:58 +0000

Ash Wednesday at Castlebay School 2009

Lent has begun on Barra with Canon Angus and Fr Michael leading the Ash Wednesday Service at Castlebay School.

Canon MacQueen dispenses Ashes.

Lily’s Baptism 15.2.9

admin — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 22:15:03 +0000

Lily's Baptism at Castlebay Church, used with family permission.

Bishop Toal to Visit Barra Parishes

admin — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:15:11 +0000

The Right Reverend Joseph Toal, Bishop of Argyll & the Isles, will make a pastoral visit to Barra in the weeks following Easter.

As part of a tour of pastoral visitations throughout the diocese, Bishop Toal will visit Castlebay Parish on the weekend of 19th April and Northbay Parish on the weekend of 26th April.

Between these dates, Bishop Toal will spend time celebrating Mass on the island and taking the opportunity to meet islanders through visits to schools and local organisations.

Bishop Toal was ordained at St Columba’s Cathedral in Oban on 8th December last year. A large number of Barra parishioners travelled to the mainland for the event, many of them taking part in the liturgy through participation in the diocesan choir.

Bishop Toal is no stranger to Barra, having been a frequent visitor during his times as parish priest at Eochdar and Benbecula.