O. L. OF VAILANKANNI PARISHVol. V No. 5

CHRISTMAS 2019

AltarServers

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Berchmans Feast Day n AltarServers

The Altar servers Feast day (St. John Berchmans is the patron of altar servers) was celebrated on 23 November 2019 on the church premises. The day began with an opening prayer by Fr. Orson Wells which was followed by the Hymn – 'I will Enter his gates' (Jazzed up Version) by the Altar Servers Choir.

DECEMBER 2019 Wellspring 1

FirstHolyCommunion

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Continued on Page 3.

@ A GLANCE@ A GLANCE

1 5 D e c em b e r 2 0 1 9 -Christmas Tree was held for the Parish Children upto the age group of 15. A total of 250 children participated. While the senior children had their games downstairs in the hall the juniors were all ready to be part of the Christmas Magic in the Mother Teresa hall. The Sunday school teachers along with the youth were totally occupied arranging the children amidst a cacophony of laughter and music. There was even a game of musical chairs for the parents.

Altar Servers with the parish priest.

Fr Orson welcomed all the servers and encouraged them to have fun the whole day as the day belonged to them.

The servers then watched a short video on their Patron Saint – Saint John Berchmans. The Christmas Chronicles movie was then watched by the group who enjoyed a bit of action, humour and imagination, but more importantly felt the Christmas spirit through the film. Breakfast was served while they watched the movie.

Once the movie finished it was time for Fun &

Games. Group games were organized for all the servers to participate. The games – Smelly Toes, Up in the Air, Cookie Crumble, Pyramid building etc. were some of the exciting ones!Up in the Air

Once the Fun & Games session was over it was Lunch time. Grace before meals said, KFC burgers & fries greeted their hungry appetites. After lunch, there was a Quiz which had trivia about the Patron Saint & Altar Serving. But the favorite round was the Audio round where the Servers needed to

ALTAR SERVERS ENJOY THEIR FEASTDAY

ON BEHALF OF THE PARISH PRIEST AND CLERGY OF

OUR CHURCH,WE WISH ALL PARISHIONERS A VERY HAPPY AND BLESSED

CHRISTMAS!

DECEMBER 2019

1. Snehendu Das2. Ava Hope Redden3. Rita Faustina Karira4. Sara Teresa Nagecia5. Jennifer Raphael6. Abhijit Pal7. Adrian Lewis8. Ravi Fredrick Hela9. Evanka Chattree10. Raphael Rai11. Jayden Henry Pereira

aptismsBPARISH DIARYPARISH DIARY

Wellspring2

Funerals1. Joshi Minj 72 years2. Juliana Dutta 44 years3. Dorothy Mariam D' Silva 76 years4. Joseph James 63 years5. Norman Patrick Roberts 76 years6. Lawrence Lazarus 58 years

New comersNeil & Jasmine DavidMathew DCruzClement & Lily George Albert Francis and Susan DavidAlfred And Junie FrancisJason & Louisa PereiraAdrian Peter XavieClement & Lily GeorgeCuban E and Yvette SavyellShane Monnier and VenisoaSean Troy ManukAnthony and Priscilla AlpinJeffrey ItolaClayton Dominik & Bianca D RozarioDipak and Fiona KarAmit Kumar and Pratima Saha RoyVincent Depaul EkkaEnrol Abraham and Estelle Michael Frankey and Anwesha MondalReginald SharmaVernonica V MondalElezabate SharmaLawrence & Lucia Deepa BoidyaSanjay and Maria BorBhanu Pratap and Lily MinjAndre & Philomena MarcarPaul Bittu & Paulina Paulina Poonam PradhanMontu Bede & Pranati Elizabeth GomesBrian Edward & Andrea CharlesAnil KumarMala MondalDominic & Rosemary IgnatiusMathew Joseph and Lucy Kutty MathewPeter and Hilary St Martin John Bubai and Laxmi DasEdwin & Susan Royston Richard and Joan SmithMichael Dominick and Evelyn Ann RaiAugustine and Camlin Antony Gomes

Weddings1. Rajib Michael Das & Rama Poddar Das2. Kevin George D' Souza & Mandip Kaur3. Ravi sahani & pinky sahani4. F. Albert noel Dennis & Mithilda Raj5. Abhishek Malik & Sharon Wixey

Congratulation Ethan Dsouza who won Gold at the Unified World Championship 2019 which was held at Massa di Carrara, ITALY.

The Little Flower League Annual Day Celebration l Janice Norris

29 September 2019 - At 8:30 am Mass, all LFL children walked up in the entrance procession adorned with new sashes and a fresh rose in their hands which was offered to St. Therese in the Sanctuary. They did the readings of the Mass, took up the collection and the offertory. They took the pledge after the Holy Communion. 11 children were inducted during the Mass. The variety cultural program at 3:30 pm. gave the message of LFL through speeches and a skit. The presence of Sr. Jaisy Varickamthotty, General Councilor for pastoral ministry made a difference to the celebration. The program began by honouring St. Therese of the Child Jesus by garlanding her statute and singing the song, “Little Flower of Carmel” by all the members. Arpita Loyall spoke on the life of St. Therese pointing out how she is an inspiration for her. Samuel Baptist gave a speech on the cry of Jesus from the cross, “I thirst”, and how St. Therese and Mother Teresa heard this cry and responded. Rachel Bor presented the aspirations of St. Therese which has become the four pillars of LFL.

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First Holy Communionl June Coelho

17 November 2019 – 48 children from the Parish made their First Holy Communion during the 8.30 am mass. The main celebrant was Moloy D'Ccosta. He was joined by the Fr Orson Wells and Fr Devraj. The children were well trained by the MC nuns and the Sunday school teachers for the entire year, undergoing extra classes on Saturdays. Soon after receiving the First Holy Communion the children went in line and stood before the altar singing with angelic voices ' Into my heart” Light refreshments awaited for the children in the Mother Teresa Hall upstairs. Cakes and tea was sponsored by our generous sponsor to the entire congregation in the Church compound.

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answer on Carols and the Latest English Chart busters. A short prize distribution was held thereafter for the winners of the day!

Lunch,Quiz&PrizedistributionAfter all the fun, it was time to get down to the business end of the day. The servers had a mass to organize. Practice for mass began with the servers practicing their hymns and going through the readings of the day. In between all this there was time for reconciling themselves with their creator. Fr Sandeep & Fr Sebastian heard confessions of all the altar servers. At 530pm, there was adoration which was then followed by the Feast Day mass at 6pm.

The Altar servers' choir were in-charge of making the celebrat ion even more meaningful which they did. Fr Orson Wells was the main celebrant of the mass with the ever-supportive Fr Michael Bhaju the con-celebrant.

After communion there was the installation of the new Head Altar server of our parish. Annette Paull had served as the Head Altar Server for the last couple of years. As she will now be moving on to the next stage of her life, she was facilitated by Fr Orson for the service she had given to the group from a very young age. Annette handed over the

Cross of the Head Altar server to Cyprian Namchu, as a sign of passing on the responsibility. Cyprian, the most popular of the group (all the servers voted for him to be the Head Altar Server) is the perfect server to take the reins from Annette and uphold the traditions of the Altar servers. His discipline and dedication to the group is what separates him. Albert Dsilva was also given the responsibility of a Lead Altar server during the ceremony. Cyprian then gave the Vote of Thanks after which Fr Orson said a few words on the group and the day.

Celebration of St Vincent de Paul's Feast at OLV l Clementine Miller

29 September 2019 - The SVP conference of OLV (Picnic Garden) celebrated the Feast of St Vincent de Paul.A Tridium was held from 26 to 28 September and on 29 September the feast was celebrated at the 10.45 am Mass by our very own Parish Priest Fr Orson Wells. A fellowship was organised with our beneficiaries soon after.The SVP distributed saris and toiletries as gifts with a handloom bag to carry them . Dry rations were also distributed followed by a lunch of biryani given in bright coloured boxes.These celebrations brings to the Vincentians a great feeling of joy to see the happy faces. We are so grateful to Fr Orson Wells and Fr Michael Bhaju who constantly lend their support to the St Vincent de Paul Society. We thank all our benefactors and Parishioners who have continually supported us ! " It's a blessing when we give "

Fr Orson With Annette & Cyprian; The Altar Servers group of our parish

Altar servers Choir; KFC lunch!!

The Chosen Generation Community and Mothers Prayers Celebrate Their 7th Anniversaryl Bidisha Choudhury

11November2019 – The Chosen Generation Community and the Mothers Prayers Group celebrated their 7th anniversary on Sunday 10 November during the 10.45 a.m. mass. The mass began with an introductory speech by Brenda Fernandes who said that mothers are instruments in the hands of God and that God's divine intervention can be secured only if we ask for his help. She further went on to say that influenced by the intercessory role played by Mother Mary in the Scriptures, the members of Mothers Prayers thus come together to pray for their children every month. During the homily Fr. Sandeep emphasized on the importance of following the teachings of Christ in order to have everlasting life and urged the parishioners to pray for a sound mind and body which would enable them to live according to the principles of Christ.After the mass our parish priest Fr. Orson joined the Chosen Generation Community and Mothers Prayers as they cut a cake to commemorate the occasion . Lunch was served to the members thereafter.

Christmas Fetel Mahene S. Chatterjee

08 December 2019 - 8 Dec - The Church of Our Lady of Vailankanni organised its annual Christmas Fete. The theme for this fete was Christmas- A Time to think of others. The ground floor of the Church was decked with food stalls selling mouth-watering homemade delicacies by parishioners. The fete was open to all, regardless of their faith. There was also a jumble sale organized which allowed people to purchase good-quality second hand clothes at extremely low prices.

Wellspring Church of Our Lady of Vailankanni, Picnic Garden, is published monthly from 889, Deb Banerjee Road, Amrabati, Naskarhat, Kolkata 700039. Published by the Parish Media Team on behalf of Fr. Orson Wells, Parish Priest.Publication Team :Editor: June Coelho; Asst. Editors: Sarahlyn Cook, Staff Writers: Deepak I. Baptist; Bidisha Chowdhury, Advertising and Admin: Dhanalaxmi Kaliram, Cecil David; ASCC Advisor: Farrell Shah.Printed by: CAPS Micrographics Pvt. Ltd.Vol. V No. 5 | DECEMBER 2019For Private Circulation Only

DECEMBER 2019 Wellspring4

ByRitaMachado

The Joy of Christmas

A little girl names Anna, lived with her parents in a big city. She was never happy. She made no friends. Even with the lavish gifts her parents showered on her did not bring a smile to her lips. Her parents were very rich and had everything for their child's comfort. Yet they could not understand the problem

behind her sadness.She fell ill for some days and on Christmas eve she laid in bed, the whole day. She watched the

snowflakes fall gently on the window panes. It was a very cold and a freezing morning.

Then suddenly she saw a boy's face peeking at her. He looked hungry and lonesome. He knocked

o n t h e w i n d o w shutter. She weakly called out to her mother as soon as she came into her

r o o m w i t h b r e a k f a s t . Anna's mother felt sorry for the

b o y a n d gave him a g l a s s o f

w a r m

SHORT STORIES

The Christmas Gift

Once there was a small boy names John who was very poor. He lived with his widowed mother in a hut near the sea. Every morning he would gather sea-shells to make house items and ornaments by selling them in the town square. Both mother and son worked hard , as this was their only livelihood . The days would pass away without any difficulty. It happened one day, when a rich well dressed man came their dwelling. He was surprised to see such beautify craftsmanship with sea shells!. He was indeed very much taken up by the fine work shown in each of them. Such simple people with a humble living could have a hidden talent!. He offered a shop in the town where they could sell their wares. This both of them very happy and n tea they thanked himIt's been many years that passed. John a young mas has become the owner of his shop. The Christmas gift given to him lay a kind and gentle rich man who lives no more. Gifts from God can come anywhere any place anytime.

MATERIALFORPUBLICATION,LETTERSTOTHEEDITOR:Email: colvailkol@gmail.comElse,dropinorpostto:Wellspring, c/o Church of Our Lady of Vailankanni, 889, Deb Banerjee Road, Amrabati, Naskarhat, Kolkata - 39. Phone: 9748477506 (12 p.m. - 6 p.m.)

97484 77506

chocolate drink and some sweet buns. He told them his name was Mark and he has recently moved in, a mile away from their house, but lost his way due to the heavy snowfall. Anna started making friends with Mark. Her face lit up with smile . She no longer felt sad as she had a new friend in Mark, who was a friendly boy.Finally Christmas day arrived and Anna feeling much better, was decorating her Christmas tree when Mark came and wished her with a pretty doll as a gift. She was so delighted that she hugged him and in return gave him a big silver bell. Everything changed for Anna on that special day as it was the joy of friendship and happiness. Her parents were every much happy for her. Friends are a gift of God.

Celebration of St Vincent de Paul's Feast at OLV l Clementine Miller

29 October2019 - Mary Queen of Apostles unit of The Legion of Mary, OLV parish celebrated their 3rd Presidium function. The function was presided by Rev Fr Michael Bhaju (Ex-Vicar General Kolkata Archdiocese) our spiritual director.This celebration was enhanced by the presence of the Junior Legionary unit - the only junior unit in Kolkata Archdiocese comprising of 6 young dedicated Junior Legionaries aged 9yrs to 17yrs. We started with the Opening prayer followed by a round of refreshments. Music and games like Bombing the city and Crossing the River Jordan followed compered by Anoushka . We were then led by our spiritual Director in reciting the Catena. Rev Fr. Michael Bhaju said the Grace before meals after which we all enjoyed our delicious Chinese dinner followed by rounds of fresh home baked cakes. The celebration ended with concluding prayer said by our President, Sr. Mary Samuel.We are all grateful to our Blessed Mother for making this celebration a wonderful and memorable occasion.Our sincere thanks to our Spiritual Director, Rev Fr. Michael Bhaju for his unstinting support and to all the Legionaries of our unit for making this small celebration a success.

Parish Children’s Christmas Tree