Information

A minimum of six month’s notice is required and applies even if the wedding is to take place in another Parish. This is to enable Marriage preparation to take place and the Pre-Nuptial documentation completed.  Please do not confirm other wedding arrangements until you are sure that the priest and church are available on the date and time you require.  An information booklet ‘Getting Married in the Parish of Blaris’ will be forwarded to you at time of booking.  Please contact Parish Office to book your marriage.

Marriage Encounter

For couples wishing to enrich their marriage or renew their marriage vows.  Marriage Encounter is a weekend away (Friday 8pm to Sunday 5pm) for married couples of all ages with a stable relationship.  Couples explore, in complete privacy, how to come to a deeper, mutual understanding of each other.

Engaged Encounter

This is a Church-approved Marriage preparation course presented by married couples and a priest and is intended for couples who are preparing for the Sacrament of Marriage.

Parents are the first teachers of their children. Those who choose to send their children to other schools are at the same time accepting full responsibility for the religious upbringing of their children.

This is their right and privilege. The Parish will endeavour to ensure that, with the parents’ co-operation, these children will be adequately prepared for the reception of the sacraments.

For enrolment and further information please contact Parish Office.

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Children in our Parish Schools will be prepared for the reception of the Sacraments.

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Baptisms are normally held at 5.00pm on Friday evenings and at 5.30pm Saturday evenings in St. Patrick’s Church. Before making family arrangements please check with Parish Office for available dates.

A child can have either a godmother or godfather or both.  A godparent should be a practising Catholic (at least 17 years of age), mature, trustworthy and responsible.  At the request of the parents, a baptised and believing Christian not belonging to the Catholic Church may act as a Christian witness along with a Catholic godparent.

Parents living outside this parish, and wishing to have their child baptised in Blaris Parish, must obtain the written permission of the priest of their own parish.

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The Altar Society is responsible for the cleaning of the church on a weekly basis. A group of volunteers make themselves available on a rota basis, for cleaning, flower arrangements, care of the altar linens and sacred vessels.

Members consider it a privilege to be involved in this worthwhile and important work. New Members are always welcome.  If you have a couple of spare hours on a Saturday, once a month, and would like to help please contact Parish Office or speak with any Team Member.

Ministers of the Word on a rota basis proclaim the Word of God at daily, Holy Day, Sunday Masses and Liturgical Services.

Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist serve the Church on a rota basis by assisting the priest in the distribution of Communion at weekday and Sunday Masses. Holy Communion is brought by the Ministers to the sick and housebound in the Parish on a weekly basis, including those in Nursing Homes and Thompson House Hospital.

St Patrick's Parish are very proud to have 32 altar servers. 25 of the servers who play an important role in the liturgies of the parish appear in the photograph.

LINK – Privacy Notice of Down and Connor

DIOCESAN DATA PROTECTION ACT GUIDANCE

REQUEST FOR COPIES OF BAPTISM, CONFIRMATION OR MARRIAGE CERTIFICATES.

 

Personal Requests (Restricted)

From time to time, many people find it necessary to request a copy of a Certificate of Baptism, or a record of their Confirmation or Marriage in Church. Most commonly, this will be in connection with a marriage or a school application.

In order to comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act, all such requests need to be made in writing and certificates can only be issued to those named on the record – for instance, the person who was baptised, or, in the case of someone under the age of 16, their parent or guardian. Because requests need to be signed and we need to retain a written record of all requests for access to our sacramental registers, we are unable to accept requests by phone or e-mail.

Research / Family Tree Requests (Partially Restricted)

Once an individual is deceased, their personal data is no longer covered by the Data Protection Act. However, the impact on living relatives should be considered prior to disclosure. Personal information contained in a record of burials may be considered sensitive or liable to cause distress. We need to take into consideration the implications associated with that data. Within data protection protocols a lifetime is assumed to be 100 years, therefore the Diocese restricted periods are as follows:- Baptism Certificates 100 years, Confirmation Certificates 90 years, Marriage Certificates 85 years.

Please note all Anniversaries and notices for the following weekend’s bulletin must be with the Parish Office no later than Tuesday at 2.00pm. Thank you for your co-operation.
 
PARISH OFFICE HOURS
Monday-Friday 10.30am – 4.00pm
Closed 1.00pm-2.00pm

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Each week on Sunday at 12 noon and Saturday at 6.30pm in St. Patrick’s Church the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will be offered for the repose of the souls of those whose Month’s Mind or Anniversaries have been requested on one of these specific days. The names of the deceased sharing in the Holy Sacrifice on each specific day will be displayed before the Altar at Mass. Names for inclusion must be submitted to the Parish Office no later than Thursday morning for the following weekend Masses.

Chair : Damian French

Members : Fr. Dermot McCaughan, PP, Bernadette Bell, Marie Allen, Carol O’Hagan, Eamonn Drayne.

2 times a year in St Patrick’s Pastoral Centre.

In line with the Down & Connor Diocesan policies and procedures concerning the protection of children & young people, vulnerable adults and those who work with them, a Parish Safeguarding Committee has been established in the Parish of Blaris since 2005.

The role of the committee is to:

1 Make parishioners aware of the existence of the Down & Connor Child protection and safeguarding Vulnerable Adults policy and Procedures.

See following links.

http://www.downandconnor.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/CPPP1.pdf

https://downandconnorsafeguarding.com/

2 Identify parish activities which involve children and young people or vulnerable adults and which need to comply with the D&C Safeguarding Policy & Procedures.

3 Require that non-parish groups and individuals, who use parish premises and facilities for activities, have their own Children’s and or Vulnerable Adults protection policy and procedures in place and have insurance for the event.

4 Arrange for adults who are responsible for parish run children’s and or vulnerable adult’s activities, to participate in the required protection information session, which is a necessary part of our on-going care and support for parish volunteers.

5 Ensure that all staff and volunteers, who work with children and young people and or vulnerable adults, are vetted as required by current legislation.

6 Guide and assist parish activity groups, where necessary, in the recruitment and selection of staff and volunteers, ensuring that ‘best practice’ is implemented.

7 Ensure that parish activities have a code of conduct for their activity.

“Along with the family, the parish has a key role to play in promoting and protecting the rights of children. This means that within the parish, the families, schools and groups work together in creating a safe and caring community in which children can develop and mature.”

 
Pontifical Council for the Family. The Family and Human Rights 2001.

The PSC is a committee of volunteers who have a background working with children, young people and vulnerable adults or who are representatives of the different organisations and groups who work with children, young people and vulnerable adults in the parish. These include: Do this in memory programme, Eucharistic Ministers to the Sick and Housebound etc.
 
The PSC does not have an investigative role in the protection of children and vulnerable adults. Our role is to develop and promote best practice towards children, young people and vulnerable adults involved in parish activities. We do this through a two stage process by ensuring that all volunteers:
 
1 Are vetted by Access NI; and
2 Attend the relevant Parish Information Session to ensure they develop their understanding of their responsibilities for promoting and safeguarding in all parish activities involving children, young people and vulnerable adults.
 
Through an ongoing audit of all the activities which occur in the church and in the pastoral centre, we maintain a record of all the individuals involved.

Our purpose is to advise all parish organisations of their responsibilities in relation to who they should contact if they have any queries or concerns. See “Who should I report a concern to” section below.
 
Children & Young People Protection & Vulnerable Adults Safeguarding – This is comprehensively explained at the parish information sessions delivered by the Vicariate Support team and this is why attendance at such sessions is mandatory for all volunteers who work with children, young people or vulnerable adults in our parish.
 
Recruitment and selection of new staff / volunteers – Ensuring that best practice for the recruitment of all volunteers is followed.
 
The recruitment process involves the receipt of an application form from a potential volunteer of staff member. The Deputy Chair then obtains references from two referees as to the suitability of the applicant for the role within the parish.
 
When the references are in place, the applicant then completes three forms:
1 A confidential declaration of any past convictions, cases pending or any unresolved complaint. (Sent directly by the volunteer to the D&C Safeguarding Officer);
2 An Access NI Vetting Form; and
3 A Identity Verification form on which is the Chair of Deputy Chair of the PSC verifies that they have produced the three pieces of identification required for vetting.

This recruitment process is completely confidential and only the Chair or Deputy Chair see any of the forms relating to the process – (no other committee members see any of the potential applicants personal information).
 
All of the information is stored securely including:
 
Checklist for PSC, which details volunteers name, date of birth, names of referees & date of the recruitment process is completed (including date they have / due to attend the parish information session on Child or Vulnerable Adult Protection).
 
Application Form for the role(s) they have applied.
 
Freedom to Appoint letter from Designated Officer.
 
Letter of Apointment from parish priest.
 
Volunteer Agreement to adhere to D&C policy & procedures and to attend training.
 
This information is kept in a secure filing cabinet in the Parish Office to which only the Deputy Chair and Fr. McCaughan and Fr. Magorrian have access to.
 
NB: The actual references are destroyed after 3 months. Each of the other documents and details listed above will be stored for 20 years. If a volunteer wishes to see the data held about them, this can be arranged via a prior appointment with the Deputy Chair.

You have a choice of any of the following 4 routes:

Diocesan Liaison Person for Safeguarding: Mr Philip O’Hara, Diocese of Down & Connor, Safeguarding Office, Good Shepherd Centre, 511 Ormeau Road, Belfast, BT7 3GS. Tel: 028 9049 2798

Social Services :

During Office Hours:
Belfast HSC Trust – Tel: 028 9050 7000
South Eastern HSC Trust – Tel: 030 0100 0300

Outside Office Hours:
Emergency Out of Hours – Tel: 028 9504 9999

NSPCC : Child Protection Helpline – Tel: 0808 800 5000
PSNI : Tel: 0845 600 800

 

The attached link to the booklet “What to do if you have a concern, suspicion or wish to make an allegation of child abuse. Making contact with the Diocesan Liaison Person”, provides guidance on contacting the Designated Officer and also further contact details for relevant agencies Booklet link: What to do if you have a concern.

Further information on the Down & Connor Child Protection and Vulnerable Adults Safeguarding Policy, Procedures and Guidance is available on the Down & Connor website www.downandconnorsafeguarding.com