The annual Seasonal Sale was held on Sunday November 24th, The Feast of Christ the King, and Youth Sunday,after the 11am Mass at Holy Ghost.
Our First Holy Communion children welcomed parishioners to Mass, dressed again in their finery, after receiving the Sacrament at the Vigil Mass. A particular welcome was made to the ‘Class of 2019’ who had been specially invited to come as a class with their families.
The hall was warm and welcoming with brightly coloured stalls laden with all kinds of tempting treats. On a table in the middle of the hall there was a celebration cake which had been beautifully decorated with the names of all the young parishioners who had made their First Holy Communion at Mass the previous evening.
As soon as we entered the hall a crowd began queuing to buy the delicious Christmas cakes, 
Christmas puddings, jams and chutneys which were on sale. The UCM stall which was selling mouth-watering cakes was also kept very busy.
On the stall manned by staff and parents from St. Joseph’s school there were various games for the children to play. There were also useful jute 
shopping bags for sale along with many other items. ‘The A Team’ stall which was selling packets of sweets and chocolates was very popular with the children. The ‘bookworm’ stall which was laden with a wide variety of reading matter attracted both young and old.
The Sisters of the Holy Family Convent and especially Sr.Bertilla had obviously been very busy
as on their stall there were beautifully crocheted baby clothes as well as blankets, bags and shawls for sale.
For anyone looking for Christmas cards there were lovely religious cards on sale along with various other religious objects. There were also pretty candles, fragrant lavender bags, sheets of brightly coloured wrapping paper and cute little gift bags available to purchase.
For those who were feeling peckish, hot mince pies and tasty cocktail pasties along with coffee and mulled wine were available to buy at the kitchens servery and these could be eaten at tables in ‘The Corner Cafe’ at the back of the hall.
The ‘squares draw’ is always very popular and as usual the prizes were a selection of festive hampers crammed full of Christmas treats and beautifully wrapped bottles of wine. This year there was also a ‘spoons’ raffle’ which proved to be a big success.
The Seasonal Sale is an important event in the life of the Parish as it gives everyone a chance to come together as one Parish family. This sale though was extra special because it also gave the whole Parish an opportunity to celebrate with our First Holy Communicants and their families.
It is always good to come together as one whole parish family. ‘The parish should
be…“a family among families, open to bearing witness in today’s world… open to faith, hope and love for the Lord and for those whom he has a preferential love. A home with open doors.’
— Pope Francis 6/5/19
A lot of effort goes into fund-raising events like the Seasonal Sale and our thanks must go to everyone who worked so hard behind the scenes and on the day itself to make it such a success.
Thanks to Gloria Atkinson for writing this review for the parish website
