Congratulations to our friends Daniel, Julien, Steven and Riley who were confirmed yesterday in St. Stephen’s Dalmuir by Fr. Aidan Martin. Thank you to the catechists of the St. Stephen’s/ Kilpatrick School group for their love and care for our friends.

A beautiful celebration of Pentecost at the sensory Mass in St. Andrew’s Cathedral where we shared the joy of Gallagher’s Confirmation by Canon David Wallace. Congratulations to you & your family, Gallagher. Next sensory Mass Sunday 13 July at 2.30. Come as you are.

We have had such a wonderful session 24/25 with our friends from Hampden School. Thank you for the fun, the laughter and the amazing peace of the celebration room. Have a lovely summer holiday. Shalom until we meet again.

It’s great to see some of our raffle prize winners this week. Kathleen, winner of the Apple Watch star prize, & her son, Martin are long time SPRED family members, so it was good to see them at the SPRED Centre. Thank you to the prize donors and to all who bought & sold tickets.

With our parent and child group yesterday we recalled celebrations we had enjoyed with others. We celebrate in church too. We give thanks for the special celebrations of our friends’ First Holy Communions last year and earlier and look forward to celebrations of Confirmation.

A few hours off for an end of session outing yesterday with Steve and Basil the alpacas. Yes of course we tried to recruit them to our groups but sadly they were more interested in grazing in the Christmas tree fields. Back to work today working on plans for session 25/26 😀

A thought on the day when MPs are voting on assisted suicide in England & Wales Some people think our friends in SPRED can do little but Pope Leo says, “ Even when it seems we are able to do little in life, it is always worthwhile … because God loves our life.”

One important task completed before we close for the summer holidays - our programme for 2025 - 2026. We are looking forward to welcoming back everyone in our SPRED family for a programme full of old favourites and a few new events too.

Some of the plants in this garden are food for the body, others are food for the soul. We all need both. Our experience of sharing food at our SPRED meetings feeds both body and soul at a table where all have a place and all are welcome.

Next Sensory Mass this Sunday 2.30 in St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Clyde St. If you or a family member finds a parish Mass difficult due to a neuro divergence, then you’ll be welcome here. Come as you are, bring whatever helps you to feel at home in God’s house. Spread the word.

Wild flowers growing beside carefully trained fruit trees. Some friends in SPRED need a lot of support to bear fruit and others are happy to bloom wherever they are. All need someone to be with them & rejoice in their beauty. Could that be you? Get in touch to find out more.

We need a friend to sit with us but many people living with a learning disability don’t have anyone to call a friend. In SPRED we invite people into friendship with a trained volunteer as a way of coming to know God as their friend. Does someone you know need that? Let us know.

In SPRED we use a variety of ordinary objects to help evoke a life experience from each member of the group. Looking forward to hearing from our trainee leader catechists on Friday which of these we would use (and how) and which we wouldn’t use.

It’s such a privilege to introduce new people to an experience of the celebration room. Even better when they react to it as if they had been there all their lives. Then all this trainer had to do was relax and enjoy the experience. Thank you to those who shared in training today

Thinking of becoming a Catholic? An opportunity for anyone interested in becoming a member of the Catholic Church will take place on Monday 4th August at 6pm in the Cathedral. If you or someone you know might be interested, please encourage them to come along!

In SPRED we take time to look deeply to see how God is at work in our life and the lives of our friends. We value the perspective of others, for none of us sees the whole picture. Thank God that in SPRED no one journeys alone.

While we all need a rest from work or volunteering we don’t forget our SPRED family during the summer break. Thanks to Pauline and Paul for remembering us on their trip to Florence. Looking forward to seeing you and everyone in a few weeks.

𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝑺𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝟐.𝟑𝟎 𝑺𝒕. 𝑨𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒘’𝒔 𝑪𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒍 Specially planned to meet the needs of those who are neuro diverse . A quiet and welcoming space where you are free to be yourself. We’d love to see you. Please spread the word.

Lily & Nala, the SPRED office dogs had a lovely summer holiday but, like their owners, are ready to begin session 25/26. The SPRED Centre opened this morning. Lisbeth and Patricia are looking forward to seeing the members of our SPRED family again soon.

You’re looking at over 60 years of voluntary service in SPRED. Yesterday we gave thanks for the service of 2 retiring leader catechists, Irene & Rosemary. We thank God for the thousands of hours of loving service they have given and pray for those who are stepping into big shoes