Category: Lay Ministries Parish workers

Everyone who does something

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THANKS

Thanks for the sterling and arduous work by some of our parishioners with children at O.L.M.C. School over several days, who have laboured at times in the heat to remove old vegetation and planted new shrubs in front of the church and school.

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LITURGY MEETING

Minutes

Some matters arising from the last minutes were:

  • that some lectors may need to be reminded that a pause after the reading, for reflection is appropriate.
  • Audio Visual  preparations for the canonization viewing in the hall is underway.

General Business

It was decided that Mary MacKillop leaflets to be ordered ( 50c per copy) for distribution on the day. These are glossy double sided leaflets with her biography.

The 5.30pm Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church will be transfered to St Anne’s Church and music etc was arranged for the day. The readings chosen will be used at all Masses on the day and will be as follows:

  • 1st Reading – Colossians 3  12-17
  • Psalm : (sung) Like a Shepherd… AOV 160  (verses to be sung by cantor)
  • Gospel:  Matthew 6  25-34

Hymns as follows:

  • Gathering Hymn: We are many parts…AOV 86
  • Psalm : Like a Shepherd… AOV 160
  • Offertory: Instrumental music
  • Communion: Song of the Body of Christ….AOV 27
  • Recessional: instrumental music

A team of volunteers will gather after the 10.30am Mass on the day to set-up the Parish Centre .

Saturday November 6th – gathering at the Sunbury cemetery for Prayer & Blessing for all souls at 9.30am and Bulla cemetery at 11am

Neighbourhood hosted Masses for sacramental children- Richard to organise

Advent Focus:- Jesse Tree, Our parish family tree/history over the last 100 years

Christmas masses:

  • Christmas falls on a Saturday this year which means Sunday Masses will also be the next day. It was decided that the 6pm Sunday vigil mass be dropped as the Christmas masses will have been held
  • Friday 24th at the Salesian Stadium at 7pm & St Anne’s at 10pm
  • Saturday 25th at 8.30am & 10.30am
  • Sunday 26th to continue as usual at St Anne’s at 8.30am & 10.30am & 5.30pm at OLMC

Next Meeting scheduled – Wednesday 17th November 7.30pm

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ANNUAL PARISH ASSEMBLY

Our Parish Assembly will be held in the Parish Centre on Saturday 16 October from 9.30am to 2.00pm including a shared lunch. This is an occasion to plan for future initiatives in the mission of our parish to bring the Good News to all in our area.

SUBMISSIONS FROM NEIGHBOURHOODS

Neighbourhoods are asked to forward their proposals for the Annual Parish Assembly to the Parish Office by next Friday 8 October.

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WORKERS IN THE VINEYARD

During the month of July the parish will focus on the many ministries that are carried out in our community and how we may become involved in one. Each one of us has been given some gift that we are able to share with another, the gift of listening, driving, visiting or praying for others, the gift of technology, setting-up or preparing for our liturgies. With many sharing the load you would be asked to give a small amount of time and energy in our own parish community.
Forms will be available at our churches during July.
We will celebrate the gifts we offer to one another at our Parish Feast Day on 24/25 July.
Please consider how you may be able to offer some time to working in the parish vineyard.

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PART TIME / FULL TIME MELBOURNE YCW PROJECT OFFICER

Expressions of interest are sought for the position(s) for a Melbourne YCW Project Officer to work with current YCW members, links with international students through establishing and implementing English conversation classes, parishes within the Melbourne Archdiocese and networks connected with the MYCW. Worker should be self motivated, have proven written and verbal communication, IT and word processing skills, and effective organisational skills.
If you have a passion for justice for young people and have the experience and skills, please email Bridget Flood at bridget.flood@ycw.org.au or call 0421 787 117 for a detailed job description or further info.
Location of the position is within the Melbourne metropolitan region.
Applications close 02.07.2010.

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PARISH COORDINATING TEAM MEETING 15TH JUNE 2010

The Parish Coordinating Team meeting on 15th June mainly discussed the preparation needed for the forthcoming Parish Assembly on 16th Oct. In our Parish Renewal sessions held in August and September 2006, the parishioners looked at the problems with the then current structures for Parish Decision-Making and with the current structures for Making Proposals and for Planning. The basic problem was seen to be that the decision makers were unrepresentative and that there was no means of reporting back.

We have already held a Formation Session of one and a half hours for Neighbourhood Teams, groups of Parish Posties, and indeed anyone who was interested and available back on the 27th Feb. It’s now time for a follow-up session with the Neighbourhood Coordinators so that they can go back to their Posties and Parishioners in order to get a representative (and some ideas from the group) who will become a member of the Parish Coordinating Team, representing their Neighbourhood.

Each Neighbourhood representative will be given about a minute to put forward any reports and proposals for action etc. that the Neighbourhood group would like to undertake such as inviting all the parents (and children) of any children from the Neighbourhood who have made their First Communion recently to a get-together of the Neighbourhood after Mass. Or any other ideas they may like to carry out.

Other Parish Groups and Organisations will likewise have that opportunity during the Assembly

The Team also discussed some details of the forthcoming “Workers in the Vineyard” program coming up shortly.

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THANK YOU

Thank you to all the kind volunteers who helped with collating the Thanksgiving Envelopes last Wednesday.
Special thanks to Teresa Millett for providing morning tea.

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GRAVES THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

As some parishioners will be aware, two former parish priests are buried in the Sunbury Cemetery and the graves are maintained by members of the Knights of the Southern Cross.
If anyone would like to know where the graves are located and would like to view the graves, a member of the KSC will be at front gate of the cemetery next Saturday morning at 9.30am.

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OUR CENTENNIAL BUSH DANCE

The Dance has been the talk of the town-what a fabulous night with children dancing with their parents, students with their teachers and grandchildren with their grandparents. The shed at Pat Reddan’s farm had been transformed with tractors and farming equipment tidied, murals painted by the children of OLMC School and a sausage sizzle by the youth group. Between 450 and 500 people enjoyed this second event of our century year. Congratulations to the committee.

Some photos are to be seen on the earlier report
here.

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PARISH POSTIES

The next letter is being printed at the moment for distribution by you within your neighbourhood.

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NOTES FROM OUR PARISH LENTEN EXERCISE

We started with a welcome and a prayer and then went straight into an introduction and an overview.

There was discussion of how we, as the people of God, are a sacrament to the world.

The group was sitting in Neighbourhoods and these were joined with other Neighbourhoods to discuss the subjects of ourselves as a Sacrament of Communion, as a Sacrament of the Reign of God, and as a Sacrament of Universal Salvation. A good starting place is the old Childrens Catechism which says a Sacrament is an outward sign of inward Grace. We didn’t get too far into sacramental theology but we were able to see that we, as a group, are a sign and an instrument of the presence of Jesus in the world now.

Next came a brief discussion on prayer, centred on the words of Jesus in Mathew 7:7. Ask, Seek, Knock.

Then we moved to “What the Parish does”

Community Life…
  • Whole Parish Community
  • Neighbourhoods
  • Small Groups
  • All Families
Pastoral Service…
  • Catechesis
  • Liturgical
  • Schools
  • Justice, Peace, Environment
Workers in the Vineyard…
  • Recruitment
  • Formation and Training
Decision Management…
  • PCT/PC
  • Parish Team
  • Finance
  • Office Administration
  • Maintenance
  • General Gatherings
Other Sectors…
  • Play Group
  • Youth
  • Evergreens

The next step in our Neighbourhood Plan is to move a considerable amount of this to the Neighbourhoods by the Neighbourhoods taking on a four phase strategy, namely To Gather, To Serve, To Represent, and To Communicate. By this strategy we can decentralise many of our services and the Neighbourhoods can become small, active faith groups.(that is Big Faith, Small Groups) The Neighbourhoods can bring their issues via their PCT representative to the PCT meetings.

The Neighbourhood Groups then had a practice run at a Neighbourhood meeting using a guide book written for that purpose and available in the future from the Parish Office. Each meeting involves some prayer, scripture reading an discussion/sharing of our faith.

There was a break for lunch and much discussion. This was followed by a summing up and a discussion on “Where to now?”

Those Neighbourhoods who had a Coordinator present set up meetings to present the theme of Gather, Serve, Represent, and Communicate. Others would take the information and the strategy back to their Neighbourhoods to then do the same.

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LENT 2010—’CALLED TO BRING HEALING AND HOPE’

Our liturgy planning group last week discussed our theme for Lent as we begin our centenary year. We want to focus in Lent on our need to be healed of the wounds which we as a community have suffered over these 150 years and move on in hope. In Biblical times, a jubilee year (every 50 years) was a time of reconciliation and forgiveness of debts so that a new beginning could occur.

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OUR SPECIAL LENTEN EXERCISE FOR 2010

On Saturday 27 February, all are invited to the Parish Centre to experience meeting in small neighbourhood groups so that we can continue renewing our lives as Christians and strengthen our sense of belonging in our large parish.

‘Where two or three are gathered, I am in your midst’, Jesus said.

All parishioners and especially those workers in the Vineyard, those ministering in various ways—parish posties, coordinating teams, are invited. Our facilitator is Jill Gibbs who has been involved with parishes and religious orders for over thirty years worldwide.
The session will include some input, an actual experience of a small group meeting and some practical details. We will spend time together and conclude before 2.00pm. Please bring some lunch to share.