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Christian families in Bethlehem are supported by making and selling items of a religious nature made from olive wood.
At Masses on 4/5 February and 11/12 February there will be a sale of items priced from $5 to $150.00.

Parish Bingo is held every Thursday Evening at the Sunbury Football Social Club, Clarke Oval, Riddell Rd Sunbury. $999.00 last game prize. Come on give it a go! Eyes down at 8.00pm Ticket sales from 7.00pm.
Dinner and snacks available.

A proposal at the Parish Assembly in September was to establish a Key Register for the Parish Properties. If you currently hold a key to any Parish Property, could you please contact the parish office on 9744 1060 as you will need to sign the Key Register.

30% is used to support the 93 retired priests of Melbourne, 5 Melbourne bishops, 2 retired bishops and priests in poor parishes. The remainder is used to provide a lease car for the priest of the parish, running expenses of the presbytery, medical insurance and the living allowance to the priest. I thank you for your generosity this Christmas

….. Kevin McIntosh

I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very centre of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.

…….H.G Wells

The 2012 edition is the 90th Edition of the Columban Calendar. It is now available at the Piety Stall for only $8. Buy this Special edition of the calendar and you will be helping our missionaries at the same time. This calendar makes an excellent gift for family and friends. There is an Art Guide Presentation with an explanation of each painting on the website: www.columban.org.au.

Maintenance is continuing during the school holidays especially with painting and new carpet in both our schools and with painting at the Parish Centre and Office.

The Religions of Asia (May, 2012)
This pilgrimage tour of Malaysia will be departing Sydney on Monday 7th May (2012), and returning on Friday May 18. This 12 Day pilgrimage journey will be a very Catholic tour with daily Mass, prayer and spiritual input. Its primary focus will be to view and the various non-Christian religions present in Malaysia, but also incorporating Catholic sites and shrines.  There will be visits to shrines of Islam, Buddhism, Daoism, Hinduism, Sikhism and perhaps Shamanism-Animism. This pilgrimage will lead to a deeper knowledge and respect for the various religions of man in his quest for God, as well as a deeper appreciation of Jesus Christ as the only name by which we are saved (Acts 4: 12). The tour will be led by Father Ted Tyler, parish priest of Upper Blue Mountains, as the Spiritual Chaplain, as well as Father Jan Bieniek CSMA, parish priest of Clovelly, as the Group Leader.  For further information or details please contact Father Ted at frejtyler@live.com  or at P.O. Box 526 Katoomba 2780, for further details.

Pilgrimage to Turkey and Greece: Abraham, Peter, Paul, Andrew and the Early Church (September 2012).
This pilgrimage will leave Australia on Monday 24th September 2012 and return on 12th October, and will visit places of great spiritual significance in the Scriptures and the early Church. In Turkey we shall visit Haran and Urfa (Abraham), Antioch (Peter, Paul and Barnabas), Tarsus and parts of Cappadocia (Paul), Constantinople-Byzantium (early Ecumenical Councils). We shall then cross over to visit Thessalonika, Athens and Corinth (St Paul), Patras (St Andrew), as well as places of great secular significance such as Delphi, the tomb of Philip of Macedon, the birthplace of Aristotle, and the great Athenian centres of ancient culture and philosophy. The pilgrimage is being led by Father Ted Tyler, parish priest of Upper Blue Mountains (diocese of Parramatta), and some very experienced local guides. If you are interested, contact Father Ted at frejtyler@live.com or at P.O. Box 526, Katoomba NSW 2780, for further information and details.

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among people,
To make music in the heart.

By  Rev.  Dr Howard Thurman (1899-1981) (pictured) Baptist Theologian, Civil Rights Leader and mentor to Martin Luther King.

We offer our prayerful sympathy to the Salesian Community as their Confrere Fr Hans Dopheid SDB entered eternal life last Sunday after a long illness.

Requiem Mass for the repose of the soul of Fr Hans Dopheide SDB will be celebrated in the College Chapel at Salesian College “Rupertswood”, Sunbury, on TUESDAY (Jan. 3, 2012) at 11 a.m. The Funeral rites and burial will follow the Mass immediately in the Salesian College Cemetery at Sunbury.

The Salesians of Don Bosco of the Australia-Pacific Province mark the passing to the Lord of Fr. Hans Dopheide on Dec. 25, 2011. Fr. Hans was born in Utrecht, Netherlands on Nov. 26, 1936, was professed as a Salesian at Sunbury in 1958 and was ordained a priest in Italy in 1967. Fr. Hans worked at Salesian College “Rupertswood” from 1968 to 1985 in the roles of Teacher, Headmaster, Farm Manager and Vice-Rector. From 1986 to 2005 Fr. Hans worked in the Salesian missions in Samoa and Pakistan where he oversaw the construction of two Technical schools. In 2005 he returned to Australia where he needed ongoing medical care. Fr. Hans was a man of great talent which he shared willingly with so many – music, agriculture, technology, finance and boundless energy – all of which were driven by Don Bosco’s love of God and young people.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Wishing Gods blessings and grace with you at Christmas and throughout the New Year
…..from the Parish Office Team.

Lions Hostel has an organ available to anyone interested. Please contact Jenny at the Lions Hostel on 9744 7001 for further info.

We are looking for two people to work on a part-time basis with the parish Religious Education Coordinator and the parish primary schools to provide the teaching component of religious education and preparation for celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation for children attending other schools in our parish area. Qualification to teach Religious Education in Catholic primary schools is highly desirable. If you are interested please contact the Parish Office for a more detailed explanation of what is involved in this important work. We have a lot of fun together doing this!

I consider myself to be very fortunate and blessed to have been able to do study in Europe. The study tour organised by Yarra Theological Union was wonderful, far beyond my expectations. The scholars and leading figures we met were so generous with their time. We saw new modern churches in suburban Paris with a strong social welfare programs we visited the immersion font where St Augustine and his son were baptised at the Easter Vigil in 397 and the chapel in Belgium where the first Mass facing the people was celebrated in 1922. However, we can also be proud of the efforts made in Australia on liturgical renewal since the 1950’s……..Kevin McIntosh

Hume City Council held a public information and consultation evening at the Memorial Hall last Wednesday when twenty residents attended and saw the proposals for growth. A member of our Parish Education Board and Salesian College Council was present as there is proposed a possible establishment of homes for 10000 people in Diggers Rest and South Sunbury in the next five years. The State Government will make the final decision.

Christmas on the Green will take place on Sun- day 11 December. The event is being sponsored by the Combined Churches of Sunbury and tells the Christmas message in story, song and festivity. Please come and join in the festivities. This is a family friendly environment. It starts at 3.00pm with face painting, jumping castle, games, art and craft activities, clowns and a giant slide. Carols singing will start at 6pm with great gusto and smiles will be out in force! Please bring your own chair and safety candles will be on sale on the night. This years celebrations will focus on the birth of Jesus with a nativity scene with stable and animals. There will also be a light and sound music show.

If there are any children in Years 1 to 4 attending schools other than Our Lady of Mount Carmel or St Anne’s, who would like to take part in the dramatisation of the Gospel at this Mass (there is always room for more Angels and Shepherds) ask Mum or Dad to ring the Parish Office on Monday 5th December to let us know. We have sent a note to children at the parish primary schools.

Position for a Parish Secretary at St Mark’s Parish, Fawkner. For further info, http://www.cam.org.au/jobs

Mass of hope for the sick and fragile Saturday 3 December 10.30am St Patrick’s Cathedral.
Flyers at St Anne’s Church.

St Anne’s Primary School has formed an Autism Spectrum Disorder Parent Support/ Network Group this year and the gatherings have proved to be educational, supportive, enlightening and at times ‘inspirational’.
As a result of these gatherings we have decided to hold an information session to ensure our  students with ASD are better understood in the world they are part of.
On Thursday 1 Decem- ber from 9.15-10.15am at the Parish Centre.
Morning tea will be pro- vided.
Please RSVP by 28 Nov by contacting Nicole on 9744 3055.