From Fr Greg's Desk: Sunday 24th October

Hi Everyone!

The Time has Come to Say 'Farewell' to Fr. Alfredo
In about three weeks time, our own Fr. Alfredo will be leaving us for a Spanish speaking mission on the other side of the world. As a Verbum Dei Missionary, he will be assisting our communities in Russia where we have been entrusted with a large Hispanic apostolate and where, due to illness, our community in Moscow has recently become seriously depleted. They urgently need the help of an experienced missionary priest of Hispanic origins, and Fr. Alfredo fits the bill perfectly. Hence, he will be leaving for Mexico on the 15th of November, in order to secure a visa for work in Russia, there being currently no diplomatic relations open to him from here.I cannot thank Fr. Alfredo enough for having braved the challenge of coming to Australia five years ago to assist me, firstly at Rosebery Parish where I was then Parish Administrator, and here at RGCP for the last four years. Incidentally, we began our service at RGCP on none other than the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a very Mexican feast day indeed!

With current COVID restrictions, however, we will probably be limited to a maximum of 50 people for 'outdoor gatherings' (even though inside our Churches we can have as many as fit within the density limits of one person per 4 square meters). Hence, sadly, it may be difficult to plan any large farewells for Fr. Alfredo at the present time. It seems unlikely the 90% fully vaccinated levels will be reached before he leaves, but there may be some relaxation of restrictions. More about that in future bulletins as details come to light). Individual groups in which Fr. Alfredo has been ministering may need to organise smaller gatherings to farewell him over the next three weeks.

Fr. Alfredo has been feverishly working of late on a mural depicting "our Lady's Kitchen" (and our Lord serving the food) near the Kindergarden of SCB Primary School, as a parting gift to us all. Fr. Alfredo also gratefully acknowledges the assistance of several SCB Primary students in painting the mural. We look forward to seeing the finished product in the next few weeks! (PS... Fr. Alfredo, if you are reading this, don't pack any bags until the mural is 100% finished!!! ... He he he.

Churches Now Open for Masses and Prayer
As I said last week, Churches and 'Places of Worship' are now open for Mass and prayer from Monday 18th October (Tuesday to Sunday, 7am to 5pm, subject to availability of wardens). We look forward to seeing you back with us at our regular weekend Masses at OLQP (Sat 5 pm and Sunday 9am) and at SCB (Sat 6 pm, Sun 8 am, 10 am, and 6 pm), the regular Tuesday/Thursday early morning Masses at OLQP at 6.30 am and the regular 9.20 am Masses at SCB (Tuesday to Friday) and 9 am on Saturday mornings. The Sacrament of Reconciliation will also be available at the usual times.

The following NSW Government COVID restrictions will still apply until we collectively reach the 90% Vaccination level (which is likely to be reached in the second half of November):

Maximum number of attendees (including church workers and children): SCB 100 persons, OLQP 80 persons (in accordance with the '4 sqm rule') No booking system will be used at either SCB or OLQP church. Places inside the churches will be allocated on a 'first come first served' basis. Please note that the doors to the Churches will close once the established density limits are reached as per normal COVID operation. QR Codes will be available for parishioners at the entrance to the Churches and computers to record attendees for those who have no QR devices.

Masks must be worn indoors. No masks are required in outdoor settings. Others can attend outside the Church (limited only by the '2 sqm rule'.) where some external seating will be available. Televisions will be set up outside SCB Church at the 10 am Sunday Mass only. Live streaming will continue to be available at the 10 am SCB Mass, and all weekday services. Speakers will be set up for overflows at SCB Church for other masses, funerals and weddings as required.

Pavements and Driveway at SCB
You will have noticed – well, I suppose you could hardly not have noticed! – the cement work going on in front and beside SCB Church. Rainy weather has delayed the work, and the bringing forward of the opening of our Churches didn't help - but it is well and truly underway, with Keith Stanshall, our 'Maintenance Man' in command. The driveway should be about 90% finished next week, awaiting the delivery of sandstone pavers similar to the ones presently adorning the steps and forecourt leading to the Church. They will extend the forecourt of the Church across the driveway to the sandstone steps, so that there will be sandstone pavers from the pedestrian entrance at Victoria Road right through to the road outside the Parish Office. The partially sunken cement pavement leading to SCB Church from the Primary School will be replaced with the same sandstone coloured cement as well. That will eliminate having to navigate the pool of water which accumulates there every time it rains!

We hope to fully complete the work in the next month or so, in time for the “Post COVID Lockdown' Wedding Avalanche. Yes , the wedding bells will be tolling quite a bit over the next year or so... between us priests at the Parish, excluding Fr. Alfredo of course, we currently have more than 30 weddings to celebrate over the next year – no exaggeration!!

Catholic Weekly Article on Ryde Gladesville Parish in Lockdown.
This week the Catholic Weekly have published an article on our Parish and what we have been doing during the lockdown period. Our priests were 'flat out' during that time, with pastoral visits, online Masses, 'Schools of the Word', 'Schools of Apostles', youth meetings, RCIA, and the like, and our office staff were certainly gainfully employed, with bulletins to produce, Masses to assist with, phone calls and emails to answer, and the like. If you are curious, you can check it out on Page 3 of the Catholic Weekly this week.

And that's about it for now!! Your brother, in Christ's service, as always,

Fr. Greg