From Fr Greg's Desk: Sunday 22nd May

Hi everyone!

Our Trivia Night Last Saturday Night was a really lovely evening, hosted as it was by our Youth and held at Holy Cross College Hall. My thanks to the organisers and youth leaders, and also the people who donated prizes, and to Mr. Phil Stewart, Principal of Holy Cross College for their generosity in lending us their Hall for the event. Hopefully we will be able to have more social and fundraiser events like this in the near future.

Our Project Compassion Appeal this year raised a total of $9,601.15. Thanks so much for your generosity in helping us help Caritas in their annual appeal.Final 'Adult Faith Formation Session- this Wednesday 25th May at 7:30 - 9pm SCB Hall - topic "Heaven, Hell, Purgatory and the Saints".
Fr. Dan will be presenting his last topic this coming Wednesday for this series of formations on "Heaven, Hell, Purgatory and the Saints", so ... don't miss it! The numbers have been steadily increasing, from about 30 the first week to about 50 last Wednesday. Great to see so many participating! These are very informative sessions, and coffee and tea are available from 7.15 pm onwards. So, come along - and bring your questions with you!!

Alpha Celebration Night Thurs 26th May 7:30pm - 9pm SCB Parish Hall
An open invitation is being extended to celebrate the end of our recent Alpha series. The organisers would love for you to come along. Check out the insert on the opposite page for more details.

Pentecost Evening - Saturday 4th June @ SCB Church Ryde 7:15 pm - 9pm
We are going to hold our own celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost after the 6 pm Mass at SCB Ryde. So, you will be able to grab a coffee outside the Church (like we do on Sunday mornings) before heading inside when the doors re-open at 7.30 pm, for an evening of guided prayer, with reflections, music, scriptural readings and silent prayer in between. Our Church is in need of a new Pentecost, so come along and herald the coming of the Holy Spirit again into your lives with this delightful evening of community worship!

"Confirmation Season" Nearly Upon Us!
Our youngsters are getting ready for their own 'mini Pentecost" with their upcoming Confirmation Masses over the next month. I hope that this final segment of their formation - including their "Retreat Day" will be an exciting foretaste of the gifts they will be receiving through this sacrament. Huge thanks to all who have been preparing them over the last two months, especially Dominic Altachky, our Sacramental Coordinator. Good one, Dom!

Just Recapping: the May & June Ministry Rosters are available for your perusal on the following website: https://rosters.org.au . Rosters will be issued every 2nd month, so please watch out for the July & August roster sign up which will be coming out at the end of May. Please notify the Office of any changes, even last minute changes on the weekend by sending a text to 0413 226 508 or email office@rgcp.org.au and we will find a replacement for you. Please do not find your own replacement, except in exceptional circumstances.

So too: Parish Wardens Rosters will now be organised by the Parish Office.
To help maintain our vital Wardens Ministry and keep it up and running, particularly due to occasional absences caused by COVID and other illnesses, and to ensure Archdiocesan (and NSW Govt) Compliance requirements are being met, I have asked that the Parish Office to organise these rosters from now on. Names of Wardens (for the weekends) will also be placed in the Parish Bulletin on a weekly basis. So far three people have come forward, but we still need many more to keep the SCB Church open six days a week, from 7 am to 5 pm.

Volunteers Please Note Well: All RGCP volunteers must comply with all 'Safeguarding Compliance' requirements (WWCC, Salt Training - including a valid Refresher course every three years - and a signed Volunteer Acceptance Form) and keep them up-to-date, or else they won't be included on the Rosters, nor will they be sent a link to access the rosters. We have been saying this now all year, and the period of grace has ended.

And in case you were wondering... our Parish is, in fact, required to send in a report every 6 months to advise the Archdiocese - who then have to report to the Childrens' Guardian, by mandate on who is volunteering in the Parish. This includes (but is not limited to) Acolytes, Readers, Communion Ministers, Kid's Liturgy Leaders, Musicians & Cantors - and now Wardens & Parish Collectors - and any other ministry whenever children are involved. Parishes are being audited (and ours couldn't be far off for that matter) so we simply have to be up-to-date on this one.

Salt Refresher Course - What is This and Who Needs to Do it? -
Everyone who completed the SALT Course in 2019 has been sent an email to remind them that their Refresher course is due, with the accompanying details of how to complete the course. This course should take no more than 15 minutes to do online. If you do not have access to a computer, please contact the office, we will make computers available for you to complete the course. I believe many of you who minister in the Parish need to complete this course by December 2022, so please ensure your Refresher course is completed prior to the end of this year to avoid disappointments....

And that's about it for now. Your brother, in Christ's service,

Fr. Greg