From Fr Greg's Desk: Sunday 17th MArch, 2024

Hi Everyone!
Letterbox Drop Begins This Weekend!
The Parish Social Profile from the 2021 Australian Census has confirmed that there are some 11,040 Catholics living in the RGCP boundaries out of a total population of 37, 982 people. Yep, 29.1% of your neighbours have identified as Catholic - but only about 59% of them have kept the same address over the last 5 years. So, we need to get the word out about our Parish and Easter services to the community and we need you to help us to do it via our Easter Letterbox Drop.

Letterbox postcards have been left at the main entrances of both SCB and OLQP Church. Please help us get the message out, by taking the bundles home with you and distributing them to the streets they relate to over the weekend or throughout the next week. Nice way to keep fit!!

Holy Week and Easter Sunday Volunteers Still Needed!
Easter is fast approaching, so please let us know how you can be of service to us at the different Masses and Liturgies we have as per usual. We still need people to be traffic wardens, as it tends to get manic once the spots start filling up, and a little cohort of 4 to 5 people is usually needed at most of the masses and Liturgies at SCB. More details can be found on the opposite page.

Volunteers Needed Next Saturday 23rd March to Help Collect Grocery Donations
We are periodically blessed to receive donations of food items from participating Supermarkets, which have been collected by the Ryde Lions Club. The collected food goods go to Our Lady's Kitchen for the poor and needy people via our partnership with the St. Mercurius Charity.

The Ryde Lions Club members are dwindling and need our help to collect the food items. I am looking for about 4 - 5 volunteers in two time slots of 8.30 - 10.30 am and 10.30 am - 12.30 pm, to sit outside of Woollies at West Ryde and collect any donations made. All you have to do is smile at the people and gratefully accept their donations as they leave the Checkouts there. Can you please help us out? Contact me at pp@rgcp.org.au or phone the Parish Office if you can be there next Saturday 23rd March.

Good Second Hand Clothes Needed for the Homeless
I have often been approached in the past by people wanting to donate used clothes and things to charity. St. Vincent de Paul generally no longer accepts them. Up until now I had no answer to give benefactors of this kind.

But this week I was contacted by Sr. Fidelis SM, who as well as feeding the homeless on Saturday and Sunday mornings at St Patrick’s Church, Sydney, has also been providing them with clean used menswear (no business suits or shirts please), - just casual men’s t-shirts, trousers, jumpers, tracksuits, jackets, as well as runners, wet-weather gear, rolling luggage, backpacks, toiletries, and other useful items.

Sister Fidelis would be so grateful if the parishioners of St Charles Borromeo and Our Lady Queen of Peace would like to 'partner' with her in this ministry if they are in a position to do so by donating the above items.

Between 50-70 men turn up and choose from the donated items and as most of the men do not have washing facilities, the demand is pretty consistent.

Sr. Fidelis thanks you in advance for your support.

And that's about it for now.

God bless, and have a lovely weekend with your family and friends.

Fr. Greg