From Fr Greg's Desk: Sunday 9th February 2025

Hi everyone!
Let's Celebrate Great Enrolments at Our Schools
The new school year is now in full swing, with all our 'regular' kids back in classes and our new 'Kindies' getting used to the new rhythm of life. I'm sure that's no easy thing for our young Mums and Dads!!! We are very pleased to see great numbers at both St. Charles and at Our Lady Queen of Peace, with full classes from Kindy through to Year 4 (some leave for High School in Year 5). Holy Cross College has had another 'bumper' intake with 145 new boys this year, and great results in the HSC last year as well (52% gained Band 5's and 6's). They now have over 800 students at the College, which is a credit to the Principal, Phil Stewart, and their fine teaching staff. So, we will certainly have our hands full this year with our Chaplaincy work in each of them.

Some Statistics from the Last Calendar Year
In case you are thinking "the place just keeps getting busier" ... you are quite right! Our stats from this last year, compared to 2023, show an increase in all sorts of areas of the Parish: Baptisms:151 (2023: 141); RCIA: 34 (2023: 15) including 18 from HCC; First Holy Communions: 143 (2023: 138); Confirmations - Adults: 11 (2023: 2).- Children 102 (2023: 111); Weddings: 46 (2023: 40); Funerals 66 (2023: 60). Maybe it's the pink roses out front in the gardens...

Centenary Preparations at OLQP Are 'Well Underway'
The work of organising our Centenary Celebrations at OLQP Church is gaining momentum. The lists of 'official invites' are going out, and we are doing all we can to get in contact with as many former OLQP parishioners as possible, to come along and share a bit of nostalgia and pride in this great milestone of this beautiful Church. The pavement outside the hall at OLQP has now been freshened up, and the old carpet has been removed and the new carpet is now in the process of being laid (the choir loft and stairs being the first stage in the process).

Apologies for any inconveniences this weekend and during the week ahead at OLQP Church, as we had to remove most of the pews and store them in the hall temporarily, in order to be able to lay the carpet. Hopefully all will be back in its place by next weekend. Masses this weekend will still be in the OLQP Church, although we only have the first rows of pews and a few chairs to seat everyone. Tuesday Morning Mass might be in the school grounds, so watch for signs to direct you then and there.

Upcoming Parish Forums 2025
Close to the beginning of my time here at the Parish, we begin a process of reflecting upon where the Parish was headed pastorally. This was back in July - Oct 2019. From that we formulated our own 'pastoral plan' for the Parish, with its four main focus areas, Outreach/Mission, Welcoming/Hospitality, youth and young adults, and our ministries. Covid intervened, and it has taken us a while to get our pastoral focus back on track. We are now back to strength and energetically pursuing renewal in both Parish structures and ministries, with a heightened sensitivity to missionary outreach and for responding to ever changing "the signs of the times". Lots have been accomplished, but we mustn't 'rest on our laurels'.

Having passed into my second "six year term" as Parish Priest at RGCP, I was keen to resurrect the process and hold another series of Parish Forums, with the aim of reviewing and celebrating what has been achieved and project or refocus our pastoral efforts for the coming five years.

Our 'Parish Forum Steering Committee' (PFSC) is meeting on a regular basis to begin work on preparing the Forums, which will most likely take place in the second half of this year. I have appointed a team of seven people to this committee from the Parish to help bring this to fruition. I hope and trust you that many of you will engage with that process, which will include a 'National Church Life Survey to be conducted in the Parish in coming months (we did a similar one about a decade ago, I believe).

Details of the Parish Forums meetings will be given as they come to light. The survey will likely be conducted some time after Easter. The seven members of the PFSC are as follows (arranged in alphabetical order:): Br. Angus Cavanagh, fsp; April Cooper, Philippa Manley, Bruno Maurel, Andrew McLachlan, Frank Monagle and Judy Raumer. Naturally, I am also a member 'ex-officio' of the Committee.

If you have any particular matters that you would like to raise regarding Parish renewal at RGCP, please feel welcome to bring them up with any or all of us. We want for all of you to take a part in this renewal process and help plan for the next five years of our Parish's life, even if that is just to pray for the success of our ministries and outreach. To ask our Good Lord, in the words of Psalm 89, 17 to: "Give success to the work of our hands".

And that's about it for now

God bless!

Fr. Greg