From Fr Greg's Desk: Sunday 6th September, 2026

Hi everyone!
Happy Father's Day 2026!!
It is that Day in the year again, the day in which we remember and thank God for our Dad's, Granddad's and Father Figures for the 'fathering' work they do for all of us. I have had the pleasure this week of celebrating Father's Day Masses in our local Catholic Secondary Colleges (Holy Cross College Ryde and Marists Sisters College Woolwich) along with a big 'open air' Mass in the grounds of St. Charles Catholic Primary School, so it has been a busy week of reinforcing the vocation to Christian Fatherhood.

And it is a vocation, as much of a 'calling' from God as mine is to the Priesthood. Father's have no exact idea when their children's lives actually began, and have no idea how long their kids will be here on this earth. We, as fathers, are encouraged to take our cues from God the Father, in whose image and likeness we have been made (Gen 1, 26) and learn how to love and raise our sons and daughters as children of God.

I thank all you Dads and Grandads for your loving service to your families and take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy Father's Day. I look forward to seeing who the Holy Spirit will be choosing as our Father of the Year at all the Saturday night and Sunday Masses this weekend (don't forget to collect your ticket at the door so that the Holy Spirit may 'call' on you).

RGCP Parish Picnic Now With Sausage Sizzle Sunday 20 September 12 pm Putney Park
I have a major announcement to make regarding our upcoming Parish Picnic down at Gazebo 3 Putney Park on Sunday 20 September. We now have permission to host our own 'sausage sizzle' to provide a bit of lunch on the day. So, check out the advert on the opposite page for more details and start packing a rug, folding chair and sunscreen and 'save the date' in your calendars. Invite your family along if you like, and spend a lovely afternoon there. All our priests will be with us, so you can have a relaxed chat with them while munching over a guaranteed '100% Aussie Made' sausage. Starts at 12 pm, and will go until 4 pm.

Rally to Support Abortion Law Reform Amendment 2025 (Sex Selection Prohibition) Tuesday 15 September 6 - 7 pm at Parliament House Macquarie St. Sydney
I encourage you all to get along for a Rally outside Parliament House in Macquarie Street Tuesday week, in support of a Bill tabled to be voted on in the NSW Legislative Council the next day (Wednesday 16 September). If the Bill passes, it would establish an important principle, that I am sure you will all be in favour of: that a child should not be targeted for abortion simply because of whether he is a boy or she is a girl. Girls, unfortunately, are the principal target of this practice. And yes, it is happening.

South Australia has already acted to ban this practice. Curiously, both China and India have also banned sex-selective abortion. There is evidence indicating the continued practice of sex-selective abortion in NSW, but NSW, sadly, has not yet enacted similar legislation, and our unborn children have the right to have their silent voices heard.

Your presence at the Rally Tuesday 15 at 5 pm could be crucial in influencing our lawmakers to vote in support of this amendment. I would also encourage you to contact your local MPs (Anthony Roberts MP for the electorate of Lane Cove and Jordan Lane MP for the electorate of Ryde) to let them know you care, and that their vote matters. Their contact details are freely available online.

'Green Fingers Field Day' next Saturday 12 September 7 - 10 am
I have noticed that there are lots of bindis, dandelions and creepers making their 'insidious appearance' in the lawns at St. Charles (sounds like the script for a horror movie!) and am enlisting your help next Saturday morning 12 September for our annual spring 'War on Weeds' at SCB Ryde. So, let's have a 'Field Day' with dem pesky weeds... Yes, you can also bring along your own 'Weapons of Weed Destruction' (WoWeD) and take charge of your own little section of lawn and begin your own 'turf war' on your own terms (and knees).

Fantastic way of getting Vitamin D, exercising those lazy leg muscles and of making our SCB Church Grounds all the nicer for your passing by. What more can I say??? I will be out there at 7 am (to beat the heat) but you can come at any time that morning, so that we can get the lawns in nice shape in time for the usual Spring 'Wedding Season'. Morning tea and light refreshments provided at 9 am. See you there!

And that's about it for now. I wish you all a very Happy Springtime 2026, and again, a very Happy Father's Day to all you Dad's, Granddads, and the like.

Fr. Greg