The people on the parish email list should have received the results of the survey, towards the Plenary Council 2020, by now.  We will also print in the bulletin a summary of the findings.  Thanks to Paul Trezise, we have an excellent insight into the concerns of the respondents.

Those parishioners contributing to our Sacrificial Planned Giving program will receive new envelopes in the next two weeks.  There are a significant number who prefer direct giving.  I do encourage all parishioners to share the burden of ongoing costs and maintenance, at the same time, expressing gratitude for the generosity of those who contribute.  Our budget is very tight, because income hasn’t increased in many years but expenses continue to rise.

At the Yass/Gunning Belun meeting this past week we decided to concentrate on the clinics dealing with TB and leprosy.  We also sponsored twelve young people to study permaculture in Dili and continue to advocate for the blind.  We are looking at a partnership with the Embassy of Japan to build the training centre in Tibar for the blind.