Thoughts from the presbytery – 29 March

At the Easter Vigil, Wendy Caire, Trish Chipangura and Georgia Whitaker will be baptized, confirmed and join us at the Eucharistic altar.  In these last three weeks, please pray for these three wonderful ladies as they prepare to join us. As a result of our yearly audit for WHS, we have discovered a significant upgrade…

Plenary Council Update

The Plenary Council’s Listening and Dialogue phase ended earlier this month, concluding a period of almost 10 months for people to share their stories and consider the question “What do you think God is asking of us in Australia at this time?” The National Centre for Pastoral Research has compiled statistical data and reported that…

Thoughts from the presbytery – 22 March

Next Sunday, being the fifth Sunday of the month, Mass will be held at Wee Jasper at 10:00am. Gunning and Murrumbateman will celebrate a Liturgy of the Word with Holy Communion at the usual times. The first meeting for the year of the Community Council of Mount Carmel School will be held this Thursday. On…

News from the PPC

At the  Parish Pastoral Council Meeting on the 13th March the Parish Councillors reviewed the duties of their portfolios and discussed how they could use their roles to best meet some of the issues of concern for parishioners raised at our Parish Plenary preparation meeting. They decided on three main areas for action: Connection and…

Thoughts from the presbytery – 15 March

At St. Augustine’s Parish Pastoral Council held this week, we welcomed Lourdes O ‘Keefe who will manage the social portfolio, assisted by Steve Scroope.  We listened to reports from each member and these will be available to parishioners via email and the noticeboard.  If you read the reports, I think you will be amazed at…

Yass supports Caritas Kitchen

Parishioners from St Augustine’s Parish strike a pose at the Caritas Kitchen Project Compassion launch last Thursday. After a delicious pot luck dinner, guest speaker Paul Mwenda told his story about the afternoon in Kenya when blindness became his constant companion. Paul’s story was extraordinary; he described how important it was to him to forgive…

Thoughts from the presbytery – 8 March

I was delighted to see the number of people who attended the two Masses at St. Augustine’s on Ash Wednesday, more than in previous years.  I hope we all avail ourselves of the disciplines of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, as we journey towards Easter with renewed spirits.  At Easter there will be three adults who…

Thoughts from the presbytery – 1 March

In view of the conviction of George Pell, no matter what the outcome of the appeal, the Church in Australia must undergo a radical transformation of governance.  The hierarchy, including myself, needs to act in a servant role with a genuine compassion and love for the vulnerable of society. The Church as defined by Vatican…

Thanks from Vinnies

The members of St. Augustine’s Conference of St. Vincent de Paul Society wish to convey our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for your generosity and kindness in supporting the Society throughout the past year. The response to the 2018 Christmas Appeal was truly outstanding.  This appeal raised $6,200.  In addition to this financial support, the conference…

Thoughts from the presbytery – 22 February

Our submission from the discussion leading to the Plenary Council 2020 will be sent directly to those overseeing the process.  I am grateful to those parishioners who volunteered to take our findings to Goulburn, but this proposed gathering has been cancelled. Wednesday week begins the season of Lent and in these times of uncertainty, penance…