Bridgeside Bulletin The weekly bulletn of the Catholic Parish of Forster Tuncurry Holy Name of Jesus Parish Church 33 Lake Street, Forster St Mary, Star of the Sea Church Cnr Kent & Peel Streets, Tuncurry Proclaiming Christ to the communites of Forster, Tuncurry and the surrounding districts
The Parish is also served by St Clares High School, Taree (7-12) Mr Peter Nicholls (Principal)
Davis Street, Taree NSW 2430
P: (02) 6552 3300 F: (02) 6552 3656 E: admin@tareesc.catholic.edu.au W: www.tareesc.catholic.edu.au Celebratng the Sacraments Reconciliaton is available on Saturday mornings at Tuncurry from 8:30am untl the beginning of the 9am Mass, on Saturday afernoons at Forster from 4:45pm untl 5:15pm, or other tmes by contactng Fr Andrew.
Baptsms are celebrated on Sundays, either during any of our Sunday Masses or afer the 9am Mass. The next Baptsmal Preparaton meetng will take place in the Parish Halls meetng rooms on Monday 14th July commencing at 7pm. Please contact the Parish Ofce for more details, or visit the Parish website.
Weddings are celebrated by arrangement and with at least three (and preferably more) months notce. Please contact Fr Andrew for more details, or visit the Parish website.
A Sacramental Preparaton process runs each year in the Parish for children wishing to complete the celebraton of the Sacraments of Initaton as part of the Parish community. Please contact the Parish Ofce for more details, or visit the Parish website.
The Parish hosts the Rite of Christan Initaton of Adults process for those adults wishing to be baptsed or be received into the communion of the Catholic Church. Please contact the Parish Ofce for more details, or visit the Parish website. The Parish can also be found online:
Search for us on Facebook as Catholic Parish of Forster Tuncurry
Follow us on Twiter: @fcatholic 2
The Parish Diary(for the week ahead) Fifeenth Week in Ordinary Time
Tuesday15th July Memorial of St Bonaventure 9am No Christan Meditaton this week 3:30pm Holy Hour @ Tuncurry 4:30pm Mass @ Tuncurry 5:30pm No Christan Meditaton this week (Bob 6555 5914)
Wednesday16th July 9am Mass @ Forster 9:30am menALIVE morning group @ Forster 11:15am Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help @ Forster 12pm Mass for Yr 6 & Yr 9 Students Refecton Day @ Forster 4:30pm Parish Pastoral Team meetng @ Forster 5:30pm Parish Pastoral Council meetng @ Forster
Thursday17th July 9am Mass @ Forster
Friday18th July 9:30am Mass @ Forster 12:30pm NAIDOC Week Liturgy @ Holy Name School
Saturday19th July 8:30am Reconciliaton @ Tuncurry 9am Mass @ Tuncurry 9:30am Intercessory Prayer Group Morning Tea @ Forster 11:30am Wedding Liturgy @ The Green Cathedral 4:45pm Reconciliaton @ Forster (untl 5:15pm) 6pm Mass @ Tuncurry
Sunday20th July 7am Mass @ Tuncurry 9am Mass @ Forster Regular Activities in the Parish Secular Franciscan Fraternity The Secular Franciscans Fraternity will next meet on Wednesday 6th August, coming together for Mass at 9am, followed by a cuppa at 9:30am and then the meetng 10am to 12pm.
The menALIVE Groups Our Parish currently hosts two menALIVE groups. The morning group will next meet on Wednesday 23rd July afer the 9am Mass, while the evening group will next meet on Thursday 31st July at 7:30pm.
Maintenance & Gardening Group The Parish is lucky to be served by a very dedicated band of volunteers who tend to the upkeep of the grounds and gardens of our two church sites. They do a fabulous job, and are always ready to welcome new members to the group. Please note that this month gardening has been cancelled. Contact Howard 6557 6826 for more informaton.
Singing Practce The Singing Group are taking a well earned break and will resume practces on Tuesday 22nd July at 5:30pm at Holy Name Church, Tuncurry. All welcome.
Collecton of Foodstufs for Homebase On the frst Sunday of each month we undertake a collecton in order to support Homebase. The next collecton will next take place on Sunday 3rd August.
Holy Hour The Parish community observes a Holy Hour each Tuesday afernoon in the Tuncurry Church from 3:30pm untl the beginning of Mass at 4:30pm.
Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help The Novena is prayed every Wednesday in the Forster church commencing at 11:15am and is followed by a cuppa in the Parish Hall. Contact Shioney (6554 9468) for more informaton.
Evening Prayer & Benedicton The Parish community celebrates on the frst Sunday of each month at 5:30pm in the Tuncurry church. It will next be celebrated on Sunday 3rd August. All welcome. Rosters Liturgical rosters for August and September are now available from the rear of the church. Adult Mission Immersion Experience Catholic Mission is ofering a limited opportunity for adults to partcipate in an immersion experience to both Timor Leste (21 st -30 th July, 2014) and Ethiopia (20 th September to 4 th October, 2014). Details of both trips can be obtained by contactng John Twedie at Catholic Missions Natonal Ofce on 1800 267 296 or by email to john.tweedie@gmail.com. 3
Seasons for Growth The Seasons for Growth educatonal program uses the seasons as a metaphor for change, loss and grief in our lives.
The three hour Understanding change, loss and grief seminar for adults will provide you with the opportunity to examine the meaning of grief, review the range of changes and losses experienced in life and refect on the relatonship between change, loss and grief.
The seminar will take place on Thursday 7th August from 10am to 1pm in the Forster Parish Hall. The cost is $15 and will cover your workbook and morning tea (concessions are available). Please RSVP by 31st July to Zoe or Jenny by phone on 4979 1355 or by email to seasonsforgrowth@mn.catholic.org.au.
If afer the Seminar you would like to explore further The Seasons of Grief a further educatonal program will be ofered in the Parish on Thursdays 28th August, 4th, 11th, and 18th September. Each session will run from 10am to 12:30pm. The cost for CSO and Parish Partcipants is $30 and for general partcipants $50 (concessions available). Please RSVP by 21st August to Zoe or Jenny by phone on 4979 1355 or by email to seasonsforgrowth@mn.catholic.org.au. Vocation View Make your heart ready to receive the Word of God sown through the Mass and Sacraments in the Church (Isaiah 55:10-11). For more informaton regarding Vocatons contact Fr Brian Mascord on 4979 1112 or by email to vocatons@mn.catholic.org.au. Welcome! We welcome to our community of faith Isla Currey the daughter of Joshua and Jessica who will be baptsed with water and the Holy Spirit this weekend. Pints With A Purpose Pints with a Purpose is a popular initatve of the Diocesan Council for Ministry with Young People that sees guest speakers discuss issues around faith in an informal setng at The Kent Hotel, Hamilton.
You can now listen to recordings of the last three most recent talks by visitng the Pints with a Purpose page on the Diocesan website (please visit www.mn.catholic.org.au/pints) where you will also fnd other links and further informaton. Parish Intercessory Prayer Group The Forster Tuncurry Catholic Parish Intercessory Prayer Group, together with any other interested people, will be getng together for morning tea in the Parish Meetng Room afer the 9:00am Mass on Saturday 19th July.
This will be a very informal gathering. Anybody who is interested in this excellent worthwhile group is welcome to fnd out more. House bound people are especially welcome to join us as there are no meetngs, we simply pray in our own homes at our own tmes. This is the only meetng of this group for this year. If you require transport, please contact Bob Cashman on 6555 5914. 2014 International Lunch
Our Internatonal Lunch will be held on Saturday 2nd August. Last years event was a great success and we hope to see more of the same support this year.
We encourage all those interested in providing a culinary delight to be involved. A poster is provided at the back of the Church to indicate your interest and country of choice. You may like to consider getng together in groups to provide a range of tastes from the same country. St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal This weekend the St Vincent De Paul Society will be conductng their Winter Appeal. Please give generously so that the local Conference can assist the poor in our towns over the cold winter months. Diocesan Catholic Families Report In November 2013, Pope Francis invited Catholics from every diocese in the world to partcipate in a questonnaire on the many challenges facing the family today. The Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle has made public its 98-page report which was presented to Bishop Bill and accordingly sent to the Australian Bishops Commission for Pastoral Life.
You can download the report from the Diocesan website (just search for Catholic Families). 4
Kids Corner Reflection on todays readings by Dianne Bergant CSS Besides the word of God, the readings speak of the world of God. The people of biblical tmes were aware of the revelaton of God in and through the natural world. Isaiah teaches about the efectveness of the word of God through the metaphor of rain. The psalmist uses the natural world to describe Gods work of salvaton. Paul claims that eschatological fulflment will include all of creaton. Finally, Jesus parables are rooted in stories about nature. We cannot aford to close our eyes to the needs of the natural world, or stop our ears to the cries of the earth, or harden our hearts to the world of which we are a part, for the word of God will accomplish the end for which God sent it. Dianne Bergant CSS 5
Retreat in the Franciscan Style The Forster Secular Franciscans will be hostng a day long retreat with Brother Louis Schmid ofm on Saturday 9th August at Forster. The retreat is enttled How Franciscans are called to advance the Kingdom of Christ.
The day will start with Mass at 9am, followed by morning tea at 9:30am, with the retreat beginning at 10am. Please BYO lunch, or a plate to share. From the Pastoral Associates Table Todays Gospel focuses on Jesus parable about the Seed, the Sower and the Soil and the success or otherwise of the Sowers eforts. In this parable the Seed and the Sower are obviously constants the one sower is scatering the same seed in diferent directons the only variant is the soil. The message appears to be that the job will be successful if the soil is right.
It is true that a sower may present the same life- changing message to a group of people and some will disregard it, some will cherish it for a period of tme and then discard it and some will hear the message, be profoundly changed by it and never be the same again.
Why is this? What is the diference in the soil to cause some seed to fail and other to grow profusely?
Perhaps we can get some clues from examining the spiritual fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. The seeds - the A.A. message the Twelve Steps in A.A.s programme of recovery - have not changed for almost 80 years. The fellowship boasts a success of over one million sober alcoholics worldwide. However, the reality is that many desperate people hear the message the same message that has helped others to achieve sobriety and walk away to endure pain, sufering and death. A similar thing happens with the Gospel, unchanged for 2,000 years. Some lives are irreversibly changed by its message and some disregard it altogether. What is missing in the unresponsive soil?
The members of Alcoholics Anonymous talk about HOW it works with HONESTY, OPENMINDEDNESS & WILLINGNESS.
Im sure we all like to think were honest people who would not lie, cheat or steal. However I suggest there is a depth to the honesty required with oneself to really hear a message without unconsciously putng up barriers because of some preconceived attudes we might have. I suggest perhaps honesty is a goal we need to contnually strive for rather than a quality we have actually reached. To fully appreciate a message this rigorous self-honesty is required. It is said that our minds are like parachutes they work best when open. The people who least understood and even rejected Christs message were those with a closed mind. These were people who thought they knew all the answers they had their religion, their set of values and they werent open to a diferent vision of life. St Paul hints at this new vision in the his leter to the Corinthians; Now we are seeing a dim refecton in a mirror; but then we shall be seeing face to face. The knowledge that I have now is imperfect; but then I shall know as fully as I am known. (1 Cor.13:12) To see the world with the eyes of Christ, to see the Kingdom, we need to be open to see with a new pair of glasses.
The other quality we need to fully beneft from the message is a willingness to listen and to change. The Gospel is always challenging if we hear it properly. We can, however, hear the message, believe in its promises and yet lack the motvaton, the courage to embark on the way of life available to us. We are ofen called to leave our boats behind but the old way of life, as unproductve as it might be, holds us tght.
The Good News - the Way, the Truth and the Life - can be overwhelmingly productve, but we must do our best to prepare the soil for the seeds that may come our way.
Greg Byrne Inform The latest Inform deals with Pope Francis Exhortaton Evangelii Gauduim. Free copies available at the rear of Churches. 6
Other Ecclesial ChallengesPart 2 Even if it is not always easy to approach young people, progress has been made in two areas: the awareness that the entre community is called to evangelize and educate the young, and the urgent need for the young to exercise greater leadership. We should recognize that despite the present crisis of commitment and communal relatonships, many young people are making common cause before the problems of our world and are taking up various forms of actvism and volunteer work. Some take part in the life of the Church as members of service groups and various missionary initatves in their own dioceses and in other places. How beautful it is to see that young people are street preachers (callejeros de la fe), joyfully bringing Jesus to every street, every town square and every corner of the earth!
Many places are experiencing a dearth of vocatons to the priesthood and consecrated life. This is ofen due to a lack of contagious apostolic fervour in communites which results in a cooling of enthusiasm and atractveness. Wherever there is life, fervour and a desire to bring Christ to others, genuine vocatons will arise. Even in parishes where priests are not partcularly commited or joyful, the fraternal life and fervour of the community can awaken in the young a desire to consecrate themselves completely to God and to the preaching of the Gospel. This is partcularly true if such a living community prays insistently for vocatons and courageously proposes to its young people the path of special consecraton. On the other hand, despite the scarcity of vocatons, today we are increasingly aware of the need for a beter process of selectng candidates to the priesthood. Seminaries cannot accept candidates on the basis of any motvaton whatsoever, especially if those motvatons have to do with afectve insecurity or the pursuit of power, human glory or economic well-being.
As I mentoned above, I have not sought to ofer a complete diagnosis, but I invite communites to complete and enrich these perspectves on the basis of their awareness of the challenges facing them and their neighbours. It is my hope that, in doing so, they will realize that whenever we atempt to read the signs of the tmes it is helpful to listen to young people and the elderly. Both represent a source of hope for every people. The elderly bring with them memory and the wisdom of experience, which warns us not to foolishly repeat our past mistakes. Young people call us to renewed and expansive hope, for they represent new directons for humanity and open us up to the future, lest we cling to a nostalgia for structures and customs which are no longer life-giving in todays world.
Challenges exist to be overcome! Let us be realists, but without losing our joy, our boldness and our hope- flled commitment. Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of missionary vigour!
Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, 106-109.
If you would like to read more of Evangelii Gaudium, copies are available for purchase ($10) or borrowing from the Parish Ofce. The Exhortaton is also available for downloading from the Vatcan website. Parish Grief Support Group An inital meetng of the Parish Grief Support Group took place on Saturday 28th June, facilitated by Deacon Martn Johnson, a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Newcastle. The next meetng is planned for 26th July, again facilitated by Deacon Martn, to contnue the journey of establishing this group in the life of the Parish.
The Parish Grief Support Group will meet on a regular basis to support members through prayer, sharing, listening, understanding and being there for one another. Sharing with other people can help reduce the sense of isolaton and aloneness that comes with grief and can be of great beneft to anyone dealing with their grief.
An invitaton to be part of the Parish Grief Support Groups is extended to men and women of the Parish who have lost a spouse through death, divorce or dementa (or any other situaton).
If you would simply like more informaton, please speak directly with Fr Andrew either in person or via his mobile (0412 405 671). Parish Social Functions for 2014 The dates for the remaining Parish Social Functons for 2014 are:- BLESSING OF THE FLEET/PARISH BBQ will be held this year on Sunday 5th October. Please claim these dates in your diary now and watch for further details as they are released closer to each event. Parish Soup Luncheons The next Parish Soup lunch will be on Tuesday 22nd July at 12pm. Please add your name to the list at the back of the church if you are atending.
Anyone able to make soup for the next luncheon please phone Angela Hope on 6555 5825. 7
Opportunities Outside The Parish
TWEC Christan Formaton Course The Tenison Woods Educaton Centre will ofer their Christan Formaton Course beginning on Thursday 17th July beginning at 6:30pm at St Laurence OToole Centre, Broadmeadow Road, Broadmeadow. The program runs for ten-week terms, one night a week from 6:30pm to 9:30pm. For more informaton please contact the Secretary by phone on 4930 9601 or by email to twec@ssjl.org.au.
2014 Morpeth Lecture: Two-Face, Two Ways The 2014 Morpeth Lecture will be held on Wednesday 23rd July beginning at 5:45pm at Christ Church Cathedral, Newcommen Street, Newcastle. In the Lecture, Bishop Greg Thompson will refect on his experiences in the Northern Territory as he explores the concepts of closing the gap and reconciliaton for First Australians. For more informaton about the Morpeth Lecture phone 4921 7454 or email external.relatons@newcastle.edu.au.
Spiritualites, Practces and Values for Professional Leadership An online course ofered by Broken Bay Insttute will commence on Monday 28th July, and is designed for those in leadership positons in Church agencies or educaton. To enrol, contact the Broken Bay Insttute Student Services Team by Phone 9847 0030 or by email bbi@bbi.catholic.edu.au.
17th Annual Special Needs Mass The 17th Annual Special Needs Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday 29th July at St Patricks Church, Lochinvar beginning at 7pm. All are welcome to come along and help celebrate this wonderful, moving occasion.
Bonhoefer Conference 2014 The 2014 Bonhoefer ConferenceUsed and Abused: Bonhoefer for All Causeswill be held on Thursday 31st July at St Josephs Spirituality Centre, Kincumber. For more informaton contact Wendy Grant on 4921 5880 or Bonhoefer-conference@ newcastle.edu.au.
TWEC Exploring The Joy of the Gospel The Tenison Woods Educaton Centre is holding a day on exploring The Joy of the Gospel Pope Francis Apostolic Leter on Saturday 2nd August at Lochinvar. Join Virginia Bourke rsj and a panel of local speakers as they invite your response to Pope Francis leter. The cost is $20 (concession $10) and Morning Tea is provided. Please BYO lunch. RSVP to TWEC by July 29th to the Secretary by phone 4930 9601 or email twec@ssjl.org.au.
Proclaim Conference 2014 The 2014 Proclaim Conference on the New Evangelisaton will be held from Thursday 21st August at The Concourse, Chatswood. The theme of the Conference is Living the Joy of the Gospel in Parishes drawing on Pope Francis Apostolic Exhortaton Evangelii Gaudium. For more informaton, please visit www.proclaimconference.com.au.
Broken Bay Bible Conference 2014 The 2014 Broken Bay Bible Conference will be held on Friday 12th September at Caroline Chisholm Centre, 423 Pennant Hills Road, Pennant Hills. Join us for a remarkable two days of uncovering fresh insights into Johns Gospel with prominent Australian Johannine scholars Fr Frank Moloney sdb and Dr Mary Coloe ibvm, with the partcipaton of Bishop David Walker. For further enquiries, please call 9847 0448 or email registratons@dbb.org.au.
2014 Natonal Pilgrimage In the Footsteps of Saint Mary pilgrimage commences in Melbourne on 22nd October and ends in Sydney. The cost per person, twin share is $2,740 (ex Sydney). Contact Therese Leydon rsj by phone to 8912 4818, or by email to mmp.ministries@sosj.org.
Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend Marriage Encounter Weekend is a Marriage Enrichment experience for married couples set in peaceful, picturesque surroundings, away from the distractons of everyday life. During the weekend, couples have a unique opportunity to reconnect, rekindle and refresh their relatonship. Take tme out of your busy schedule, to invest in your most precious asset, your Marriage! Weekend dates: 12 14 September & 7 9 November at Mt Carmel Retreat Centre, Varroville, NSW. Bookings can be made to Ardell & Bill Sharpe on 02 4283 3435 or email wsharpe@bigpond.net.au. Our Parish Collections a) The Parish Collecton, providing for the needs of the parish and its ministry, is taken up during the presentaton and preparaton of the gifs (the ofertory). This is the envelope collecton. This money stays within the Parish.
b) The Diocesan Clergy Collecton, providing for the remuneraton and support of the clergy of the diocese, will be taken up afer communion (during the Thanksgiving Hymn or a similar tme). This money is pooled across the diocese to ensure all clergy have access to a suitable remuneraton. 8
Ministers this Weekend... ...of the Word ...of Communion 6pm Tuncurry A: Valarie Ross B: Monica Hunt Kathryn McCabe, Maureen Pye, Michael Amato, Neil Pye, Ruth Pearson. 7am Tuncurry A: Patricia Cornish B: Lorraine Clark Cecile Malone, Kay Grifths, Maria Armitage, Norm Chapman, Tony Knight. 9am Forster A: Judith Shand B: Kris Koch Barbara Kermode, Genevieve Williamson, Robert Moran, Robyn Ryan, Trevor Turner. Ministers next Weekend... ...of the Word ...of Communion 6pm Tuncurry A: Frank Hayman B: Neil Pye Carolyn Ollife, Jeanete Goodacre, Margaret Smith, Owen Carroll, Valarie Ross. 7am Tuncurry A: Tony Knight B: Cecile Malone Edna Tucker, Graham Grifths, Maria Armitage, Mark Mowbray, Tony Knight. 9am Forster A: Robyn Ryan B: Kyla Loring Elle Cairns-Cowan, Greg Byrne, Josi Beech, Sharon Fowle, Shioney Neal. Please note: The above informaton refects the rosters as originally published, and doesnt take account of any swaps that may have been organised between individuals.
Responsorial Psalm Response: The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitul harvest.
Gospel Acclamaton Alleluia, alleluia! The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live for ever. Alleluia! In your charity, please pray for: Those recently deceased. Ken Duggan.
Those whose anniversaries occur about now. Eric Stewart, Fr Albert Keogh ODC, Fr Ross Collins ODC, Patrick McNamara, Brian Arthur.
All those in our community who are sick. Text: Excerpts from the English Translaton of the Roman Missal 2010, Internatonal Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL); Music: From the Mass of St Francis 2010, Paul Taylor. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Australian AgentWord of Life Internatonal Licence no 195E.