Our thanks to the Combined Liturgy Committee and all those who contributed to the celebration of the Mass at St Patrick’s College on Sunday 27 August.  Their work made it a wonderful celebration of Faith, Parish and Community for the more than 500 participants.
It was an opportunity for the whole Parish to give their blessing to those selected to be delegates from the Catholic Parish of Wellington South at the Archdiocesan Synod in September.

The Mass also saw the Commissioning of more than 50 children who have participated in the Sacramental programme this year and who will participate as full members of the Church in their First Eucharist Celebrations on Sunday 10th September at all four Churches.

Sunday 27th August 2017
10am @ St Patrick’s College, Kilbirnie

Please bring a plate for morning tea

There will be no other Sunday Masses in the Parish that weekend
(including Vigil Masses).
Please let friends and neighbours know!

A Food Basket collection will be taken up at the Anniversary Mass.
Goods will be donated to the Soup Kitchen.

The following is a guidelines to appropriate food donations for the Food Basket:
Dry food: Lentils, peas, pearl barley, pasta
Tinned food: tomatoes, chickpeas, beans, tuna, coconut cream
Other: Cheese, eggs, milo, tea, sugar, powdered stock

Volunteers needed!
We need help with carpark management and clean up after Mass.
If you can help, please call the Parish office on 934 4099

Each year members of the Italian community in Island Bay make sure that Mary’s Altar at
St Francis de Sales Church reflects the special significance of 15 August, the Feast of the Assumption.

Bishop Jean-Baptiste Pompallier was the first Catholic bishop of New Zealand.
At the end of the first Mass he celebrated in Aotearoa New Zealand, on 13 January 1838, at Hokianga, he dedicated the country to Mary under the title of her Assumption.

The New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference, in a pastoral letter in 1988 said:
“In dedicating New Zealand to Mary in her Assumption, Bishop Pompallier placed our country under the protection of Mary as she is now – alive, body and soul, rejoicing in the happiness of God’s kingdom.”

UPDATE: 

People gathered at the Wellington Anglican Cathedral of St Paul and listened to different perspectives and stories of the housing crisis in our country today.  They heard of the far-reaching consequences for too many individuals and families.  They also heard about the impact on every aspect of their lives that inadequate housing has.  Representatives of different political parties then presented their policies and proposed solutions.

The Anglican Diocese of Wellington has a report about the meeting on their website: 
Housing forum: Politicians share policies, receive strong challenge

You can watch the videos of the forum’s speakers on their YouTube channel – click here

This is an opportunity for each of us to reflect on the talents, abilities and resources God has given us, and how we can better use them in service of others in our Parish community.

The image is a link to the leaflet that outlines ways you can help.

A message from the New Zealand Catholic Bishops which gives particular attention to our nation’s coming general election has been issued.
“We urge you all to pray, reflect, discuss and debate about what kind of society New Zealand can be in the eyes of God. Faith has a vital role in the public forum. Stand up, uphold the common good of our nation, choose wisely, and your vote will be a blessing for our nation.”
We hope for positive, pro-life attitudes and policies. Love and care for the unborn, the vulnerable, the disabled, the elderly and the different, are marks of a compassionate society, as are well-funded palliative care services.   Legalisation of assisted suicide undermines trust in the medical profession and puts vulnerable groups in our society at risk.

The full statement can be read here.

Synod 2017: ‘Listening and Journeying Together’

All submissions are due by Friday 30 June.

Booklets are also on the Archdiocesan website.

Submissions are welcome from groups and individuals about any of the ten topics.
The questions for each topic are in the booklet and are ‘starters’ to stimulate thought and reflection.
When responding, people need not be limited by these questions.

Your input will help determine what will be considered during
the Synod weekend, 15‒17 September, this year.

Go you are sent…
to find leaders
Go you are sent…
to the peripheries of society
Go you are sent…
to deepen our bicultural relationship
Go you are sent…
as members of the one Body of Christ (ethnic diversity)
Go you are sent…
to your own peripheries (those who may feel unwelcome in the Church)
Go you are sent…
to refugees and migrants
Go you are sent…
to care for creation
Go you are sent…
to fellow Christians
Go you are sent…
to accompany one another (young people)
Go you are sent…
to support marriage and families.

Last week we advised that a group were working through a discernment process to identify from 44 nominations the 13 people from our parish who would participate at the Synod in person.

We are all invited to participate.
To find out how see the Participation Booklet on the Archdiocese website.
Information is also available on our Synod 2017 page.

Thank you very much for your nominations. At the same time we thank you for making our job so difficult!
The Archdiocese had set demographic and personal criteria which our selection needed to reflect–including ages, ethnicity and being prayerful and discerning. With so many good candidates, it was difficult to arrive at a final thirteen. However relying on prayer, we have submitted the following who have agreed to go – we appreciate them taking up this challenge.
Joe Green (LPL)

Bea Blanch
Petala Elama
Rob McCullough
Maurice Atkinson
Deirdre Hanlon
Joy Andersen
Noa Cipriano Delacruz
Stephen Neal
Elisapeta Elama
Josh Chirayath
Jo Woods
Lucienne Hensel
Vicky Wall

Participants at the Synod in September will not represent the Parish. They become members of the Synod, and the good of the whole Archdiocese–and all its parishes–is their focus and responsibility