The first group of Refugees to come in 2016 will arrive in Wellington at the end of February. The Catholic and Anglican Communities are working with the Red Cross to welcome Refugees and help them feel at home here.

The government will supply the big furniture items for the 24 households but we are asked to donate from the following list of smaller items.

The Social Justice group of our new parish is committed to assist the St. Vincent de Paul Society in this.

We still need volunteers to work in teams to set up the houses. There will be a briefing on Monday, 22nd February, 6-8pm at the Loaves and Fishes beside the Anglican Cathedral. All volunteers need to attend this briefing.

The houses will be set up on Thursday, 25th February between 6—8.30pm, the evening before the Refugees arrive.
Please contact John Feeney or Sue Johnson on 386 4956 for more information, or check out the Refugee Resettlement document on your church notice board or on the parish website.

The annual Blessing of the Boats  was held on Sunday 14 February as part of the Island Bay Festival.

After many months of praying, hoping, planning, and getting together in smaller ways, the Inaugural Mass will be an occasion not to be missed, as our four Church communities come together, bringing all our gifts, history, traditions and faith, and looking to a shared future full of hope. This Mass will reflect all four Church communities and will require the generosity of many people and their gifts.

If you have any questions, please approach your Parish representatives: Maureen Laws (St Anne’s), Kathy Moriarty & Anna Kozniak (St Joseph’s), Mary Powell (St Bernard’s) and Maria Elenio & Stephanie Bosch (St Francis de Sales). Alternatively please contact Malia (Maria.Vito-Tupai@mbie.govt.nz) or Lucienne (office@wellingtonsouthcatholic.org).

Please note there will not be any Masses in our Parish the weekend of the 6th March. Kindly advise friends or neighbours who might not hear this important announcement. Thank you!

We need your help!

Transport and manpower: We need manpower and a van to transport wooden platforms from St Catherine’s College to St Pat’s College on Thursday 3rd March (evening) or Friday 4th March (morning) and back on Sunday 6th March after Mass.  If you are available to help or have a large van you can lend us, please contact Lucienne on 383 8625 or 021 164 5800. Thank you.

Car park attendants are required at St Patrick’s College for the inaugural Mass on Sunday 6 March 2016.  If you would like to help, please contact Steve Ready 027 356 9555.

Transport to Inaugural Mass on 6th March: Some of our parishioners will need transport to St Patrick’s College. If you needtransport, or are able to offer transport, please put your name down on the forms in the Church Foyer. Please note that there will not be other Masses in the Parish that weekend, including Vigil Masses.

Bring a plate and a Food Basket donation: The Inaugural Mass at St Patrick’s will be followed by morning tea to celebrate our new Parish and mix and mingle with fellow parishioners from the four communties. Kindly bring a plate of finger food that does not require heating. There will also be a collection of non-perishable food items to be donated to the needy in our parish.

This notice was received too late for this weekend’s newsletter

PEACE AND RECONCILIATION​

In collaboration with the Initiatives of Change NZ and the Wellington Islamic Centre, there will be a special screening of two short films, The Imam and the Pastor and An African Answer.

The films are about religious and racial strife that took place in Nigeria and Kenya, and how two leaders from the Christian and Muslim faiths came together to bring about peace and reconciliation.  Following the screening, there will be light refreshments, and a group discussion.

When: Friday evening, 12 February 2016, 6pm
Where: Wellington Islamic Centre, 7-11 Queens Drive, Kilbirnie

The evening has the full support of the Catholic Bishops Committee for Interfaith Relations
– it is a replay of a film evening we had about four years ago

Many thanks to all those who organised and contributed to the Parish picnic.
Thanks also to the Sisters at the Home of Compassion for their welcome.
It was a great way to celebrate the beginning of our new Parish.

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The process of selecting our new Council and Committee continues.
The Transition Team will continue to operate until the new Council is in place, in time for our inaugural Mass.
All parishioners who were nominated for the Council will be contacted as soon as possible and invited to an evening to help discern who should progress to the Council and who has gifts to offer in other ways. Guidelines for the Council have been written and will be posted on our website shortly.
After careful consideration, the Transition Team has decided on a structure of up to 8 Council members. Council members will represent all our communities and not one community only. Four members will be selected from the Transition Team for a term of one year, to ensure continuity. In addition, the Parish Leadership Team, one Parish school principal and one Property and Finance Committee member will be on the Council ex officio.

Leadership Model In Wellington South
We are a community of communities. In addition to the Parish Leadership Team, Parish Pastoral Council and Finance and Property Committee, there will be other forums where leaders of our communities can help shape direction of our future, always guided by our vision. We will continue to work together in a spirit of discernment, collaboration and consensus.

Between now and our inaugural Mass in 2016 there will be several opportunities for our communities to come together.

Church Community Visits – On four Sundays, three church communities will be hosted by the fourth. These Sundays are a great opportunity to experience life in our other communities, to share hospitality, and to get to know people across Wellington South.
• Sunday 6 December 2015: Visit to St Anne’s, Newtown
• Sunday 13 December 2015: Visit to St Joseph’s, Mt Victoria
• Sunday 7 February 2016: Visit to St Bernard’s, Brooklyn
• Sunday 21 February 2016: Visit to St Francis de Sales, Island Bay

Parish Picnic Sunday 31 January 2016:
Parish Picnic starting at 12 noon, on the eve of the inauguration of Wellington South at Our Lady’s Home of Compassion, Island Bay.
Parishioners may wish to go directly to the Home of Compassion but for any who wish, Msgr Gerard Burns will lead a walk from the historic Home of Compassion Creche at Pukeahu Park to Island Bay, starting at 11.15am. Estimated walking time, 1 hour. All welcome.

Inaugural Mass Sunday 6 March 2016 at St Patrick’s College, Kilbirnie.

Our new Parish comes into being on 1 February 2016. Plans are already underway to celebrate our new beginning with an Inaugural Mass on 6 March 2016 presided over by Cardinal John, at St Patrick’s College, Kilbirnie. A liturgy committee made up of representatives from all four churches is leading the planning. Malia Vito-Tupai and Lucienne Hensel are the coordinators.

In the coming weeks the committee will approach people to serve in various ways at the Inaugural Mass.
After many months of praying, hoping, planning, and getting together in smaller ways, this will be an occasion not to be missed, as our four Church communities come together, bringing all our gifts, history, traditions and faith, and looking to a shared future full of hope.

If you have any questions, please approach your Parish representatives:
Maureen Laws (St Anne’s), Kathy Moriarty & Anna Kozniak (St Joseph’s), Simon McLennan & Mary Powell (St Bernard’s) and Maria Elenio, Stephanie Bosch or Jim McLaughlin (SFdS).
Alternatively please contact:
Malia (Maria.Vito-Tupai@mbie.govt.nz) or
Lucienne (office@stfrancisdesales.org.nz).