The Joyful Commission - December 2019

December | 2019

Monthly newsletter of the Catholic community in Orange District

the joyful COMMISSION

O Come, o come Emmanuel Advent 2019 surrender discipleship mission

The Parish of St Mary & St Joseph is a healthy, growing Catholic community that worships God, welcomes the searcher, and invites people to a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. Members of our community surrender their life to Jesus through an experience of the Holy Spirit, commit to life-long discipleship, and joyfully accept the mission to go out and make disciples.

VISIT OF THE RELICS OF THE MARTIN FAMILY 2020

MAKING DISCIPLES: OUR FIRST ALPHA SEASON

MISSIONARY DISCIPLESHIP: AN INVITATION TO INVITE

WHAT WE BELIEVE: RECONCILIATION (CONFESSION)

We are excited to announce the visit of the relics of St Thérèse of Lisieux and her parents to Orange in 2020.

We thank God for the graces poured out during our first public season of ALPHA.

The most powerful form of evangelisation is the one least used. Why not personally invite someone to Church?

Amy Sullivan asks us to reflect on the power of Reconciliation as a sacrament of spiritual healing.

A Wo r d f r o m t h e P a s t o r

The Little Flower Visits Fr Greg Bellamy Parish Priest

I am very happy to announce that early next year the relics of St Thérèse of Lisieux, ‘the Little Flower’ along with the relics of her parents St Zélie Martin and St Louis Martin will be visiting Orange and Molong as part of a national pilgrimage. Please note the date in your calendar:

Saturday 29th February Generations of Catholics have admired this young saint and found her short life to be an inspiration for their own lives. The ‘Little Flower’ died when she was just 24 after being a cloistered Carmelite nun for less than ten years. She never founded a religious order, went on mission to other countries, or even performed great works or miracles. Her only book, published posthumously, is a brief edited version of her journal entitled ‘Story of a Soul’.

Recently, some of her letters and restored versions of her journals have also been published. Within twenty-eight years of her death the public demand was so great that she was canonised a saint.

Thérèse was born in France in 1873, the daughter of Zélie and Louis Martin. Zélie desired greatly to be a saint and before she married had attempted to enter religious life. Louis also had wanted to be a monk. The two married but decided to live as if they were celibate until a priest advised them that this was not how God wanted marriage to work. They then had nine children! Tragically, Zélie died of breast cancer when Thérèse was just four years old.

Zélie and Louis were canonised in 2015, the first married couple to be made saints in the history of the Church.

St Thérèse of Lisieux ‘The Little Flower’

The visit of the relics of the Martin parents and their daughter will be a very special event full of graces.

Please mark the date in your calendar. More details will be forthcoming soon.

Sts Zélie and Louis Martin St Thérèse’s Parents

December 19

Advent: The Forgotten Season This weekend we begin Advent. In some ways, Advent is a forgotten season. The shops are already full of Christmas decorations and Christmas parties are about to begin in earnest.

Of course, this is particularly the case in the southern hemisphere because Christmas marks the beginning of the summer holidays and everyone is exhausted when the Christmas season is actually being celebrated. So it's somewhat understandable that Advent is overlooked in favour of an anticipated celebration of Christmas. But I think this is a real pity.

Advent is from the Latin ad-venire: ‘to come to’. It is a common mis-conception that this season is about preparing for the coming of the baby Jesus.

We don’t pretend that we are living in the first century BC. The First Coming has already occurred! Advent is a season that directs our hearts and minds to Christ’s return: the Second Coming. The readings for most of Advent concern this theme: we look forward to Jesus coming back as he promised.

The very last part of Advent, from December 17-24, focuses our attention of the prophetic predictions of the coming Messiah and the immediate events before Christ’s birth. These last 7 days are the time we begin to put out the manger and prepare to celebrate Christ’s Nativity.

They are also called the “O days”. Since at least the 8th Century the Church has sung 7 “O antiphons”, one on each day, that use Old Testament imagery to proclaim the coming Christ as the fulfilment of Old Testament hopes for the Messiah as well as our own hopes today. Each antiphon includes the imperative “come”, the heart of Advent hope, which embodies our longing for the Divine Messiah.

The ‘O Antiphons’ December 17 O Wisdom of our God Most High, guiding creation with power and love: come to teach us the path of knowledge!

December 18 O Leader of the House of Israel, giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai: come to rescue us with your mighty power!

O Root of Jesse’s stem, sign of God’s love for all his people: come to save us without delay!

December 20 O Key of David, opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom: come and free the prisoners of darkness!

December 21 O Radiant Dawn, splendour of eternal light, sun of justice: come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death.

December 22 O King of all nations and keystone of the Church: come and save man, whom you formed from the dust!

December 23 O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law: come to save us, Lord our God! The Advent Wreath What can you do to celebrate Advent in your home? One way is to use an Advent Wreath, perhaps on your dining room table. Traditionally, Advent wreaths are constructed of a circle of evergreen branches into which four candles are inserted, representing the four weeks of Advent.

Three candles are purple and one is rose. The rose candle corresponds to the third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete Sunday is the Sunday of rejoicing because the faithful have arrived at the midpoint of Advent: our preparation is how half over and we are close to Christmas.

The progressive lighting of candles each week symbolises the expectation and hope surrounding our Lord’s first coming into the world and the anticipation of his second coming to judge the living and the dead.

Why not remember the ‘forgotten season’ this Advent by using your own Advent wreath and so enrich your own preparation for Christmas?

M ak in g Dis c ip le s

Our First Alpha Season Carla Ghisla Director of Mission

We have just completed our first Alpha in the parish and it has been an amazing journey!

Around 30 people came to Alpha each week, some who attend our church, some from other churches in Orange and some non-Christian people who didn’t attend church at all.

Each week we had dinner together and got to know each other. We went through the entire Alpha series including topics like “Is there more to life than this?”, “Why and how do I pray” and “Does God heal today?”.

another. This has been one of the best aspects of Alpha. In a world where you can have so many casual friends but very few people who actually spend time getting to know you, Alpha has offered our guests this opportunity.

After a few weeks, one of our groups thought that Alpha time wasn't enough and they started meeting up outside of Alpha.

All our guests intend to continue to meet with each other beyond Alpha.

We’ve had lively discussion and a lot of laughs! As the weeks have gone by, our guests have got to know each other well.

The discussion has moved from strictly answering the discussion questions, to our guests asking about what is happening in each other’s lives and encouraging one

Alpha Party We were delighted to see so many new faces at our Alpha Party! As expected, our ice-cream bar went down a treat with the kids who managed to sneak back for seconds while their parents weren’t looking.

The ice-cream bar was surprisingly also a massive hit with the adults, judging by their expressions of wonder and glee while choosing their toppings.

We heard from Camille Tavares about her experience of Alpha. Camille said she's found Alpha so positive that it has turned her into an Alpha junkie. She has particularly enjoyed being able to speak about her beliefs without judgement.

Camille has found that discussing these deeper issues in life has helped her to form meaningful friendships.

If you are looking for more from life, come join us at Alpha, which launches on F e b r u a r y 1 8th. S i g n u p a t www.alphaorange.org.au.

Register Your Interest There will be two seasons of ALPHA running in 2020. The first season will run on Tuesday evenings beginning 18th February in Kenna Hall.

Register your interest today and we will contact you when registrations open:

www.alphaorange.org.au “I have found this experience to be one of great value to my own spiritual development. I have been challenged, but in a good way. I’ve been challenged to think about Jesus, God and my faith on a deeper level. I’ve been able to clarify and confirm some of my beliefs, which has enabled me to feel closer to God. At some times in my life, things have happened and I have found myself doubting my faith. Alpha has taught me that this is natural. Every person can question their faith at various times in their lives. But through Alpha, I have realised that this doubting has helped my faith become stronger. In no way have I felt judged. I now feel that I have a special relationship with not only God, but the people in my ALPHA group too.”

CUT THIS OUT AND INVITE SOMEONE TO CHURCH

- Monique Dunn, Orange

Staff News Fr Greg Bellamy

Thank You Will & Sarah

Christmas Masses Orange City Christmas Eve

As 2019 comes to a close we farewell our two youth ministers for 2019: Will Tracey and Sarah Ziegler. Will and Sarah have done a wonderful job both at Sheahan and in the parish. Among other things, they worked hard on Sundays to run our youth programme ELEVATE, which will be relaunched in 2020, and they worked closely with our Director of Mission, Carla Ghisla, in running our first public season of ALPHA. We wish Will and Sarah the best in 2020 as they move on to full-time study.

6.00pm Mercy Hall

Youth Minister 2020

8.00pm St Joseph’s

Matthew Brown

10.00pm St Joseph’s

I am very pleased to announce our youth minister for 2020: Matthew Brown.

Matthew was school captain of Sheahan in 2019 and was a respected role-model in the c o m m u n i t y. H e b r i n g s w i t h h i m a n enthusiasm to open-up safe spaces for young people to discuss and deepen their faith. We look forward to the contribution Matthew will make in the parish next year and we welcome him to the team.

Christmas Day 8.00am St Joseph’s 9.30am St Joseph’s

Orange District Christmas Eve 6.00pm Cargo 6.00pm Manildra 7.30pm Cudal Christmas Day 8.00am Mullion Creek (outdoors: bring chair & hat) 9.30am Molong

St Stephen’s Day (Boxing Day) 8.30am St Joseph’s

Family Educator 2020 Josh Dunn I am also pleased to announce our first family educator in Orange in 2020: Josh Dunn. Josh will work at Catherine McAuley and St Mary’s, together

with the parish, to form our Catholic families in their faith, to connect them with the parish, and to help support them in their general well-being. He will also join our parish leadership team. Josh comes to the position with many years experience in Catholic Education and with recent experience in our Divine Renovation reading groups and ALPHA. Welcome Josh!

Thank You Vanessa In the middle of this year Vanessa Colquhoun stepped into the role of Sacramental Coordinator for a 6 month period. Vanessa has done a wonderful job building on the work done by Shannon Cain. We are sad that Vanessa and her husband will be moving to Dubbo next year and so cannot take up the position on a permanent basis in 2020. I would like to sincerely thank Vanessa for the work she has done this year and wish her and her family the best into the future. Vanessa will continue working on a casual basis in early 2020 to assist the new sacramental coordinator.

Position Vacant Sacramental Co-ordinator Permanent Part-Time (7 hours per week) This role involves coordination of the Sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation, First Holy Communion, and Confirmation.

The ideal candidate will have a personal commitment to the Catholic Faith.

For a copy of the position description please email office.orange@cdob.org.au Applications close at close of business Monday 16th December. Please include a resume and covering letter which addresses the major accountabilities.

December Vino with our Volunteers 5:45pm Monday 9 December - St Joseph’s

Anointing Mass 9:15am Wednesday 18 December - St Lawrence’s, Molong

Additional times for reconciliation in the lead-up to Christmas: Orange City St Joseph’s: Monday 23 December 5:00pm - 5:40pm St Joseph’s: Tuesday 24 December 1:00pm 2:00pm Orange District Manildra: Saturday 7 December 7:00pm (after Mass) Molong: Sunday 8 December 10:30am (after Mass) Cargo: Saturday 14 December 10:00am (after Mass) Cudal: Sunday 15 December 9:00am (after Mass) Mullion Creek: Sunday 15 December 9:00am (after Mass)

End of School Year Masses: St Joseph’s Molong : 9.15am Wednesday 11 December - St Lawrence’s, Molong Catherine McAuley: 9.30am Thursday 12 December - St Joseph’s St Mary’s: 9.30am Monday 16 December - St Mary’s Hall James Sheahan: 9.10am Friday 13th December Mercy Hall St Joseph’s Manildra: 6.00pm Saturday 14th December - St Michael’s, Manildra

Forming Disciples

Ministries Update Amy Sullivan Director of Ministries

Communion process The Catholic way of receiving Holy Communion is a response to Christ’s command at the Last Supper to “take and eat” and to “take and drink” in his memory. Sharing in the Body and the Blood of Christ is a sacramental expression of Communion with Christ, the Catholic Church and the local community.

Holy Communion signifies participation in the new covenant established by the shedding of Christ’s Blood, and is a foretaste of the heavenly banquet in God’s kingdom (cf. GIRM 281).

- Guidelines on Reverent Reception of Holy Communion Last month, I outlined some of the changes to the distribution of Communion that align our processes to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal. Some of the changes also align us to the Bishops’ Commission for Liturgy Guidelines on Reverent Reception of Holy Communion.

communicants and ministers should ensure that their hands appear clean.” We have taken this one step further in Orange.

Communion Ministers use hand sanitiser before they distribute Communion. The previous practice of dipping fingers in the bowl that the priest uses has no hygiene benefit. Using hand sanitiser is one of the many ways that the Communion Ministers show their respect for fellow members of the congregation.

Many of the other requirements of this document are directly from the GIRM, which was covered in the November edition of The Joyful Commission.

However, one point is reiterated in the Guidelines: no self-intinction.

Communicants are asked to adhere to the Church’s teaching on the Eucharist to “take and eat” and “take and drink”. Please assist our Communion Ministers by consuming the host, then taking and drinking from the chalice.

Encounter Evening

When the Communion Ministers line up on the sanctuary, rather than standing behind the priest, they stand either side of the altar.

This aligns to the first point in the Guidelines: “Come forward as the presiding celebrant receives Holy Communion (GIRM 162) and stand at the side of the altar in preparation to receive communion.”

The Guidelines state that “As a sign of reverence for the Body of Christ,

A huge thank you to Dizzy May, Glenn Corben, Becky Hughes, Anne Mulligan and Anne Patteson for all the hard work they put in to make our Encounter Evening such a beautiful experience. Many hours of rehearsal went into creating such beautiful worship music. Thank you also to Bridget May and Laura Tilston who proclaimed readings.

Symbolon

Are you being called to ministry?

Since July, a group of parishioners have spent each Wednesday evening exploring aspects of the Catholic faith through the Symbolon course. We have covered the creed, sacraments, and are now into social and moral teaching. The course will wrap up before Christmas, but the journey continues.

Find out how we get all the words up on the screens at Mass by training to be a screen operator. You can be rostered each week, fortnight or month. Full training provided. I am especially looking for volunteers for the 8:00am Mass.

Three people have indicated their desire to become Catholic, through baptism and/or full initiation. We welcome Sherene Gould, Ashlee Maguire and Trevor Baker to our community. Please pray for them, their sponsors and supporters, as they continue their journey towards the sacraments at the Easter Vigil in 2020.

Vino with our Volunteers To thank everyone involved in ministry, we are holding “Vino with our Volunteers” on Monday 9 December at St Joseph’s Church.

The evening commences with Mass at 5:45pm, then refreshments outside the church from 6:15pm. If you have been involved in ministry this year, we would love to see you there!

Christmas Masses Sign up sheets for Christmas Mass ministries are in the cross aisle of St Joseph’s. If you are available over Christmas, please sign up for a ministry.

Some ministries are the same as regular Masses, but there are some roles that are specific to Christmas Masses (e.g. procession coordinators). Some roles may require training, so please sign up early.

It would also be great for you to invite your family and friends to Mass over Christmas.

Why not give them a copy of this magazine?

If you regularly attend the Monday evening Mass, I am looking for a new sacristan to start in the new year. Full training provided.

There are a number of other opportunities for you to be involved, and training is available for all ministries. Is God calling you to use your gifts to serve Him and your community?

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S t M a r y ’s S a t u r d a y Vi g i l : 1 c o m m e n t a t o r, 3 e x t r a o r d i n a r y ministers of Holy Communion

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St Joseph’s 8:00am: 6 extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion

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St Mary’s 9:30am: 1 sacristan, 6 extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion

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St Joseph’s evening: 2 c o m m e n t a t o r s , 1 r e a d e r, 4 extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion

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Weekdays: sacristans, commentators, readers, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion

Please complete a ministries expression of interest form (available at the cross aisle at St Joseph’s) and place into one of the collections, email me at ministries.orange@cdob.org.au or give me a call at the Parish Office. There is no time like now to answer God’s call to ministry!

To all our volunteers in Orange Parish and Molong Parish in every Mass centre & every ministry ‌

M is si o n ary D is ci pl es

An Invitation to Invite Fr Greg Bellamy Parish Priest

Life is full of ironies. One of the ironies I often marvel at is that the most effective form of evangelisation is the least utilised, or to put it another way, the most personal form of evangelisation is the least comfortable.

This form of evangelisation is invitation.

When it comes to going out of your comfort zone and trying something new, most people need more than a poster or online video.

Occasionally an unchurched person will come to a Church event because of advertising (probably because they are already searching), but most of the time people come because someone they know and trust has invited them.

Relationship and trust are key to paving the way for people to try something new. The first step is so much easier with a bit of personal support. Many people are selfconscious about their bodies and need a friend to encourage and accompany them to the gym. Have you ever considered that many people are spiritually self-conscious and have the same reaction to the possibility of entering a church? I won’t fit in! They’ll know I’m different. They will see through my hypocrisy and see what I’m really like.

They’ll know I don’t belong.

A personal invitation allows people to consider doing something they may not have thought about doing before (or have dismissed) because the core of a good invitation is real personal contact. That means a good invitation is not a judgemental lecture. Someone reluctant to attend a Church event is not likely to come along with

an open heart if they are doing so because someone has put them on a guilt-trip or injected them with a good dose of fear.

I think that a good invitation is one that has three ingredients: ‘positive witness’, ‘positive expectation’, and ‘positive empowerment’. Positive witness means sharing how good my experience has been (which means speaking in the first person singular: “I …”). Positive expectation means sharing how this experience might be good for you as well. Positive empowerment means sharing how I am willing to help you make this step if you want to. Here are some examples.

“I really love Christmas Mass. The Christmas carols and the nativity scene lift my heart. I really think you would get a lot out of it too. If you like, I could pick you up and you could sit with our family.”

“I have just finished ALPHA. I was a bit skeptical at first, but I really enjoyed it. I felt listened-to and respected. In fact, it was lifechanging. During the week, I was thinking about you and thought you would get a lot out of it as well. I could go with you if you like.

Here is an invitation card.”

This December, why not respond to my invitation to invite someone else? In this edition of our magazine the Christmas Mass times can be cut-out and handed to another person. On the other side is an invitation to ALPHA. Have a go! The worst that can happen is that they say ‘no’, but you never know who might say ‘yes’. Your courage might just change someone’s life!

What we believe

Reconciliation Amy Sullivan Director of Ministries

Last month, Fr Greg wrote about one of the sacraments of healing - Anointing of the Sick. In the lead up to Christmas, it is traditional for people to receive the other sacrament of healing, Reconciliation. This helps to spiritually prepare us to receive Jesus in our hearts at Christmas.

One of my favourite quotes from the Symbolon episode on the Sacraments of Healing is: “Leo, you must think you are even better at sinning than God is at forgiving you. As if somehow [your] sins compete with His mercy. There is no competition.”

The idea of going to Reconciliation can be terrifying for some people, especially if you haven’t been for a while. For me, Reconciliation is the worst sacrament before I do it, and the best afterwards. I really don’t like having to look at my life to see what I have done wrong. It can be embarrassing to say out loud all the things you have done. But nothing can compare to that feeling of knowing that no matter what sins you have committed, God’s love and mercy is there for you, you just need to ask.

What is the impact of Reconciliation?

This sacrament reconciles us with God, reconciles us with the Church, gives us “peace and serenity of conscience,” and gives us greater spiritual strength to help us overcome sin in the future (CCC 1496).

Why confess sins to a priest?

The Lord’s Prayer includes the line “forgive us our trespasses”. In our own prayer time, and during Mass (“I confess to almighty God…”) we confess our sins and pray for forgiveness.

This is a great thing to do to help us mend our relationship with God. However, it is important to also confess our sins to a priest, to help not only mend our relationship with God, but to mend our relationship with our fellow members of the Body of Christ. There is no such thing as private sin. Even a sin that we think only affects us has an impact on others.

And so, we confess our sins to a priest to help mend that relationship with the members of the body of Christ.

The priest doesn’t have the power to forgive sins on his own. It is only through the power of Christ. Jesus gave the apostles the power to forgive sins in His name.

Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’ (Jn 20:21-23) This power has been passed down from the apostles to the bishops and priests today, through apostolic succession. When you confess your sins to a priest, the priest is in persona Christi, meaning he is in the person

of Christ. We are confessing our sins to Christ himself. When the priest absolves us of our sins, it is Christ himself that absolves us.

The priest will often take time to discuss your sins, and to give you advice as to how to avoid sin in the future. I find that the advice I receive is very handy, and this helps me to try and live my life according to God’s will.

How do I prepare for Reconciliation?

The most common way is to do an examination of conscience. There are many ways to do this, including using the ten commandments, or using a specific set of questions to help you to reflect on your life. There are many websites that give examples of examination of conscience, and all the different questions we can ask ourselves in relation to the ten commandments (e.g. https:// mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/ examination-of-conscience/)

confessional is free, the door that you enter will have a green light above it (if it is currently occupied the light is red).

Most confessionals are fitted with a screen or curtain, which is closed when you enter.

It is your choice as to whether you open the screen/curtain or not. Most confessionals will have the space for you to sit or kneel, again, whichever is your preference. At St Joseph’s, the Act of Contrition (the prayer you say after the priest gives you your penance) is displayed in the confessional, so you don’t have to remember it. You can also bring in a guide to confession, e.g. “Your Guide to a Good Confession” (available at the cross-aisle at St Joseph’s), to help you through the process. And the priest is there to guide you, so that you can make the most of this special time.

Additional times for reconciliation in the lead up to Christmas Orange City

Another way is to pray before the blessed sacrament in the Church, and ask Jesus to open your heart to what you may need to confess.

St Joseph’s: Monday 23 December 5:00pm - 5:40pm St Joseph’s: Tuesday 24 December 1:00pm - 2:00pm

If it has been a while since your last confession, it is ok to write some of your sins down before you go in, always keeping your heart open to whatever else you may need to confess.

Orange District

But it’s really scary…

It can be really intimidating to go one-onone with a priest. But there are adaptations to the environment that can help you. If a priest is present in the confessional, a sign with his name is usually on the door, and a light is on above his door. If the

Manildra: Saturday 7 December 7:00pm (after Mass) Molong: Sunday 8 December 10:30am (after Mass) Cargo: Saturday 14 December 10:00am (after Mass) Cudal: Sunday 15 December 9:00am (after Mass) Mullion Creek: Sunday 15 December 9:00am (after Mass)

Su p p ort i ng th e M is s io n

Capital Works Update Michael O’Mara Operations Manager

St Mary’s Church Following closure of the church building we have begun the repair works to the existing structure both internally and externally.

Repairs to the Windows Firstly, we have commenced a very large job: the repair of the high windows. This requires extensive resealing of frames and the glass. Also, the existing mechanical openers are all being replaced due to their age and the inability to obtain replacement parts. The new opening system will use the existing power supply. To make operation easier than it is in the current system, we will be using two remote controllers: one for the north and one for the south bank of windows. This will allow church volunteers to visually inspect the bank of windows and observe wind conditions. This will be an improvement over the old system where operation is through the work sacristy: this involved guessing the time to activate each window column and then go into the church to check how far the windows had opened.

Based on advice from the architect and mechanical engineer, the condensation problems on the high glass area directly above altar are being addressed. We are placing heaters and ventilation within the ceiling cavity to minimise the issue of water draining into and damaging the ceiling area.

New Baptistry The new baptistry area has been designed to be a separate independent functional area for the celebration of the sacrament of baptism. The existing font is being relocated together with a new paschal candle holder matching the current font.

We will also be utilising the existing tabernacle stand to display the holy oils. The original tabernacle will be repositioned at the centre of the sanctuary. The plan includes a portable wheelchair ramp to allow full access to the raised baptismal area.

The statue of Mary will be slightly relocated to be adjacent to the new confessional together with the votive candle stand. This will make the statue more

prominent and provide a respectful and distinct place of prayer.

External Works We have commenced resealing and repairs to the roof and gutters to prevent water escaping into the ceiling, particularly at the western end of church.

We expect the Development Application for the extension for the church to be approved very soon. Tenders will then be called for and awarded.

St Joseph’s Church It is with great relief that works have finally commenced on the Hill St retaining wall, after an extended period of engineering advice, heritage approvals, planning and tender evaluation. The tender for the works was awarded to building company Renascent. As of publication of this magazine, the works completed are: • Work site protection established; • Removal of Caps and decorative inserts; • Demolishing the existing wall; • Boring of piers; • Steel work for foundations and • Pouring of concrete footings.

During December and January the following work will be undertaken: •Bessemer block construction; •Backfilling of wall; •Reinstate existing brick work; •Reinstate footpath and •Final Cleaning.

Thank you to students travelling by bus, Catherine McAuley school and local residents for their understanding whilst the works are in progress.

Thank you to members of the St Joseph’s Restoration Steering and Fundraising Committees for their patience whilst we focused on St Mary’s renovation and the approval for the wall restoration.

Work is quietly progressing on the removed stained glass windows with a further application before the Heritage Office at Council for removal of the western windows.

We are planning for the committees to meet in February 2020 to select a Heritage Architect and plan the fundraising and grants applications.

Our Catholic Community The Parish of St Mary & St Joseph, Orange The Parish of the Sacred Heart & St Lawrence O’Toole, Molong Mass Centres: St Mary’s (Orange), St Joseph’s (Orange), Sacred Heart & St Lawrence O’Toole (Molong), St Michael's (Manildra), St Brendan’s (Mullion Creek), St Patrick’s (Cargo), St Columbanus’ (Cudal)

Orange City Weekend Masses Saturday 5.00pm (6.00pm during Daylight Savings) St Joseph’s Sunday 8.00am St Joseph’s 9.30am St Joseph’s 5.00pm (6.00pm during Daylight Savings) St Joseph’s Orange City Weekday Masses Monday 5.45pm St Joseph’s Tuesday 9.30am St Joseph’s

PLEASE NOTE: ST M A RY ’ S C H U R C H CLOSED FOR WORKS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

Wednesday 5.45pm St Joseph’s Thursday 9.30am St Joseph’s Friday 5.45pm St Joseph’s

Orange District Weekend Masses Saturday 9.00am Cargo (Sunday Liturgy) 5.00pm (6.00pm during Daylight Savings) Manildra Sunday 8.00am Mullion Creek 8.00am Cudal 9.30am Molong Orange District Weekday Masses Wednesday 9.15am Mass at Molong Orange District Confessions Wednesday 9.45 -10.15am Molong Saturday 4.40-4.55pm (5.40-5.55pm Daylight Savings) Manildra Nursing Home Masses 11.00am on 1st Thursday of the month Benjamin Short Grove

Orange City Eucharistic Adoration Monday 5.00-5.40pm St Joseph’s Wednesday 5.00-5.40pm St Joseph’s Thursday Holy Hour 6.00-7.00pm St Joseph’s Friday 5.00-5.40pm St Joseph’s Orange City Confessions Friday 5.10-5.40pm St Joseph’s Saturday 4.15-4.45pm (5.15-5.45pm Daylight Savings) St Joseph’s

Public Holidays: Mass 8.30am at whichever Orange Church usually has Mass that day.

ANZAC day Mass is always St Joseph’s.

2.00pm on 1st Friday of the month Ascott Gardens Hostel 11.00am on 2nd Tuesday of the month St Francis Aged Care 11.00am on 2nd Thursday of the month Calare Nursing Home 11.00am on 3rd Thursday of the month Cherrywood Nursing Home 11.00am on 4th Tuesday of the month Gosling Creek Aged Care 11.00am on 4th Thursday of the month Wontama Hostel

Contact The Parish Team

PARISH CLERGY TEAM Fr Greg Bellamy Fr Pius Khaoya Fr Mathew Humtsoe

Parish Priest Assistant Priest Assistant Priest

PARISH MISSION SUPPORT TEAM Mr Michael O’Mara Ms Sandy Livermore Ms Anne Wykamp

PARISH MISSION TEAM Ms Amy Sullivan Ms Carla Ghisla Ms Vanessa Colquhoun Sr Frances McAleer rsj Mr Will Tracey Ms Sarah Ziegler

Director of Ministries Director of Mission Sacramental Coordinator Resident in Molong Youth Minister Youth Minister

For information about weddings, baptisms, funerals, and visits to the sick, please contact the Parish Office.

Operations Manager Parish Secretary Parish Receptionist

PARISH OFFICE Phone Email Address Facebook

6362 2378 office.orange@cdob.org.au 84 Hill Street (P.O. Box 44) Orange 2800 www.facebook.com/CatholicOrangeNSW

Office Hours Monday 11.30am - 4.30pm Tuesday - Friday 8.45am - 4.30pm