Much of our life is lived in looking forward, in anticipation of what is to come.  As a young child, I remember yearning to be older and to be able to do the things that teenagers and young adults could do.  These days I find myself glued to the daily updates of Coronavirus to see what I am allowed to do next week!  But as well as looking forward it is good to look back.  Where we come from is important.  It helps us see what we can learn, savour and enjoy from the past.  In that context, I am pleased to present to you our parishes’ Annual Report for 2020.

When I first thought about the annual report, I imagined that there would not be a lot to say in a year in which we suffered from COVID-19 lockdown for so much of the year and our churches were closed.  Twenty-eight pages later we had to bring the report to a close!  In fact, a great deal did go on in our parishes in 2020.   I hope that as you read through the Annual Report you too will remember things.  There will be things in our parish that took place that do not appear in the Annual Report – that is the nature of such reports but hopefully it will trigger your memories of big and small things that did take place.   Please feel free to share them with us here on this blog.

This Annual Report is the first report that incorporates our three parishes: Surrey Hills Wattle Park, Camberwell and Balwyn Deepdene.  We have reflections from the three respective Chairs of each Parish Council and glimpses into the sacramental, learning, pastoral, outreach and financial life of our parishes.  The ‘parishes at a glance’ gives you an indication of the size of our parishes and the high rates of participation of those who attend our churches. 

I am grateful to all who contributed to parish life in 2020, to those who financially supported our parishes and to those who stepped forward when they saw a fellow parishioner in need.  

Thank you also to those who contributed to this report and to Tricia Norman who put hours of time in carefully designing and formatting it.  Her talents are boundless! 

Enjoy looking back.

Fr Brendan Reed