Our new combined Parish Council is up and running!  We have now had three meetings of the Parish Council under the leadership of Phil Mann, our Parish Council Chair.

The most recent meeting of the Council was last Wednesday.  There were two main items for discussion.  The first was a look at Child Safety across our parishes.  This is a good reminder to all involved in Parish Ministry to ensure that you have your Working with Children Check card up-to-date, that you have it linked to our parish and that you have read and signed our Parish Safeguarding Code of Conduct.  You can do that directly on the Safeguarding page on our website if your need to update your details.

The second item for discussion was the review of the Parish Survey that was undertaken in 2020.  The new Parish Council is very keen to understand the views of the over five hundred people who responded to that survey.  The survey, which was conducted during the COVID-19 lockdown period, clearly showed that our parishioners value their local communities.  It also showed that they are keen to be connected to one another and that they like to be involved in a meaningful way in parish life.  The introduction of Parish Life Teams in each of our five Churches has been a well-received initiative that was a direct response to the survey data.

Our Parish Council is keen to continue to respond to the survey results and will be looking at ways to promote and build up the various groups and ministries across our parishes in the coming months.  It is clear from our survey results that this is what our parishioners would like to see.

It was also encouraging to see that our 2020 survey results showed that the satisfaction rate of our parishioners with the life of the parish was an average of just over eight out of ten.  The same number said that they would recommend our parish to others!

Parish life is certainly alive and well.  This weekend our school communities are busy with community building and fundraising.  Please support Our Lady’s School by calling into the Annual Fete on Saturday, 15 October between 10.00 am and 3.00 pm at 31 Erasmus Street, Surrey Hills.  Then pop online to view Our Lady of Good Counsel School’s online auction and get your last bids in before the auction closes at 10.00 pm.  So far the highest bid is going for dinner with Fr Brendan.  Don’t miss out!

Finally, I am happy to present to you today the Annual Report for the 2021 parish year.  The Annual Report serves a number of purposes.  It cannot capture every activity and everything that happened in one year but it is full of interesting memories, sacrament celebrations and facts and figures about parish life.  It reminds us that even during the lockdown days our parishioners were active in caring for each other and praying with and for one another.  It tells us that our parishes here are pastorally vibrant and financially viable!  I hope you enjoy reading the report and I thank each of you for your ongoing support.

By Fr Brendan Reed