Dear Parishioners,

I’m delighted to have the opportunity to address you again at the AGM 2001. Over the last eighteen months I have learned a fair bit about you and I have met most of you at home or otherwise. Meeting you and sharing your life in the church or otherwise is my great pleasure.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank very sincerely all the members of the Parish Pastoral Council, the Finance Committee, the Maintenance Committee, the Social Committee, the SVDP Conference, the Youth Group, the Children’s Liturgy of the Word Committee, the other Parish Pastoral and Prayer Groups working within our parish boundary, Sister Mary and Sister Theresa, Carmel Poole for her good work with the Sacristy and the Parish Centre and a special thank you goes to Anna Panetta on her retirement from the Council. Anna is retiring from the Council after serving for three years with loyalty and generosity because she has now moved to Greenwood. Thank you Anna for your good work on the Council as well as in our parish community. A sincere thank you goes also to Sam Di Nucci for producing the monthly Parish News Newsletter. Well done Sam!

This year we have been blessed also with twelve new Special Ministers of the Eucharist and so we are enriched with their ministry at the weekend Masses. Congratulations and God’s blessings to them all.

It seems to me that when we come to start giving priorities to our parish pastoral activities my priority will be the Season of Advent in preparation for Christmas and the Season of Lent in preparation for the Annual Easter Celebration. I believe our priorities are correct and I for one, I always put a lot of preparatory work and in return it gives me a lot of joy and satisfaction. In relation to the Christmas Celebration I also have the annual Christmas HelpLine which brings me a lot of work at this busy Season as well as a lot of joy and many contacts with people far beyond the parish boundary. Yes, indeed it’s very rewarding! Next Christmas it will be my Helpline tenth anniversary and last Christmas it was the most successful HelpLine so far. I received and attended to more than 80 cries for help.

The Parish Web Site is also becoming a very good medium of Evangelisation – "go out and teach all nations". Our Web Site is international! Only just yesterday (21/07/01) I was on Line with Jakarta, Indonesia regarding a Memorial Mass; with Sydney for a welfare case; with Liverpool, England regarding a Funeral Mass and with Valletta, Malta for a Wedding. I thank the Lord that my pastoral work at St Kieran’s never ends and I really enjoy it.

As I mentioned to you earlier on through the Sunday Newsletter as well as Gerard Russell has just reported, during the past financial year, we have done few necessary renovations to the Parish Centre, the Church and the Presbytery and we all acknowledge that the parish buildings look much better now. The whole place is well maintained, tidy and functional the way it should be.

On 20 May this year we held our annual celebration in honour of Maria Annunziata. As in previous years we kept it according to the culture and style of the Italian community on a parish level and the people responded accordingly. We celebrated also the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick for those who wanted to avail themselves to receive it. The Italian Community is responding very well to the Sunday Italian Mass at 10.00am as well as their Prayer Groups.

On 27 May we celebrated the annual parish feast of First Holy Communion for 34 children from Year 4 followed by the celebration of First Reconciliation for 38 children from Year 3. I sincerely commend our school community and the staff for their hard work and dedication and I wish them well for the future. Last September we celebrated together with our school community our annual Confirmation Day. Our encouragement and support to our school community is one way how we can work together in a friendly way.

Another thing which is close to my heart is the hospital visitation by different groups of parishioners who visit the Osborne Park Hospital on a regular basis and give Holy Communion to the sick on Sunday.

A very special thank you to Tom Deacon for supervising the Pledge Giving Programme and deposits the second collection every week. He has been doing this delicate and very important work over so many years. Sincere thanks Tom. Thank you also to Margot Horton for helping me with the parish financial books. Again she has been doing this for many years. Many thanks Margot! My sincere thanks go also to all the collectors and counters who Sunday by Sunday collect the money in the church and they do the counting after the Mass in the parish centre.

Very special thanks to all those involved in the Sunday Liturgy namely: the organists, choir members, readers, acolytes, special ministers, and altar servers. The Sunday Liturgy is my softest spot and my sincere gratitude to all those around me in the sanctuary to help me making it true. The best thing we can ever offer to God is our Sunday Worship and nothing should ever come in between to taint it or its attendance in any way.

At last but not least, my very sincere thanks to each and every member of the parish for your loyal financial and moral support. You may recall that last year we celebrated the Year 2000, since the Birth of Christ, a Year of Great Jubilee. This Year is dedicated by the United Nations to be the Year of Volunteers. In our parish community we are not short of them! I would like to take this opportunity to invite all our volunteers to come and join us at Aquinas College, Manning on Sunday 9 September to celebrate together with the Archbishop in the name of all volunteers in our Archdiocese.

In conclusion, I offer a very sincere thank you to each and every member of our parish community and I ask God’s blessings on all of you.

Yours sincerely,

Fr Michael Gatt Parish Priest

Congratulation to our parish priest Rev Fr Michael Gatt, and the Parish Council for the works that have been undertaken this financial year to beautify and maintain the Church, Hall, Presbytery and grounds. With Fr. Michael’s vision of a well presented buildings and grounds the Parish has benefited by a greatly enhanced and beautified centre of our Parish. Much of this work has been overdue and I thank Father for his momentum in what has been achieved.

Thanks also to our maintenance committee of Sam, Eugene, and Gerard. The works undertaken include: Landscaping planting to the rear of the Presbytery, including a privacy fence. The brick fence to Cape Street has also been completed adjacent to the Presbytery. The painting of the presbytery has also been completed. Several garden beds have been cleared and new plants and reticulation installed. The lawn areas were seeded to promote new growth.

A busy bee was held to do several jobs including gardening and window cleaning. The ongoing weeding, lawn mowing and reticulation repairs have kept the committee busy. A major item has been the removal of the old slabs and grassed area and two trees and installing paving along Cape Street. The upgrading of the signs has also given the place a lift, and gives clear information. The central pews aisle has been a bonus and made the church more useable. The PA system is now fully operational and makes a huge difference. The light globes that were blown have been replaced and all working and the switch plate in the sacristy renewed.

Thank you for your support.

Yours faithfully,

Gerard Russell

(Maintenance Committee)