Daily Notes & News
The Month of
March, 1999
Monday, 1st
After starting slowly (it being a Public Holiday and all that) I headed off to Cygnet for the annual Taste of the Huon. It was a pleasant day and I managed to get a little sunburnt on my arms which means that over the next few days I will have to take care.
It was en enjoyable day although I have managed to get a stomach upset which has prevented me moving too quickly late this afternoon - hopefully it will not be too difficult during the night.
I ran into a few friends from around the place including some friends from Bellerive days whom I only see at 'Tastes' - the last time I saw them was at the Taste of Tasmania over the Christmas-New Year break.
I off to bed and hopefully a little better time than the past few hours.
Tuesday, 2nd
After waking early with an upset stomach this morning I spent a very quiet day sitting around trying not to do too much.
Later this afternoon I will drop off my car for a service and so I will stay in town overnight and finish writing this in the morning.
Other than that I'm trying to keep out of mischief.
Wednesday, 3rd
Boy, having an upset stomach can really make you feel terrible. Today I have moved very slowly and not too far away from home because of the risk I have felt. I thought that I was progressing well but late this afternoon I had another short bout and so slowed down again.
I've eaten very little but have been taking a replacement mixture to ensure that I am not dehydrating.
The Mass this evening at the Dowling's went well - a couple of people were not able to be there but other than that it all went well. Next week we are going to the Stephensen's at Molesworth - in the opposite direction to where we went tonight.
Thursday, 4th
First thing this morning there was the meeting with members of the local community as we prepare for the EasterFest on Saturday, 3rd April. It was a good meeting and quite a lot has been done, although I still have to contact one major person - the celebrity to open the event.
That meeting ran into the Leaders meeting which looked at some of the issues facing the local church communities as we try to address issues facing the churches here in New Norfolk. It is not easy balancing the needs of people and their dreams for the kingdom with working with people who are ordinary everyday people struggling out of their own human frailty.
After Mass I worked on the finances for a short time before heading down to school to collect my mobile phone from Pat Dowling - I had left it sitting on the bench after the Home Mass at her place last night. I also took with me the letter to parents of children who will be receiving the sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation this year inviting them to be part of one of our Alpha Groups starting next week.
A quick trip out the Lachlan to visit Michael & Allyson - but with Ruby's directions (forgetting to tell me that there was one other road to go down before I got to their road) meant that it took me some time to get there. Mick is well - getting home three weeks after the accident is really great although coming home to see the swing in the front yard and photo's everywhere about the house was difficult.
I've just finished seeing Justin & Frances for the Foccus program and will be checking their results for the next meeting - although I suspect that I'll be heading for bed in a few minutes without staying up to late as I am very tired and I'm still not game to try complete food with my stomach upset.
Friday, 5th
Today has been a reasonably busy day - I've managed to get both editions of the newsletters completed and printed; I've visited two families - one about the RE program at school and another to say hi to an expectant mother who has only days to go.
I've also seen the mother of one of my couples who was recently married and spent time talking to her about her family; called in to see my sister and collected some papers from her and got dressed in my naval uniform to go to a reception at Government House for the R & SLA Womens' Auxiliary National Conference; then headed off to the Cathedral for a rehearsal for the wedding tomorrow afternoon. I didn't realise that my invitation to the reception also involved attending the Opening Session of the R&SLA Conference but I'll be there in the morning so I'm still heading in the right direction.
Then I headed off to the airport to collect Fr Mick Wheeler who has come over for the weekend to celebrate a 60th Birthday tomorrow evening. I also met Terry Kay arriving back from a Centacare meeting and told him that I was meeting Mick - he looked at me and said -"I was sitting next to him and couldn't remember where I knew him from". Moments later Mick arrived and said the same thing. Mick is staying with me until Tuesday so the weekend will be busy and I'll probably be passing him like a ship in the night.
Saturday, 6th
It has been a long day. I've just arrived home after attending the last part of the party of Jan's 60th birthday and it is already 'tomorrow'.
Earlier today I attended the start of the 50th R&SLA Womens' Auxiliaries Conference at Laetare Gardens and led the ecumenical service - in, with the attending the Reception at Government House, my capacity as a Reserve Naval Chaplain.
A quick drive back to New Norfolk and a change of clothes before taking Mick back to town and going to lunch at Sandy Bay. I managed to drop the Baptismal certificate for Sam off to Michele (on the first trip) and now have completed a new one for Callum (my colour printer mustn't have been working before because his is black) but didn't have a chance to see her as we were running late.
After lunch we travelled to Rosny to check out where the new War Memorial was so that tomorrow I'll be able to get there without wasting time looking for where to go. From there it was back to the Cathedral for Kylie & Gray's wedding followed by their reception. It was a lovely celebration with some really wonderful people involved.
Then a quick dash across Salamanca to Maldini's to see Jan and her family before travelling home and sitting down to finish off today's edition of Notes & News for the Archives. Now to bed.
Sunday, 7th
Sometimes prayers really are answered.
At the 9am Mass at New Norfolk this morning (and in fact at all Masses) Sr Denise Hannebry spoke about the Journey Scripture Program which we hope to be able to provide in the Parish during the next two years. I think she received a good response but will have to wait until tomorrow to see how she went. At the end of the 6pm Mass one of our parishioners who had completed the program with Denise last year was asked whether she might consider leading the program on a Monday night to provide two opportunities for people to be part of the series - we'll also have to wait until tomorrow to se how we go. After Mass Fr Mick Wheeler, Denise and I headed off towards Ellendale to collect Sr Lorraine to take her to Mass at Ouse. Thankfully there were a few people there because the main two people from the town were away but others rallied to the cause.
After Mass we headed back to New Norfolk (again via Ellendale) to drop Lorraine home, get Denise back to her car before taking Mick to where the Bullen young people were waiting to take him to Blackmans Bay to continue the celebration of Jan's 60th Birthday weekend. We were later getting there than I had first thought but it wasn't too late so everything was all right.
From West Hobart I headed off to St Helen's Hospital to see Eileen Taylor. I had seen her on Tuesday after she had had a stroke the previous week and wanted to say hello again. Two of her sons were there so it was good to actually be there when they were around to be able to talk to them - at this stage Eileen is struggling with her speech and is very frustrated at not being able to say the things she wants to say.
From there I headed off to the other side of the river to the Clarence R&SLA (early) for the opening of their new War Memorial. It is both well designed and in an excellent venue so it should provide a good gathering place for people to recall the sacrifice of past generations. Fifteen minutes before the Governor was due to arrive the heavens opened and it belted down. People started asking why, with three Chaplains there, we weren't bathed in sunlight - Charles, the Anglican Army Chaplain, said that we were in sales not admin. and we managed to get to get out of a "embarrasing" situation. Started praying however that the blue sky (or at least the bits of blue sky) slowly moving away from the mountain might become larger before we were due to start and they did and at 2.59pm (one minute before the Governor arrived) the rain stopped, sunshine broke through and there was a mad rush to get everything set up again so that we start on time - and it all happened.
After a cuppa in the club rooms I visited some friends at Lindisfarne before heading home for the evening Mass. I then went down to Glenorchy to collect Mick from the Bullen's before coming home, watching a bit of TV before getting this ready and heading for bed.
A great day but a little bit hectic in trying to get everything together.
Monday, 8th
After Mass this morning and the normal closing off of things after the weekend I helped Sr Denise set up for the Journey Program introduction. There were 9 people there this morning and we had another 9 this evening - as well as another one or two who indicated that they were interested but unable to come yesterday. In the course of the morning session I rang the lady who had indicated that she would consider running an evening session as she had completed the program with Sr Denise last year - unfortunately she was not willing to put her hand up for the next two years (surprise, surprise!) but was willing to help me run the program whenever I am not available - as long as it is not too often - which is fair enough.
After lunch Mick and I headed off to see my mother and father, but dad was at the doctors so we missed him. From there it was off to call into Graham's to check up on some material for the funeral on Thursday - and the family, whom I rang yesterday morning have not rung back yet so I will have to ring again in the morning.
From there we called to see Jenny (the former parish secretary at Glenorchy, now working for the Graham Family - Mick knows her well from times visiting me at Glenorchy) at home to see the new car (just for a minute) then we called on the Brereton's (other friends from Glenorchy days) before taking the photos of the party to the Bullen's (the real reason for going to town!!).
From there we came home, Mick collected some stuff to take to his niece and her family and headed off while I waited for the evening meeting of the Journey Program and you know the rest.
Mick isn't home yet but I'm heading for bed as it is has been a hectic few days.
Tuesday, 9th
I spoke to Tony Moore this morning after Mass. Tony is Neil Thomas' brother in law about and was really interested in providing some information for Neil's funeral service on Thursday morning. I then spent some time showing Mick how to work his e-mail program to help him set up things when he gets back home.
I sat down to watch the first of the ALPHA tapes to get ready for the first session this afternoon down at school - it worked well but sadly there were only a couple of people there. I said to Debbie (the school secretary) that I would prepare some notes for her to include in tomorrow's newsletter so I have to do that first thing in the morning.
Mick & I then headed off to the airport for him to head back to Melbourne and tea with some of his mates before going back to Wheelers Hill to start work in the morning. I was going to call and see Barry & Dinah Bennett before going to the Stephensens' for tea but I bumped into them at the airport as Barry headed off to some meetings in Adelaide.
Tae with the Alby, Ann & John was great and interesting - and we looked as if we have covered most of the problems that were concerning them. I have a couple of things to look up on the internet from our discussion so will get onto that first thing in the morning.
Now for bed.
Wednesday, 10th
This morning was taken up with getting the car to Co-Op Toyota to get some work done on it the power steering. It's a mad rush to get into town early and then there is very little you can do because I don't have transport back home so I stopped off at the home of a friend who had gone to work and did some work on Marriage papers.
When the repairs had been completed I came home to see Tammy & Darren at 2pm to complete their preparation for marriage The couple who were due to arrive at 5.30 had to cancel because Kaine had been called back to work so I did some preparatory work for the Parish Council Meeting on Saturday before taking Ruby and Mary to the Home Mass at the Stephensens' - which had a group of 16 in attendance so we are doing well.
Now for bed.
Thursday, 11th
The funeral of Neil Thomas was celebrated with just Paul & Ann Graham and myself in the Crematorium Chapel at Cornelian Bay. There was a Memorial Service in Perth this evening and a tape of our celebration will be sent off to the family in the next day or so. After the service I had a coffee back at the funeral home and worked with Jenny & Julie on a simple computer solution to provide a better cover for recorded services.
After Mass I had a quick lunch with Ruby before doing some work on the newsletter before heading off to the Public Meeting at the Town Hall on future directions for the local community, especially in regards to the questions of law & order. There was a good attendance and good participation from both the gathered citizens and the representatives of Tasmania Police, Council and the local business community. Hopefully, some of the suggestions will be taken up and issues raised will be looked at by the Youth Task Force and a future directions statement will be completed listened too when it goes to Council.
There were only a few people for the Alpha program tonight so we will have to keep working at trying to encourage people to come - the people who were there found the session interesting and hopefully will be back next week.
Friday, 12th
As usual there were a couple of people who called in to have a coffee after Mass and the news of the town was shared. I finished both editions of the newsletter without too great a difficulty and over the next 24 hours will print both. I then headed off down to school for a quick coffee - because of being busy all week I had not been able to get down there any earlier.
I was back by 11am for my couple to arrange a baptism before heading off to the supermarket to buy food for lunch and the supplies for the weekend. After lunch I did some work on material for the Parish Pastoral Council Meeting tomorrow before heading off to the Prison Farm at Hayes to see some people about pastoral care of the inmates.
Then it was back home to finalise the paperwork and my booklet for the wedding tomorrow afternoon. Some people called to see me and it looks as if there will be another couple of people coming to the Alpha group down at school on Tuesdays.
A quick meal then Stations of the Cross followed by the rehearsal for tomorrow's wedding. Now for bed and hopefully a good night's sleep.
Saturday, 13th
The Parish Council Meeting at Pat Murray's today was a great success. There was only one of the group not able to be there because of work commitments so we looked at who we are and what we can do into the future.
As we were gathering the news was delivered that there had been another accident on Dixon's Straight close by the accident which had seen two 17 year old girls killed the other night. Our meeting hadn't been going very long when a friend rang to say that she had been involved in caring for people involved in the accident and was not coping. I left the meeting to spend some time with her and learnt that the accident this morning involved two parishioners - Sheila and Amelia Broad. [I went to the hospital this evening before returning home from the Glenorchy Fair but Sheila was still in recovery so will have to ring the family in the morning. I tried just a few minutes ago and their home phone number was engaged.]
I returned to the PPC meeting and we continued working through some exercises before spending the afternoon looking at practical ways we can address the issues facing the Parish at this time. The next edition of the Vine will be the start and there will be more information about that in the week to come.
From the meeting it was back to the Church for Matthew & Teresa's wedding. That went off well although one of the bridal cars - all three of them were beautiful vintage vehicles - backed into one the church flood light surrounds and knocked the brickwork to pieces. It was the same brickwork that a family attending a baptism some months ago had destroyed. The poor driver was so upset that he had damaged the brickwork that he apologised profusely and promised he will be back next Saturday morning to repair it.
From there it was off to the Fair which looked to be a great success and a great opportunity to catch up with a whole lot of people from my days at Glenorchy - I hope that the signs of success and the outcome correspond because a lot of effort had gone into the event and the Parish deserves a reward for their effort.
Now for bed - I'll try the Broad's once more but the line is still engaged - really will have to call in the morning.
Sunday, 14th
Mass this morning in the country was at Maydena - I also had to head off the Ellendale to collect Sr Lorraine and Sr Monica to take them to Mass as Lorraine is still not driving after her operation on her foot. There was a good congregation considering there was also a fire exercise on the town that morning.
I headed off to town to visit the Police Expo, celebrating their Centenary, at Wrest Point. It was a great event with the biggest number of people at an Expo in recent times - I spoke to a couple of senior officers and they were very happy.
From there I headed back to the Royal Hobart Hospital to see Sheila Broad. She is in the High Dependency Unit and will need some time in hospital - I also caught up with Colin, her husband, to say hello and find out how they are going. My efforts to see Eileen Taylor at St Helen's Hospital were frustrated because she has been transferred to another hospital and it took some time before they were able to tell me see too was at the RHH and it was too late for me to go back there before having to head home for the evening Mass.
I missed out on my visit to see mum and dad so will be looking to do that during the next day or so. I'm now heading off to bed for an early night.
Monday, 15th
We had a great response to the main event today - Journey Program. Sr Denise led the session this morning and we had 9 people (including me) there and then there were 16 at the session tonight - everyone seemed to enjoy the work so I am hoping that everything goes well for the next few weeks as people settle in. One of the suggestions that came out of the morning session was that we have Mass at 10am followed by a cuppa then the Journey session - it met with approval so next week we will change.
The weekend things were cleared up before the Journey program so that was good. During the afternoon I called to see a couple of people whom I have missed over these past few days but I didn't see everyone so will have to try again tomorrow. I've also started on the newsletter for the weekend so I must be getting too organised.
The Journey meeting has just finished so now it is off to bed and a good night's sleep - I hope.
Tuesday, 16th
It wasn't until I got to the Inauguration ceremony for Guilford Young College tonight that I remembered that today was the 11th anniversary of the death of Archbishop Sir Guilford Young - a great friend to me and a wonderful leader of the Church in Tasmania for 34 years. There was a great gathering and a wonderful group of people celebrating the successes of last year and the blessing of the student leaders for 1999.
I had a visit from a woman who has done a great deal of work for the priests in Tasmania by organising Prayer Support for each priest. People take an envelope which contains the name of a priest and his ordination date - they then promise to pray for the priest daily. I'm going to ask the priests if they might be able to assist her by providing some extra information and organising for a photo to be scanned and photocopied onto the card so that people actually have an idea whom they are praying for.
After lunch I went down to school for the Alpha meeting - there were 7 of us there which isn't too bad. I came home to see if I could find a Baptismal certificate for the fiancee of a girl whom I knew from my days at the Cathedral before heading for town to see Sheila and Eileen at the Royal Hobart Hospital. Sheila is much improved - she is out of High Dependency but has a long way to go before she is well again. Eileen has improved a little after her stroke - she was able to say a few words but is still finding it difficult to do anything.
I managed to catch up with mum and dad for a few minutes before calling in to see Anthony and Dimity Gentile to organise the baptism of their son Nash which will be celebrated in a few weeks time. I also managed to leave with them a manual that belongs to the scanner Anthony bought off Graham's some time ago.
Now for bed before leaving early to take my car to Co-op Motors for some work on the brakes first thing in the morning.
Wednesday, 17th
Today has been a good day - busy but good.
I headed for town early (7am) to drop my car off at Co-op Motors to have some work done on the brakes and managed to have the chip in the window fixed at the same time.
After dropping the car off I walked to New Town to stop at Graham's whilst the car was being repaired. I did some work on their computer for myself as well as setting up some pages for them. Whilst there I spent with Andrew and Kristine as we prepared for the celebration of the funeral of their daughter Gabrielle, one of triplets born prematurely, who was still born. The funeral will be celebrated on Friday.
After collecting the car I came home for my appointment with Tammy & Darren to finish the paperwork and book work for their wedding; then I had an appointment with Tim and Jennifer in preparation for the baptism of their daughter this weekend.
I managed a short break then before Kaine & Kimbra arrived to continue their marriage preparation program. As soon as they left I had about 2 minutes to race down to school for the AGM of the School Board - it is a great board and we are very fortunate to have a great group of committed people willing to work for the school community.
Then it was off to Pat & Mary Murray's for our weekly Home Mass to complete the celebration of St Patrick's Day. Again there were a good number of people there - a sign that the program has been successful.
Now for a Guinness to celebrate St Patrick's Day and then to bed.
Thursday, 18th
This morning started with the EasterFest meeting - somehow I was so tired that I really struggled to be able to answer questions and I wasn't able to really contribute to the meeting. We managed to get most things finished and there are only a few outstanding issues that need to be completed and we are ready to roll. Immediately following this meeting we had the Christian Leaders meeting looking at issues facing the local community - again most things are under control although there is some work to be done on our Church Services leaflet to be delivered to each of the local guest houses and motels before the Easter Holiday break.
After Mass and lunch I worked on some posters to deliver to the local Primary Schools to be part of a colouring competition - most have been delivered and will be collected next Thursday to go into shops during Holy Week. I have done some more work on the newsletter for the weekend and completed the funeral booklet for Gabrielle's funeral tomorrow. By the time all that got done I was ready for my couple who came to look at arrangements for the baptism of their daughter.
It wasn't long after they had left that Justin and Frances arrived to continue their marriage preparation program - it is some time before their wedding but we are working now to avoid any last minute rush.
The final thing tonight was the Alpha meeting - I managed to drop off to sleep a couple of times during the video, thankfully I didn't snore and I was with friends.
Bed is now the choice of position and I'm not long from heading there.
Friday, 19th
This morning I managed to drop off the colouring competition material for the EasterFest to New Norfolk Primary school - I had hoped to be able to do the same for Molesworth School but I had trouble speaking to any of the senior teachers until lunch time and so will have to get them there by Monday morning.
I then headed off to the Crematorium Chapel for the funeral of Gabrielle Wye, a tiny still born infant. Her parents Kristine and Andrew were there by themselves with only Ann Graham and myself to support them so we made every effort to get things right for them and for their daughter.
From there I called to see Phil Scanlon at the Catholic Education Office with some material for the Sick & Retired Priests Fund - I was really impressed to see the office equipped with I-Macs and G3's - they are fast.
Then it was off to the hospital to see Sheila and Eileen and to see how they are progressing - Sheila is looking good and Eileen ha started to be able to say a few words and be understood which is really great.
A quick visit to the Church Office and Catholic Bookshop before heading out to Glenorchy for the Mass at Dominic College for the commencement of their school year. It was the first chance for them to put their new multipurpose building to the test and it passed easily. Unfortunately I didn't have time to pay my bill at Anglesea Barracks or see the Naval Support Command Officer re the visit of the USS Carl Vinson so will have to make time early next week to get that together.
I also missed seeing Mum and Dad on the way home as everything else was taking too much time - the newsletter still hadn't been printed and I still had things to do to get ready for the wedding rehearsal tonight.
When the Stations of the Cross and the rehearsal were finished I came back to the house to get the porridge and the other food stuffs ready for the prayer breakfast tomorrow morning. It took a bit longer than planned because I had to get a table in from the shed and doing that by myself wasn't particularly easy.
Now for bed.
Saturday, 20th
The monthly prayer breakfast this morning was a great success with 18 people gathering to pray for the needs of the community - thankfully Gillian and Theresa Parton arrived early enough just to take the final pressure off me in the preparation stakes.
I was a bit late heading off to Hayes Prison Farm for Mass but arrived just a few minutes late - it was good to be able to spend the time with one inmate in particular and will set the third Saturday of the Month aside for visits to the farm.
The lady doing the flowers for the wedding was a little bit late arriving but managed to do a good job on the flowers - I left her quietly working away before heading down to town to see Mum and Dad. Karen and her three children were also there - Lauren her youngest is now starting to be quite talkative with me which is a big start on where she has been until recently.
There was a good gathering for lunch at Sandy Bay today and I was able to get most of the holes for the lunch roster for the next few months filled so that we will have somewhere to eat for the weeks to come.
Back to New Norfolk for the wedding which was a bit of a worry. The bridal cars went racing past at a great speed of knots heading for Gretna which is 10 minutes past New Norfolk (speeding) - the problem was that the time was 20 minutes before the start of the wedding when they went past and they were still some way short of New Norfolk when that happened. Just before the time for the bridal party arrived one of the groomsmen raced out - they had forgotten the rings and he had to head home to get them. He arrived back just as the bridal party arrived and everything went smoothly from then.
I sat down and collated the material that will be go out with the newsletter tomorrow containing the extra information for Holy Week and Easter so that people can have the information for their fridge.
Now for bed and a good sleep - I hope.
Sunday, 21st
Today was hectic.
After the 9am Mass I headed off to Hamilton for Mass at 11am. There were a couple of visitors from Queensland at Mass and that bumped the numbers up to 15 - the best that's been at Hamilton for some time.
I then drove over to Maydena to see a seriously ill parishioner and spent some time with him and giving him the blessing of the sick - he wasn't interested in receiving the blessing if he thought that it was the old 'extreme unction' or the last rites. I told him hat I was one of the 'good guys' who gave the blessing so that people get better and he was interested. Later in the afternoon I managed to get to the District Hospital and gave the blessing to another old timer who also was worried about getting the last rites so I became the good guy again.
I managed to get back to New Norfolk for the first of two baptisms with only a couple of minutes to spare. A quick bite between the two ceremonies was as close as I got to a decent meal all day but I need to lose weight anyway.
It is now evening and I will be heading for bed in a few minutes. Mass tomorrow is a bit later than usual so I will be able to start a little bit slower in the morning.
Monday, 22nd
Mass today was at 10am so we can have a cuppa after Mass and before the Journey meeting started - unfortunately no extra people were at Mass, in fact one less than usual so we will revert back to the 9am time slot next week.
The first part of the morning was spent doing the cleaning up after the weekend with Baptismal information being entered as well as the planned giving details being recorded.
After the Journey program I did some little work for the Journey meeting tonight and then headed to town for some time out for myself. There were a couple of extra people at the meeting tonight so it is hopeful that we now have a good number and people seem happy with the program and what is involved.
Tuesday, 23rd
Today I celebrated Mass and remembered the life of the late Bishop Jim Cuskelly MSC, a great teacher who provided a lot of inspiration for me as a student through his writings.
I was able to get down to school this morning to see the children and staff and simply to say hello - last year this was part of my Monday morning routine but because of the Journey program I have had to reschedule.
Before I headed down to school both Ann Whittle and Graham Isaac had rung with news about EasterFest arrangements so as I came home from school I headed to the shopping centre to collect some things that I need to prepare for our final EasterFest meeting on Thursday morning - the final meeting before the big event.
The Alpha Meeting this afternoon - straight after lunch - went well although there hasn't been as good a response from the parents of children preparing for the celebration of the sacraments later in the year as I would have hoped.
Immediately after the meeting Graham Isaac, the Salvation Army Captain, and I did a quick tour to check out places where we can advertise the EasterFest in the town. The three places we looked at seemed OK so Graham will check with Council just to ensure that there are no difficulties.
This evening I attended the final of the talks on Money organised by the Commission for Gospel and Human Relations of the Tasmania Council of Churches and as the President make a presentation to the man who has been the chair of the meetings these past four years - the Rev Dr Jim Young, a truly wonderful and gifted man.
Now for bed.
Wednesday, 24th
This morning I headed for Sandy Bay and found an old 'Mac' computer with a 14.4K modem attempting to access the internet - I haven't really ever worked with Mac's so I struggled a bit with getting the e-mail working - once I was in to the Netscape program I managed to get everything working and sent an e-mail home and it had arrived when I checked later today.
On the way to Hobart I got a call to say that Roy Hyland, a parishioner whom I had seen in the District Hospital on Sunday afternoon was deteriorating so I said that I would call into the hospital immediately I got back. While I was at Sandy Bay I got another call, this time from Ann Graham to say that Ryan Wye, the second of the triplets born prematurely had died - we celebrated Gabrielle's funeral last Friday.
I called to see Ann and made some arrangements before coming home - some parishioners were putting the Vine (our quarterly newsletter) together so I had a bite to eat and was about to leave for the Hospital when they rang to say that Roy had died about an hour earlier. I went off to visit his wife Mavis and her family and spent some time with them making arrangements for the funeral on Friday afternoon.
I then headed for town to see Andrew and Kristine to make arrangements for Ryan's funeral and to spend some time with them. We will be doing some things a little differently so that they are able to celebrate his funeral and not be constantly reminded of Gabrielle's funeral.
From there I went to see Cindy Hill who gave birth to a daughter, Taya, the other day. Cindy and Graeme lost their daughter Demi last year in a terrible accident whilst on holidays. They are overjoyed and full of life at this time so saying hello to people enjoying something was special today.
I then managed to call into the hospital to see Sheila and Eileen, both of them are progressing well and seem happier by the day, although Eileen is still frustrated by the slowness of recovery after a stroke.
I haven't managed to get the Navy Support Office regarding the visit of the USS Carl Vinson so will have to try to do that on Monday - the senior Chaplain on board has been in touch again so it is hopeful that things will work out.
Plans for the day had changed so dramatically that the newsletter and calendar haven't been looked at and by the time I had done rough drafts of the two funeral booklets it was time for me to head off to celebrate Mass at the Cowlings. There was a good number of parishioners there - including one couple who had not come before.
Now for bed because the next few days are going to be difficult.
Thursday, 25th
This morning, just after I had posted Daily Notes and News, Betty Glover rang from Gretna to say that her husband Ray had died during the early hours of the morning. I've been to see her at her son's home at Molesworth to begin making arrangements for the funeral for Monday.
We had the final meeting of the EasterFest planning group this morning and it is wonderful to see everything coming together so neatly - there are a lot of wonderful people working together to make things happen..
After Mass at midday I had lunch with a friend who is on holidays and managed to catch up with another friend as we enjoyed a fish meal at a local hotel. It was good to catch up with both of them - an added bonus.
I came home to work on the two funeral booklets and have managed to get both finished although I have not been able to start on the liturgy for the Reconciliation Service for tomorrow evening as yet, that will have to happen in the morning.
There were a couple of people missing from the Alpha program this evening so it was only a small group. I am actually surprise that we managed to get such a large response to the Journey program which asks a long term commitment and have failed to get a good response to the Alpha program which is such a short term involvement - people continue to amaze me.
During the day and just before the Alpha program I managed to get the names and numbers for the Football competition organised and after what looked like a slow start we have managed to get 81 people out of possible 100 tickets - an excellent response. At the start of today there were 61 so that was terrific.
Friday, 26th
During the morning, both before Mass and after, we got another few names of people interested in joining the Football Competition - this means that we now have 84 places sold - last year we had 68 so it is a great improvement.
After Mass this morning I headed to town to the Catholic Education Office to drop some material off for the Sick & Retired Priests Fund. Whilst there I heard that Fr John Heffey had died at Cygnet the night before. 'Heff' was a hermit who had travelled across the USA with (then) Fr Guilford Young as they had fled Rome after the commencement of W.W.II. For the past 20 years or so he has lived in various parts of Tasmania - a great man - may God grant him eternal rest.
I also learnt of the death of Doreen Stevens, the mother of Paul, the Director of Catholic Education, also at Cygnet - may God also have mercy on her.
I then headed over to the Graham Family Chapel to celebrate the funeral of Ryan Samuel David Wye, the second of the children born to Kristine and Andrew, to have died since their birth. It was just a week since Gabrielle's funeral and as we gathered in the Chapel and prayed for eternal peace for Ryan and Gabrielle we also prayed for Zoe the surviving triplet - that she might, not only live, but be a source of great joy for Kristine and Andrew.
I had managed to complete my book for the next funeral before heading to town so I arrived home to celebrate the funeral of the late Roy Hyland. There was a packed Church and a wonderful celebration - both he and his wife, Mavis, had come from large families so there were plenty of relatives. After the committal at Malbina cemetery I saw the Glover family to collect some material for the late Ray Glover's funeral on Monday before returning home to spend some time with Roy's family.
Then it was a jump between the sacristy and the house as I helped John Maher change a very high light so the sacristy isn't in darkness and worked on the liturgy for the reconciliation service. The light got fixed (although when we turned them on later only one worked) and the service sheet was printed - I used a set of the Stations of the Cross to form the Examination of Conscience in preparation for Reconciliation.
After the service I completed printing the newsletter and the calendar for April - both are now available from the newsletter site at the bottom of this page.
Now for bed.
Saturday, 27th
All my plans for this morning changed - I had intended to drop off posters for the EasterFest to the local shops but that will have to wait as I only have about a dozen returned - a job for Monday.
By the time people called in and other work was completed it was time to head for Hamilton to drop off the key to the Church for the Polish Community for the celebration of Mass for Jan Marszalek, the first Polish migrant to come to Tasmania who is buried in the Hamilton Church Cemetery. I managed to call into the Hamilton Show for a short time before going back to the Mass and the cuppa which followed.
I then headed home to cook a couple of sponges (after collecting some ingredients from the supermarket) the cakes are for Mum's surprise party tomorrow. On my way to town I dropped them off at my sister's who will get them to the venue early in the afternoon - long before I get there after my two baptisms.
I called a couple of people to see if I could get an organist for the funeral on Monday and did some quick work on Ray Glover's booklet - the family had dropped some information in and I wanted to show them what the photo looked like. I then checked with a family for some final information for a Baptism tomorrow and but haven't been able to make arrangements for a key to the Sacristy of the Pontville Church for the baptism - the Church is open so we should be all right if I take all the things I need.
I then headed to town to attend the Salvation Army, Hobart Citadel, Autumn Dinner to raise funds for a new piano as the after dinner speaker - I'd never done that before so it was an interesting experience which I thoroughly enjoyed - I think I did all right - at least no one went to sleep as I talked.
Now for bed and an extra hours sleep tonight as today is the end of daylight saving - I hope.
Sunday, 28th
Today was the sort of day that causes nightmares and which you hope happen infrequently. There was nothing major that went wrong but simply a whole lot of little things that didn't go quite as planned and, for some reason, I was really tired, even though there was an extra hour in the day after the end of daylight saving.
I finished uploading Daily Notes & News and the March page and then printed the birthday card for my mum; the two baptismal certificates and the pages for parishioners to add their names too for extra help during Holy Week. I then found all sorts of mistakes in almost everything I had done and had to reprint everything - not all of them immediately but during the day I did them all again.
Soon after I had showered the phone rang to say that Baden Timbs had died and could the funeral be celebrated on Wednesday - I had seen him in Maydena last Sunday after Mass at Hamilton and he had gone down quickly in the past few days.
The Palm Sunday Mass at New Norfolk was well attended and everything seemed to flow easily. I then headed off for Mass at Ellendale which we celebrated at the Picnic area - a bit cool but still comfortable. I wasn't able to stay for the BBQ because I was heading home to travel to Pontville for the Baptism at 2pm.
I hadn't been able to organise for a key for the Church at Pontville (basically too slack for my own good) so I had taken everything with me - the only inconvenience was that we didn't have any lights so it was a little dark in the Church but otherwise everything went all right.
Back to New Norfolk for a Baptism at 3.30pm - or so I thought. The time passed and no family so I went to visit their home and no-one was there. I decided to head for Claremont to visit my mother, and the rest of the family, to help celebrate her 70th birthday - a couple of days early -but a lovely celebration anyway.
I rang the baptismal family on my return from Claremont to find that there had been some difficulties in the family and we will have to reschedule the Baptism after I see the family again.
I arrived back in time for the evening Mass and then did some final work for Ray Glover's funeral booklet for tomorrow - I've sent the material off to the family via e-mail for them to look through before I go to print first thing in the morning.
Some friends arrived to tell me that a Glenorchy parishioner, a member of a family whom I had known well and spent time with for wedding, baptisms and a funeral, was dying and it would be good to call to see her if I had a chance. I'll have to do that tomorrow afternoon after the funeral.
Now for bed.
Monday, 29th
After Mass this morning I had an hour or so before the start of the Journey program which gave me a chance to work on the printing of the Funeral Booklet and associated material for the funeral. I actually managed to get everything finished before time so I got the mail and other things I needed before the meeting. There were a good number of people at the Journey meeting (both of them) - only a couple of people not able to be there because of other commitments.
The funeral for Ray Glover went well with his children and grandchildren playing a big a role in the celebration as possible; there was a good number of people attending the celebration, filling the Church - I always feel funny about saying that everything went well but I'm not sure what other language I can use. We went back to Leon and Ngaire's home, unfortunately I was only able to stay a short time before heading back to the Presbytery for a meeting at 4pm.
I had hoped to spend time visiting some people in hospital, including seeing a friend from Glenorchy days who is close to the end of her journey. I hope to be able to do that tomorrow afternoon as well as seeing Sheila and Eileen to see how they are going, before attending the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral.
Now for bed - the Journey program is finished and I am tired - I still haven't made the change to the later hour to wake up after the end of daylight saving time.
Tuesday, 30th
This morning I headed of to the Navy Office in town to see some of the people involved with the visit of the USS Carl Vinson which arrives in the middle of next week. There is a little bit of work that needs to be done regarding Project Handclasp - a project which allows crew of the ship to work with people in the community and to donate goods to worthwhile groups. Whilst there I also put my application in to be awarded a Defence Long Service Medal for my reserve service over the past 16 years.
After leaving the Navy Office I dropped into the Church Office for a moment to collect a condolence card to send to Paul Stevens, Director of Catholic Education, as I was not able to get to his mothers funeral at Cygnet today.
A quick stop off at the Tasmanian Council of Churches Office to change some of the plans for the teleconference tomorrow and to ask if they knew of anyone who might benefit from the Project Handclasp program. From there I went to see Phil Scanlon at the Catholic Education Office to sign some cheques for the Sick & Retired Priests Fund retirement payments for the March quarter. Then I called into see Sr Philippa Chapman at Centacare and now have some info which I will pass back to Navy Office and the Liaison Officer to pass on to the ship.
Then I was on the road home to see Sue and David, sister and brother of the late Baden Timbs who died on Saturday evening to prepare his funeral which we will celebrate tomorrow morning. There was a message to collect a photo from one of the businesses on the town so I got that and had some work done on the scanned image before the family arrived. By the end of the day I had completed and printed the leaflet for tomorrow.
As I was about to have a few minutes off I got a call from Greg Hudson (Graham Family Funerals representative in the Derwent Valley) to say that he was at the home of the late John Davie arranging a funeral - was Thursday a possibility? After saying yes to the early afternoon I headed off to Bushy Park to make the arrangements and spend some time with the family.
After leaving there I headed for Hobart to call and see my mum who celebrates her 70th birthday today - Dad was busy showing a video to some of the other residents of the Village but Michelle and her two youngsters were there so we had a mini celebration.
I called to see some people and then went to a stationery shop to collect some card to use for the EasterFest on Saturday - the remainder to be used for Raffle tickets for the Mother's Day Raffle. From there I headed for the Hospital to see Debra, my friend from Glenorchy, Eileen and Sheila from New Norfolk, and baby Zoe, still struggling for life in the Neonatal ward. Kristine was there with her, Andrew has returned home to go back to work for a couple of days before returning at the end of the week.
Having completed just about everything else I headed for the Cathedral for the Chrism Mass - the night in Holy Week when the Clergy of the Archdiocese and people gather for the blessing of the Sacred Oils which will be used during 1999 and the occasion when we, the priests, renew our priestly commitment. It was another great celebration and the Cathedral was filled with people from our parishes supporting us. After a supper at the Cathedral Presbytery and collecting the Oils I've headed home, finished printing and heading for bed - a long day now over.
Wednesday, 31st
As soon as businesses opened this morning I went around dropping off the Posters advertising the EasterFest - a little late but better late than never. Everyone seemed happy to take one - in fact I did a little bit of community service because I was able to take down some of the posters for the three events last weekend that were still on the windows as I put the EasterFest posters up.
Baden Timb's funeral was a big event with a whole range of people present from many backgrounds - it is difficult celebrating the funeral of people you hardly know but sadly that's part of living and working in a scattered Parish Community.
Immediately after the burial at Malbina I came home for a teleconference with the other members the Executive Working Group of the Tasmanian Council of Churches looking at some issues relating to staffing as well as the program for the Annual Meeting. I managed to get all the reading done before the meeting so this morning was reasonably productive.
I then headed of the Rosegarland to spend a short time with Baden's family before dropping taking drafts of the leaflets for John Davie's funeral to his wife and family at Bushy Park - unfortunately nobody was home so I left them at the back door and spoke to them later.
From there is was back home to complete the printing of the leaflets and running around making sure that I had collected the things that I need to do for the EasterFest before the shops are closed for Easter and I can't get everything finished.
I was able to have just a little bit of time to myself before heading out to celebrate the Home Mass at the Convent - the numbers were smaller than usual because of people being caught up in the last minutes arrangements for the Easter break but there was still 14 people there.
Now it is time for bed and a good nights sleep - I hope - because the next two days are long days with little chance of sleep before midnight.
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