Daily Notes & News
The Month of
August 1999
Sunday, 1st
After the New Norfolk Mass this morning I picked up a friend to take him with me to Mass at Ouse. The weather was fine so there were no difficulties although there was a little rain on the way.
Because there were no Baptisms today I continued on towards town to see Michael in the Whittle Ward - Michael is stable but very near to the end of his journey here on earth - and from there I called to see Richard in the Royal Hobart Hospital - it is still very early after his stroke so the danger period hasn't yet passed. It will be some days before the doctors know what the level of recovery will be like for Richard.
Whenever Robin used to play at Mass at Glenorchy there was always a good response from the people and now that he is able to assist us here in New Norfolk it is really great. He has teamed with Tony, a long time New Norfolk parishioner, and the sound they are producing is really good.
Greg Hudson rang me during the morning to say that there is a funeral for Wednesday so I attempted to contact the family to make some arrangements - they haven't returned the call yet - I will get back to them in the morning.
It is now time for bed to get ready for a new week.
Monday, 2nd
Today started with the usual clearing up of things after the weekend - the Planned Giving material was entered into the Parish Program, letters written and follow-up phone calls after talking to people after the various Masses.
The Journey program looked at the Prophets (the end of the First Isaiah and Micah) which brought us to the beginning of the 7th Century BC. Next week we are moving through an overview of the Prophet Jeremiah.
I called to see two members of the family of the late Peter Strong - we will celebrate his funeral on Wednesday afternoon. I've started work on his funeral leaflet and will take it around to his daughters tomorrow after the morning meeting.
Now for bed - it isn't too late so hopefully a good nights sleep is on the way.
Tuesday, 3rd
After Mass this morning I made a few phone calls regarding material for the Police & Community Consultative Group meeting. I think that I made a mistake in sending the minutes out immediately after the last meeting - some people didn't arrive, including the Chairman who had forgotten completely about the meeting. I passed over the secretary job to one of the members and had to chair the meeting.
From there I completed the draft copy of the funeral leaflet for the late Peter Strong and dropped it off to his family - they are happy with what we have done and the rest of the leaflets are printing as I type.
I then headed for town to collect a photo of the late Michael Flanagan - I had hoped to visit Michael after lunch but he passed away early yesterday morning. I didn't have the time to catch up with either Richard or Daniel in the hospital so will have to do that later in the week.
Mid afternoon I worked with a member of the Community Group looking to form a Co-op in the Derwent Valley to make Berry Jams and Sauces. We are currently looking at things like labels and letterheads so my computer is getting quite a deal of use and my brain is being tested for ideas on how to do things.
I've just finished working with Anjanette and Nicholas on the final material for the marriage ceremony and the paperwork that is involved. They are a lovely couple and I am looking forward to celebrating their marriage with them.
Now it is time for bed.
Wednesday, 4th
After Mass this morning I travelled to Maryknoll to work with the chn in Gr. 6 as part of their preparation for Confirmation. It is interesting watching chn working in a different environment and seeing the natural groupings.
On the way home I stopped off at Barrington House to collect information about the late Frank Adlard in preparation for his funeral tomorrow afternoon. Then it was back to Malbina for a simple graveside service for the late Peter Strong. There was a good gathering of family and friends for Peter's farewell and after the service I attended his wake which was held at his daughters home in Fairview.
I then spent time working on the two funeral liturgies so that, now, I am almost ready for the next two days of funerals. I will try to contact Frank's brother in Brisbane tomorrow morning to see if there is anything else I can include about Frank's life.
Next on the agenda was the phone hook-up with the Tasmanian Council of Churches Executive working Group to look at some of the issues that were outstanding after the Annual Meeting and the recent Exec. Meeting. We have nominated some extra members of the Annual Meeting as members of the Exec. and suggested an extra member to be co-opted for the Exec. working group. A couple of other people were nominated for various responsibilities to various committees looking at events and issues within the local community.
I have just returned from a pleasant evening meal and conversation at the home of John & Jeanette Readman at Mount Lloyd. I now have a couple of Chinese recipes that might prove useful when we come to the Chinese night planned for September. Now for bed.
Thursday, 5th
Today started with the Leaders Meeting - the last that Ann Whittle will be attending before she and her husband and family head off on long service leave and travel around Australia for the next 10 weeks. Ann is an important part of the group as she brings much of the history of the group over the past seven years.
There were some simple things that got completed before the meeting including the leaflet for both funerals. There was only a small number of people at the funeral of the late Frank Adlard - mainly people who lived with him at Barrington House or staff who had worked there in the past. I took with me the leaflet for the late Michael Flanagan to ensure that people attending his funeral will not have to wait until I arrive - which might be close to time.
I did some work on a friends computer before attending a meeting of the Southern Parishes Forum which looked at issues and successes in Parishes as well as things happening in the Diocese at this time. The main thrust of the night was looking at the Call to Change Program and the preparations for the Great Jubilee in the year 2000.
I've just arrived home and it is time for bed.
Friday, 6th
This morning was a quick move from Mass to the Funeral Chapel at Moonah for the funeral of the late Michael Flanagan. It was a fitting send off for Michael and was a good opportunity to meet lots of friends from my days at Sandy Bay.
On my way to town after the service at the Cemetery I called to see the team at the Claremont Parish to update their data for the Grapevine program - they still need to get the updated Program from Perth but I'm certain that it will arrive soon.
I headed for the RHH to see both Richard and Daniel - Richard is struggling and there is a danger he might contract pneumonia so there are plenty of prayers being prayed for him at the moment. Daniel is recovering well after the accident in which his friend Paul was killed last weekend.
From there I headed to St John's to see Bev - she is not well and I only stayed a short time as she was disorientated. I caught up with a second cousin who was admitting his daughter into hospital because of pneumonia - luckily she is young enough to be able to get over it fairly quickly.
As I was driving through town my mobile phone rang to ask whether I might be able to celebrate the funeral of the late William Munday at the Graham Family Funeral Chapel on Monday morning. I headed back to the Chapel and collected some details before going to meet the family and made the arrangements immediately so that I can take a draft leaflet back to them tomorrow afternoon.
By the time I got back home it was time to do some work on the newletter(s) for the weekend but there is still more to get done tomorrow - especially the details of the football which will not be available until much later this evening.
I'm now heading for bed and hopefully, a good nights sleep.
Saturday, 7th
Last night I didn't get much sleep but managed to doze on and off for a time. I got up early and finished the newsletter(s) and the funeral booklet for the late William Munday so that they were out of the way early.
Setting up the dining room and preparing for the clergy lunch took up most of the morning - I also had some visits from parishioners calling in about various issues. I didn't manage to get too much tidied up in the house but, after lunch, the mess was cleaned up and the house looks neat.
I visited the Munday family and left the draft copies of the Funeral leaflet with them and then called to see my parents - it was almost a family reunion - my brother Sean and his family were there and my sister Michele and her family were there as well.
But now the day is over and I'm heading for bed - hopefully a better nights sleep because I have a big week next week.
Sunday, 8th
There weren't too many at Mass this morning (nor this evening either) - I'm not certain what is happening. It almost seems as if there is a decision by the families at School not to come to Mass - but that is complete conjecture as I've not really spoken to anyone about it.
I collected Rory on my way to Maydena and drove down past the Manning's property on Cawthorns Lane - until I arrived at a car parked across the road. I contacted the Police Radio Room and it was gone by the time we came back. I also managed to take with me the agreements with the two Health Department units for the use of the Maydena Parish House to give to Jack as well as his (and his sons) winnings for the Football Competition last week.
This afternoon I headed to town to see Richard and Bev. Richard is markedly better than on Friday with much less congestion and he seemed less stressed by what was going on. Bev is still struggling but very much on the down hill at this time. I spent a few minutes talking to Ian as I left and encouraged him to keep doing what he is doing - being there for her.
As I said above there weren't too many at the evening Mass tonight so I've made myself some tea and partially printed the funeral leaflet and now I'm heading upstairs to watch Seachange and then I'm off to bed.
Monday, 9th
After the 9am Mass this morning I headed for the Graham Family Chapel for the funeral of the late Bill Murray - originally due to be a private & small family affair there were a large number of friends also there. Geoff, one of the osns, has asked that I miught be available to assist the famly at the scattering of his ashes at a later stage which will be a more public event.
From New Town it was a quick dash home to be here for the first of the Journey programs - I made it with a minute to spare. The session went well - we are keeping up our numbers which is quite surprising for a program that is taking up 40 weeks this year on the O.T. and then 40 weeks next year for the N.T. study.
This afternoon I called to see some friends and spent some time working with them on another aspect of the ITIM Program for the future but we haven't got too far yet - thar will have to come with further discussion.
Now it is time for bed.
Tuesday, 10th
After Mass this morning I headed down to school for a celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation with Grade 3. The children were really good and it was a wonderful celebration.
From there I then headed to town to celebrate Mass at Sacred Heart with one of the Junior Primary Classes - it was another opportunity for me to be part of another of our great Schools. I will miss out on the opening ceremony for the new Activity Centre at Sacred Heart on Friday night as I will be in Launceston for a wedding rehearsal so being there today was important for me.
This afternoon I worked on the preparations for the Business Morning Tea tomorrow - I had to fax details of the businesses which hadn't replied to Mary down at school who was going to check with them; the cooking of the sponges took time and caused some little problems as I was also trying to send an email with the wedding ceremony to Launceston and the older version of Publisher wouldn't start. I tried to reinstall three times but one font would load and the program refuses to read the file even when the font is installed from another file.
I've just returned from a wonderful meal with some friends at an Italian Restaurant in Battery Point. We had a wonderful time and it is not yet midnight so I am in bed reasonably early for the start in the morning.
Wednesday, 11th
The Morning Tea went well - everything completed by 9am; everything that is except the morning teas that were ordered for the Royal Derwent Admin. section. Normally they have their Morning Teas on Thursday but this time they asked for a Wednesday delivery and we had to work quickly to ensure that it was all prepared. The best thing about it was that I won't have to worry about the whole thing tomorrow.
I checked my email this morning and found a message and photo of Zoe Wye, the surviving child of Andrew & Kris Wye. Almost 6 months ago I celebrated the funerals of Gabrielle & Ryan, her brother and sister, and for some time Zoe it looked as if her fight to live might fail as well but she is now a healthy and growing child. As I am travelling to Launceston this weekend I am now going to be able to visit them and meet this little fighter and say hello to Andrew & Kris as well.
I then headed down to school at Morning Tea time to check with Sr Janet about the Reconciliation ceremony and rehearsal for the Confirmation for tonight (which has just finished). Everything was ready so there were no difficulties about that - everything worked well tonight as well.
After Mass at Midday I headed for town to a meeting at the TCC office to look at people who might help in promoting the work of the Christmas Bowl appeal. There are a number of possibilities and we will be contacting people in the next week or so to see whether they might be able to assist us as Christmas approaches.
From there I visited the Hospital to see Richard Voss - he was looking much better - in fact he was sitting up holding his grandchild (assisted) and seemed in much better spirit than on Sunday when I had lasted visited him. From there I headed off to St John's to see Bev and managed to chat to her daughter Peta and met Bev's sister and chatted with them for a while.
Everything is now completed and I'm heading for bed.
Thursday, 12th
After Mass this morning I virtually had some time off. But before I headed out there were some things that I had to do.
I dropped off the morning tea for Pat down at school and met Peta who was just heading to the hospital to see her mother, Bev, whom I have been visiting during these past weeks - the family have been called in as she has gone down over night.
I headed for town to see her as well and after Anointing her I spent some time with the family before heading off; in the passage way I met the aunt of a girl whose wedding I had celebrated last year - her husband Ray is also in St John's so I went with her to say hello - sadly he got a shock when he saw me because he thought that I had been called to see him because he was more seriously ill than he thought. It took some talking to convince him otherwise.
I then headed down the country for a quiet drive and a sit beside the Huon River where I dozed for some time - in a peaceful and beautiful setting. I had some lunch before coming back to town and having a meal with some friends.
I've just got home - after going to the Jane Franklin College Council meeting which wasn't on so I will have to ring tomorrow and find out if I have missed the meeting or whether it is on next week.
I also called into the hospital to see both Bev and Ray - Bev is still going down but Ray was asleep so I didn't have to convince him of anything else. Now for bed as I have a busy morning tomorrow before heading for Launceston for the wedding rehearsal tomorrow evening.
Friday, 13th
Mass this morning was at 9am and things really got going. I had a meeting with Sr Lorraine immediately after Mass and a whole lot of things started happening because when I rang the hospital to learn how Bev had got on through the night I learned that she had died at 6.30am this morning. It is a happy release. Through a whole range of circumstances the funeral will be celebrated at Glenorchy by Fr Bill Egan, a previous pastor of New Norfolk and friend of the family. I left a message on the Rumley's answer machine but haven't heard back yet.
By the time everything else was finished and I had made a trip to Claremont to help with the installation of an update of the Grapevine program I had managed to lose most of the morning. The newsletter is printed and ready, although the edition for the web will have to be done when I return on Sunday from Launceston.
The breakfast details are all completed - we only have 25 or so coming which is a bit less than what I would have hoped but we'll get away with it. I'll be seeing Brian Harradine in Launceston tomorrow so I'll be able to give him updated figures on who is coming.
After lunch I headed for Launceston for the wedding rehearsal for Melissa and Adrian. It was a great preparation for their marriage tomorrow and made even better by the fact that everyone was on edge getting ready for the surprise 50th birthday party for Margaret, Melissa's mother which took place immediately after the rehearsal.
I also managed to update both Computers at the Apostles Presbytery with Y2K programs as well as add the Office Service Pack. Now for bed.
Saturday, 14th
This morning I found that some 'clown' (a polite description) had bashed into the side of my car during the night as it was parked outside the presbytery in Launceston. The damage isn't great just completely frustrating.
This morning I drove out to Robigana to visit Andrew, Kris & little Zoe - they are all in great form. I was also lucky enough to meet Andrew's parents who returned to Perth, WA this evening. It is a lovely part of the Tamar Valley and I'm sorry that I didn't have time to do the tour of the Wineries along the way - I'll have to think about that for later in the year.
The wedding this afternoon was a great celebration with two wonderful families joining together. I've just got back to the Church of Apostles Presbytery and joined the two Terry's and Archbishop Doyle in a coffee and chat as we watched the final part of the football.
Time for bed because I will need to be up early to get back to New Norfolk for Mass in the morning.
Sunday. 15th
Travelling back to Hobart from Launceston where I had spent the past two nights was uneventful (for me at least). There was only very light traffic but there were two burnt out cars just south of Jericho, some 2 kilometres apart - strange.
I jumped into the shower to freshen up and missed Fr Denis Allen ringing (I got the message on my mobile) to say that Richard Voss had died this morning. I rang his wife Bev and offered our prayers and condolences - he has been a great man for the Archdiocese as our Financial Administrator for the past 15 years or so and will be greatly missed. He has been a wonderful friend and mentor for me in my different roles in the life of the Church in Hobart.
Shortly after that Ruby arrived and started to make some sandwiches for the Soup and Sandwich luncheon which followed the Mass this morning. The Luncheon was held to raise funds for Sr Lorraine's petrol account to assist her in her work - I haven't seen the final total but it was in excess of $200. A good start but ....
After luncheon I visited the Rumley family to see them after Bev's death on Friday. I hadn't been able to contact them since Friday morning so I spent some time working through the Liturgy for Bev's Funeral Mass on Wednesday. They didn't manage to complete the booklet today so they will be around tomorrow morning to finish off the work.
The evening Mass was reasonably well attended tonight considering that many of the people were at the morning Mass. Now it is time for bed - I will be starting early for the FOUNDATION 2010 Breakfast - at this stage I am just a little bit nervous about the whole thing.
Monday, 16th
The FOUNDATION 2010 Breakfast went well this morning and Senator Brian Harradine has agreed to also launch the program into the Sydney Region. We are to have a breakdown meeting tomorrow afternoon to look at some of the points for improvement and to investigate ways to broaden the range of people who will be invited to future Breakfasts.
A quick dash home for the Morning Mass was followed by some work with the family of the late Bev Rumley as we prepared the booklet for her funeral on Wednesday. The family had just left when it was time for the first of the two Journey Sessions for the day. That was not as well attended as usual but the people who weren't there had said that might be missing this week.
After lunch saw me working on the certificates for the Confirmation Ceremony this coming Friday - most of the certificates are done - I'll just need to check tomorrow to ensure that there are no mistakes.
Tonight's Journey session has just finished and I'm heading for bed - these past few days have been long and I'm fairly tired. The whole of this coming week is going to be busy in lot's of different ways.
Tuesday, 17th
After the 9am Mass this morning I headed down to School to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation with the Gr. 5 children. It is always interesting to see children celebrating and to recognise their different talents and fears. I stayed for morning tea and confirmed some of the final details for the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation on Friday night. I returned to the house to complete the work on the Confirmation Certificates - this took longer than I expected as I had made a couple of mistakes in entering data in the first place.
After lunch I headed for town to attend a meeting at the ITIM office reviewing yesterdays FOUNDATION 2010 breakfast. We have set out a plan of action which will involve further groups of people and follow-up directed at those who were invited and who were not able to attend.
I wasn't home long before Fr Bill Egan arrived to talk about the funeral tomorrow of the late Bev Rumley. Not long after he had left Bev's sister arrived to look at some other details which needed to be finalised - I think most things are ready and we are on our way.
We have just completed this month's meeting of the Parish Pastoral Council. High on the agenda was the Parish Assembly on the 28th - most things have been finalised but as always we will need to make an extra effort to encourage people to be part of the process which will occur over the next year or so as Archbishop Doyle addresses the problems set to confront the Church in Tasmania in the next decade.
Now for bed.
Wednesday, 18th
This morning, after celebrating Mass at 9am, I headed for Glenorchy (via the TV repair man to drop off the video recorder that needs cleaning) to concelebrate the funeral Mass for the late Bev Rumley. There was a large crowd who attended the funeral but there were four eulogies - well two major eulogies and two reflections by members of the family - which meant that the whole of the ceremony lasted almost two hours. It was a wonderful celebration but just a little long.
It meant that as the funeral finished the Funeral Mass at the Cathedral for the late Richard Voss, the Diocesan Financial Administrator, who died on Sunday had started as we were just finishing. I managed to get there for the homily and for the majority of the celebration for Richard so that was important.
After Richard's Mass I went down to Sandy Bay to spend time with the Rumley family at the wake before returning to the Graham Family for the refreshments after Richard's internment. I was lucky to be able to do both.
From there is was a dash back to New Norfolk with only a short time before I was due to go to the Board meeting for the School. I worked on some jpg images for the school for use in the Confirmation Booklet that will be produced for the ceremony on Friday night - a little later than they should have been down at school but hopefully better late than ever.
The Board meting at Tynwald Park was a short meeting before we enjoyed a wonderful meal to thank Greg Hudson, accompanied by his wife Cheryl, for his time on the Board and for his 17 years as Board Chairman. There was lot's of reminiscences and stories and an enjoyable night was had by all.
Today is now nearly ended so it is time for bed.
Thursday, 19th
Today is Ruby's birthday so I have made her a card and as we celebrated Mass this morning we shared in her special day.
After Mass this morning I completed some work for the Christian Leaders Association (which actually didn't meet because of the unavailability of two of the members) before working on material for the newsletter for this weekend and taking some material for the Confirmation program down to School.
From there I headed for St Canice, the site of the Diocesan Offices, for the Launch, by Archbishop Doyle and the Premier, of the Community Action Plan for the Archdiocese. The plan is an attempt to acknowledge the fact that the Church is the 2nd largest employer, after the Government, in the state and to explore ways of increasing the number of people who can be employed by creatively looking at the way part-time work/portion of full time employment can be spread through the local communities and schools, etc. It is hoped that the Archdiocese, and it's agencies and associated bodies, might be able to increase their wages budget by 2% thus providing employment of 100 people in the first year. The launch was followed by lunch in the Willson Training Centre complex with an opportunity to talk to people from various areas of the local community.
From there it was off to the Cathedral for the funeral of the late Betty Picot. Betty was a long time parishioner of the Cathedral. Her son, John, is the Caritas Australia representative in Hobart and a senior member of the staff of the Catholic Development Fund. It was very difficult for John and his wife Rael yesterday as they gathered with the other members of the Office to farewell their boss and friend Richard and to return today to farewell John's mother - but they are all faith people and a wonderful group of friends. It was a great and fitting celebration for a wonderful and faithful lady.
I then traveled to St John's Hospital to see some people, managed to catch one and missed the other but will try again after the weekend. I called to see Kati and wish her Happy Birthday for yesterday and to see how she is getting on as she moves through the last few days of her first pregnancy - she is ready to give birth so now I wait for the 'delivery' notice.
I was due to go to a meeting in town tonight but I am so tired that I have decided to hit the sack early - I fell asleep during the funeral (and we were only there for 70 minutes) and then struggled on the way home to stay focussed. So now I am heading for bed.
Friday, 20th
The main focus of all our efforts today has been the Mass for the Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation tonight. The efforts were well worthwhile as everything went smoothly and it was a wonderful celebration. Earlier in the afternoon I had lunch with + Adrian at the Parish House before going down to school to meet the candidates and the others in their class as well as wandering around the school to say hello to a few people. Today was also the first occasion that we have been able to welcome Archbishop Doyle to the Parish since his appointment as the 10th Archbishop of Hobart.
Today was also significant because it marked the day, 24 years ago, when I was ordained to the Priesthood by the late Archbishop Guilford Young. With everything else that is happening I will be marking the anniversary with my brother priests, parishioners and friends tomorrow with lunch for the clergy and an at home tomorrow night for friends.
The newsletter has been completed (both editions) except for the inclusion of the name of the winner of our footy competition - the game is still on so I will wait until morning to get the results.
Everything else is finished so I'll just head for bed and a good nights sleep.
Saturday, 21st
The Prayer Breakfast went well with 10 people from the local denominations gathering to share a time of reflection and prayer - the porridge even cooked without being lumpy.
I started the cooking of the meat for lunch at 7am on a very low oven and increased the temp just before leaving for Hayes to say Mass. Rory was the only one there - it seems that the others are still not ready to come.
When I got back I put everything else on to cook and the meal turned out really well - there wasn't a great deal of anything left over which meant that something worked out well. The tidying up after lunch took the longest time but I managed to sit down and fall asleep for a short time before people started arriving for the 'at-home' for my ordination anniversary.
It was a good group who gathered - a mixture of parishioners and friends from around the place. I spoke to some of them as part of remote plans for next year for the Silver Jubilee Celebrations.
But now it is time for bed.
Sunday, 22nd
Not long after I'd posted this mornings Daily Notes & News I got a phone call asking that the Baptism scheduled for 1pm be postponed so that meant that my hectic schedule for the day had just become a little easier.
So after the morning Mass here at New Norfolk I headed for Ellendale to celebrate with the wonderful little community up there. There was a good crowd with people from Ouse and even out towards Bothwell at Mass. I didn't have lots of time so I headed back via the long road over Meadowbank Dam to show Rory a different side of the Valley before dropping him back at Hayes.
After a quick bite to eat I headed for Claremont for the Baptism of Allegra DiSaia at 2pm. We started a little bit late because there was another Baptism in the Parish but I was still able to get to see Jeannette Gregg, the daughter of the late Walter Wilson, to make arrangements for the funeral which will be celebrated tomorrow.
The drive home was difficult because I was heading into the setting sun and I almost fell asleep just before I got to New Norfolk so I stopped for a couple of minutes before getting home in time to prepare for the evening Mass.
I've just finished the evening Mass and had some cold lamb on toast for tea and now I am heading for bed. The leaflet for the funeral I will do tomorrow morning.
Monday, 23rd
Mass this morning was at 9am and I then spent some time completing the funeral leaflet and Big Book for the funeral of the late Walter (Val) Wilson. The service, later in the afternoon, went well although there was only a few people in attendance because he had been alone for some time after his wife Vera died and the majority of his relatives live either on the mainland or in the North of the State. He was cared for by a lovely neighbour who has lived in the area for over thirty years.
At the first of the two Journey sessions today Sr Denise handed out a new timetable for the remainder of the year - after next Monday's sessions we have a month off. I'm not certain what I will do with my Mondays during that time. The session tonight was again well attended and the team seems to be enjoying the process and feeling comfortable in discussing the material.
Just before leaving to celebrate the funeral I had a call from Graham's asking whether I might be able to assist at another funeral on Wednesday for the late Raymond Rollins. After agreeing I arranged to meet his son early this afternoon and as we talked I learnt that he had grown up in Claremont on the Cadbury's Estate and actually lived in the house my brother bought in the early 80's - small world we live in.
Before I returned to spend time with Jeannette, daughter of the late 'Val' Wilson, I visited the hospital to meet Isabel Sophie Dunn, the daughter of a good friend, Kati, and 1st granddaughter of my friend Eva. They are both well and the family is looking forward to going home.
The second session of Journey is ended and it is time for bed - hopefully another good nights sleep.
Tuesday, 24th
I celebrated two Masses this morning. The first was my normal morning Mass at 9am followed by a Mass at Sacred Heart - my second favourite school - at 11 am. When I read the material prepared by the staff I must admit that I only looked at the theme and the readings without really looking at everything else - I headed off and looked at the pages as I arrived at school and my thought that it was a Gr. 7 class was based on the front page of the fax. It read 7 all right but that was the number of pages not the Year group - the Mass was actually for two of the Gr. 3 classes - the Gr. 7 Mass is on Friday.
The Gr. 3 children where really good - sitting for some time is not always easy - but they did and I was impressed with them. I was going to wander off but found that some friends were going for lunch so I joined them in a cafe in North Hobart.
From there I headed for Graham Family Funerals to sign some paperwork (and without really reading the note that came with it) I signed in the first part - in the long term it doesn't really matter but it just meant that I should read notes before doing things. A quick visit to Mum and Dad on the way home meant that I finally caught up with them after several weeks of only speaking to them by phone.
I've just returned home from having a meal with another group of friends who are a great bunch who get together for birthdays, etc. We had a really good time at the Boardwalk bistro at Wrest Point - a simple adventure but good.
Now it is time for bed.
Wednesday, 25th
My first Parish role this morning was Mass at 9am before travelling to the Graham Family Chapel for the funeral of the late Raymond Rollins. When talking to people regarding family and relatives they nearly always give just first names of brothers and sisters - it was with some surprise that as the members of the family gathered I knew many of them from various parishes I have lived in through the years. From the Chapel we went to Cornelian Bay for a reopening of the family grave for internment with his wife, Sheila. Since the majority of the family were from interstate there was only a simple family gathering after the service.
I then headed back to New Norfolk to meet with the family of the late Wes Ball. Wes died early this morning and his funeral will be celebrated on Friday here at St Peter's. His grandchildren are working on the funeral booklet which they will email to me for any final additions before it gets printed later tomorrow or early Friday.
I've just returned from Bellerive Parish where I assisted in the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation with the young people of the Parish and their families as they prepare for another step in their faith journey. There was a good crowd and a wonderful celebration for the young people - there was a similar celebration for another group there last night which also went well.
Time for bed as I am heading off early in the morning to get my car serviced.
Thursday, 26th
This morning started early with a trip to town to get the car serviced. I then went off to borrow a car from a friend who starts work early so that I could get around until later in the day.
When I got home I worked on the newsletter and the calendar for September, at least I started on them. I also completed the recording of the Confirmation Information from last Friday night and will post the remaining information to the Parishes of Baptism tomorrow morning.
After collecting the car I went to Corporate Communications to sign letters to be sent to those invitees to the FOUNDATION 2010 meeting who were not able to attend the first Breakfast recently with information regarding the 5 Questions program. Hopefully this further contact might lead them to possibly considering an invitation to future Breakfasts.
Corporate Communications is in the same building as the Catholic Development Fund and Catholic Book Centre so I went in and said hello to people. The staff of the CDF were clearing some of the material from Richard Voss' office - there was an obvious air of sadness and most of them were struggling. I only stayed a short time before heading into the Bookshop to say hello and see how they were getting on.
I then headed off to the Cathedral to see if there was anything I could do to help in the preparations for the installation of Archbishop Adrian Doyle as the 10th Archbishop of Hobart. Everything was well in hand so I headed up to the Cathedral Presbytery to greet any one who arrived early.
There was an enjoyable meal with the bishops who had arrived for the celebration. +Adrian announced that Fr Peter Nicholls, PP of Devonport, is his first Vicar General and Fr Terry Rush, PP of Richmond, is his first Chancellor. Peter will continue to live in Devonport and be available to assist +Adrian in the running of the Diocese and Terry will be the liaison between the Bishop and the agencies of the Church.
I've just returned home from this very special moment that we have been waiting for since November 1997 when it was announced that he had been appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Hobart. It was a really great celebration for +Adrian and the Church as well as a time of thanksgiving for the work done by Archbishop D'Arcy during his 11 years in Tasmania.
The only sour note to the evening was that in my rush and haste I didn't check that Jaimee Hastie, the young parishioner who joined me to be presented to the new Archbishop, was left without transport home after her classmate & family decided to stay in town overnight - I had thought, from a conversation several days ago, that they were all travelling home together. A minor hiccup but Jaimee was a little bit worried but everything worked out in the end.
I'm now heading for bed - a little concerned that I haven't heard anything from the Ball family regarding the ceremony and details for the funeral tomorrow. Some phone calls in the morning look to be a wise move.
Friday, 27th
Today didn't start too well because I didn't have the material for the cover of the leaflet for the funeral of the late Wes Ball. After several phone calls and completing the 9am Mass here at New Norfolk, a Mass for the Gr. 7 students at Sacred Heart I arrived home with a photo which still hadn't been scanned and only just over an hour to complete everything as well as print the twenty or so colour covers for the family booklets. I managed to get it all completed as well as a reference to go with a nomination for the Young Tasmanian of the Year and still get to the Church on time.
I arrived home from the internment at Malbina Cemetery with only a very short time before I had to head back to town for a briefing meeting on the Community Action Plan - the Archdiocesan plan looking at raising the possibility of creating extra employment potential through pooling of resources. It was a useful meeting with several possibilities that might be followed through.
I've just returned from the School Concert where once again the children of St Brigid's have entertained the local community and done it very well indeed. There was a gathering of the staff and partners at the Duggan's place - I came home early after a very enjoyable end to a long and hectic week.
Now for bed.
Saturday, 28th
Today started nicely with a gentle rise from my bed and not too much effort spent through the morning except for some work on the newsletter. I prepared some lunch for (Fr) Arthur Shelverton from Claremont, Mary Walsh from Kingston and Jo Elliott from Bridgewater-Brighton Parishes who were the facilitators for our Parish Assembly. I didn't check to see if people had any difficulties with food and found that Mary is allergic to garlic so she had a pasta dish only.
The Assembly went well (32 people attended) with quite a deal of very active participation from those who were there. There is a PPC Meeting next Thursday where some of the possibilities for the future will be discussed.
I've just returned from attending the play 'Same Time Next Year' with some friends. It was a great production and I really enjoyed the show - I'll look to see if I can get the video to watch at some time as I suspect that it also will be good.
Now for bed.
Sunday, 29th
On my way to the Bronte Park Highland Village to celebrate Mass at the Chalet I collected Rory from Hayes and Ellen & Enid from Ouse - it really is helpful to have people with you when you are driving to and fro from a country Mass - especially when you are driving 120 kms each way. There wasn't a large crowd there but it was a good crowd.
Mass today here at New Norfolk had good music and singing - I don't know why (supposed I really do) - but when people enjoy singing then the celebration seems to be that much better. I've just returned from the Combined Churches Ecumenical Service at The Salvation Army where the singing, mainly by their youth group, was really excellent. There was a wonderful feeling amongst the people who gathered and the whole celebration was good.
Now for bed.
Monday, 30th
Today my twins sisters celebrated their birthday - I can remember vividly the night dad came home from hospital to tell us (5 boys) that we had twins sisters - it was a great night and they have been special people in our family. I've been trying out a new animated email greeting package and had hoped to be able to send them a card for their birthday but as you will see the day didn't work out as I had planned.
As far as I knew today was going to be a reasonably quiet day - other than the two sessions of the Journey program there was nothing else in the diary. Straight after Mass that all changed.
The phone rang to say Ray Brindle, the husband of one of the Adam's girls had died in St John's Hospital. I had called to see him a few times in the past few weeks, especially whilst visiting the late Bev Rumley, and he had been on my list of people to visit this coming week. I left for town immediately and spent some time with the family at the hospital and then later caught up with them at Glenorchy to talk about the arrangements for the funeral to be celebrated on Wednesday afternoon.
I got home in time for the Journey program and everything went well there. After having a quick bite to eat I visited the District Hospital to see Dick Shepherd and Eileen Taylor - after having missed Eileen for the past couple of weeks.
I wasn't long back from seeing Trish Brindle and her family when the front door bell rang and a family had arrived to arrange a Baptism. They hadn't long been gone when Sr Lorraine called in on the way back from the Haven, the centre where the Kosovo refugees are being housed. She collected some letterheads to prepare for the Ellendale Fair next month.
I started working on the funeral booklet for Wednesday and the doorbell rang and my appointment for Wednesday night had arrived. During my time with Russ (an hour) the phone rang to tell me that Michael Ogden, a young doctor whose wedding I co-witnessed with a Salvation Army Captain several years ago, has died from MS. His funeral will probably be celebrated on Thursday at the Salvation Army Hall in Moonah where he and Kareena were married. By 7.30pm the people for the Journey program arrived and the next stage of the night started.
Everyone has just left. I've rung the Salvation Army Captain at Moonah to offer any help that I can provide for Michael's funeral and I've spoken to Kareena and now I'm heading for bed - so much for my quiet day. I'll try to get the twins emails off tomorrow.
Tuesday, 31st
After working on the booklet for the funeral of the late Ray Brindle I went down to school to say hello and to make arrangements for a memorial service for the late Bev Rumley. Unfortunately the service will need to be held over for a little while as members of her family are not available at this time. More details later.
I then travelled to Kingston to see Trish Brindle, her daughter and sisters to present them with the format for the funeral liturgy tomorrow. We finalised the arrangements and have everything ready (except my big book) for tomorrow.
On the way home I called to see Julie Hince at Millingtons Funeral Home to help her with a leaflet for a funeral they are doing tomorrow - just the outline as the family wanted a leaflet and the priest didn't see any need to have one so they were having some difficulty knowing what to do. I also called to see the staff at Grahams to drop off a computer hardware price list that I had collected from Computers + More where I had purchased some CD's for back-up work that I am completing.
I've just returned from Moonah where I joined with other priests of the area and the people of Moonah to celebrate the silver jubilee of Ordination of Fr John Shallvey MSC. It was a great night and I'm pleased that there were a few of us able to join John for this special celebration.
Now for bed.
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