Mass this morning had a much larger number that I had expected for the start of the New Year so that was good.
The Parish Database program has a Y2K problem - the default date is 1900 so I emailed the author of the program to tell him of the fault - I haven't heard back yet it so will see tomorrow whether he also found the problem.
I worked on the hard copy of the newsletter for this weekend - will have to look at the web edition tomorrow.
+Eric and Clem Kilby came for lunch today. Clem had been awarded the honour of being WIN Television's Citizen of the Century for Tasmania during the New Year's Eve celebrations and I had completely missed it. We sat and talked over lunch for a while before I cleaned up and sat down to relax.
I then headed for town to join some friends at the Taste of Tasmania - an annual event showcasing the pick of Tasmanian Foods and Wines and always a great event. The food I had was good and the wine wasn't bad either but now I am ready for bed. Today has been a long day - mainly because it was the day after the night before.
The normal Mass at 9am was well attended which was a little bit unexpected because of the people who had been celebrating New Year's Eve and who might have wanted to spend a morning in bed.
This afternoon I celebrated the baptism of three children from the one family before getting ready for Mick and Allyson's wedding at 4pm and then the evening Mass which was less well attended but still a good celebration.
The wedding went well although both Mick & Allyson were as nervous as anything. I've just arrived home from the reception that was held in the Stewart's backyard and which was a wonderful time - both families are lovely people and it was good to celebrate something nice because the past year has not been too kind to them with two deaths that took a great deal out the families.
Now for that early night.
The rest of today has been a quiet day - I watched a bit of cricket; posted the weekend's newsletter to the web a little bit late and went for a drive with some friends from up North to show them around the Parish this afternoon.
It has been a quiet day with the phone ringing three times all day so I'm heading for bed for another early night - I could take a lot of this.
I've just returned from a BBQ for some former parishioners who now live in Goulburn in NSW - it was a good night with lot's of stories being told - all the better for not having to worry too much about the truth in the telling.
Now for an early night.
After lunch I came home and worked on the marriage booklet and final papers for the rehearsal at St Canice for the marriage on Saturday afternoon.
I've just returned from the rehearsal and am going to head for bed and another early night.
Today I also cooked the fruit cake that will form the basis of the Australia Day Cake raffle which, I hope, will have a chance to be sold as a raffle on the High Street the week before the Fair so that people will know that the Fair is on.
I've managed to complete the majority of the newsletter so that was good because I needed to be around for the day as two young guys from the security company worked to put in the security system for the Parish House and taking time to check that everything worked and that I knew what to do - so far so good. Waking in the morning remembering to turn it off will be the test.
I've organised my two trips to Melbourne for ITIM meetings in January and February but will need to get onto the flights to Sydney for the CWS meeting in February so time in the next few days to make all of that happen.
Now for bed - and hopefully a good nights sleep.
After Mass here at St Peter's I headed for Corumbene Nursing home to celebrate Mass for the residents before taking Communion to a patient in the local Hospital - it has taken me quite some time to get into a routine but, thankfully, I think that it has finally happened.
I worked away at some paper work that needed to be completed before heading off to attend the funeral of the late Rebecca Reid, a 21 year old who died of leukemia. Her family had arrived in Glenorchy whilst I was there and I had visited her brother Daniel who was a passenger in a fatal car accident late last year. Paul and Monica, her parents, are also great friends of Linda and Michael Callinan, two of my closest friends.
Fortunately, or otherwise, I called into Graham Family Funerals on the way home and arrived in time to watch Travis Tann have his head shaved for raising funds for CanTeen - and there were several of the people who had been involved in Rebecca's funeral there to be part of his efforts. After Christina Ramsay, a cancer patient had finished the main shaving I 'helped' with the closer shaving with the shaver - she didn't feel too comfortable with it, neither for that matter was Travis. He raised well over $1,100 so it was a good effort.
I've just arrived home after deciding that going out tonight was just a little too much so I'm heading for bed and an early night.
It has been a wonderful day - sunny and warm without being too hot and everything went well as far as the ceremony and reception went ( if you don't count the fact that both of the flower arrangements toppled over at some stage and were just a little unbalanced which meant that they wouldn't stand up after toppling).
I've just arrived home without having had a chance to see my parents so it looks like tomorrow might be the day to see them. But now for bed and a good nights rest.
I was only home for a short time from the Baptism when some friends arrived and had afternoon tea and by the time they left it was time for the Evening Mass which only had a few people there (although it was better than I expected).
Tonight is quiet so I will have an early night.
I went to visit an old timer of the community and enjoyed an hour of conversation that was really wonderful - sadly his cancer has spread and it is nearing the end of his journey. He goes into the District Hospital on Wednesday and is unlikely to come out again.
I then travelled up to Ellendale to see Sandy Vanbrugh to make some arrangements for her husband Peter's funeral which will be celebrated sometime later in the week - I've got some photo's but I'm not certain that they are going to work that well.
I've just got home after stopping at Sr Lorraine's and catching up with the last members of the group that were working away at some craft activities in preparation for the Parish Fair that is coming up on Australia Day.It has been a lovely hot day but I'm exhausted and I'm heading for bed.
The paper work for the wedding on Saturday went OK so that was good and I've just finished the rehearsal so that's out of the way - just a couple of things that I have to remember to include in the big book I'll do later in the week for the to include in the ceremony.
Now it is time for bed - not much seemed to happen as today unfolded but when I look back I managed to get a few things done.
Then it headed for Glenorchy to attend the funeral of the late Fred Dobber. Fred was one of the original Catholic members of the Tasmanian Council of Churches as well as being an active part of the Glenorchy Parish Community.. His son Paul is currently Convenor of the World Justice and Development Commission and daughter-in-law Rosemary is the Vice President of the Council. Ecumenism is part of their family story so being there today was, for me, an acknowledgement of a wonderful life for the Church. There were a whole range of groups represented and it was good to be there.
I then met up with Maureen Bennett at Granton as she presented the owner of the York Hotel with some information about the history of the place and some of the story of the original owner/builder. We had a bite to eat at Berriedale before she headed off to see some people around the place and I went to visit Mum and D whom I hadn't seen for a week or two.
I then came home and had a little bit of time before a meeting of the Fair Committee which is looking at final details for the Parish Fair on Australia Day.
Part of the way through the meeting I got a phone call which meant that the meeting has finished and everyone has left and I sitting here by myself with nothing left to do except to go to bed - with the fan working flat out to keep the place cool.
I then went to Centacare for a morning tea at 10am to honour Fr Clem Kilby who was awarded the WIN Television Citizen of the Century for Tasmania on New Years Eve. There was a good gathering of Clem's friends there to celebrate his win so it was good to be invited. Late this afternoon I also got a phone call asking whether the Clergy lunch for the 5th February might be moved to Centacare as it is the celebration for Clem's 70th birthday - another milestone and I doubt if there will be any difficulty about the change of venue.
I arrived home for the midday Mass and then spent a little bit of time talking to Sandy Cowling - today was her 32nd wedding anniversary and the first since Harry died in the latter part of last year. Most of her family, who had stayed around after Christmas, have left in the past few days so she was home by herself this afternoon.
I then spent time on the printing of the raffle tickets for the Australia Day Cake, as well as fixing some posters to go around the town advertising the Fair - most of them were delivered this afternoon but I still have a few more to deliver tomorrow. I also worked on a page to be included with the newsletter this weekend and have just finished printing the leaflet, with the colour cover, for the funeral tomorrow.
It is so hot that I'm now heading upstairs with a cool drink and the fan and hoping for a reasonable night's sleep.
I then came home and worked on both the big books for things over the next two days. I printed the Big Book I for use at the funeral of the late Peter Vanbrugh this afternoon - that took a little bit of time but it worked out all right. The funeral also was well attended - Sandy and members of Peter's family who had managed to come down from Queensland as well as the people of Ellendale seemed happy about our farewell for Peter.
Also this morning I had completed most of the newsletter for this weekend and when I returned from the funeral I was able to add the finishing touches to it so that it is now printed and stapled - especially important as there is the Prayer Breakfast in the morning and I can hand deliver them to the appropriate people there.
The Big Book for the wedding tomorrow is also finished - the family have just been in to fix the flowers in the Church and everything is now ready for tomorrow.
It has been a hot and humid day and I need to go to bed with a big drink of cold water to see if I can get a good night's sleep.
The Prayer Breakfast went well with slightly more people than in the recent past being there. It was also good for the Salvation Army Officers to come - Bruce & Diane Stevens look as if they will fit into the community well.
After breakfast I headed of to Hayes for a visit but didn't stay too long - I had forgotten to phone yesterday to let them know I was coming so no-one was really around. I've set it up so that I will get a list of dates put up so that people know that I am coming.
Lunch today was at Moonah so I headed off there after calling in to see Mum and Dad on the way. They are both well and seem to be coping with the heat although I doubt whether anyone is really OK Lunch was a pleasant affair with John Shallvey again proving to be a good host.
I then headed home to get ready for the wedding - it was so hot and muggy that people were really glad when the ceremony was over so that they could get outside to enjoy the cool breeze. I went to the reception and sat at a really good table and had an enjoyable night. The same photographer who had taken so long with photo's last weekend was in the gun again tonight - the ceremony was at 4pm and the bridal couple got to the reception at 7.24pm. Just a little bit too long for people to be waiting for the bridal party, especially when the reception was due to start at 6pm.
I'm now home and ready for bed - the fan has been on for some time and, hopefully, has made a difference.
The trip to Hamilton after the morning Mass here at New Norfolk reminded me that the whole of the countryside is suffering from this dry spell - the grass is absolutely yellow. The heat in the Church at Hamilton was fairly oppressive and resulted in one of the parishioners having a severe fainting attack. It was rather unfortunate because she was sitting just in front of Sandy Vanbrugh whose husband Peter dropped dead of a heart attack last Sunday so I decided that calling an ambulance was a safe bet. Although she recovered quickly the paramedic suggested she go to her local doctor tomorrow because of a similar episode a few days ago which might suggest blood pressure problems that could get worse if untreated.
I then headed up to the Ouse Hospital to see Alby Goggins, one of the Bothwell faithful, but he had transferred to the Royal Hobart Hospital during the week so I will need to follow that up tomorrow.
When I got back from the country I only had a short time before the baptism of the grandson of the late Patti Gilbert. It was different without any of the older generation being around but it was good to catch up with the family in better circumstances that a few months ago.
I wasn't home long before some friends arrived whom I hadn't seen in almost 6 years. They stayed for a coffee before Mass - we are going to get together tomorrow to see some more of the countryside so I'm looking forward to that.
I've just returned from a walk through the town - I've decided that I really do need to do some exercise and tonight was the first night. I'm going to try to walk a couple of mornings this week as well as a night or two.
Now, however, it is time for bed.
I've just returned from an enjoyable meal with John Williams to celebrate his birthday (which is tomorrow). Over the past few years he has gathered together a group of friends to at Lindisfarne and it has been a good night - tonight it was at Penna and there were only the four of us which is smaller than usual.
Tomorrow is going to be a long day so I'm heading for bed and, hopefully, a quiet night.
It has been a full day. It started with me buying some software at a computer sale and then arriving at St Canice, the centre containing the Archbishop's Office, to chair the seminar on Homiletics presented by Fr John Melloh, an American priest who is here as part of the Australian Academy of Liturgy Conference which also started today. He was excellent and provided a whole new way of thinking about the homily and the process of preparing to Break Open the Word of God.
After the seminar I drove John to the cathedral Presbytery to change and then we headed off to Jane Franklin Hall, the setting for the Liturgy Conference. The opening session was a forum of seven people looking at issues of Ritual in the Public arena - asking what were the needs of the people involved, how were these needs met and what changes, if any, would they make to what had been celebrated. It was an interesting discussion which raised some searching questions from the floor.
During the day, however, I had received a phone call asking me to celebrate the funeral of the late Bruno Stanzel at St Peter's tomorrow afternoon. Greg Hudson was with the family when he had contacted me so I arranged to see them after the seminar (at about 6.30pm) to make the arrangements for the liturgy.
Thankfully they have e-mail so I was able to send back to them copies of the liturgy for their perusal which has made life a lot easier.
When I got back from seeing the family I got a shock because the brickwork surrounding the flood light near the Church has been demolished, obviously by a car hitting it. There was no note or indication who might have done it so I've contacted Ruby to see if she knew anything about it but she was none the wiser. I've just been in contact with John Maher who will call in tomorrow morning to rearrange the brickwork so that the light has some protection (and people do not walk into the scattered brickwork.
I've just finished printing the leaflet and my Big Book for today so now I am heading for bed and a welcome rest.
Dr Colleen O'Reilly, a Melbourne Anglican Priest, used Anzac Day and the traditions surrounding the day to look at Public Ritual and what are the changing styles of Australian Public Ritual. The discussion which followed in the small groups was almost as interesting as the presentation - in the group I was in there was a very lively debate about the way Australians use ritual in public life.
The funeral was only a very small event with close friends of the family attending so I was able to head back to the Conference quickly and join in the late afternoon discussion. During and after the evening meal I talked with a Uniting Church Minister from Port Pirie about some of the issues facing a small group of people in a very large rural diocese with very scattered populations.
I've just arrived home from the Inaugural Guilford Young Memorial Address presented by Fr John Melloh who gave us the homiletics seminar yesterday. Sadly I didn't have a chance to discuss what some of my friends who attended thought of it because I got bailed up immediately it had finished and didn't get away for another 30 minutes and so I've come home and I'm ready for bed - exhausted.
The afternoon session was a presentation by Brian Andrews on the Sacred Treasures of Tasmania - highlighting the work that he did in 1998 documenting the treasures of the Church in Tasmania with special reference to the contribution of Augustus Welby Pugin and his friendship with Bishop Willson, the first Catholic Bishop of Hobart.
I've just returned from the final event of the day which was the Conference Dinner which was held on the Cartela - a Hobart Ferry - with us cruising up and down the Derwent River. Entertainment was provided by Colin Dean who provided the entertainment at the Graham Family Christmas Function just over a month ago and who worked all night to make the night an absolutely wonderful night.
But now it is time for bed in preparation for the final day of the conference.
I came home in time to have lunch with Kevin and Monica, friends from Glenorchy days who travelled to New Norfolk for a meal at the Bush. It was a pleasant afternoon and a good chat.
After a cuppa I headed into printing the booklet for the wedding tomorrow and completed printing the papers for the marriage and started to look at the newsletter but managed to only get a couple of things added to the newsletter before I had a visit from a parishioner who wanted to look at our new security system, as he is looking to install a system in his home.
I managed to get only a little bit of work done before I headed off to Bushy Park for the rehearsal and I've arrived home with just enough time to do this page before heading upstairs to continue watching the ABC's presentation of The Count of Monte Cristo - I can't do any work while watching it as it is subtitled and I need to concentrate.
I had a visit from a friend who said that he might call in on Saturday morning - he did which meant that I was able to see him before heading off to lunch at Moonah. I also managed to fax off the details of the lunches for the next 10 weeks leading up to the last weekend in March.
As I was about to leave I checked the Tattslotto ticket for the Saturday lunch and found that it ran out last weekend. I was able to purchase the ticket but needed to send out renewal forms almost as soon as I came home from lunch.
The wedding at Bushy park went off reasonably well although there was one small child who mad quite a deal of noise and spent most of the time running up and down the aisle. Now it is time for bed and a good nights sleep.
The Country Mass this morning was at Ellendale and was followed by a BBQ in the same space down by the Recreation Centre. The number at Mass was also bigger than usual but there were a couple of people who won't be there in the future as they are currently visiting friends in the district.
I've just returned home from a walk on the beach at Bellerive - I've finally decided that if I don't do anything about my fitness I will be in serious strife but now it is time for bed and I suspect that I will sleep well.
We looked at various aspects of Parish Life and planning for the year to see what we could get done and what needed to have more time spent on it. It was a good meeting with a whole range of suggestions for the year ready for the PPC meeting which will be coming up next week.
After lunch I had a visit from a parishioner about Baptism for her son - there are some issues that need to be addressed and I'll need to speak to another priest because the family live in another Parish although they spend almost every weekend at Ellendale.
Also this afternoon I've worked on the subscription renewals for the Sick & Retired Priests and have posted them off so that they are in place before the Clergy changes take place next month. After posting them I headed for Penna to join Phil Green, John Williams and Terry Rush for another enjoyable evening - this time drinking the 1984 Orlando Shiraz/Cabernet - it was like velvet to drink and a very, very pleasant drop after all these years.
Back home again and it is time for bed - tomorrow is going to be a long day.
I dropped off the eggs to Rose for some extra cakes and have finished the first half dozen sponges as my contribution - I'll make the remainder in the morning as well as the scones for the Devonshire Tea.
Now however, it is time for bed.
The house was really busy this morning as we erected tents and finished covering the stalls - we were one large tarpaulin short so we needed to make do with a whole lot of smaller covers which took time putting together. Michael and Linda Callinan arrived thinking that the Fair started at 11am and stayed for some time to help set up - Linda in the house and Mike outside - really appreciated their help.
I managed to create a tape to play before the start of the fair telling people that there were to be no sales before the advertised 5pm starting time - it seemed to go over well and people respected the start time - mind you they were waiting at the starting gates for 5pm.
Even with the bad weather there were still a good number of people who came - after 5 years we are making a name for ourselves and people are coming - I just need to keep reminding people that it is possible and does work. Our results were better that last year so that it at least a start.
We've done a bit of cleaning up but there is more to do tomorrow so I'm heading for bed and a good night's sleep (I hope) because I am really tired and sore all over.
After fixing the tent I headed for Glenorchy for my dental appointment at 2pm before coming home for an appointment at 4.30pm. After I had finished both I was able to do some work on the newsletter for the weekend as well as some preparatory work for the ITIM meeting in Melbourne tomorrow. Thankfully the meeting is at the airport so it means that after my 4am rise I will not be travelling too far for the meeting.
I'll be hitting the sack shortly but I'm going to try and get some more work done on the Calendar as well as finishing the major part of the newsletter tonight.
I've managed to finish the newsletter and the calendar - some last minute additions - but I'll wait and print them both in the morning.
Now for that welcome rest.
