Daily Notes and News
The Month of July 2001
Sunday, 1st
I had a good night's sleep in Campbell Town last night. After last weekend I had some difficulty with a sore back for most of the week and I'm not sure what condition my back is going to be in after today as it definitely is the bed which was the cause of my back problems.
The trip to Oatlands was OK and there were the usual number of people at Mass which was good. Sr. Maria and I had a cuppa after Mass before the arrival of the Burke family for the Baptism of Stevie Francis Burke - different spelling but definitely a little girl.
I came back to New Norfolk because I was too early to see the family of the late Callum Mika, a little boy who died during the last week from an infectious disease. While I sat at the desk typing up yesterdays Daily Notes and News Greg Hudson, from Graham Family rang, and I now have two funerals on Wednesday.
I headed off to Brighton and spent an hour with Corey and Tanya, Callum's parents and worked through things for his funeral - I will send some information off to George Toepfer, the Principal at St John's Richmond where Callum had been at School, and check with him about some of the ways that children from Callum's class might be able to be involved in for the funeral.
I then went to visit Mary Doyle, the sister of the late Ethel Beauvais. Mrs Beauvais had asked that I celebrate her funeral after I had been involved with the family after the death of her husband, Danny, three years ago. It is going to be a simple ceremony but it will take some time to organise.
I've just come back from the evening Mass where there were bigger numbers than usual. Sr Lorraine dropped off some books that she had taken to the Ellendale Market and then stopped for a drink before heading back to Ellendale. I've been watching last night's episode of The Bill and making some phone calls re the Principal Applications but will have to wait until tomorrow evening before getting a final response from the other Board Members.
Now, however, it is time for bed.
Monday, 2nd
Today was a busy day in some ways - more in trying to get things finished than actually being flat out.
After Mass this morning I headed down to St Brigid's to see the children who will be celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation tomorrow night. I also had a chance to check up on some other things that needed organising for the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation later in the month.
I came home and worked on the funeral booklets for the late Callum Mika and Ethel Beauvais - I've finished Callum's and will take that to Graham's in the morning but still have some work to do for Mrs Beauvais.
Some friends called in on their way back from lunch at Hamilton and talked about the various Churches in the Parish - they are seeking to get actual dates and details for the various areas to update the information stored in the Diocesan Archives.
I then headed for town to attend the Mass and Dinner for Monsignor Phil Green and Fr Bill Egan who will celebrate the 40th Anniversary of their Ordination on 21st July. With the Pastoral Conference tomorrow it was a good chance to get as many of the guys together as possible so that was a good use of time. It was an excellent night but I'm now really tired and need to hit the sack so that I'm in reasonable form for tomorrow and very long day.
Tuesday, 3rd
The Pastoral Conference took up all of today (daylight hours anyway). The theme was 'Evangelisation' and the presentations were excellent.
+Adrian set the scene by reminding us of the importance of of the theme in the light of the CALL TO CHANGE process which has been so much part of the life of the Diocese for the past two years. He was followed by Fr Paul O'Donnell from the Catholic Enquiry Centre (http://www.catholicenquiry.com) who told of the changes that have taken place in the past few years.
Then we had Jo Elliott who spoke on the Rite of Christian Initiation (RCIA) as part of the Diocesan Evagelisation Team. It is good to see the changes that are taking place as several of the issues that should have had a priority within the Diocese are now being given their proper place.
Finally before lunch we had a presentation from two members of BE Tasmania. BE is the Beginning Experience, a support group for people whose lives have been changed by divorce, separation or death and who are struggling with the grieving process.
After lunch we had a presentation from Adrian Sullivan, the newly appointed Director of Caritas and he was followed by Josh Ariens, also recently appointed as Catholic Youth Tasmania worker. Both were impressive and presented us with further challenges to how we see the faith being lived out in Tasmania.
The final presentation was from Jackie Donald, Director of Centacare Tasmania and Gary baker, Chair of the interim Board of Centacare Tasmania, on the changes that have taken place there in recent times as they have moved their Governance from an Executive Group to Board Management. There were a number of interesting challenges regarding the types of programs that have been added recently and the manner in which so much of their funding is now based on winning contracts for placement of people in work schemes.
All in all it has been an enjoyable, challenging and tiring day but immensely worthwhile as we have explored to story of where we are going as Church in Tasmania.
I just come back after being with the children of the Parish to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the First time. They are amazing as they work through some of the things that are part of their story and their celebration has so much more about life and living than my first experience of the Sacrament - I only hope that their future experiences will be equally as blessed.
Now it is time for bed. I've managed to print the Big Book for both funerals tomorrow; I dropped off the booklet for the late Callum Mika at Grahams on the way to the Conference and have begun the process of ordering new business cards as I am down to my last dozen or so and I desperately need some more before I go overseas.
I'm heading upstairs to see the Bill and then sleep.
Wednesday, 4th
Mass this morning was at 9am and almost immediately afterwards I headed for town and was able to visit my parents - I have been trying for several days but not managed to do it so that was a good start.
The first funeral, was at the Crematorium for the late Ethel Beauvais. She had asked for a simple celebration for her family only - she was an immensely private person and a private cremation was her wish. It is always difficult to act entirely on the wishes of the deceased especially when there were others who might have wished to be present for the final act of a persons life. After the service we went back to the Graham Family Chapel for refreshments before heading off to Richmond for the next funeral.
Callum Mika's funeral was a packed Church with people outside - such a contrast to the funeral in town. The singing was by the St John's Richmond school Choir and were children's hymns that were ones that Callum liked and sung with gusto (even if out of tune). I spent a little bit of time after the funeral in the staff room at school speaking to a few staff and parents so that was good. I managed to get back to Rosetta to see members of the family but didn't stay too long as I needed to get back home to prepare for a Marriage appointment.
Rod and Bernadette were early, thank goodness, so that meant I was able to complete the work with them but we still have a little difficulty with the timing of their celebration of Marriage as the place they want the wedding have set a time which clashes with the only other wedding I have booked for march next year so they are going to look at what they can change without too much difficulty.
I'm now going to bed and it is still early.
Thursday, 5th
After the 9am Mass I headed down to school to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation with the Gr 6's. It was a good celebration and they were well prepared - they will shortly be celebrating the sacrament of Confirmation here at St Peter's so that will be good as well.
Then I needed to be off to town and managed to visit Mum and Dad and see how they were getting on. I managed to do a little job for Dad as well as give him the money for Claire's birthday as well as dropping off the card for Aleisha that is now well over a week late.
I continued on to New Town for a Meeting at the Catholic Education Office to look at Rural and Regional area accommodation options. There were a number of Colleges there who are preparing an education/accommodation package so we will see where it all pans out.
From there I headed off to see the family of the late Catherine Smith to begin preparations for her funeral which is to be celebrated on Saturday. It is a strange situation because her half-brothers (the sons of her father's first marriage) include Fr Philip Smith CP but unfortunately he is in PNG and is not able to be back. I have had a little to do with the family over time and this is another occasion to be part of a family celebration.
I called into see Shelly at Glenorchy and they are having lot's of trouble so will need to go back tomorrow to work something out for them. I then came back home for a Baptismal meeting at 3pm - it took me some time to remember the young lady but I think I managed to keep ahead of trouble and, in the end, bring everything to a neat conclusion.
I've started work on the newsletter and the leaflet for tomorrow but there is still a long way to go and tomorrow is going to be a long day so now I'm heading for bed and an early night.
Friday, 6th
I had two Masses this morning: here at 9am and then I headed over to Corumbene for their First Friday Mass. There were 9 at the Mass there this morning including an elderly gentleman from Ellendale - I'll need to see if he is permanent or on relief break for his carer. I then headed off to take Communion to Eileen in the District Hospital and to Doris at home. Eileen had a TIA before I arrived so I will go and see her tomorrow before I head off to town for the funeral.
I then headed, with an updated version of VET, to Glenorchy to repair a very virus affected computer. Almost all of the *.exe and screensaver files were infected but we now have them back on line with their version of VET anti-virus program upto date and on-line updates available regularly.
When I got home I found that there really had been some mail today and one of the packages contained the information for the Parish to be able to have access to Liturgy Help, a portal to all sorts of aids to the Liturgy including Sacramentary, Lectionary and Liturgies. I loaded our password into the system and have started making use of the material already.
I then finished the newsletter and have printed off most of the material for the Big Book for the funeral tomorrow, although there is something I still need to check about the family before I assemble the book. I then headed for town and called into Graham's to collect a copy of the leaflet before visiting the Anderson's. They were about to leave to collect their son from the airport - he has flown in from LOndon to attend his grandmother's funeral.
I then continued onto Glenorchy where I stopped to visit some friends before continuing onto attend a combined 40th birthday party and House Warming - it was an interesting night with a whole range of people there who were a new group of friends of the couple and many of whom I hadn't met before.
I was a little later than I had hoped so now I'm looking at being tired in the morning and heading towards a long day tomorrow.
Saturday, 7th
Half way through the party last night I remembered that I was about to miss Lauren's Birthday which was yesterday. So on my way to do the funeral of the late Catherine Smith I dropped off her card - unfortunately no-one was home but I'll catch up with them sometime soon.
On the way to town I also dropped off the newsletters and other things that Sr. Lorraine needs for Bothwell tonight so I did good!!
The funeral went well and there were more people there than the family thought might come so that was helpful for them. Thankfully the pouring rain and cold wind stopped before we headed for the cemetery so that made life a little better. We went back to Graham's for the wake and nearly everyone returned which was good for the family.
I then called to see Tom at Computers + More and got a new printer to take with me to Campbell Town. I got another Canon which should keep (Fr) John out of mischief for quite some time. Lunch today was interesting because John Shallvey thought that there might only be a few around as quite a number of people were away but as it turned out is was almost the biggest gathering for several weeks.
I then came back home to collect some things and see to see a parishioner before heading off to Oatlands for the evening Mass. The appointment went OK and I managed to get away in plenty of time and celebrated the Vigil Mass with a great group of people at Oatlands. The sad thing is that I will probably only have one other occasion to be with them before I head off to Ireland in September.
Some friends were waiting outside the Church as we finished Mass so I had a cuppa with them before heading off to my little bed in Campbell Town. I've just set up the printer and got everything in ship shape for Mass tomorrow and the house ready for (Fr) John Hayres when he returns sometime this week.
Now bed!
Sunday, 8th
Today has been a difficult day.
I celebrated Mass at Campbell Town before heading over to do some work with Judy Gregg on her computer and found that she also had a virus that had infected her startup programs which was why she was having trouble doing the June Finance report. She is now the proud owner of an upto date version of VET so things are looking up.
I then headed for Campania to visit the family of the late Rosalie Morgan to prepare her funeral which will be celebrated at Bothwell on Tuesday at midday. I spent quite some time working with them and I hope have been helpful to them as they prepare for what is going to be a difficult day.
Whilst there my mobile went off and I was asked if I could celebrate a funeral on Wednesday afternoon but have asked the family if they might see the priest who visited the gentleman on the morning of his death whether he might be available as I will be in Queenstown until just before the time the funeral is due to be celebrated. I'll have to wait to see what is going to happen.
I had a few minutes to work on a few things before I headed over to the Church to prepare for the Baptism of Stacey Anne Readman at the 4.30pm Mass. John and Jannette are overjoyed with their little person so it was good to celebrate her Baptism. After the Mass I headed up to Mt Lloyd for the celebration party and met some of the family.
Since I came home I been trying to find a reason why the scanner is not working - even the uninstall function has been corrupted. I've removed the printer software for my Canon printer - the last component added - as well as downloaded the latest drivers from the HP site and so far have had no luck. Tomorrow I'll go back to their web site and search the FAQ's to see what I can find otherwise it will be a trip down to school to see if they can scan the photo of the late Rosalie Morgan for the funeral booklet for Tuesday's funeral.
Now, however, it is time for bed and, boy, will I enjoy getting an early night - I only hope that I also get a good night's sleep.
Monday, 9th
There is now 9 weeks until I head off to Ireland and things are getting hectic as I try to get everything done and out of the way before I leave. My major appointments were late in the day which meant that I have been able to work at the leaflet for the funeral of the late Rosalie Morgan which is to be celebrated at Bothwell tomorrow.
I had trouble getting the scanner to work but finally managed to download the correct files and that is now working OK. In the process I was also able to update the 'wnaspi32.dll' file which is making things a little easier as well.
I visited Sandy, who is sick, for her to sign off on a letter to the Parents of the children who are to make their First Communion in August and showed her how to ad an attachment to her emails - something she hadn't quite got right. I checked in with school and talked about plans for the next step in the Interview process (dates only) with Sean and later in the day chatted with Paul Cleary about the dates and times and that should make it easier.
By the time I printed off the leaflet (I did the cover individually in colour to make it more personal) and saw my two couples I was reasonably tired and have managed to get things finished so that I can go to bed for an early night - what a wonderful thought because I have been waking up so early these past few weeks because I have so much on my mind.
Tuesday, 10th
Mass this morning was at St Brigid's and I spent a few minutes chatting with a couple of people before coming home and having a coffee before loading the car and heading off to Bothwell for the funeral of the late Rosalie Morgan.
There was a good crowd of people, mainly family, that gathered to say their farewells - she was just 42 so it was very sad. The past 16 years of her life have been a real struggle for her and her death from a massive heart attack was unexpected and a difficult thing for people to accept. Hopefully, the funeral and the gathering afterwards will help people to take some steps towards healing.
Then I headed off to Queenstown to help (Fr) Dan McMahon with his computer. The thing had been set up but no-one had been able to help him get everything going and on track so I spent the night there to make it all work. The trip round to Queenstown was a bit dodgy because there had been a heavy frost overnight and some parts of the road, even at 3.30pm, were still icy so there were a couple of moments when things had to be taken easily.
After working on the computer for some time Dan headed off to a First Eucharist meeting and I continued to write notes for some of the programs he is using. Then we had a meal together and I headed for bed - a tired and weary body - I hope that there is not too big a frost tomorrow when I head out at 8.30am.
Wednesday, 11th
The trip back from Queenstown was a little bit slow because of the frost and icy conditions. I took a few minutes before I left to ensure that there was no ice on the car but even after giving the car a good soaking there were still spots where the ice was very obvious. There were several places on the road where the ice was reasonably heavy (nothing like bad conditions though) but the road maintenance people were out putting gravel on bad corners. Although a little slower that good days it was, otherwise, a pleasant trip back because the sun was shining brightly for most of the journey - at least until Tarraleah where it became overcast with a little drizzle which continued for the next 30kms until just outside New Norfolk where the sky cleared and it has been fine since.
I celebrated Mass at midday and then had a bite to eat before the arrival of the Gr 6's who came up from School to the Church to run through some of their roles for the Confirmation Mass on 22nd. While they were practising I went to the Post Office and to collect my new Business Cards which look quite spiffy - even if I say so myself.
I did some work on the Parish Finances but haven't been able to complete the BAS for last month as I don't have the details for Campbell Town or Ellendale so will need to be in contact tomorrow morning to get the final details and information.
Just arrived home after having tea at Sandy's where we talked about the First Eucharist Meeting here tomorrow night as well as helping solve some of her computer problems - another teacher, Patsy Duggan, came over when we talked about scanning and other photo activities.
Now it is time for bed - it is still early but I'm very tired and I need a good night's sleep.
Thursday, 12th
Mass was at 9am this morning and was followed by a meeting of the Christian Leaders Association. At the moment we are in a state of flux with The Salvation Army Officers resigning due to increased work commitments and a member of the Anglican Leadership Team reconsidering her work load and still trying to find another member of the Team able to participate. There is also the difficulty that the Uniting Church Minister (Vern Harrison) is completing his supply in August - and no replacement in sight; me being away for three months and the structure is looking decidedly unsteady. But next meeting we are going to look at what needs to be done and how we can work around it all.
I had a few minutes before I headed of to the ALPHA meeting where we shared a soup & sandwich lunch. There were a dozen people there but only two people who are in the process of learning more about the Christian faith. I'm not certain how we can grow the group but we'll keep on trying.
I then hit the highway to travel to Mangalore to visit the Forster's, a family who have a baby to be baptised and a daughter who is to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation this weekend. We worked through all the parts of the celebrations and everything seems in place for Saturday night - I just need to remember to be at Kempton early enough to make sure that the water is warm for the Baptism.
I came home and worked on the finances - still haven't got all the information in yet but close. I nearly had everything done when the phone rang and someone asked if there was anything wrong - when I answered no - Sandy said that the Parent/Child Eucharist Meeting started at 6pm - I had it in my diary for 6.30 so I went racing down to school and worked with the families for the next hour or so.
Then I came back here to have a bite to eat and do this and now I'm heading for bed. As far as I know I'm celebrating the Mass at Sacred Heart tomorrow - I've tried to contact Fr John Williams and can't get him but Denise Connolly, the Junior Campus REC believes that I'm doing it and if Fr John is available then he will concelebrate.
Now bed.
Friday, 13th
After Mass at 9am I headed off to the Hospital to see Eileen and then I visited Doris Hastie over at Fairview. Both were well and in reasonable form, Eileen much better than last week when she had suffered a TIA earlier in the morning of my visit.
I then headed down to St Brigid's to collect some material for the Confirmation Program and some Wood Raffle Ticket butts and money before heading towards town to go to Sacred Heart for the Junior Campus family Mass. It has been some time since I have worked with the Sacred Heart people but it was good to be back 'home' today - I spoke to (Fr) John Williams who has not been well over the past fortnight and it was good to have a chat with him today to see how he is; hopefully he will also be at lunch tomorrow so I can speak to him again.
From there I headed home to work on the newsletter and a few other things but decided to head out for tea with some friends. It was a quiet night and now I'm home and have a few things to catch up on before I hit the sack.
Saturday, 14th
Today was a slow start - I did manage to sleep longer than usual so that was good and I even managed to do some simple work around the house and finish off the newsletter. Sandy had rung asking for some help for her computer so I visited her and also collected the info I needed for the Communion Enrolment Ceremony as part of the New Norfolk Masses tomorrow.
I then headed home and worked for awhile before Mary and Sandy came down to the Church to clear off the sticky tape that had been used to hold up a class project from the Reconciliation Ceremony last Tuesday night .
Then I visited Mum and Dad on the way to lunch and spent a few minutes there before having an enjoyable lunch at Glenorchy. It is always interesting going back to the scene of a previous appointment and being part of something where I lived for seven years before coming to New Norfolk.
I rang (Fr) John Hayres this morning to welcome him back but it wasn't until I got home this evening that I got a message back saying that he is going to be away this coming week at a conference in Brisbane - it means that he will be missing from the Team Meeting this week. I also need to ensure that he puts the phone through to New Norfolk before he leaves so that it is not unattended again.
From there I headed off towards lunch at Glenorchy but called into see Mum and dad whom I hadn't seen for a couple of weeks although I had spoken to them regularly over the past few days. They were about to go to lunch so I only stayed for a short time before arriving at Glenorchy. It was a lovely lunch but it is always interesting to arrive at a place where you have lived to see the changes that have been made by the people who follow you.
There were two baptisms today. One at Bellerive where I Baptised Oliver Madden-Hallett the child of Danielle. It was a Baptism that had been meant to be celebrated in January but both ended up in hospital the day before the Baptism so it had been postponed indefinitely and the day had finally arrived. I had a cuppa with (Fr) Peter O'Loughlin who showed me some of the changes he had made to the Parish House and he hasn't finished yet.
Then it was off to Kempton where, this evening at the 6pm Mass, I celebrated the Baptism of Nathan Forster (his Baptism will be my first at Kempton). It was a good celebration and there are a number of possibilities for following up with members of the family and friends after the event.
I'm home and I haven't the energy to even watch the BILL so I'm heading for bed and an early night.
Sunday, 15th
At the 9am Mass this morning the young people of the Parish were enrolled into their preparation program for First Eucharist. It is always a special time for the Parish and today was no different.
The country Mass was at Hamilton and I left a little bit later than usual so caught all the 'Sunday' drivers on their way out for a day in the country - I am constantly amazed that just that five minutes in the morning can have such an impact on driving time. There were only the usual people at Mass but it was good to get back into the swing of things once more.
After the Hamilton Mass I drove over to Bothwell to celebrate the Baptism of Phoebe Edgell - it was the first Baptism I have celebrated at Bothwell - this weekend has been a weekend where I have been able to do some new things in the Parish. Other than Tom and Julie, the parents of Phoebe, I knew absolutely no-one in the congregation - a fact that astounded one of the guests who 'thought' that everyone in Tasmania knew everyone else!
I then drove back for the 4.30pm Mass which had the usual number of parishioners in attendance and now I've come over here to write up my notes, have a bite to eat and then to hit the sack and have an early night. Hopefully, both the computer and I will have more energy in the morning as, while I have been out all day, the computer has been defragging and so we should be all ready to go for the new week.
Monday, 16th
I went to bed last night hoping for a good's nights sleep and managed to get a short sleep - I was awake and working at 3.45am and it is now 10.30pm and I'm just heading for bed. I must admit however, that I've taken quite a few steps towards getting the place ready for the Archbishop's visitation this weekend - especially in an area where I have been slack - the recording of all the marriages into the register. There is still another job I have to complete but it is all close to finish now.
I went down to school this morning and checked with the children for some of the details for the Confirmation Certificates and most of them are now completed. There is still one to be done but it is almost ready. I rang Kerry Pinnacle our suppliers for ingredients and increased the quantity of eggs we need for the puddings but I still have to check with the Church Office re authorisation for a method of paying for the whole lot. We have a meeting on Wednesday with the making team just to set some dates and times and see what else we can do to get the show on the road.
I've just come back to the house after the Reconciliation Ceremony for the candidates and their families in preparation for the Celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation this coming Sunday. The session included a rehearsal for the celebration and it provided a time for the parents and sponsors to be more in tune with what is happening over the next few days.
Now it really is time for bed - I hope I do better tonight.
Tuesday, 17th
It is amazing how much better I felt this morning after a better nights sleep last night even though I was later getting to bed than I might have hoped.
This morning, after the 9am Mass, I headed off to Maryknoll, Blackmans Bay, with Sr Janet to spend time with the Gr 6 children in a Reflection Day in Preparation for their celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation this Sunday. Unfortunately it was dampish which made their free time a little constricting but the rest of the time together was helpful and useful for all concerned - I was also able to get the last of the information I needed for their certificates.
On the way home I stopped at the Church Office to speak to Peter Cusick re the plans for the Pudding making Process and got the authority I needed for a transfer of funds to the Fundraising account to allow payment for the ingredients etc.
Arriving home I made a phone call to the partner of the late Michael McKay to arrange to meet her tomorrow to discuss the arrangements for his funeral to be celebrated on Friday. I also checked with Judy in Campbell Town to see what the difficulty about the BAS from there - she said that it would be available later in the day but so far it hasn't arrived. I spoke to Kathy in the Church Office and she wasn't worried but asked for it as soon as possible.
I've done a little bit more work in the tidying up area but there is still some extra to finish off which will now have to be done tomorrow night as I'm heading for bed - via watching the Bill; I have misplaced last Saturday nights episode which has upset me but I hope to be able to find it later.
Wednesday, 18th
I had thought that I might have had a completely free day today to do some more work on the cleaning up in preparation for the Archbishop's visit this weekend. That changed yesterday with the phone call asking me to celebrate the funeral of the late Michael McKay and so I was under pressure for most of the day.
Also, sitting in the background is the fact that I seemed to have lost (misplaced) some papers and need to get them replaced so that is going to take some running around and some extra time - which I really don't have.
After Mass I had a short time to make some scones for morning tea before the team arrive for the Pudding Making meeting. They accepted the draft timetable for making the puddings - now I have to find time to go and chat with the RSL President to confirm the dates and times for using the facility.
Immediately after lunch I visited the family of the late Michael McKay to arrange the liturgy for his funeral to be celebrated on Friday. It was a difficult gathering due to the circumstances of his death and so it will also be difficult to celebrate the funeral on Friday.
I then visited a family to help out with another computer problem so that kept me out of mischief for a few hours before I joined a couple of friends for an early meal - a mutual friend who celebrated a birthday today so that fitted in well. It was a pleasant night which dragged out a little because they dropped in to see a another friend who celebrates a birthday tomorrow and there was a baby shower on and they wanted to stay for a while so I was much later getting home that I would have hoped.
I did manage to get the BAS return off to the Church Office before heading to town this afternoon and now I've almost finished setting up of the booklet for the funeral - I'll email the booklet to Graham's as soon as I finish this and they can set up the bromide etc. sometime tomorrow and bring the leaflets to the funeral.
Now bed.
Thursday, 19th
(Sr) Lorraine rang this morning to remind me that I was supposed to be the provider of lunch for the Team Meeting today and offered to take some soup when I mentioned that I'd forgotten. But with Ruby's help I managed to cook up a casserole during Mass and whilst I was down at St Brigid's celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation with the Gr 3's.
As soon as that was over I grabbed a couple of pages for the meeting and then headed off to Oatlands for the Meeting. The meeting was a good meeting with some steps being taken towards having a plan and process for dealing with things whilst I am away but was hampered by the fact that (Fr) John was away and missed the second meeting in a row which means that I will have to make time to go to Campbell Town to see him to work out some roles/responsibilities for the Parish and to ensure that certain things happen whilst I am away.
From there I headed East towards Buckland and then on to the East Coaster Resort to attend the Mass and Dinner for the Principal's Conference - an annual gathering to which Parish Priests are invited. It was interesting because several of the prospective candidates for the position of Principal at St Brigid's were in attendance but I managed to have a long chat with Elaine Askey-Doran, a friend from my Bellerive days and so found ways of actually talking about the Principal issues for most of the night. After the close of the day's session (before the Conference Mass) +Adrian asked if I wanted to drop round to his little hideaway so I made the most of the opportunity to see his space which is very well set up and a great escape.
I left there just on 90 minutes ago to head home and endured a couple of fast moving log trucks on the very winding section of the road leaving Triabunna - made more difficult because they were in convoy and with their strong lights made for some close encounters with the rock face on the passenger side of the car. Safely home I found a fax inviting me to accept a position on the Council of Priests for the next three years so I have just replied to it and now I'm going to finish this and hit the sack.
Friday, 20th
Another busy day in paradise.
Before Mass this morning I dropped off the breakfast box for tomorrow's Prayer Breakfast to the Salvation Army Officers. I also then called over the road to the car wash to get rid of most of the main dirt from the car after the travels yesterday through some of the back roads of the East Coast.
I also managed to finish off the Big Book for the funeral of the late Michael McKay - unfortunately I didn't do as close a check of the material as I might. When I arrived for the funeral there was already some tension evident and during the ceremony I managed to omit the name of one of his relatives and there was some further tension so which made me feel bad and nothing I did seemed to make it any better. By the time the committal had taken place at Malbina I was completely exhausted.
I got back home and there were a number of urgent phone calls that I needed to return which took some time. I also managed to clear up a couple of Baptismal enquiries that had come in over the past few days so that cleared a little more off the desk which is good. I also collected from the Post Office the final papers for the interviews next Wednesday for the Principal's position for St Brigid's with the timetable for the interviews. I arranged the delivery of the material and managed to catch up with a couple of people at school so that meant I was able to complete a few more jobs as well so it was a good afternoon.
I've spent the rest of the afternoon and evening alternating between the Church and the computer completing the newsletter and helping one of the teachers prepare the Church for the Confirmation Ceremony on Sunday - it was much easier to help so that things were done in a few minutes rather than taking her a great deal of time.
I also managed to do some work with (Sr) Lorraine and we have managed to set up some extra visits for +Adrian through the country areas of the Parish before we get back here for the rest of the process of visitation tomorrow afternoon.
I've just finished tea (late) and now I'm heading for bed - the extra pressure over the next two days is enough to make me tense and thus I'm less likely to really get a good night's sleep.
Saturday, 21st
This morning started with the Prayer Breakfast at 7.30am but because I woke early I was able to get the Newsletter printed to take with me to the Breakfast as well as getting the internet edition finished and uploaded.
I came back here and finished off the things that needed to be done before the Archbishop arrived just after 10am. We headed off to Ouse but found that when we got there there had been a mix up and they weren't expecting to see us until Monday so we visited Mrs Browning in the hospital before coming home and having a bite to eat.
This afternoon we met with the Pastoral Council for an informal meeting and afternoon tea. There were a couple of serious concerns which were discussed but there was also some sharing of visions before we moved to the Church for a gathering of the whole Parish Community for the formal erection of the Catholic Parish @ Central Tasmania. It was good to see people from almost every part of the Parish Community gathered and it was a good night - almost everyone returned to the Parish House for a supper, even though it was only just tea time but it was enjoyable none the less.
+Adrian and I have just watched the Bill and a bit of the football and now I'm heading for bed - a tired little person in need of a good night's sleep.
Sunday, 22nd
Before today had progressed too far we heard of the death yesterday of Archbishop Francis Rush, the former Archbishop of Brisbane and long time friend of the late Archbishop Young and the priests of Hobart. He was also the uncle of our Chancellor (Fr) Terry Rush from Richmond. May he rest in peace. Later in the day we searched the web to see if there were flights which would get +Adrian to Brisbane and back on Friday for the funeral - it will be with some difficulty but not impossible.
In the Parish Day 2 of +Adrian's Visitation and everything has worked out well. The Confirmation Mass (the main focus of his visit) went well with the Church being comfortably filled. The 9am Sunday Mass also had a good gathering of the New Norfolk family so things were looking good for numbers at Mass this weekend. The evening Mass, however, let us down badly with only 6 people - one a visitor - so what started well finished slowly. Mind you, the people who would normally be at the 4.30pm Mass were either at the Vigil last night or the Confirmation Mass this morning.
The Confirmation Mass was a great celebration with lot's of children from the School there to support the Confirmandi and the gathering in the Parish House afterwards was a bit squeezy but it went off alright.
When the cleaning up was finished we had some soup and toast and then rested for awhile before heading over for the afternoon Mass. +Adrian made a few phone calls to speak to priests and arrange some extra things for his week - it seems he will need about 15 days this week to do all the things that could be fitted in.
One of the phone calls I got was to ask if I might be available to celebrate the funeral of the late Michael Pearcey - another priest had promised to do the funeral if he were available as he had buried both of Michael's siblings who had died of the same disease. At this time he hasn't got back to the family but we'll see tomorrow what turns up. It is going to make the rest of the week difficult but that's the way things go.
We watched the football this afternoon but weren't able to see the end of the Geelong v West Coast game because of the afternoon Mass and so I missed seeing the Cats winning well. We've just got back from having tea at the Jackson's and listened to the end of the English second innings in the 2nd Test and Australia needs 14 runs to win so I'll be heading upstairs in a minute to see what happens.
Then bed after a tiring weekend - not busy just tiring.
Monday, 23rd
Day 3 of +Adrian's Visitation started with Mass and then we headed down to St Brigid's School to spend time with the children and staff. The weekend went well - I'm not sure whether I have been too unstructured or the balance of work and rest have been helpful to +Adrian or not - I will probably never know. The visit to School went well and he now has an idea of what is happening and where we are going into the future.
I managed to contact the family of the late Michael Pearcey and arranged to meet them after lunch to prepare for the funeral tomorrow. (Fr) Bill Egan celebrated the funeral of Michael's brother John and the family wondered if he might be available to celebrate this funeral but at this time it doesn't look as if he is going to be around. I had some difficulty organising the logo for the front of the leaflet but in the end it all worked out and everything is now printed off so that is OK.
The rest of the day didn't work out as planned this morning but I managed to catch most people whom I needed to see - there is still the fellow from the RSL whom I will try and catch tomorrow but after that most things are under control.
I think that I'll now head for bed - it has been a tiring weekend.
Tuesday, 24th
Even after the work I did last night there was still some work to do after Mass on the Big Book for the funeral of the late Michael Pearcey as well as ensuring that I had all the music set up - nothing was allowed to go wrong so there was a bit of pressure on Greg and I to make sure it all worked.
I managed to get to work on the BEACON although there is still a good deal of material I need from (Sr) Lorraine as well as from Campbell Town so it doesn't look like it will be ready for the meeting in Oatlands on Thursday night. At this stage it will mean it will need to be emailed out early next week.
After the funeral I headed for town and dropped off some material for Elizabeth Young at Computers + More before continuing into town to meet up with my brother Martin for coffee after work. He wanted to talk with me about some issues he is facing at the moment and today was the best day to do it.
Just before the funeral I learnt that my sister-in-law Maree was in town for a few days - she had actually come up to New Norfolk yesterday and left a note so I rang her. When I got back from seeing martin there was a message from Mum to say that Brendan, Lisa and Grace were over (I knew that they were here for the weekend - I didn't realise that they were going to be here until this coming weekend. I'm not sure when I will be able to see them but I will try and make it sometime tomorrow because there will be no real time after that.
I've done some work on the material for the interview panel for tomorrow so I am going to head upstairs to watch the Bill then hit the sack for a reasonably early night.
Wednesday, 25th
Today was a busy day with the interviews for the new Principal for St Brigid's taking up most of the day. I headed for the catholic Education Office to start at 9am with a briefing and we concluded just after 3pm after interviewing 5 interesting applicants with a debrief looking at what our recommendation might be. There is still some final steps that need to be taken and these will happen over the next few days.
During the day I got a phone call from Ann Graham asking if I might be able to assist a family by celebrating the funeral of their 5 week old infant on Saturday morning - I have arranged to see them on Friday to make the arrangements.
When I returned home from the interviews I did a little bit of work on the BEACON but I'm still waiting on the material from Campbell Town so will need to look at that tomorrow - hopefully I will have everything in and it will all come together without too much trouble.
Then it was down to St Brigid's for a School Board Meeting. It was a good meeting with lot's of discussion and with plans presented for future directions which will be explored with the next Principal. We also talked about the process of introducing the Principal and some new policies but we will need to explore that further.
I'm too tired to tackle the BEACON tonight so I'm heading for bed with the hope that I will have time to do all that needs to be done in the morning to take with me to the Parish Pastoral Council meeting in Oatlands tomorrow night - see what happens.
Thursday, 26th
After the 9am Mass this morning I had a short time before the other members of the (now much smaller) Christian Leaders Group arrived for our meeting. It was good to have Graham, one of the members who has not been able to be present in recent times, with us so that we could talk through some issues. The questions haven't necessarily been resolved but we can now take some steps to move towards the future.
Almost as soon as that meeting had finished most of us headed over to St Matthew's Hall for the next session of the ALPHA program - thankfully this included lunch because I was becoming very peckish. Having a session immediately after a long morning at a meeting is not always the best way of doing things because I was dozing off as the video was playing.
Then I came back here to prepare for the PPC Meeting in Oatlands to ensure that I had all the material completed for the next edition of the BEACON so that I could have a hard copy to take for the other members of the Pastoral Team to take home so that parishioners in all areas of the parish would have their copies this weekend.
Sandy arrived in time for us to head off and we managed to get there just before Mass time so that was good. It was also a good meeting and I'm pleased to say that things are moving along - the next meeting I will be at will now be next March so it is some way off. There are a couple of issues that we will be working towards for future Pastoral Team meetings and which we will then feed back to the PPC as appropriate.
We finished off with supper before Pat Murray joined Sandy and I for the trip home and now it is time for bed - it is only just after 11pm so that is not too bad. Hopefully I'll get a good night's sleep to make up for my general tiredness.
Friday, 27th
Things were more than a bit hectic this morning as I had a 9am Mass and then I made a quick visit to see Eileen at the hospital and Doris at home before heading down to Derwent Park to visit the family of the late Lochlan Newell, an infant who died a few days ago and whose funeral is going to be celebrated tomorrow morning. Understandably the family are very distraught so the time spent with them today was important and I think helpful towards making tomorrow a better celebration if Lochlan's life.
I then continued on down to Sandy Bay and dropped off paper work for some Marriages and managed to catch Josh Ariens re some work for the Youth of our Parish. Luckily I also managed to say hello to Penny Edman and chatted with her re the Mass times for the Parish and she informed me that the times would not be included in the August STANDARD but would now go into the September edition when a number of other Parishes will have finalised their times.
I then headed back to town and called into the Catholic Development Fund to leave some authorisations for the payment of our Fuel Cards to be made from our Parish Account.
I bypassed New Norfolk and continued onto Ellendale to see if I could catch the Franklin Family re making arrangements for a Baptism but there must have been some crossed wires because there were only some friends working on a building on the property and the people I needed to see weren't there. I'll have to head back another day although a chat with (Sr) Lorraine about it might make life easier. I dropped off on the way back and had a coffee with the Hall's to see how they are getting on so that was also a good thing to do.
I've finished the newsletter and printed that off, printed the leaflet for the funeral although the black ink cartridge in the colour printer is running low so I haven't been able to print colour copies for the family - they will have to go without tomorrow and I'll get them to them early next week.
I've just come home from spending time with my brothers and sisters at Glenorchy - it was drinks and nibbles before Brendan, Lisa and Grace return to NSW on Sunday after being down here for a week. It was good to catch up with them because it will not be possible to see them before everything with trips and the birth of their third child.
Now bed and getting ready for another weekend of running round and doing more than enough to keep me busy.
Saturday, 28th
I didn't manage to get to the TCC Seminar today because by the time I had finished the funeral it was well after 11.30am and I needed to get a new ink cartridge for the printer as well as drop off the laptop to Tom Young at Computers + More. All of that added to the fact that I needed to see Dean and Alison re their wedding plans meant that the whole aspect of the day had changed between the time I got up yesterday and this morning.
As it happened even within the new time frame there were some changes. I called to see Tom and he said that I was a week early because a couple of laptops were being traded as because of the deal that had been arranged with the company supplying the laptops, the previous owners and Tom's generosity my laptop will be changed for a 'new' one for a pittance compared to buying a new one.
This afternoon was quiet (after completing the Marriage preparation) and I have managed to put together the BEACON and I'm almost ready for tomorrow so I'll head for bed and a very early night - make up for the sleep I missed yesterday morning.
Sunday, 29th
Today has been an absolutely beautiful winter's day - clear skies and not too cold - but it has all ended rather sourly.
But first the start. There was a good crowd at Mass this morning and, after Mass I was joined by Sandy and Lexie for the drive to Bronte - both of them taking pity on me having to go by myself and not knowing that the other,or anyone else, was going. The drive up was very pleasant and there were 8 for Mass so we had a good celebration and a lovely lunch with great conversation. Denis Wiss is working towards establishing a living memorial to the migrants and Tasmanians who worked for the Hydro Electric Commission in the Highland Villages. Their efforts in building the dams and infrastructure has been told as far as the actual work is concerned but the human story has yet to be put together and Denis is hoping that it will happen and is pushing to make it so.
The trip back was also pleasant but when we got back to New Norfolk things started to change. We saw a car in the grounds of St Brigid's so we called through to inform the people playing on the equipment that they needed to move on as they were not allowed to be there for safety reasons. They accepted that and we headed back to the Parish House.
As we came up Hillside Crescent Sandy noticed that the main Church Door was open so we went over and found that we had been broken into and a whole lot of damage, none of it major but all off it annoying and stupid, had been done around the sanctuary and in the sacristy. Two doors had been forced to gain entry and damage had been done to electrical and audio equipment as well as some vestments. Hopefully as we tidy up tomorrow we won't find anything else that has been vandalised. The Police came but were not able to get any fingerprints but have taken an account of the vandalism and it will be included on the local report.
It meant that the 4.30pm Mass and the the gathering for the Combined Churches moved over the Parish House. It was a bit crowded, some might even say very crowded, but everyone joined in and it was a wonderful celebration. People were really supportive and I've asked everyone to keep their ears open because they might just hear someone make a comment about how clever they were at trashing the Church.
I rang Pat Murray after Mass and he came and secured the door - the whole frame had been damaged when they broke in so we will need to speak to a locksmith about increasing the door security as well as looking at the possibility of getting an alarm system for the Church.
I went upstairs to watch a program and then was going to come back down and do this page when the phone rang to say that the husband of a Parishioner had died and then, almost immediately, it rang again and I learned that another fellow, who had asked some time ago for me to be involved in his funeral, had also died so this week is looking as if things are going to get hectic.
Now I am going to bed and hopefully it will be to get a good night's sleep.
Monday, 30th
I went over early to check the sacristy door and it is still securely closed so that was a good start. A few extra people came to Mass this morning and then had a coffee before the editor of the Derwent Valley Gazette came and took some photo's and material for a story about the vandalism. When he had left the team set to work and cleaned up the mess and the Church is now looking better than it has for awhile.
I rang the Security firm about getting the lock replaced to something stronger and they will be here tomorrow and have also arranged for them (they are the same people who provide the security for the Parish House) to come and look at increasing the security for the Church to an alarm system.
I started the day with two funerals and ended with three so I have been working away with two visits so far and another tomorrow. The work that I needed to do for the Christmas Puddings still needs to be done tomorrow but most of the work for the first two funerals is completed so that helps.
I must admit that I'm tired at present but hope to get a good nights sleep as I have a teleconference first thing in the morning so I will be up early and underway so an early night looks important.
Tuesday, 31st
It was an early start because I woke at 4am and I started work on the Daily Notes & News at 5am. I knew I had to be up early because I had a teleconference at 8am so it is good to have a running start but unfortunate that I was really tired at the end of the day.
The teleconference was for the TCC to complete the arrangements for a farewell process for Bob Faser who concludes his time as the General Secretary in the next few weeks. Like any meeting when not everyone has the same material it was a bit of a hit and miss but we managed to get through and everything looks like it will be up and running by this time next week when the function is on.
I then headed for Glenorchy to see the former wife of the late Davor (David) Vukic to prepare for his funeral which will be celebrated at Moonah on Friday. His funeral makes three for the week and the rest of today has been spent on the leaflets for all three funerals - for the late Stephen Cashion (tomorrow), for Terry Maddox (Thursday) and for David Vukic on Friday. I still have the Big Books to complete but the rest has been done.
I also called into Glenorchy Parish to see what is happening about their Computer and they are being held up waiting for a second quote for the upgrade. Hopefully they will get on with it and not wait too much longer. I then got a call from Graham's saying that they had the bromide for the booklet for Stephen Cashion so I headed there and collected it before calling into a retail outlet in Glenorchy and purchased a new vacuum cleaner for the house - hopefully this time we have got it right.
I've just spoken to the contact at the RSL re starting time for the making of the puddings and also arranged that the time the supplier can deliver the ingredients is convenient for them. I still need to collect some of the things that I need from two firms around the Moonah area tomorrow as my trip to Graham's today meant that my timing was out.
Now for bed as I am tired and each day seems to be getting longer and longer.
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