Capricorn Coast News
Things are starting to slowly move again!!
A Funeral & Bereavement Ministry formation was held at Sacred Heart Church, Yeppoon on October 13th and 15th for all interested parishioners. Parishioners from St Joseph’s Cathedral Parish and North Rockhampton Catholic Community were also invited to attend.
On the 17th October, we were finally able to process our Paschal Candle and Sacred Oils for Baptism, Anointing of the Sick and Confirmation, back to Mary Immaculate Church, Emu Park. These oils were blessed by Bishop Michael at the Chrism Mass held at St Joseph’s Cathedral on October 12th.
On October 19th, Sr Kym opened up the Benedictine Monastery to parishioners from both sides of our parish. We held our first Coffee & Meet in the middle since the start of COVID. It was great to reconnect with other parishioners we might not have seen for a while, in such peaceful surroundings. I am looking forward to our next meet which will be held at the Monastery again on December 7th. This will be our Christmas get together, so wear your Christmas bling and feel free to share any special Christmas stories you may have.
On Sunday 24th October at Sacred Heart Church Yeppoon, we had the first scrutiny of our Catechumen, Gordon Gould. During this COVID time, our RCIA team have been travelling with him, online and in person, in this journey of faith. Initially he was to have celebrated Baptism, Confirmation and First Eucharist at Easter. It will now be a joyous celebration for him and our parish on the Feast of Christ the King.
At this Eucharist, we welcomed a group of Sisters of Mercy: Sr Bev Whitton, their community leader, along with Sisters Marie Riddel, Joanne Molloy, Brenda Moss, as well as two who are treasured members of our parish: Sr Grace Bartolo and Sr Desme Clarke. They were invited so that Fr Matthew, on behalf of the parish, could thank them for the gift of the beautiful church furniture from their former convent, Loreto, in Rockhampton. This furniture is especially appreciated in this time of COVID restrictions as they help make the distancing easier to fulfill and look 'normal' at the same time.
At Emu Park, October 24th had us once again sitting on pews (social distance rules ap
plied). This was thanks to a small group of men who I heard didn’t even have enough energy for a coffee afterwards but slept very well that night. Thank you to all involved in this task!!
We also sang “Happy Birthday” to a very special parishioner – Pat Ellrott, who happened to be having her birthday that day. During the month we also celebrated Robyn Wenman’s birthday, which was one of those special ‘0’ birthdays and Cecilia Sutton who celebrated her 98th birthday was taken out for lunch by a few parishioners.
We pray Pat, Robyn and Cecilia have a great year ahead.
We cannot finish without wishing our Year 12 students from St Ursula’s College and St Brendan’s College all the very best for their exams and God’s blessings for the road ahead.
HeleN McIntyre