As the weather warms up, it appears that the people of the West are coming out of hibernation! During mid-September to mid-November our priests, Fr Raj & Fr Shaiju, were consecutively able to take a well-earned break.  With no relieving priests available, this meant only one priest for our Cluster of Parishes during this time.  Thank you to all those in our communities who stepped up to plan and lead Liturgy of the Word with Communion and other prayer services when regular Masses were unable to be held.  Both priests are now back in the West and working hard with many end of year school events, a school Feast Day, baptisms and even a wedding!

With the gradual easing of COVID restrictions, and the assistance and encouragement of local governments, a number of parishes were able to hold their annual Christmas Fairs and Fetes.  Many people in these towns were grateful for the opportunity to come together in a COVID safe way and enjoy the various entertainment and activities.  Congratulations to the Barcaldine and Blackall Fair Committees for hosting two wonderful community events. 

Earlier this year a new pastoral approach was implemented in the West - two priests sharing a residence and working in solidum, along with a part-time Pastoral Coordinator, Sr Mary in Western Pastoral Ministry and the Regional Pastoral Council.  The people of the West were grateful for the recent opportunity to review this model by providing feedback and ideas to Sr Noreen Dunne.  In a very short space of time, Sr Noreen gathered the information and then presented the findings to Bishop Michael and the Regional Pastoral Council.  The recommendations of the review are being investigated and, where possible, implemented by the respective personnel.  We would all very much like to thank Sr Noreen who gave up so much of her time, at very short notice, to coordinate and conduct the review.

Loretta McKeering
Pastoral Coordinator Central West

How the Review took place

On Thursday, October 29^th travelling west “on a mission” Sr Noreen stopped at Alpha to meet with Trish Mahon and Sharon Wilson, leaders in the little community of St. John’s. Bishop Michael had asked Sister to visit communities in the western part of the Diocese so that they could respond to three questions framed as a means towards evaluating the new model of ministry which he had put in place early this year (see the Catholic Leader, 23rd February).  Late that afternoon 137 km further on, Sister met with representatives of Sacred Heart parish in Barcaldine posing the same questions to them:

* What has worked well over these past nine months?

* What have been the challenges?

* What do you envisage for the future?

Some of the Longreach Gathering

The next gathering was not until Saturday morning at Longreach (St. Brigid’s parish) and so on Friday there was time to collate notes and record them on the laptop. It was also an opportunity for the three Sisters in town (Noreen, Rita and Mary) to have lunch together, to share thoughts and to enjoy each others’ company. Other meetings in Sr Noreen’s schedule were at Longreach on Saturday morning, after Mass at Tambo (Our Lady of Victories) on Sunday morning and mid afternoon at Blackall (St. Patrick’s) that same day. On Monday morning began the long return journey! Everyone appreciated the opportunity to share with Sr Noreen and so to provide feedback to Bishop Michael.

Sr Mary (Western Pastoral Ministry)