Latest Parish News

Term 2 starts this week with school resuming so we wave goodbye to visiting families who have been enjoying the Sunshine Coast over the holidays. The new term is a busy time for our parish family with the NET team fully engaged at Siena and our Confirmation programme beginning with the parent information night on Wednesday 24 April.

Anyone going shopping?

I must go shopping this week! Since the Easter rush is over, I am completely out of generosity and I must get some more. I also want to exchange the self-satisfaction I picked up the other day for some real humility – I have heard some people say it wears better! I must look out for some tolerance, which is worn as a wrap this year, especially by all the holiday makers! I saw samples of kindness in a catalogue. Well, over Lent and Easter I know I am a little low on that and it is one thing you can never have too much of! And I must try and match some patience. I saw it on a friend and it looked so good I thought it might look just as good on me. Now that winter is approaching and all those hot and humid days are behind us, I must remember to get my sense of humour mended and keep my eyes open for some inexpensive goodness. At this time of year, it is good to take a bit of a stocktake – it is surprising how one’s stock of essential goods gets depleted – sometimes without you even noticing! Yes, I must go shopping today! How about you?

Historic Photos

We are planning to enlarge and frame some historic photos for the new meeting room – if anyone has some inside experience, expertise or advice could you please contact Fr Peter or Robyn Jewry at the Parish Office on 07 5443 3488 or email [email protected]

On the journey—Where life meets Faith

We welcome into God’s Family, the Church, Marcello Gabrielli, Bella Hine, Alumeci Tavodi-Smith, Maximus Zumbo and Iris Garzon who will be baptised this weekend in our parish.

We pray for all those who have died, especially this weekend we pray for our former assistant priest, Fr Marty Larson.

Also we remember George Verlaque, John Reddy and Aida Hulse. Aida’s funeral will be celebrated on 16 April.

May the souls of all our departed through the rich mercy of God, Rest in Peace.

Fr Marty Larson’s FUNERAL UPDATE:

A Vigil Liturgy will be celebrated at St Brigid’s, Red Hill at 7.00pm on Wednesday 17 April. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, 18 April 2024 at 10.30am at The Cathedral of St Stephen. The funeral will proceed to the Nudgee Cemetery for the Rite of Christian Burial.
We pray for his family and friends as we remember Fr Marty at this time of sadness.

A New Ministry

Over the last two years we have deliberately concentrated on upgrading and improving our audio visual and sound equipment across the parish. You might have noticed last week wider screens at Mass. Next week hopefully a new projector will be installed in Stella Maris – being so close to the sea the atmosphere has a detrimental effect upon all our equipment. Finally we have the ability to reintroduce live streaming of our Masses and other liturgical services at Stella Maris. This is an important service we provide to our Catholic brothers and sisters who cannot join us at Mass. We want to start a new ministry and develop a roster of parishioners who are willing to help with the live streaming. It is a very simple and straight forward ministry with clear guidelines – would you like to be involved? Is this ministry for you? Please give us a call to register your interest or email [email protected]

Back in Action

Our Young Adult group continues every Sunday evening after the 5pm Mass. All senior students, young adults and university students are welcome to join us at 6pm for a semiformal sharing of some food and faith development. Bring a friend!

Countdown—Confirmation Programme

Registrations are now open for Confirmation. If you have a child in Year 3, or older, please enrol online via our parish website. Parent Information night will be held at the Stella Maris Church, Maroochydore on 24 April at 5.00pm. Once again, we are delighted that Fr Richard Leonard will lead the parent information session. Please visit our web page for further information and to register your child: enrol your child.

Bon Appetit

Each year, Archbishop Coleridge hosts a dinner at Wynberg, his official residence in Brisbane for all young men and women who are discerning a vocation to priesthood or religious life. It is a chance for the Archbishop to meet and share some of his story and talk about some of the current exciting challenges and his vision for our local church. If you would like more information or would like to receive an invitation to the dinner, contact Fr Isaac, Fr Peter or Fr Joe.

A Warm Welcome

Our Parish “Welcome Night” for all new parishioners and returning parishioners is on this Tuesday evening, from 6.00 to 7.30pm at the Stella Maris presbytery. Everyone who took a “Welcome Pack” and completed and returned the details should have by now received an invitation. If you have not please contact the Parish Office on Monday on 07 5443 3488 or email [email protected]

Catholic Formation – Module 3 – Being Sacramental – Unwrapping priceless gifts!

This module begins on this Monday, 15 April at 7.00pm and continues for the next 8 Monday evenings. We create a hub at Stella Maris and will participate in the live stream coming from Holy Spirit Seminary. This is faith education at its best and if you want to be part of this module, you need to contact Carrolyn Watt at the office on Monday.

Don’t forget to support Fr Isaac’s Mullet!!!

The return of the Mullet!

Fr Isaac returns to work after his two weeks leave and hopefully sporting at least the start of a mullet!

During April, he will grow a mullet to raise awareness of the Black Dog Institute in support of their important work in combating mental illness. One in five of us will experience symptoms of mental illness in any given year so the funds raised by Fr Isaac will support the Black Dog Institute to provide aware- ness for suicide prevention and mental health research. If you would like to financially support Fr Isaac’s mullet simply follow this link. Thank you for your support.

School holiday launch – Easter Capers – Fun Days with God

Singing, dancing and making flower and heart crafts were a hit at the Fun Days with God launch at the Stella Maris Catholic Parish last Monday.

More than 50 kids attended the inaugural Easter Capers event! The next Fun Day with God including singing, prayer, drama, games and bible stories will be in the Winter school holidays on Wednesday 26 June.

For more information or to express your interest please email Bernie Baillie at [email protected] or phone the Parish Office on 07 5443 3488.

Sisterhood Wine & Cheese

Our next sisterhood gathering is fast approaching. Our April meeting is shaping up to be another fun filled and formative evening. We’ve jumped at the opportunity to have Fr Joe give us a short talk whilst he is here, we’re looking forward to being inspired by his knowledge and teaching on symbols in the Church.

Come join us Tuesday 23 April , 6.00—8.00pm.

Together ~ A True Team Effort

With the glow of the Easter Resurrection still illuminating our journey and the memory of so many liturgies over Holy Week still fresh in our minds, it is important to recognise and acknowledge everyone who helped make it all possible. We are privileged to belong to a parish of very generous people! Throughout Lent and Holy Week, so many nameless fellow parishioners were involved in making our liturgies moments of grace and hope. From cleaners to musicians, sacristans to liturgical art, readers to office staff and helpers, so many people were involved – and each person a valuable and indispen- sable part of our faith community. A grateful parish says thank you. As a way of acknowledging everyone who played a role in ensuring all our Holy Week ceremonies went so smoothly, I would like to invite all those involved to a small thank you party on Monday evening, April 22 at 6pm. If you played any part – don’t be shy! If you can bring a plate that would be great. To help with catering, it would be appreciated if you RSVP by contacting the Parish Office on 07 5443 3488.

Commissioning Mass

The St Vincent de Paul Society in Australia has more than 45,000 members and volunteers, who work hard to assist people in need and combat social injustice across Australia. Certainly, for our two Vinnies conferences at Maroochydore and Coolum, the members aspire to live the gospel message by serving the poor with love and respect, acknowledging the God given dignity of each person who asks for assistance. The work of St Vincent de Paul is “faith in action” and the members, fellow parishioners, strive to offer “a hand up” to people in need.

The Maroochydore Conference , cordially invite all parishioners to their Conference Mass and the Commissioning of their new President, Carmel Barbagallo, this Friday 19 April at 9.00am at the Stella Maris morning Mass. There will be light refreshments served after the ceremony. If you would like to discover more about the work of our local Vinnies conferences, why not come along and join them this Friday?

Holy Communion to the Sick & Housebound

Any parishioners who wish to take Holy Communion to our brothers and sisters who are sick, housebound or in hospital or a nursing home must be listed on the “Register of Parishioners commissioned to take Holy Communion to the Sick”, which can be found at the entrance of the church. This is an important ministry and out of reverence for the Blessed Sacrament we have strict protocols. If you have not been commissioned to do this ministry, please speak to one of the priests who can commission you. Each time you take the Blessed Sacrament from the Church, you are required to complete the details on the distribution sheet at the entrance of the Church. Thank you for your ministry.

Finance Committee Update

This is a report from the Finance Committee that held its scheduled meeting at Stella Maris on Tuesday 9 April 2024. In attendance were Kev Donahoe, Tim Hishon, Peter Donelon, Bev Nunan, Lorraine Nolan, Fr Peter Brannelly with apologies from Fr Isaac Falzon. After the opening prayer, the minutes of the previous meeting were approved and matters arising included:
The financial figures for 2023 were tabled and approval was given for them to be independently audited by Colquhourns Qld Pty Ltd and the report forwarded to the Archdiocese. The financial figures for the three months of this year were reviewed and it was noted that March’s deficit of $7,760.56 was due to additional audio and NET team costs. The budget for the parish for 2024 was reviewed and approved.

Ten years ago land was sold at Buderim and proceeds of the sale was quarantined and was only to be used at Buderim. The decision has been made to utilize these funds to build a small two bedroom cottage at St Mary’s. In total we now have $488,000 for this project. It is envisioned that the cottage will provide accommodation for a retired priest. Approval was given for plans to be drawn up.

The internal renovations have been completed in the Parish Office with the creation of a new small interview room, separate photocopy & store room and new reception desk. The former vesting room and chair storage has been converted into a new meeting room with a designated area for priests’ vesting relocated to the area adjacent to the sacristy. The major audio-visual upgrade has been completed and a new projector will be installed within the month bringing the project to a conclusion.

Naming of the new Columbarium walls at Stella Maris was agreed (Isaiah & Samuel). New brochures have also been prepared giving details of the 3 parish Columbarium walls located at Maroochydore, Coolum and Buderim. The cost for an individual niche is $2250.

A report was given on the work of the NET team and the costs involved in accommodation and providing for their supervision and on going training. Favourable reports from the schools and parish communities have been received. The Finance Committee agreed to prior- itise funding in next year’s budget for a NET team for 2025.

There were no Workplace Health & Safety issues to report.

Repair and maintenance issues were discussed including the major repairs required on the roof of St Peter’s, Coolum. It was noted that there has been a team of volunteers that have been busy maintaining and repairing our church buildings. Especially at Sippy Downs, the verandah and wood doors have been stripped back and stained, walls cleaned and rust and water issues addressed. The parish is grateful for their skills and generosity of time. It was noted that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the opening of St Catherine of Siena church and the Archbishop has agreed to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving in October. In preparation for the anniversary, there are several minor repairs and improvements that need to be undertaken.

The Parish Profit & Loss statement for 2023 will be posted on the Parish Web Page and will be available for perusal until the end of the month. The committee members were conscious of the generous financial support of fellow parishioners whose continued trust has enabled the committee to cover the parish expenses and budget for the future. The meeting ended with prayer. The next meeting of the Parish Finance committee will be on Monday 10 June.

Finance Committee’s Income & Expenditure Report

Archdiocese of Brisbane Synod24

This year, the Archdiocese will celebrate SYNOD24 to mark the Implementation Phase of the Plenary Council. Together we’ll discern the practical and Spirit-led actions that we, as the Archdiocese of Brisbane, need to undertake to be a more co-responsible church on mission. These actions will take into consideration what is already happening across the Archdiocese that should be affirmed, what learnings can be harnessed and shared, and where the gaps and needs are. SYNOD24 will take place over two sessions, 6 and 7 September and and 11 and 12 October, with the Opening and Closing Masses open to the public. More information on the SYNOD24 journey will be released regularly, so head to www.aobsynod2024.com to refresh yourself on the Plenary Journey so far and to learn more about SYNOD24.