Sleeping under the stars: Fr Gerard raises $5000 for homelessness support services
TRADING in a warm bed for a night on the beach, under three pieces flimsy cardboard, Fr Gerard Lai recently took on the 2026 Vinnies CEO Sleepout, representing Maroochydore Parish. “I woke up at 1:30am to my structure completely collapsed,” he said. It was an “open rooftop, beach sleepout experience”. The hardest part, Fr Lai…
Read MoreA rough night ahead: Fr Gerard ‘sleeps out’ to help people facing homelessness
FR Gerard Lai loves a good adventure but this one, he says, “will be a bit different”. Fr Lai and Stella Maris Primary School principal Mark Ballam have been preparing to take part in the CEO Vinnies Sleepout next Thursday, June 18 at Maroochydore Beach. It will be “a rough sleep for a good cause”,…
Read MoreLiving out Matthew 4:19, Fr Gerard Lai begins his ‘next chapter’ at Maroochydore
A once young boy who aspired to play for the Socceroos and become a scientist has now grown up to become a Catholic priest. “I wanted to save the planet and be a researcher for renewable energies or in biofortification,” Fr Gerard Lai said. It was “interesting how God was calling me to help…
Read MoreSayōnara
Over the past three and a half years, it has been an incredible privilege to serve the Maroochydore parish. It was quite a shock to hear that I would be leaving so soon, and it is not easy to say goodbye to such an amazing parish that I have poured so much of myself into.…
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