Dear friends,

The 15 days Central Europe pilgrimage is over. I hope that our parishioners have returned safe and sound. I stayed back in Munich to visit my younger sister who lives and works there. Afterwards, I will travel to Schweinfurt to pray at the graveside of my parents before heading back to Sydney where I will arrive on Saturday 31st May. According to the Mass schedule, I am due for the Sunday evening Mass at 6pm. I am really looking forward to it. While we had our daily Mass during the pilgrimage, it is not the same as to celebrate the Eucharist with my parish family.

I would like to thank Fr Kevin and Fr Thomas for their loyal support and assistance during my absence. Likewise, I very grateful to Monica for her generous presence in the office. Betty will return on 2nd of June. Then, our office will operate with full strength.

By now, the interior demolition (including the asbestos clearing) and cleaning of the roof of the old church must have been completed. It means that we now may put the old church to the test and start using it for a few large gatherings (such as our Pentecost brunch?) if the roof is stable and is not leaking. It is only the first step of the renovation. There are still many things to do. My intention is to return the stain glass picturing Mary and John under Cross (currently located in the side chapel next to choir) to its original place in the old church and replace it with a set of stain glasses similar to the surrounding glasses. At the same time, I would like to repair the other broken stain glasses of St Michael’s as well.

Still, I am aware that it may cost a substantial sum of money. Currently, we are not able to cover the cost fully because the sale of the brass plates and donation are insufficient to carry out this step of renovation. We may do it bit by bit depending on the flow of donation.

The main priority is the replacement of the carpet at St Michaels. I still hope that we can find a good and affordable solution for this much needed project. As you know, the parish finance is still very fragile. While we need to invest in our parish facilities, we also need to repay 61K of unpaid bills and charges dating back to 2018.

As we approach the Pentecost, I can only pray that the Holy Spirit gives the members of the PFC and me the wisdom to make the right decisions for our parish. Pentecost reminds us of the promise Jesus made to send the Holy Spirit to guide and empower his disciples. The Holy Spirit strengthens us in the faith and helps us to live as followers of Christ. After receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the apostles boldly proclaimed the message of Jesus Christ, leading to the spread of Christianity throughout the world. Pentecost challenges us to share the

faith with others and participate in the Church’s mission of evangelization.

Pentecost is a joyous celebration of the Holy Spirit’s presence and power in the life of the Church and individual believers. As Catholics, we can prepare for and celebrate Pentecost by deepening our relationship with the Holy Spirit, embracing our call to mission and unity, and sharing the love of Christ with others.

For this reason, can I invite you (both communities at St Michael’s and Our Lady of Lourdes) to come and to celebrate together our Sunday’s Pentecost Brunch on 8th June after the 10am Mass. This would be a wonderful occasion to live our Unity (one parish) in Diversity (two communities).

Perhaps, you can help us preparing for this festive event. Please use this link for more details: https://forms.office.com/ r/0y7L3XCA99

See you on Sunday
Fr Joe