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Vicar's Musings for Ordinary Sunday 3130 October, 2016 Following Parish Council each month, ahead of the minutes being made available to parishioners, Fr Hugh likes to give a summary of his report so that the wider parish are well informed of parish issues and news. Parish Council Retreat. The new Parish Council, to be elected next month at the Annual Meeting, will start the year off on retreat together at the Community of the Holy Name. Our focus will be "Forgiveness & Kindness" — a theme for 2017 our parish. Staff News. Bp Graeme Rutherford will be retiring from his stipended position at St Peter's at the end of May next year. Caroline will also be retiring from her job and they are planning an overseas trip to celebrate. There will be a special service of thanksgiving for Bp Graeme's ministry in our parish at Pentecost, Sunday 4th June. Pastoral Ministry. The past fortnight has been a busy time pastorally. We have had "four funerals and a wedding" quite literally, as well as two baptisms, and a number of sick parishioners to visit and care for. I thank God for our pastoral and liturgical teams, both staff and volunteers, who give so generously of their time. Newer Parishioners. We have been blessed with a number of newer parishioners over recent months, especially at the 11am High Mass. My thanks to Rhonda and her team, who serve faithfully at the Welcome Table. And to all parishioners — please be aware of new people joining the church and make them welcome each week. News from Parliament. Our neighbour is planning to update the fence between St Peter's and State Parliament. This will require the Vicarage fence to be replaced. To help fund this we are looking at the possibility of replacing the large Pheonix Palm tree with a smaller one, which would have the added benefit of being more easily harvested for Palm Sunday. Klingner Scholarship. Applications close at the end of this month. We are offering a double-scholarship this year for anyone interested in hands-on ministry training in the area of children and youth ministry. Upcoming Services and Events. We have a busy couple of months coming up: one of the leading Jazz musicians in Melbourne, Tim Stevens, is giving a concert this afternoon, 4pm in the Parish Hall; the annual Jewish Christian and Muslim Association Friendship Walk is on Sunday 6th November at 2pm; on Thursday 1st December at 6.15pm we will host the World AIDS Day Mass; Saturday 3rd December at 7.30pm is our performance of "Messiah" with an incredible line-up of solists; Sunday 4th December is La Trobe Sunday, and Bp Genieve Blackwell will preach and preside at the 9.30am and 11am Masses. She will then stay on for "Holding the Light" an ecumenical service remembering victims of domestic violence, at 2.30pm. The Rev'd Dr Hugh Kempster |
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