|
Vicar's Musings for Ordinary Sunday 3318 November, 2018 On Thursday evening 90 Parishioners and Friends of St Peter's Eastern Hill gathered for a celebratory meal, to mark the Wayside Cross of Sacrifice restoration, and the development of our new Memorial Plaza. A big thank you to everyone who came to the Dinner, and to all who have donated so generously to this project over the year. We now have well over three-quarters of the funds required. I would also like to thank the Foundation Trustees and the Fundraising sub-committee for their leadership, and especially Krystyna Campbell-Pretty who has been such a driving force and an inspiration. My Musings this week are drawn from the speech I gave at the Dinner. Welcome to our celebration of the nearing-completion of the St Peter's Wayside Cross of Sacrifice Memorial Plaza. A potted history, if I may; in under 3 minutes! In 2014 the St Peter's Eastern Hill Melbourne Charitable Foundation, chaired by Mr John Taaff, made a decision to foster the development of a coffee cart social enterprise at St Peter's; acting on the recommendations of the 2013 report "Future Directions for the Lazarus Centre" by Dr Ree Boddé. Around this time St Peter's parishioner, Mr Bill Mole, commissioned Tract Consultants to develop preliminary plans for a Corner Plaza, from which a coffee cart social enterprise could trade. The vision was building. A dear friend from my Geelong Grammar days, the Hon. Frank Callaway, then gave a very generous donation to the Foundation for this project and, on his tragic death, gave a significant bequest that gave us the confidence — as poor church mice — to embark on this ambitious Corner Plaza project. As part of the St Peter's Parish Mission in July 2015, led by English Bishop Stephen Cottrell, a coffee cart was piloted by barista Mr Adolf Mora; this has been trading as a social enterprise on Sundays ever since. Thanks to the generous support of our Foundation Fundraising Committee Chair, Krystyna Campbell-Pretty, Trethowan Architecture was commissioned in 2017 to complete the planning and approvals process. Work finally commenced on the Corner Plaza in August 2018, and we are well on track for completion at the end of February 2019. This gathering tonight is a baby shower, if you like. We are nearly there after a long gestation. After the birth we are planning a big Christening Party, on the new Corner Plaza, so watch this space; you are all invited! The Rev'd Dr Hugh Kempster |
Views is a publication of |
|
Authorized by the Vicar
(vicar@stpeters.org.au) |