The Catholic Weekly 26 April 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 10 NEWS 26, April, 2020 HOPE IS spreading faster than a virus in Strathfield. That’s be- cause hope is even more con- tagious. Thousands of people across Sydney and beyond will soon be wearing a clear acrylic keepsake emblazoned with the word ‘hope’ that the parish has produced and sent to bishops around the country in the hope that they will use them in their own dioceses. The keepsake comes with a free prayer card that can also be downloaded from the St Martha’s website. It’s just one of the ways the parish team led by Fr Jacek Cichy have come up with to spread hope not only to the elderly and isolated parishion- ers but all affected by the virus pandemic. Pastoral care packages in- cluding items such as holy wa- ter, prayer cards and the week- ly bulletin are being delivered weekly to elderly and isolated parishioners, and vulnerable parishioners are telephoned each week. “Isolation is difficult for the older community, and just knowing there is someone they can contact who lives close by and can drop off some grocer- ies or tell them how they can watch a live-streamed Mass can give them a lot of comfort,” said sacramental coordinator Patricia Saad. The church is illuminated from within every night, with a sacred space including a large cross and statue of St Martha just inside. The altar and tab- ernacle are also clearly visible fromoutside to the peoplewho spontaneously stop by to pray in ones and twos. Jason Gereis was one of the volunteers who delivered palm crosses, holy water and prayer leaflets to a number of parish- ioners before Palm Sunday. From a table outside the front door parishioners can take the weekly bulletin, prayers, inspirational quotes from saints or other materials which are regularly updated to provide faith nourishment. Along with St Mary’s Cathe- dral and other Sydney parish- es, St Martha’s rings its bells five times each day for the Church’s special intentions during the pandemic, while its 10am Sunday Mass is live- streamed via Facebook and YouTube. Fr Jacek said he is as busy as ever and would be planning new ways to spread hope on ANZACDay andMother’s Day. “We chose the concept of hope for our campaign because hope is something all of us rec- ognise that we need; Catholics, non-Catholics and non-believ- ers,” he said. “I am very grateful to our Parish wastes no time going onto the front foot to counter pandemic blues ¾ ¾ Marilyn Rodrigues St Martha’s on a mission to spread hope Shining a light: Fr Jacek Cichy stands inside the stained glass windows that are illuminated every night. PHOTOS: GIOVANNI PORTELLI A young parishioner helps his grandfather to see livestreamed Mass from St Martha’s, above. Children proudly display a palm, Hope candle and prayer card produced by St Martha’s. PHOTOS: GIOVANNI PORTELLI volunteers because there are a lot of people involved in this process of spreading hope.The building may be locked up but the church is definitely alive.” Parish secretary Nicole Mazzaferro agreed that a small teamof people “movedmoun- tains” when churches were closed to pivot to live-stream- ing Masses, revamping St Mar- tha’s website and launching the ‘hope’ campaign. It wouldn’t have been pos- sible without the enthusiastic support of local businesses Clare Communications, The Net Unleashed and Trophy Land, she added. “There is a lot of pastoral work to do because people can’t come to the church so we have to bring the church to people,” she said. Mrs Saad said that St Mar- tha’s had adapted to serve its parishioners in countless ways over more than 100 years. “This is an unusual time and very worrying for many peo- ple, but we want to tell every- one that you can have hope, and you can carry hope wher- ever you go,” she said. Long-time parishioner and lector Greg Glass said that while he misses going to daily Mass “nothing can stop you going by the door and making a visit in that way to the Bless- ed Sacrament”. “I was raised to never walk past a church, to always stop and make a visit,” he said. Mr Glass said he is convinced that the restrictions on churches would open “new doors to prayer”. Newleader forBroken BayEd A SYDNEY man who be- came one of the most important civil servants in the Vatican has been appointed Director of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Broken Bay. Bishop Anthony Ran- dazzo announced the appointment of Danny Casey as Interim Director of Schools for the next 12 months, effective from 20 April. For more than two years Mr Casey was Di- rector of the Secretariat for the Economy for Vat- ican City under Cardinal George Pell. In his Vatican role he was key to Pope Francis’s efforts to financially re- form the Vatican and root out corruption. As well as being an ac- tivemember of St Agatha’s Parish in Pennant Hills, Mr Casey is well known for his work in Catholic organisations, including the Chief Executive Of- ficer for World Youth Day in Sydney 2008. He was also Business Manager for the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney under Archbishop and then-Cardinal Pell. Mr Casey takes over from Dr Anthony Brack- en, who temporarily held the position and will re- turn to his previous role as Deputy Director of the National Catholic Educa- tion Commission. “I am delighted to be appointed as Interim Di- rector of Schools in the Diocese and very much look forward to connect- ing with you in the times ahead.” Mr Casey stat- ed in a letter to staff and parents following his ap- pointment. “The Catholic schools of Broken Bay have a wonderful history of ser- vice to the community. “Through the dedicat- ed service of teachers, the support staff and all those who serve in the Catholic Schools Office, we have shaped the lives of many thousands of students – helping them grow in their faith and achieve their potential.” Mr Casey says that while there are a number of immediate challenges to face due to the COV- ID-19 pandemic, he looks forward to the opportuni- ty to engage with as many people as possible, using suitable methods to share and develop ideas. NE