The Catholic Weekly 14 June 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 7 14, June, 2020 In brief Free counsel on offer THE ARCHDIOCESE of Sydney’s social servic- es agency, CatholicCare Sydney, has announced it will offer free individu- al or couples’ counselling sessions for those feeling isolated or vulnerable as a result of COVID-19 re- strictions, prior to 30 June 2020. CatholicCare is offer- ing its team of qualified counsellors who can sup- port individuals, couples and families experiencing relationship and parent- ing issues, domestic and family violence and men- tal health concerns which have arisen during the lockdown. If you or someone you know needs help to get through this difficult time, CatholicCare’s CCareline can be contacted on 13 18 19 to begin access to counselling services. THE FOUNDATION for this story goes back to St Mary MacKillop, Julian Tenison Woods and the Sisters of St Jo- seph. “Never see a need and do nothing about it” — these words of Tenison Woods were carried on by the Sisters and still resonate in the schools and homes of the Josephite Missions. In 1964, St Mary’s Second- ary School was opened by the Sisters of St Joseph in the Lake Macquarie suburb of Gate- shead with the motto “Yes We’re Ready To Serve’’. This spirit and culture still burns within the St Mary’s community today. The COVID-19 pandemic has upset lives. It has brought about change, where people have lost their jobs, and be- come isolated, even alone for some. At St Mary’s, it was thought the coronavirus would result in the closure of the canteen. There were no longer stu- dents and canteen staff were concerned they would lose their jobs. Possible solutions were ex- amined. The college boasted a hos- pitality block and its staff — Deb Tserepas, Chris Shaw and Michelle Russell — began to cook dinners instead of pre- paring student lunches. This was to ease the bur- den of families who, with the added pressures of home schooling, social distancing, potential furloughing of jobs, siblings at home, lockdown restraints, shortages with su- permarket shopping, work and financial worries, would have one less thing to organ- ise and worry about. The staff and families could order the evening meal on- line and collect them from a drive-through at the school. The St Mary’s Ready To Serve Café takeaway had be- gun. The invitation was extend- Meal bank’s a hit Initiative sees schools canteen turned to community service during lockdown Canteen staff man the stoves at St Mary’s in Gateshead, in Lake Macquarie. ed to the St Mary’s community and asked that when they or- dered their meal, they pay for one extra — paying it forward. This deed of kindness en- abled donations for a meal bank to reach out to others in need to give them a hand-up and let them know they were not alone. The response was swift and overwhelming. Evening healthy meals are now being delivered to fami- lies who are in need. As at 21May, 300meals had been prepared and collected. From the generosity of community members, they have distributed 55 ‘pay-it- forward’ meals. As school life begins to re- turn to its regular timetabling, they will continue with this service on a smaller scale with a view to keeping the pay-it- forward going for as long as required. The satisfaction for all staff members who have been involved with this initiative has been immense and the knowledge that this service is helpful, and in some cases, crucial, has made the project truly worthwhile. In the next couple of weeks, St Mary’s will also make avail- able its very own olive harvest with funds from the purchase of jars going to the pay-it-for- ward initiative. Story republished with permission of the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-New- castle. ¾ ¾ Deanna Addicoat Serving the Sydney community since 1892 Our experienced Funeral Directors are committed to providing a personalised and meaningful service for your loved one. Prepaid funerals available. Newtown | Chatswood | Parramatta | Miranda 9519 5344 | wnbull.com.au The response was swift and overwhelm- ing. Evening healthy meals are now being deliv- ered to families who are in need.” FROM PAGE 1 Another parishioner, Rob Tib- bertsma agreed that while many things in life can translate quite well to a move online, the Mass is not one of them. “I can work effectively on- line and domany things and it’s not a big deal, but Mass is a big deal,” he said. “Obviously many others also felt the same way, that our faith community is the most important thing in life.” Parish priest Father Mar- tin Maunsell estimated that well over a thousand people watched each livestreamed Mass, including from outside Eastwood, over the lockdown period and he hoped to see healthynumbers return toMass in the church as soon as possi- ble. Like churches across the city Mass joy as families return it had COVID-safety signs on windows, taped-off holy water fonts and pews, hand sanitiser and sign-in sheet and stickers on the floor and pews marking places to stand, queue and sit. “I’m pleasantly surprised things are coming back so soon,” Fr Martin said. “We have hadnonew local cases of the vi- rus for a while in NSW and are doing physical distancing very well.” The Archdiocese of Sydney launched the petition on 27 May after pleas from religious and some civic leaders to lift the limit on worshippers from 10 to 50, in line with other social ven- ues, fell on deaf ears. “The closure of our churches and indeed of all places of wor- shiphasbeendeeplydistressing for many people of faith in our community,” said Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP when it was announced that churches could open for up to 50 people. “With restrictions easing, many were concerned that the churches were being left be- hind, and wanted to make their voices heard,” he said. “People of faith weren’t asking for spe- cial treatment but wanted to be treated equally.” The closure of our churches ... has been deeply distress- ing for many people of faith in our community.” Archbishop Fisher OP NEWS