our diocesan community - Catholic Diocese of Ballarat - Australian ...

Diocesan Personnel
Appointments
Bishop Connors has announced the following appointments:
• Fr. Trevor Hird has taken up an appointment as assistant priest
in Colac and will be the visiting priest to the Parishes of Timboon
& Cororooke;
• Sr Noreen Ryan RSM will be the Parish Coordinator of the
Timboon parish;
• A pilot leadership program will commence in the Parish of
Cororooke with a team of three parishioners being discerned to
coordinate parish life;
• Fr. Eric Bryant has been appointed Parish Priest of Stawell;
• Fr. Bill Van de Camp has been appointed Parish Priest of the
Parishes of Koroit and Port Fairy;
• Fr. Greg Tait has concluded his term as Administrator of the
Parish of Maryborough. A permanent appointment will be made in
the coming weeks;
• Fr. Justin Driscoll has been appointed Administrator of St.
Patrick’s Cathedral and Parish and the Parishes of Saint Columba,
North Ballarat and Saint James, Sebastopol.
A Life Well Lived
Life long resident of Yambuk and prolific worker for St. Joseph’s Parish,
Port Fairy, Mrs Mary Crowe, died aged 84 years, in late November
2007. After her funeral Mass in a packed St. Joseph’s Church, Mary
was laid to rest in Port Fairy Cemetery.
In her early years, Mary Crowe attended school in the original stone
building, opened as a school in 1857, and later dedicated as a church
in 1861. After her schooling, and having developed a love of music,
Mary returned to assist with music lessons, school concerts, and she
helped to organise debutante balls.
Also, in adult life, Mary served as church organist for many years,
washed church linen, catered for card nights, regularly attended
working bees, and supported fund raising functions for the Port Fairy
Hospital. Mary was a great-niece of Dame Mary Gilmore, and she
fondly kept correspondence from Dame Mary.
After Mary received a Box Brownie camera for her 14th birthday,
she became the parish wedding photographer. Mary Crowe was
a vital contributor to the recent St. Joseph’s 75 Years (new church)
celebrations, which she lived to enjoy, volunteering interesting stories
and historical photographs.
Mary (Carroll) and her late husband, William Crowe, raised 5 children
on the family farm, “Glenone”, 4km east of Yambuk, where Mary spent
her final years. A family and parish gathering will commemorate Mary’s
life with the planting of a native tree in the church grounds. R.I.P.
EFFECTIVE MINISTRY
IN A HURTING WORLD
Our Lady Help of Christians Parish, Wendouree is
offering an exciting opportunity for those who see the
pastoral care of God’s people as a way to participate
in the ministry of the Church. In association with
the Pastoral Counselling Institute in Sydney, a body
within the Board of Education of the Uniting Church in
Australia, the parish is sponsoring the opportunity for
interested people to obtain Certificate IV in Pastoral
Counselling Skills.
The Pastoral Counselling Institute brings into creative
dialogue the disciplines of theology and the behavioural
sciences in order to provide pastoral educational
programs and counselling services for the community.
The Institute emerged from a desire to develop an
integrated model of pastoral care and counselling
that took account of the richness of both theology and
the behavioural sciences. To achieve this goal the
Institute has established training programs from basic
to advanced levels, counselling that incorporates a
faith dimension and community programs that offer
practical support to people in need. These programs
can be offered on request.
The Certificate IV in Pastoral Counselling Skills trains
people to provide:
• Practical visitation in parish, community and
hospital settings
• Effective listening and care
• A connection between faith concerns and life
problems
• A caring link between church and community
• Referral for further counselling
It also gives a solid foundation for a ministry of pastoral
care by teaching:
• A Biblical understanding of caring
• The nature of helping relationships
• The essence of pastoral counselling
• Models for thinking theologically
• Basic counselling Skills
Through four sessions
of three day intensives
from October, 2008 to
July, 2009, people can
discover how to use
their gifts in a variety of
ministry settings. Join the
growing team of people
providing effective care
in a world of increasing
pain and struggle. Catch
the vision of a ministry in
which all participate.
For more information
contact:
OLHC Parish
482 Gillies Street,
Wendouree.
Ph: 03/ 5339 2302
Email: wendouree@ballarat.catholic.org.au
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Our Diocesan Community - April 2008