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SandPiper – March 2009 NewsPage 3Festival a Mediterranean feast Diocesan financecommittee namedTHE Rotary Club of BendigoSouth presents the secondBendigo Olive fiesta to beheld at 10am on SundayMarch, 1 at the Bendigo Pottery.Sample olives and olive products,Mediterranean food, winetasting, great entertainmentincluding Italian, Greek andTurkish music, belly dancing andchildren’s entertainment.Attend a workshop on picklingolives, pruning olive trees andinformation on selecting an olivetree.A gala dinner was also held onSaturday evening February 28, atthe Bendigo Pottery.Joanna Savill, co-creator andpresenter of the SBS TV series TheFood Lovers’ Guide to Australia,provided the entertainment.The major recipient of fundsraised from both the dinner andthe Sunday fiesta is the MaureenConsidine Funds' Project of buildinga facility for intellectually disabledadults.Given the recent fires inBendigo, the Rotary Club ofBendigo South will also be makinga donation to benefit the firevictims.Visit www.bendigoolivefi esta.com.au or phone 0419 546 739 for moreinformation.A DIOCESAN financecommittee has been appointedBy Bishop JoeGrech to assist in theoverall management ofDiocesan finances.Bishop Joe is the committeePresident, and hasappointed Mgr Frank Marriottas Administrator.Other members includeTom Chick, Shepparton; PeterBugden, Bendigo; JosephineYork, Bendigo; Tony Beuthune,Wodonga; and BarbarahPilkington-Evans, Shepparton.The committee's guidelinesare yet be set; however, its aimswill include assisting parishesin arranging budgets and preparingaccounts that are commonacross the diocese.Pastoralletter fromBishop JoeTogether: The ecumenical service at the Sacred Heart Cathedral brought together more than 900 community members, andincluded prayers offered by non-Catholic faiths including CFA Chaplain Tracey Wolsley (top right).Heartbreak atbushfire tollPARISHIONERS acrossthe Sandhurst Diocese havebeen affected by the horrendousBlack Saturday fires ofFebruary 7.The parishes of Cathedral,Eaglehawk, Heathcote-Redesdale,Myrtleford, Beechworth, parts ofTallangatta and Wodonga, all suffereddamage from the fires.The death toll of at least 209from across Victoria shocked thecommunity, and prompted theDiocese to host an EcumenicalPrayer Service in the Sacred HeartCathedral, on Monday, Feburary16.More than 900 attendedthe service, which includedprayers offered by the Bishop ofSandhurst, Bishop Joseph Grech,the Anglican Bishop of Bendigo,Bishop Andrew Curnow, theReverend Kevin Dobson of theUniting Church, and ministersfrom other Bendigo Churches.The service was an opportunityfor the community to gather toexpress their grief at the tragedythat has gripped our state and topray for God’s ongoing love andprotection.Bishop Andrew gave the openingaddress:"We the fractured people ofGod gather here tonight, in thepresence of our God and our community,to pray for those whohave lost their lives, those whohave lost their homes, those whohave lost their dreams, and thosewho do not feel safe."As believers in Christ, we arepeople of hope and resurrection,we believe that all things that happenin our lives matters to our God.Together we can achieve muchmore than alone. Together weacknowledge the heartbreak andfear which has come to our doors,and together we gain strength tocreep forward."Bishop Joe followed in presentingthe opening prayer:"God our creator,"You have given us this landand gifted us with our lives."Throughout history you havebeen present to the joys and sufferingsof our lives."We ask you to help us to bearthe sorrow of the loss of life anddreams during the tragedy ofthese bushfires."Be our strength as we seekunderstanding, weep with us aswe mourn, and celebrate with usthe small victories of success andlife."We ask all this through Christour Lord, who walked this fragileearth with us and dwells with usstill in the Holy Spirit."Members of the communityalso participated in the liturgy,with Tracey Wolsley from theCountry Fire Authority reading,St Paul’s Letter to the Romans8:28-35; 37-39.During the service members ofthe community offered a tributeby placing a petals in a bowl at thefront of the cathedral.Everyone was invited to comeforward during a period of reflectivemusic and place a few petalsin the water in remembrance ofthose who have lost their lives andthose who have been left withouthomes or shelter.Dear Brothers and Sisters inChrist,Grace to you and peace fromGod our Father and the Lord JesusChrist.I write to you out of deeppastoral concern, both for thepeople of our fire ravaged parishesof Cathedral, Eaglehawk,Heathcote-Redesdale, Myrtleford,Beechworth, parts of Tallangattaand Wodonga, but also for youwho desperately want to help witha need that binds us to those in thefire zones.Amid the devastation and loss,your overwhelming generosity andpreparedness to help has been asource of inspiration and hope tome and to others.I have been in close conferencewith my fellow bishops and we areexploring options as to how, as aChurch, we can best assist in theimmediate and longer termAt the moment by far the mosthelpful thing we can do is sendmoney to help with the emergencyrelief efforts.These donations can be directedto the major Bushfire Appeals.Our key relief organisations ofSt Vincent de Paul and Centacarehave pledged all their resources forthe support of those impacted uponby these dreadful catastrophes.They are working in closeco-operation with local and stateauthorities who are co-ordinatingrelief measures.Besides these practicalresponses, we are also called topray and remember all those whohave been affected by these terribletragedies.We are people of hope and fortitude,and our local and Diocesanhistory shows that together we canattain much.Please be generous when calledupon as we continue to exploreways to provide whatever is necessaryto all those affected by thefires.Yours in Christ,MOST REVEREND JOSEPHGRECH, DDBishop of Sandhurst