Catholic Outlook December 2015
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Parish Secretaries ‛have to<br />
be the face of Christ’<br />
By Elizabeth McFarlane<br />
Being a Parish Secretary is<br />
a lot like being the knife<br />
and fork of a community,<br />
according to Malia Lolesio, Parish<br />
Secretary for Holy Family Parish<br />
in Mount Druitt.<br />
“The food is fulfilment and<br />
the Parish Secretary helps you<br />
receive it,” she said.<br />
Malia was appointed Parish<br />
Secretary in February 2013, but<br />
being a parish secretary isn’t just<br />
work to her.<br />
“It’s using my gifts to give<br />
back for the work of God. I was<br />
looking for something where I<br />
could serve Him best and to me<br />
this was it,” she said. But that<br />
doesn’t mean Malia doesn’t find<br />
the role challenging at times.<br />
“I thought working for a<br />
parish would be easy but it is<br />
probably the most challenging. It<br />
really challenges me personally,<br />
as I am the first person that<br />
everybody encounters when they<br />
come into the parish. I have to be<br />
the face of Christ. I have failed<br />
many times but working for the<br />
parish is a great test for being<br />
truly Christian,” she said.<br />
The Mount Druitt community<br />
is Malia’s community, having<br />
been a member of the parish<br />
choir with her father who is Holy<br />
Family’s Music Director, and<br />
graduating from Loyola Senior<br />
High School.<br />
“Mount Druitt is community<br />
centred and that is because of its<br />
humility. You have people from<br />
all walks of life here. You see the<br />
struggles and you see people’s<br />
achievements, and that helps<br />
you to see the world in just one<br />
suburb.<br />
“But it can be challenging<br />
working here because there are<br />
so many people in need, and<br />
(sometimes) you can’t help them<br />
or offer them what they want.<br />
But I always try to look through<br />
Malia Lolesio. Photo: Elizabeth McFarlane.<br />
their lens to understand them. I<br />
need to try and find ways to help<br />
them,” she said.<br />
But the benefits far outweigh<br />
the challenges for Malia.<br />
“I would recommend being a<br />
parish secretary. I have learnt so<br />
much working in the parish and I<br />
think it has helped me grow. But<br />
expect the unexpected always.<br />
People just come in at random<br />
times needing things done and<br />
you just need to drop everything<br />
and help them first. What I’m<br />
actually supposed to do starts<br />
from 4pm onwards,” Malia joked.<br />
Being a parish secretary<br />
has provided Malia with many<br />
opportunities and experiences.<br />
She was sponsored by the parish<br />
to attend WYD in Spain in 2011<br />
with the mission to learn how to<br />
engage youth in the parish. She<br />
has since started a youth choir,<br />
which has now grown to become<br />
a youth group, meeting not just<br />
to practise songs but to learn<br />
about the faith. They ran their<br />
first youth retreat this year.<br />
“I think being a reasonably<br />
young parish secretary has<br />
allowed me to get young people<br />
to realise that they are a part<br />
of the parish. They don’t have<br />
to wait until they’re 60 to get<br />
involved; they can start now,” she<br />
said.<br />
Time of reflection and celebration<br />
for parish secretaries<br />
By Elizabeth McFarlane<br />
Photos: Elizabeth McFarlane.<br />
All year round, a faithful<br />
legion of women and men<br />
serve many requests and<br />
demands to keep our parishes<br />
running.<br />
In gratitude for their<br />
professional expertise and service,<br />
the Parish Secretaries Day was held<br />
at the Chancery in Parramatta on 2<br />
<strong>December</strong>.<br />
Parish secretaries and office<br />
staff came together to celebrate<br />
the achievements and milestones<br />
for <strong>2015</strong>, while hearing about<br />
developments and changes within<br />
the Diocese planned for the New<br />
Year.<br />
The day included tours by<br />
Chancery staff, a reflection from<br />
Rev Paul Roberts and official<br />
updates and news in the form of<br />
presentations from the Diocesan<br />
Administrator, Very Rev Peter<br />
Williams, and the Chief of<br />
Operations & Finance, Geoff Officer.<br />
Fr Peter was the principal<br />
celebrant for Mass in St Patrick’s<br />
Cathedral, which was followed by a<br />
celebratory lunch at El-Phoenician<br />
Restaurant for some delicious<br />
Middle Eastern and Mediterranean<br />
cuisine. A few lucky secretaries won<br />
raffle prizes.<br />
A great day was had by all,<br />
with many new faces getting the<br />
opportunity to meet those who had<br />
served their parishes for many years.<br />
For more images of the event,<br />
please visit: www.flickr.com/<br />
parracatholic/albums<br />
DIOCESAN NEWS<br />
Allan Drew OAM, JP<br />
Supporting families in a time of need is<br />
what Allan from Allan Drew Funerals<br />
has done best for more than 25 years.<br />
Tel (02) 9680 1344<br />
allandrewfunerals.com.au<br />
www.catholicoutlook.org<br />
<strong>Catholic</strong><strong>Outlook</strong> | DECEMBER <strong>2015</strong> 21
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