Thanksgiving and Gratitude

This weekend at the 9.30am OLR Mass, I will be officially installed as Parish Priest by Bishop Tim Norton. While I have been performing this role since December last year, and leading the parish as Administrator since August 2022, it is a privilege to participate with you in this important occasion.

Thanksgiving and gratitude are things I both give and experience at this time: to Archbishop Mark, Bishop Tim, and the College of Consultors for their confidence in appointing me to Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Parish. I offer thanksgiving and gratitude too, to those who were able to contribute to the gift of two new chasubles (green and white), and to those who support me as a young leader and hold me in your prayers – as I do for every person in our parish. Never would I have imagined that I would be asked to lead a large and diverse parish such as ours as a five-and-a-half-year-old priest, as it were! Thank you, too, for your confidence in the skills, gifts and talents God has given me – particularly in the areas of leadership and preaching – and which I do not take for granted. What we have achieved together over the last 26 months, since August 2022, is nothing short of miraculous.

In that relatively short time, we have developed and implemented a five-year Strategic Plan which has included the raising up of approximately 30 new lay leaders in the parish. We have significantly increased our sacrificial giving to the point that we were able to hire a full time Mission Coordinator in Beth Davies, and we have commenced the necessary culture change to measure everything we do against our Mission: to be a vibrant community that actively accompanies people to encounter Jesus.

There is no doubt that we are living in changing times. Last week I announced that as of January next year we will lose one of our priests, Fr Francis, who will not be replaced. Unfortunately, the Archdiocese has discerned that attendance in our Mass communities does not justify retaining our current number of associate pastors. This week, however, I invite us to concentrate on celebrating continuity in our parish with my installation. While not everyone will be able to gather at the 9.30am OLR Mass for the official installation, I see this weekend as a celebration for the entire parish. Next week, I will commence outlining the ways in which you will be invited to participate in a thorough and robust consultation process to address our 2025 reality. In the meantime, please join me in celebrating and giving thanks to God for all that the Holy Spirit is doing in and through our parish.

Peace and blessings, Fr Josh.