Pentecost Sunday Celebrations

Hundreds of parishioners from across the eight church communities of the OLR Parish gathered to celebrate two special occasions in a special mass for the Feast of Pentecost last Sunday on 28 May.

The OLR Community celebrated the the Feast of Pentecost, but also the launch of the parish’s Strategic Plan and the commissioning of six Ministry Leadership Teams.  

Take a look at the full gallery of photos of the Pentecost Sunday Mass here

Read the strategic plan here

Recap from Fr Josh

Last weekend, 398 parishioners gathered at OLR church to celebrate the Pentecost launch of our parish’s Strategic Plan. This is a significant milestone in the life of our parish because the plan draws us together – all eight faith communities – under a shared Mission to be a vibrant parish that actively accompanying people to Encounter Jesus.

Over the past nine months, many different voices contributed to the formation of a firm plan for our next five years as a parish. I’d like to express my sincere thanks to each and every person who submitted responses to the seven dreaming videos between September and October last year; to all 150 parishioners who gathered at Unity College Auditorium for the Parish Summit Day on 5 November; and to those leaders who were invited to form our six ministry leadership teams and who put pen-to-paper on 3 December at the strategic planning day last year – thank you! Our Strategic Plan then went through three drafts and several revisions as we sought to produce a document that is not only visually appealing, but also clear, concise and inviting.

“Where to from here?” you may be asking… While the official launch took place last weekend, the reality is that all six MLTs – Ministry Leadership Teams – have been forming, functioning and laying down the foundations to reach their Outcomes for several months. The important thing for the rest of us, as we move into Ordinary Time, a season of growth and hope, is to become familiar with the document – particularly the different Outcomes and Strategies in each ministry area. While a number of printed Strategic Plan copies were offered in each community last weekend – and these will be returned by those who hold them for others to read – a full, digital version is available from our parish website home page or Ministry Areas page.

As well as becoming familiar with the document itself, another important element of our journey to consider in this immediate post-launch period, is what area of parish life/ministry you would like to become involved with – serving and offering your time to God. While many parishioners are already involved in different ways, a significant element of the Strategic Plan is to work towards 70% of worshiping parishioners being involved in a disciple-making ministry within five years. The importance of this deliberate approach to our core business of Evangelisation cannot be understated; this is our Mission, given to us by God at baptism. I commend to your generosity and openness of heart, the many opportunities that will be presented to participate in our Mission. It is a Mission which has room for every person, no matter our age, country of origin, or giftedness: that is, to be a vibrant parish that actively accompanies people to Encounter Jesus.

With God’s Peace and every Blessing, Fr Josh.