A key focus of the Parish Service Outreach Ministry has been building partnerships and fostering collaboration across our wider Parish community. We wanted to take time to recognise the growing partnership, support and assistance received from Unity College, as well as the continued wonderful support of St Vincent de Paul, Rosies and The Uniting Church.

We recently held the first of our Term 4 Community Cook-ups on 2 November in the Unity Hospitality School. Volunteers from Our Lady of the Rosary and our friends from the Uniting Church again worked side-by-side with Unity students and teachers to prepare meals for our Community Cooking food bank. These meals are then distributed with love through the Parish – Unity College and through St Vincent de Paul via their home visitations and the Family Support Centres

Additionally, we are deeply grateful to Unity College for generously making the Unity College minivan available for our Friday night Community Outreach BBQ with Rosies. The van has been a huge help with transport and logistics and makes our Friday night outreach runs with Rosies so much smoother.

By bringing together different groups and organisations already serving in the community, and by sharing resources, facilities, and knowledge, we reduce costs, multiply our impact, and achieve greater outcomes together. A huge thank you to Unity College, St Vincent de Paul, The Uniting Church and Rosies for their continued support and passion for helping those most in need in our community. Stronger together.

Reconciliation Action Plan Update – We are also pleased to share an important milestone from our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Working Group.

Following many months of listening, learning and collaboration, the group has completed the initial version of our Parish Reconciliation Action Plan. This is now being presented to local Indigenous Elders for their guidance, review and feedback – an essential step in ensuring the plan is respectful, authentic and reflective of our community’s aspirations for reconciliation. This achievement represents a significant step forward in our collective journey of relationship-building, understanding and reconciliation. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all members of the RAP Working Group for their dedication and service. We look forward to sharing further updates with the Parish as this important work continues and as we journey together towards deeper understanding and meaningful reconciliation.

The Service Outreach Team