Our restored roof was well and truly blessed last Sunday, as our intrepid priest climbed a ladder to sprinkle Holy Water directly onto it! Spontaneous cheers and applause greeted a generous sprinkling of holy water from our new Aspergillum, with the jubilant pronouncement of “… in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”! In our prayers, we were grateful to all those who have cared generously for the church in the past, for their acts of faithfulness and commitment to us, their future generation. And we gave thanks for that same spirit of faith in us, as we continue to maintain this sacred space for those to come after us.
The picnic that followed was wonderful. A beautiful mid-Winter sunny day meant we could all sit out on the lawn and enjoy the sunshine, the food, and the company. Not even the wind was as dire as predictions had it, but instead people commented on the cheery ‘dancing umbrellas’ that we sat underneath! The best thing was seeing so many from across the parish having time to sit, dine and chat together.
We were overwhelmed with generosity – with contributions from so many in different ways, that ensured everything went well. This generosity meant that all expenses were covered so that nothing remains to be paid by the parish. For this we thank you.
To the cooks for absolutely delicious salads and desserts; to those who bought the meat and the onion (and cut it up!), and the team who BBQed it to perfection; also for the bread, drinks, serviettes and other supplies. To the servers, to those who set up and cleaned up afterwards, a big thank you for your incredible energy on the day! Also to the efforts of organising rubbish collection and its recycling. Thanks to those who put together the display of photos and memorabilia, and the raffle. For the creative mind that found a way to hang the umbrellas securely and those who assisted putting them up, many thanks – they looked fantastic! Thanks too for all the donations of umbrellas. For the wonderful offering of great live music – thanks. It makes all the difference!
And thank you everyone for coming. We hope you enjoyed this celebration!
Tricia Bartkowiak (Warden)
#Note from Rev’d Sue: A huge thank you to Tricia also for all the hard work coordinating this event and for making it such a memorable event in the life of the parish; one that looked back to our history and forward to our future.