Burnie/Wynyard Parish
Days in the Diocese has finally arrived and I write this as our parish activities come to an end. As I reflect on the days that have been, I know that the last two years of ACT1V8 preparation have all been so worth the effort and all for the greater vision and mission of 'reinvigorating the young church of Tasmania to build towards a future church with a vibrant integrated and involved youth culture.' I am extremely pleased to say that our vision is coming to fruition.
The last few days have been amazing. After collecting our visiting pilgrims from Hobart, we travelled to Richmond where we were greeted by Father Terry Rush and provided lunch by the parishioners.
Our visiting pilgrims from San Andreas, California, US and Ontario, Canada made a wonderful connection almost immediately and for me, felt like family. We are separated by oceans and culture differences but we were united in our Catholic Faith.
On arrival to our parish, our very tired visiting pilgrims enjoyed an evening meal provided by our parish catering team. A special thanks to Kendra and the catering team for a lovely meal!
The following day, we visited Vincent Industries for a tour and morning tea. We then moved on to St Brigid's Primary School to meet with primary school students. Many of the pilgrims said that this was their favourite part of the day! We were then greeted by Burnie Mayor Mr Alwyn Boyd at the Burnie Council Chambers. Alwyn gave a very informative powerpoint presentation of our local industry and places of interest.
Marist College provided a sausage sizzle for lunch and the pilgrims were then taken on a tour of the school by our pilgrims from Marist College. The visiting pilgrims could not believe the size of the school, the uniform requirements and the beautiful setting of the school. Many said that if they had their time over, they would want to attend school at Marist!!! It amazed me to watch the Year 7's fascination with our visiting pilgrims. Our year 7's are future World Youth Day pilgrims so the awareness for the next World Youth Day is being created NOW! On Friday evening, our visiting pilgrims attended a wonderful performance of the Musical GREASE.
Today, our visiting pilgrims (along with the pilgrims from our own parish) were hosted by the Circular Head Parish. Pilgrims enjoyed some time at Dismal Swamp and Stanley. As the day went on, the excitement increased! At 5pm we celebrated mass at St Brigid's Church, Wynyard. The church was full! Our youth provided the choir, with Heidi Maguire on keyboard. The music was vibrant and uplifting. A parish meal was shared after mass at the RSL club. There was such an energy in the room! Photos, hugs and definitely the presence of the Holy Spirit!
I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for your contribution to the WYD events in our parish, and in particular to those who attended mass and the parish meal this evening. I am sure that like me, you will be feeling inspired, spirit-filled and have a greater hope for the future of our church here in Tasmania.
It was an absolute honour and blessing for me to spend the time with our visiting pilgrims over the last few days. It is so true, that it is not so much in landscapes or places, but in people that we meet Jesus.
I look forward to the return of our pilgrims from Sydney. WYD is a faith journey that will continue on well beyond WYD. I am excited about the future of our church and its youth culture.