NEWS
St Peter
Apostle Parish
Prayer
God our Father,
We thank you for our parish of St. Peter Apostle.
Baptised we are gifted and called to show your unconditional
love
for all your people.
We gather to praise and worship you and are nourished by the
Word and the Eucharist for our faith
journey.
Be with us as we strive to see the face of Christ in all we
meet
and may we share our unique gifts in
love and service as we grow
together as one.
Amen.
St Mary of the Cross, Pray for us.
St Peter
Apostle, Guide and unite us in our parish.
CHILDREN WISHING TO
BECOME CATHOLIC
For children (7 years and over) wishing to become Catholic
at
ADULTS WISHING TO
BECOME CATHOLIC
WELCOMING GROUP PROFILE – UPDATE
We are looking for people to join our Welcoming Group in our
Ministry of Hospitality. The group meets every third Sunday of
ALL LECTORS AND MINISTERS OF
COMMUNION
Just a
reminder, that it is important that you sign next to your name on the sign-in
sheet situated on the top of the cupboard near the first door into the church. This
is to help Father and the sacristans know that all rostered ministers are
present and they will not have to ask for a volunteer at the last minute who will not be prepared.
It is also important that all Ministers of the Eucharist process in with
Father and while waiting for mass to start, welcome in the hall, people coming
to gather for the celebration of the mass. Thank you for your cooperation in
this matter.
The Liturgy Team
PARISH
NOTICEBOARDS
All flyers, posters and
information to be displayed on the parish noticeboards are to be brought to the
parish office and are to be signed by the Parish Priest prior to display. The
information will be displayed on the noticeboards space and relevance
permitting. We thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
All
bulletin entries are to be in by 12:00pm on Thursday, or they will be put in
the following week.
'WITNESS'
(YOUNG ADULTS GROUP)
COMMUNITY CENTRE
Quite often on a Friday and Monday morning
the parish office is informed that the Community Centre is left in a mess. Some of the issues are that bins are not
being emptied and the floor is left rather dirty. Parish Groups using the Community Centre are
requested to make sure that the centre is to be left clean and tidy after
use. Please see that any spills on the
floor are mopped and all the dust bins are cleared of rubbish before you
leave. Thank you.
CAN YOU HELP? More people are needed to take Holy Communion
to the Sick or Elderly. You would be rostered approximately once a month. For
more information ring Bev on 9749 2388.
CHURCH CLEANING
If you
have 1˝ to 2 hours free approx. once a month on a Saturday morning, we are
looking for volunteers to go on our church cleaning roster. If you can help, please contact the parish
office on 9749 4300.
EXPLANATION OF THE MURALS ON THE
WESTERN SIDE OF THE CHURCH
There are ten panels painted by Jenya
Onofrechook.
They tell a story of the Gospel that incorporates St Peter
the Apostle, the patron of our parish. Recently it was the feast of St Peter
and
Beginning from the two right hand panels
The rising sun denotes the new day that the cross/resurrection of Christ
ushers in. It is known as the “Kairos” or the
Time/Day of the Lord. This is the “day” in which we as the church live. It is,
of course, more than a single day, it is the time or the era of the Church as
we wait for the end of all time or the experience of eternity in it’s fullness.
The rooster announces this new day and at the same time it’s crow is the sign for Peter of his denial and shame. It
is the paradox of the Christian life. We are called to be awake to greatness yet
we are flawed. We are the earthen ware vessels that contain this great
treasure.
Although Peter clasps the keys given to him
because he recognised Jesus as The Christ, he did not understand what it meant
for him or Jesus. Peter, like us, has a lot of growing to do. He looks
downcast, as he walks downhill, along the path of discipleship towards the
cross.
The vine signals to us that all is not lost, even in Peter’s denial,
but the true vine, the vine of Christ and his Church is alive, green and ready
to grow into the future.
The fire is the fire in the courtyard of the High Priest. It is the
fire that Peter warmed himself by just prior to the three questions, “Are you
that man’s disciple? In the original Greek text, the Greek word used is not
actually fire but the word for ‘a glowing light’. And so, in the darkness of
trial and denial, the Light of Christ still glows.
Whilst
clutching the key, Peter paradoxically walks in denial of Christ on a downward
slope. On Peter's right, beside the path wheat and darnel grow. In the
parable Jesus tells, he considers whether it is better to remove the darnel
before the harvest or not. In the parable it is decided to leave things the way
they are until the harvest, or the end of time or in other words the Last Judgement.
There is darnel in Peter's life, as in our lives, but the patience of the Lord
is evident. Peter will eventually overcome his 'darnel' and give his life to
the Lord. Will this be our future also?
The next pair of murals show the
cross as red surrounded by water. When Christ died on the cross the soldiers
pierced his side with a lance. The lance pierced the protective membrane of his
human heart and as a result blood and water flowed out from his side. The blood
and water is the sign of the sacrament; we are saved by the blood of the lamb
and washed clean in the waters of Baptism. The Red Cross floats in a
In the
waters of Baptism, fish already appear as the early Church reflects on the
meaning of the Cross and Resurrection of Christ. The Greek letters Alpha and
Omega, meaning the beginning and the end, appear as they do on the Paschal
Candle reminding us of the prayer when the candle is blest at the Easter Fire
as the five wounds are placed in the Paschal Candle… “All time belongs to Him”.
The mural depicting the boat on the
water.
The cloud is an often used symbol in Scripture. At the
beginning of the Gospel when Jesus was baptised a cloud covered the scene as
the Lord emerged from the waters of the
The boat is the 'Bark of Peter' that is not far from the
shore after 'putting into the deep' and throwing the nets out, even though
Peter protested to the Lord that 'we have fished all night and caught nothing'.
In the end Peter, as we all must, listens to the Lord. The mast of the boat
forms a cross. The abundance of fish in the net reminds us that we are 'fishers
of men' (people) and so, we the Church, are called and commissioned by Christ
to evangelise and to bring people to the waters of Baptism.