Dear Parishioners,

Happy Easter! A big ‘thank-you’ to everyone who helped prepare and present our beautiful Easter Ceremony’s. Easter joy was certainly evident, and people from the Ipswich Catholic Community made a statement that faith is real and active here – over 4500 people came to the Easter triduum in Churches.

Exaltation, sincerity of heart, indescribable and glorious joy - these are the words that describe the gathering of believers who formed the early Church after Pentecost. Filled with the Spirit, they committed themselves to “The Way” by caring for one another, following the teaching of the apostles, and breaking bread in their homes. Let’s pray that their commitment will continue to inspire us in 2017 to live out our faith in credible and tangible ways!

Imagine going to Mass every week and being greeted as an old friend or a new one, not worrying whether someone was genuine, and feeling that something miraculous and new was in the world. Why isn’t it this way in every church? In an age that demands proof, I wonder whether

we’ve grown suspicious of faith. In a culture that thinks most people have an angle, I wonder whether we have a hard time believing that someone could love us so much that he would die for us. Maybe we’ve all become a little more like Thomas in his doubt rather than in his belief. I keep returning to Peter’s words: “Although you have not seen him you love him.”

It takes a remarkable faith to love someone you haven’t seen. But parents do it for their unborn children. We love those who have been taken from us in death. If we can love these, however imperfectly, surely we can love Christ, who died that we might live. Surely we can strive to love all people, known and unknown, because they are God’s children.

In the stories of the early Church, we see the evidence of love - joy and compassion for all. What if every church could do this today?

As we await the arrival of Fr Michael let’s pray that our community be strengthened with hope and love. Have a good week, Stephen ofm

WEEKEND MASS TIMES WEEKDAY MASS TIMES

Saturday Vigil Church Location Monday 24th April - Monday of the 2nd week of Easter

7.00am St Joseph’s, North Ipswich

No Mass at Mater Dei

Tuesday 25th April - ANZAC Day

9.00am St Mary’s, Woodend

Wednesday 26th April - St. Mark, evangelist

9:00am St. Mary’s, Woodend

9.30am St Brigid’s, Rosewood

Thursday 27th April - Thursday of the 2nd week of Easter

9:00am St. Mary’s, Woodend

Friday 28th April - St. Peter Chanel, priest, martyr

9:00am OLMM, Eastern Heights (Penance from 8:30am)

4:30pm Immaculate Heart Leichhardt

5:30pm OLMM Eastern Heights

6:00pm St. Mary’s Woodend

Sunday Mass Church Location

7:30am St. Joseph’s North Ipswich

8:00am St. Brigid’s Rosewood

8:30am St. Mary’s Woodend

6:00pm St. Mary’s Woodend

SACRAMENT OF PENANCE

Day Time Church

Saturday 5:00pm - 5:30pm St. Mary’s

OUR CHURCHES

St. Mary’s - Elizabeth Street, Woodend St. Brigid’s - Matthew Street, Rosewood

Mater Dei Corner - Ferrett Street and Roland Tce, Sadliers Crossing St. Joseph’s - 42 Pine Mountain Road, North Ipswich

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal - Robertson Rd, Eastern Heights Immaculate Heart of Mary - 22 Old Toowoomba Road, Leichhardt

Second Sunday of Easter Year A 23rd April 2017

COMMUNITY DIRECTORY

Parish Priest Very Rev Fr. Michael McKeaten

Parish Ministers Fr. John Hong

Fr. Stephen Bliss ofm

Pastoral Associate Bernadette McAndrew

Administration Staff

Mrs Janelle Van De Weyer

Mrs Maree Coyne

Mrs Kathy Lund

Mrs Bernadette Lenihan

Office Hours Mon - Fri 8:30am – 3:30pm

Ipswich Catholic Community Contact Information

Telephone 07 3281 2133

Email ipswich@bne.catholic.net.au

Fax 07 3812 3911

Post PO Box 23, Ipswich 4305.

Mass Times 07 3281 0707

New Media - Evangelisation

Website www.ipswichcatholic.com

Find us by searching for ‘ipswichcatholic’ on

Facebook YouTube Twitter iTunes

Schools and Colleges in our Community

St. Mary’s Primary School Woodend 07 3281 1998

Immaculate Heart School Leichhardt 07 3812 1077

St. Joseph’s School North Ipswich 07 3201 6188

St. Brigid’s School Rosewood 07 5464 1563

St. Mary’s College Woodend 07 3432 5444

St. Edmund's College Woodend 07 3810 4400

HIVE BAKE SALE - SUNDAY 30TH April after the St Mary’s 8.30am mass

IPSWICH CATHOLIC COMMUNITY DINNER - Don’t miss out – Mark your calendars

now. Friday 11th August at Brothers Leagues club. Watch this space. More to come!!

Our online events calendar is located at the following address: www.ipswichcatholic.com/event

‘Children’s Liturgy of the Word’ is where our

children leave the Sunday Liturgy and gather

elsewhere to celebrate a separate Liturgy of the

Word that is more appropriate to their level of

understanding. Children then re-join the communi-

ty at the conclusion of the homily. We encourage

all children aged between 4 – 12 to come along.

St. Brigid’s Church - Sunday 8:00am Mass (1st week of the month)

7th May 4th June 2nd July

St. Mary’s Church - Sunday 8:30am Mass

14th May 21st May 28th May

STEWARDSHIP OPPORTUNITY

You may wish to make a donation to one of our

parishes either as a one-off donation or on a regular

basis. This can be done by electronic transfer, either

by Direct Debit or Credit Card. Please contact the

Parish Office so the appropriate forms can be sent to

you. Something as little as $5.00 a week will make a

real difference in our community.

Giving Praying Serving

Financial support helps do

more than maintain our

buildings.

Our prayer helps us come

closer to each other and to

God.

Serving our community

moves us into true

discipleship with Jesus.

PRAYER REQUESTS

RECENTLY DECEASED:

Lorraine Mulcahy, Dennis Stokes, Ron McGuire,

Sheryl deRyck, German Coria, Alan Suthers,

Norma Caldwell, Mary Dampier.

FOR THOSE WHO ARE SICK:

Paul McKean, Craig Hannam, Michael Williams,

Joan Earl, Jeff Corris, Conrad Behrendorff, Max Bishop,

Marie Tonner, Sr Mary Teresa(Lyne),

Annette Allery, Sr Mary Helen, Vince Elmore,

Patricia Noble, Carolyn Burt, Pat Slattery,

CameronGrayson, Aleasha Cronk, Vince Heffernan,

Shirley Budd.

Our New Parish Priest

W O O D E N D A N Z A C S E R V I C E On behalf of St Edmund’s Old Boys’ Association and St Edmund’s College, you are invited to the 2017 Woodend

Commemoration of ANZAC.

Tuesday 25 April at 6.30am Woodend Honour Stone

Corner Macgregor Street / Roseberry Parade (adjacent to Mulkerin Oval, St Edmund’s College)

The Old Boys’ Association will provide tea, coffee, cold drinks, ANZAC biscuits and a sausage sizzle at the Old Boys’

House adjacent to the Honour Stone.

Roseberry Parade and Macgregor Street will close between Elizabeth and Panton Streets

at 6:10am and re-open at 7:50am.

READINGS FOR MASS: 22/23 April: Acts 2: 42-47; 1 Pet 1: 3-9; Jn 20: 19-31

THE NEWLY BAPTISED:

The high point of the Triduum celebrations was the witness of five adults who received the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist. Trevor, Kylie, Georgina, Rebecca and Ray have journeyed with us demonstrating a wonderful desire to be part of our community, as well as drawing closer in their relationship with God. They are indeed a unique group of adults and we are very happy that they have chosen to be part of the Ipswich Catholic Community. Their joy is captured in this photo as they cut the celebratory cake after the Easter Vigil.

FIRST HOLY COMMUNION PREPARATION: The Parish would like to invite the children who have celebrated their Confirmation in 2016 to now enrol in their preparation for First Holy Communion. The parent information sessions will be held on Thursday 1

st June in St Mary’s Church. The first

session will be offered at 3-30pm and repeated at 6-30pm. This preparation is for all children who have celebrated their Confirmation, and now wish to celebrate their First Holy Communion. For further enquiries please contact the Parish Office on 3281 2133. ADIOS!!! I will be on 5 weeks leave from this weekend, returning on the 29

th May. Please keep us in your prayers

and I will pray for you all as our group journeys along The Santiago de Compostela (The Camino). Bernadette McAndrew ROSTERS: When the current roster finishes at the end of May we ask you to refer back to the March roster and use it for the month of June. A new roster will be completed a little later. PIETY STALL NEWS: Little White Books which contain 6

minutes of prayer each day during the 50 days of the Easter

season are now available from the Piety Stall for a cost of $4

each.

EDDIES RACE DAY - Saturday May 6 at Ipswich Turf Club – grab your friends and giddy up for a great day out. Tickets only $90 which includes gate entry, food, beer, wine and soft drink for the afternoon. Complimentary bus after the races back to Brothers Leagues Club. Tickets available at the College, or phone Kath on 0403 269 955 . Tickets are also available at front reception at Brothers Leagues Club. It’s a sure bet you’ll have a great day out.

ST MARY’S COLLEGE OPEN EVENING: Come along on

Tuesday 16th May 2017 to a Tour of the College and meet

the Principal from 4pm to 7pm.Other tours by appointment.

ST MARY’S PRIMARY SCHOOL: St Mary’s Primary School, Ipswich is accepting Prep Enrolments for 2018. St Mary’s Primary School is a Co-Educational Catholic Parish school established over 150 years ago and is administered by Brisbane Catholic Education. Enrolment Application Forms are now available online at www.stmarysipswich.qld.edu.au or if you wish you may collect them from the school office. For further enquiries please phone the school office on (07) 3281 1998.

ST EDMUND’S COLLEGE OPEN DAY – Saturday May 27 from 10am – 12noon. Meet the Principal and Leadership staff – Tour the College with our students. View our Subject Expo and chat with our dedicated staff. Enjoy the sounds of our College band and choir. Sausage sizzle and refreshments will be served. We welcome you to drop in and experience the Eddies difference. Call the College Enrolments on 3810 4448 for any further details.

This week, we congratulate Ipswich Catholic

Community parishioners,

Jack and Marj Coogan who celebrate their

60th Wedding Anniversary on 27th April .

May God continue to bless your lives with love

and happiness

HIVE BAKE SALE: To help fundraise to attend the Australian Catholic Youth Festival in December, The Hive Formation Program are putting on a number of bake sales over the coming months. Cakes and slices are a few of the things on offer. The first sale will be on Sunday 30th April at St. Mary’s Church after 8:30am Mass. Please bring a few dollars to contribute to worthy cause. The next bake sale with be at St. Joseph’s Church - watch the newsletter for the date!

NEWS FROM AROUND OUR COMMUNITY

FAITH IN ACTION

New Evangelisation - Online Media REFLECTING

The Gospels tell us that Jesus appeared to the disciples on several occasions after they discovered that his tomb was empty. Part of the mystery of Jesus’ Resurrection is that he appeared to his disciples not as a spirit but in bodily form. The bodily form was not one that the disciples recognized though. In John’s Gospel, Mary of Magdalene does not recognize that the figure standing before her is Jesus until he speaks to her. In Luke’s Gospel the disciples who meet Jesus on the road to Emmaus do not recognize him until he breaks bread with them. The resurrected Jesus had a physical presence, but the disciples couldn’t recognize Jesus unless he allowed them to. His resurrected body, nonetheless, showed the marks of his crucifixion.

From readings such as today’s Gospel, we also see that in his resurrected body, Jesus seems to be free of physical constraints. He appears to the disciples despite the fact that the doors were locked.

Jesus greets his disciples with the gift of peace and the gift of the Holy Spirit. In doing so, Jesus commissions his disciples to continue the work that he has begun: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” During the meeting, Jesus also shows the integral connection between forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The story of Thomas illustrates our Christian experience today: We are called to believe without seeing. In fact, all Christians after the first witnesses have been called to believe without seeing. Thomas’s doubt is hardly surprising; the news of Jesus’ appearance was incredible to the disciples who had seen him crucified and buried. Thomas’s human nature compelled him to want hard evidence that the Jesus who appeared to the disciples after his death was indeed the same Jesus who had been crucified. Thomas is given the opportunity to act on that desire. He is our witness that Jesus is really risen.

Our faith is based on the witness of the Church that has preceded us, beginning with Thomas and the first disciples. Through Baptism we receive the same Holy Spirit that Jesus brought to the first disciples. We are among those who are “blessed” because we believe without having seen. Let’s reflect on how ‘blessed’ we are as a Parish …. How are you blessed or your family ‘blessed’? It is so easy to look at the negative things happening around us, let’s carry the Easter joy this week and recognise (and even name) the goodness around us!

Approximately 3 months ago our community launched our

online evangelisation tools. Starting with a website upgrade,

and a Facebook ‘facelift’, our online presence has focussed on

making more people aware of who we are and what our

community has to offer. Since its inception, our online

activities have been very successful. We thought it would be

great to share with you some of our online statistics.

If you haven’t already visited our website, liked our Facebook

page, or subscribed to our podcast, newsletter or blog, what

are you waiting for! It is the easiest way to stay in contact

with us and know what is happening around our four

parishes.

We put our ‘Faith in Action’ through our four values of Liturgy, Formation, Community, and Stewardship. It is our intention to ensure these values are the foundation of the work we share with all those we encounter.

Further information on our values is available on our website - www.ipswichcatholic.com/faith-in-action

Website Podcasts Newsletter

and Blog

Facebook and

Twitter

• Over 7,500

visitors since

we went live in

February

• Average of 104

visitors a day

• One day we

had 258

visitors to our

website

• 18 subscribers

(listen to our

podcasts in

their

application)

• Over 300 direct

downloads on

our podcasts

(from

Facebook)

• 40 subscribers

to our weekly

online

newsletter and

online blog

• Average of 2-3

new

subscribers

each week

• 1,238 people

read our posts

in April

• Average 200

people read

each posts

• Average 112

people visit our

Facebook page

each day