Kippax Parish Celebrates 50 Years

In the introduction of his book on Kippax parish, Jim Littleton MSC wrote:

…St John the Apostle Parish of Kippax is quite remarkable in that it started with nothing other than a rented house, a visionary pastor and many very young families struggling with mortgages and living in an area which until their arrival was just a large sheep paddock….

St John the Apostle Parish has grown into a parish which has amazing vitality, one in which there are many lay-led ministries, a parish of which the parishioners claim ownership, one in which the laity are deeply involved, one in which adult faith formation has been consistently facilitated.  The parish has been blessed with several gifted priests who have brought different qualities to their ministry and yet a common thread in the charism of Jules Chevalier, the founder of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.

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Friday, Fr Michael Stephan and anointing during Mass

The 50^th anniversary celebrations began on Friday, 25^th February with mass and the sacrament of anointing of the sick.  This was an opportunity to celebrate with older parishioners particularly those who were housebound.  Arrangements were made to bring those who could to mass, which was followed by lunch, anniversary cake, and a walk down memory lane with parishioners sharing memories of the first ever parish mass at Higgins primary school. 

Sunday, Frank Dineen MSC with parishioner, John Drury

Saturday 26^th October, Chris McPhee MSC presided at the 50^th anniversary mass, with a homily by Michael Fallon.  The celebrations continued with dinner at the Belconnen Labour Club which included a few former parishioners who travelled to Canberra for the occasion.

Sunday, a special mass was arranged for 11am celebrating the diverse cultures in the parish.  A potluck lunch followed with parishioners encouraged to bring a salad or dessert that reflected their ethnic background.

MSC that joined the anniversary celebration included Chris McPhee, Michael Fallon, Frank Dineen, John Bosman, Stephen Hackett, Gerard McCormick, Mark Hanns, Michael Stephan, and Kimi Vunivesilevu

With thanks to Kimi for the text and the photos of the celebration

Fr Littleton in his book refers to the founding of the parish and ‘a visionary pastor’ – to Fr Harry Morissey MSC, who published a book on parishes: To Grow a Parish.

Harry Morrissey writes out of his own experience of a variety of pastoral settings in several states throughout Australia. The book takes the basic vision of the Second Vatican Council that the Church is a 'communion'. The author reflects widely on its meaning in today's social circumstances.