MSC Magazine | Issue 4 | Summer 2020

Page 8| Missionaries of the Sacred Heart PETER HEARN msc, OLSH RANDWICK His last letter to the Parish A fter 12 years, this is my final back page for our marvellous Parish Magazine . First up, a sincere word of thanks on behalf of all of us to Tony McNamara our editor, and Debbie Laurence for the profession- al lay out. I have asked to have the photo on this page included here: it is taken at one of our Easter Vigils. It says so much to me of my life at OLSH. Every year to see 16-22 adults come through the RCIA is a huge achievement on the part of the parish and team. Our Mission Statement says that we are a parish gathered and nurtured by the Eu- charist, and sent on mission ‘ To Be on Earth the Heart of Jesus ’. That we have so many desiring to be Catholics is a tes- tament to the vitality of our parish. Thanks to all of you for your joy in being Catholics - no mean achievement in our sometimes torrid environment within and outside the Church - and especially your exceptional generosity to so many good causes and collections, petitions and so on. Generosity, joy and hospitality are central to the Heart of Jesus. I am deeply indebted to the various, and too numerous to mention, commit- tees and groups within the parish - all vol- untary. Of central importance are the PPC and Finance Committees. They have achieved so much. As you know, I do have a particular love of music, and so the groups and, especially, the com- bined choirs, the AV producers that come together for our High Holy Days, have given me great happiness and up- lifted our liturgies. Our liturgies are, after all, where not just ourselves, but non- Catholics or intermittent Catholics will mainly interface with us. Hence, we priests have also taken care in the preparation of Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals. Our teachers and cate- chists give of their very best to make our schools places of encounter with the val- ues and life of Christ. They have been very welcoming of me and the priests and so easy to work with. Covid has clipped our wings dramatically, of course. One would need to spend a day in the Parish Office to know the sheer variety of interactions that occur. I have greatly appreciated the dedication of Trish and Anita, Phyllis and other volunteers in the Office who keep the place from de- scending into chaos. A sense of humour