The Magnificat Charismatic Prayer Group
We meet every Monday morning, starting with a cup of coffee and fellowship straight after the Communion service in church. From 10.15-11.30a.m. we praise and worship our God with songs and scripture ad quiet time.
In our prayer session we pray for Sacred Heart Primary School, St. Patricks in Lilydale, Mt Lilydale Mercy College, and Aquinas College. After this we pray for our own needs.
Catholic Women’s League (C.W.L.)
The C.W.L. was formed in 1916 to aid families in need, today the League, under the guidance of their Spiritual Director, is a strong workforce within the Parish. Our theme for this year is “I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”
We currently have 17 members and we meet on the first Thursday of every month. Our membership is $65.00 which includes our beautiful Horizon magazine. The C.W.L. support the Parish and School as well as many other charities. We also provide catering for funerals and other parish functions.
Altar Society
The Society consists of a group of parishioners who are responsible for the floral arrangements in the Church. They also perform other tasks like laundering the church linen. Willing helpers are always welcome.
Sacred Heart Choir
The Sacred Heart choir sings at the 10.15am Mass 3 or 4 timers each month, plus Easter and Christmas. We do receive requests to sing at Requiem Masses and we do our best to oblige.
We have a long-standing tradition of having collections among our members over the year and donating the proceeds to worthy causes, such as St Vincent de Paul society, McKillop Family Services and the African Missions etc.
Our numbers currently average around 18 and practices are held most Wednesday afternoons lasting 1½ hours.
We are always looking for new members and any expressions of interest in joining should be directed to the choir leader, Marie Janssen Ph: 9779 9048.
Divine Mercy Adoration
Lasting an hour, the adoration takes place after the 9.30am Mass each Friday.
Originally starting off with a devoted team of 6, the numbers have increased to 40 with people joining in the prayers during the hour. We consider this prayerful time most important and we invite others to join us. Our objective is to help us all understand that God’s mercy is needed and is readily available to everyone.
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion to the sick and housebound
Objective:
To reach out to all our brothers and sisters within our designated geographical area who are unable to come to Mass on Sundays.
We try to achieve this objective in the following ways.
1. Visit them weekly or every two weeks to check how they are keeping and offer them Communion.
2. Pass on the love and best wishes of our Parish family who are able to come to Mass and our union with them in being nourished by the Bread of Life.
Statistical Data:
1. We currently are a team of 18 who cover on average 1 Hospital, 10 Ages Care/Nursing Homes and 18 private homes per week.
2. The breakdown is as follows:
Hospitals 1, 25 visits/Communions; Aged Care/Nursing Homes, 75 visits/Communions; Private homes, 18 visits/Communions.
Major Ongoing Challenges:
1. Try to identify those needing our services.
2. Seek and train more volunteers to cover those in our present team who are retiring soon, absent through sickness, on holidays etc.
3. Anyone interested in being a part of this Parish endeavour should contact Patrick Connell,
P: 9723 6881 / M: 0400 900 911.
GodStart
GodStart is a parish-based Post Baptism programme designed to help parents and family members develop the faith of their preschool children, it is a ‘good news’ program focussed on its youngest members and their families.
The program focusses on the children’s birthdays. Children’s birthdays have been chosen, in contrast to baptismal dates, because they are naturally occurring family celebrations, providing the parish with an opportunity to acknowledge this important event.
We are always looking for more volunteers to join our current GodStart team of 6 members.
Government and Independent Schools Apostolate - Sacramental Program
This Sacramental Program enables children who do not attend Parish schools to prepare for the sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation. Children from year 2 through to year 10 are welcome. The team of volunteers run classes to facilitate faith development and assist parents in preparing their child for the sacraments. Each program is conducted after school hours during the school term.
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (R.C.I.A.)
This group invites, encourages and journeys with people seeking understanding of the Catholic faith as well as desiring to join the Catholic Church community. Its focus is to provide teaching within a welcoming community as well as companionship through the sharing of our story. The Word of God is at the heart of the process. The high point of celebration is the Easter Vigil celebration where the candidates receive the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist). If you would like more information about this ministry, please contact the parish office.
Sacred Heart Men’s Club
We meet every second Wednesday of each month in one of the meeting rooms at Sacred Heart parish. We have a drink, something to eat, share our stories and enjoy good company.
We also gather on Monday mornings at a coffee shop to talk further on matters affecting our members and families who maybe sick or housebound and arrange visits from members of the team.
At present our numbers are only 8-10 and we would welcome additions to our ranks as we would like to arrange outings, BBQ’s etc., as part of our socialisation.
Expressions of interest should be relayed to Peter Ward – P:9725 0096.
Society of St Vincent de Paul, Croydon Conference
The Croydon Conference of the Society gives aid to individual persons and families who have sought assistance through calling the Society’s Box Hill call centre on its 1800 305 330 number. The Box Hill centre then passes on details of the callers within Croydon Conference for action by conference members.
Conference members visit the caller’s home in pairs and assess the type and level of assistance needed. Assistance provided is usually in the form of either food parcels, contribution towards they payment if essential bills such as for utility services and the provision of clothing or a combination of these. The provision of furniture is currently being reviewed as further form of assistance.
Currently the conference has 17 members. In the June quarter 79 families were assisted involving 195 individuals.
We welcome approaches of interest in our work which result in new members within the conference. These can be directed to our President via email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
