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Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph, Year C

Bridgeside Bulletin
The weekly Bulletin of the Catholic Parish of Forster Tuncurry
Proclaiming Christ to the communities of Forster, Tuncurry and the surrounding districts

Sunday 27th December, 2015 The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph - Year C
Unless otherwise stated, the advertisements placed in the Bridgeside Bulletin are placed by independent third parties who have no legal relationship with the Diocese. The activities or services of
the advertisers are not supervised or controlled in any way by the Diocese. The Diocese is not in a position to endorse the advertisers or the services provided and makes no representation about
those matters. Accordingly, the Diocese cannot accept any responsibility for the advertisers or the activities or services that are the subject of these advertisements

REFLECTION from Fr Greg

Dear Parish Family,
I am looking forward to hearing all the stories of Christmas, of your gatherings and
events. What an amazing amount of work to get there but so worth it.

No weekday Masses this week

1

New Years Day Mass

Forster 12am (midnight)
plus Forster 12pm (noon)

Weekday Masses resume

Tuncurry 9am

Mass at Beaumont
Terrace

Universally we will have all eaten too much turkey, ham and pudding and probably
drank too much as well. Its the one day we all seem to roll away from the table. I
personally find my couch after lunch a very attractive place to be!
Hopefully though we will have laughed heaps, talked much and celebrated family lots,
and without any of the other things that sometimes creep in when we are celebrating. I
hope the elf of derision and conflict stayed well outside the walls of your home and
hearts. I saw a cartoon once which said something like the blue bird of happiness long
since flown, Jack was now feeding the chicken of derision Happiness is a habit so keep
feeding the blue bird!

Tuncurry 11am

Mass at Kularoo Gardens

Forster 11am

11 Baptismal Preparation
Forster 7pm

12 Mass at GLAICA
Tuncurry 11am

26 Australia Day
Tuncurry 11am

Holiday Mass Services

Sunday Masses (27 Dec to 24 Jan)

Vigil 6pm

Tuncurry

7am

Tuncurry

9am

Forster

11am

Forster

Christmas and the Christmas season is such a time for welcoming Jesus into our lives
and our world. Seriously, as we do that we should look at those who sit at our hearths,
cross our thresholds or paths as though they themselves were Christ coming to see us.
Sometimes we do have to take a deep breath and look closely to recognize his face in
theirs. You will find though the effort so worth it and the encounter so much more
satisfying. And as they leave us you will feel such a sense of peace and joy because of
the presence of Christ in the encounter.
When we see the Saviour we are more likely to be careful not to use colourful language
(particularly all the God related language), be judgmental, critical or condescending,
picky and niggly. If it were Jesus, would we want to take the risk of not being reflective
of his love?
Of all the times of the year to put Christ back into our lives, this is it remember the
saying putting Christ back into Christmas, its what we do!
Merry Christmas!!

Greg

The Parish office is closed

and will reopen on
5th January

THE JOURNEY CATHOLIC RADIO PROGRAMSummer Edition

This week and right throughout the summer period The Journey Catholic Radio program will
continue to bring you weekly Gospel reflections, great music and wonderful inputs from the
likes of Sr Hilda Scott, Bruce Downes, The Catholic Guy, Dr Byron and Francine Pirola, Fr Dave
Callaghan MGL, Trish McCarthy, Pete Gilmore, Sam Clear and Marilyn Rodriguez. What a
great way to prepare for 2016 and the Year of Mercy. Tune into Rhema 99.7 FM Sun 6.30pm

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Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph, Year C

We warmly welcome our visitors to Forster Tuncurry. We

pray you have a safe and happy visit to our bountiful region
and that the season of good will is evident as you engage
with the people of our towns.

Christian art has not served us very well in terms of picturing the
Holy Family. From medieval times, Joseph is portrayed as being as
least 80, Mary is very young with perfect white skin and, usually,
Jesus has golden curls and a knowing smile.

We know only the barest facts about the Holy Family.

Joseph was 18 or 19 when his fianc, Mary, who was 14 or 15,
potentially caused great scandal in the neighourhood by
conceiving a child, by the power of God, before the wedding.
They were a poor, devoutly Jewish family from Galilee. They were
as olive-skinned as any Lebanese is today and they lived in a
country harshly administered by the occupying Roman Army.
The scriptures tell us they knew what it was like to be refugees, to
lose their child for three days and that Mary so misunderstood
what Jesus was on about that once she went to bring him home;
later she watched him tortured and executed by the Romans.

Sr Clare Tobin rsj.

Sick in the Parish

Emily Wroblewicz, Marie Jackson, Doug Cable.

Srs Louise and Kathryn wish all our

dear parishioner friends joy and
peace as we celebrate the birth of
our Saviour. We thank you all for the
love and support you have shown us.

By Richard Leonard SJ

Now I don't know about your family, but among my clan no one is
a canonised saint, immaculately conceived or the son of God.
Let's face it, the Holy Family is a tough act to follow!

Recently Deceased

can and want to say you're sorry and that the other person in the
family can, and wants, to forgive.
But if my experience is anything to go by, 'I'm sorry' is second only
to 'I love you' as the hardest statement to say and hear, in family
life.
When I was 16 I read the works of Jesuit Fr John Powell who wrote,
'We should never leave this world not having told the people that
we love that we love them.' Now, I don't come from a particularly
demonstrative family. So I took John Powell's line as a personal
challenge.
I wrote to my sister, who was then working with Mother Teresa in
Calcutta, and to my brother who was working interstate, telling
them that I loved them.

By these traditions the Holy Family has much to say to those in

our world who are teenage mothers, are poor, hard working
religious people, are refugees or are so-called 'coloured' people.
They give consolation to parents who can't work out their
children, to children who feel their parents are not on their
wavelink, and to anyone of you who has ever lost a child in a
market place or been through the heartbreak of losing a child in
death.

That left my mother. I stayed home one Saturday night and with my
heart pumping and my tummy churning I approached my mother
after tea while she was watching the news. 'Mum, I have something
important to tell you', I began. My mother, not taking her eyes from
the screen, casually said, 'Oh yes, what's that?' 'Mum', I responded,
'I've never told you this before.'

You see, the more we put halos on the Holy Family, sadly, the less
we seem to be able to connect their family experience with our
own.

I plucked up all my courage and came straight out with it. 'Mum, I
just want to tell you that I love you.'

Most families are about being generous, loving, stable and

faithful. They stand for security, roots and identity. Our world
needs stable, strong families more than ever before.
Families, however, also fight, can be envious, they break up, are
under pressure from all sorts of social forces and, tragically, the
family home is the most common place for physical and sexual
abuse in our society.

And now I could tell there was a duet of hearts pumping and
tummies churning.

And such was her relief that my mother replied 'I hope so and
promptly turned back to the TV.
My brother and sister wrote to Mum asking what was wrong with
me. They all concluded it was a phase I was going through.

So what's the secret?

In our complex world, no one can pretend that forgiveness is easy

or that it is a magic wand we wave over deep hurts and harsh
words. True forgiveness does not deny reality, it deals with it. But
forgiveness is necessary if we are going to follow Jesus. It is also
necessary if we want to enjoy a happier family life. Revenge and
spite, so endemic in society, are the antithesis of what Jesus taught
and lived out.

Family studies surveys tell us that forgiveness is the key. This flies
in the face of the film Love Story's outrageous motto, 'Love means
not having to say you're sorry'.

May this feast of the Holy Family, then, give our families the
'serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change
the things we can, and wisdom to know the difference'.

As Christians, precisely the opposite is the case. Love means you

Richard Leonard SJ.

For all our western wealth and technology I think it's very hard to
have a happy and balanced family life today.

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Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph, Year C

Ministers this weekend

.of the Word

of Communion

6pm
Tuncurry

A: John ODonnell
B: Michael Siddle

Tony Stevens, Maureen Stevens, Pat Hooker, Carolyn Olliffe,

Frank Hayman.

7am
Tuncurry

A: Anne-Marie Green
B: Kay Griffiths

Cushla Drake, Fred Liackman, Graham Griffiths, Mark

Mowbray, Norm Chapman.

9am
Forster

A: Kris Koch
B: Judy Harper

11am
Forster

A:Chris Waters
B: Lee Sullivan

Alan McCarthy, Coral McCarthy, Elle Cairns-Cowan, Michael

Amato, Fay Harvey.
Michael Amato, Sharon Fowle, Barbara Kermode, Trevor
Turner, Lorna Vidler.

Ministers next weekend

.of the Word

of Communion

6pm
Tuncurry
7am
Tuncurry
9am
Forster
11am

A: Frank Hayman
B: Monica Hunt
A: Lorraine Clark
B: Tony Knight
A: Barbara Dolahenty
B: Kid Hornibrook
A:Judith Shand

Pat Hooker, Jake Siddle, Margaret Smith, Maureen Stevens,

Ruth Pearson.

Forster

B: Elizabeth Sciacca

Edna Tucker, Genevieve Williamson, Maria Armitage, Mary

Greig, Cecile Malone.
Barbara Kermode, Lee Sullivan, Robert Moran, Shioney Neal,
Maureen Nicholls.
Greg Byrne, Natasha Brotherton, Josie Beech, Barbara
Dolahenty, Fay Harvey.

Scripture Zone This Week

Next Week

First Reading
1 Samuel 1:20-22. 24-28
Kindness and respect for parents is urged.

First Reading
Isaiah 60:1-6
Jerusalem is exalted.

Responsorial Psalm
Response: Happy are those who fear the Lord and
walk in his ways.
Second Reading
1 John 3:1-2, 21-24
What is expected of the chosen of God.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord,
to listen to the words
of your Son.
Alleluia!

Gospel
Luke 2:41-52
Jesus is found in the Temple.

Second Reading
Ephesians 3:2-3. 5-6
Paul declares the Gentiles co-heirs to the Kingdom.
Gospel
Matthew 2:1-12
The Wise Men journey to the infant Jesus.

Text: Excerpts from the English

Translation of the Roman Missal
2010, International Commission
on English in the Liturgy (ICEL);
Music:From the Mass of St Francis
2010, Paul Taylor. All rights
reserved. Used with permission.
Australian AgentLicenSing
Online Lic No. 624844.

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Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph, Year C

Secular Franciscan Fraternity
First Wednesday of the month
after 9am Mass at Forster.

Baptisms
Celebrated most Sundays.

PARISH CONTACTS
Fr Greg BarkerParish Priest
gregory.barker@mn.catholic.org.au

Emergency Contact 0417 321 209

Mr Greg ByrnePastoral Associate
greg.byrne@mn.catholic.org.au
Mrs Sharon Fowle
(Administration
Associate/Bulletin)
Bridgeside Bulletin
Items for inclusion should be
received by midday on
Thursday.

Baptismal Preparation
on 2nd Monday of each
month @ 7pm in Forster
Church Hall. Parish Office
6554 6304.

Maintenance & Gardening Group

Third Thursday of the month.
Howard 6557 6826.
Childrens Liturgy of the Word
First and third
Sunday at 9am Mass.
Natasha 0407 589 935.

Marriage
Celebrated by arrangement
and with at least three months
notice. Fr Greg 6554 6304

forster-tuncurry.parish@mn.catholic.org.au

Novena to Our Lady of

Perpetual Help
Every Wed, 11:14am at Forster.
Shioney 6554 9468.

Sacramental Preparation
Greg Byrne 6554 6304

Pastoral Team
First Wed, 4:30pm at Forster.
Greg Byrne 6554 6304

Rite of Christian
Initiation of Adults
(RCIA) Parish Office 6554 6304

Sr Kathryn McCabe
Aboriginal Catholic Ministry
Loretta Heffernan
SRE Co-Ordinator

Finance Council
Second Wed, 5pm at Forster.
Greg Byrne 6554 6304

PARISH PASTORAL
GROUPS AND CONTACTS

loretta.heffernan@mn.catholic.org.au

Office Hours
Tues, Wed, Thurs
The Parish office
9:30am to 1pm
Fri 10am to 4pm will be closed until
5th January
Parish Office

Pastoral Council
Third Wed, 5:30pm at Forster.
Greg Byrne 6554 6304

Christian Meditation
Every Tues, 9am and 5:30pm.
Bob 6555 5914.

Holy Hour
Every Tues, 3:30pm at Tuncurry

Womens Bible Study Group

Every Thurs, 7pm to 8pm.
Natasha 0407 589 935.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

Located at the
rear of the Parish
Hall Forster:
33 Lake Street, Forster
NSW 2428
PO Box 67
P: (02) 6554 6304
F: (02) 6554 6425

menALIVE Groups
Day group meet second and
fourth Wed after 9am Mass at
Forster. Evening group meets last Thurs of
the month at 7:30pm at Forster. Michael
Amato 6554 5284

CHURCH
LOCATIONS
Mary Star of the Sea
15 Peel Street, Tuncurry
Holy Name of Jesus
33 Lake Street, Forster

Singing Practice
Every Tues, 5:30pm.
Ken Heffernan 6557 6569.

Social Justice
Last Wed, 5:30pm at Forster.
Tim Prescott 6555 8517.

Intercessory Prayer Group

No meetings required.
Bob Cashman 6555 5914.

Holy Name Parish School (K-6)

Mr Chris Waters (Principal)
41 Lake St, Forster
PO Box 243
P: (02) 6554 6504
E: admin@forster.catholic.edu.au
W: www.forster.catholic.edu.au
St Clares High School
Mr Peter Nicholls (Principal)
Davis Street, Taree
P: (02) 6552 3300
E: admin@tareesc.catholic.edu.au
W: www.tareesc.catholic.edu.au

For details on local and diocesan

events, please review our notice
board at the rear of the church

SUNDAY MASS TIMES

WEEKDAY EUCHARIST (subj. to change)

AGED CARE MASSES (subj. to change)

Mary Star of the Sea, Tuncurry

Sat 6pm, Sun 7am

Mary Star of the Sea, Tuncurry

Holy Name of Jesus, Forster

Sun 9am, *Sun 11am

Holy Name of Jesus, Forster

No Masses this coming week

Beaumont Terrace 1st Tues , 11am

Kularoo Gardens 1st Wed, 11am
GLAICA House 2nd Tues, 11am
Barclay Gardens 3rd Tues, 11am

No Masses until Saturday 2nd January @ 9am

*until 24th Jan

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

No reconciliation until Saturday 2nd January

RECONCILIATION

Mary Star of the Sea, Tuncurry

Saturday 8:30am

Holy Name of Jesus, Forster

Saturday 4:45pm