News from Mackay
30 December, 2023The monthly Mens Dinner
Frank Doolan took on the chairman’s role welcoming everyone. Apologies were from Peter Sheedy and Kevin Casey. Kevin is in Brisbane for medical treatment. Frank mentioned to please keep Kevin in your prayers.
Rex’s Reflection;
“Merry Christmas”. What does merry Christmas mean? Normally 2 words, the saying is originally 3 parts; Merry + Christ + Mas. Merry means ‘pleasant or delightful’.
Christ is from the Greek, Christos meaning ‘anointed’, from the ritual of pouring oil on one who has been given a task. Thus Jesus was anointed by God and sent into the world on a mission. He became known as Jesus the Christ or more commonly, Jesus Christ.
Mas from old English means festival or celebration and we use it as Mass in our religious ceremonies of remembrance. So Christmas is a festival to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
This Christmas we wish you a Merry Christmas; to have a delightful and joyous time at the festival, remembering and celebrating the birth of the anointed Jesus and all He has done, yesterday, today, and forever! Amen.
There was no guest speaker for the night so the intention was stories, jokes, and just camaraderie.
Father Raju said Grace and dinner was served. After dinner, Fr. Raju gave us a precis about southern India. He thought he was too old for an international outreach program to Australia but here he is. In India, a parish might be 100 families divided into 4 groups of 25 that meet at a home. The priest supports the village and is treated like a king. In Australia, all are equal – very different from India. For example, in India, there is always cooking while in Australia there is always talking.
Frank then brought up a story about ‘Reg “Fanbelt”, his Main Roads mentor who pranked him into walking behind the truck ready to shoot rabid feral animals.
Keith chimed in with a story of “wild west” Walkerston – oops – Scrubby when Ray was walking his dog and heard 2 shots ring out.
Many stories followed from different members, and a few jokes as well. Much laughter was had by all, highlighting the saying, “Laughter is the best medicine”.
Our next dinner will be on Monday 29th January
