News from the Central West
19 November, 2024
Property Baptism
In early October extended family and friends gathered for Charlotte’s baptism at her grandparent’s cattle station “Surbiton South” (between Alpha and Clermont). Fr Bang celebrated Mass and the Sacrament of Baptism on the homestead verandah, before we all tucked in to a lavish luncheon provided by the hosts. It was a beautiful celebration of faith and life, highlighting the sacred presence of God in our everyday spaces and relationships. Thank you to Donna and Andrew Donaldson for their warm hospitality, and to Charlotte’s parents Claudia and Alex for presenting her for baptism into our Catholic family.
Visit from Seminarian Shane
The Central West has benefited from the presence of Shane Pianta (seminarian for our Diocese) as he participated in a pastoral immersion experience with Fr Bang. Not only did Fr Bang have a travel companion, but many parishioners appreciated the opportunity to share their stories with someone who genuinely listened to them. It was a busy time with many Masses (and morning teas!) in many Churches, cemetery Masses for All Souls’ Day, a Requiem Mass and interment, Rosary in the Park, meetings, Adoration, Anointing Masses, nursing home Masses, school visits (those kids can ask some tricky questions!), baptisms, a Rite of Welcome, and so much more crammed into one month. At the same time significant renovations were being undertaken to the Longreach presbytery, necessitating much juggling at the times it was unavailable for use.
Towards the end of Shane’s time in the Central West, he and Fr Bang somehow managed to squeeze in a day off, which they used to take a 490 km drive (round trip) to meet with the Central West’s Pastoral Coordinator and have lunch beside the waters of Lake Dunn. There are no photos of enthusiastic people pushing a car out of heavy sand, so getting dry bogged whilst sight seeing didn’t happen! The Central West says a big ‘Thank You’ to Shane and all involved in arranging for him to be in our region. It was great to have Shane with us, and we look forward to following his journey in the seminary.
