NOMINATION OF NEW MEMBERS

The St Mary's Concord Parish Pastoral Council is entrusted with the task of reflecting on the parish's vision and mission. In a spirit of service to the community the Pastoral Council works with the parish priest and members of the parish team to foster and support appropriate pastoral action.
The Pastoral Council is a consultative body whose purpose is to meet with the parish priest and those responsible for the pastoral care in the parish to discern and discuss the mission of the parish community.
The current structure of the Pastoral Council was introduced in October 1994 and is set out in the St Mary's Parish Pastoral Council Guidelines. The Pastoral Council is made up of twelve parishioners and others, such as the parish priest and the principal of St Mary's School, who are members because of the office they hold (ex officio members).
The selection process for new members is set out in the Guidelines. Members serve for a term of four years with nominations for six new members every two years.
Retiring Members: Cathryn Petrie and Bernard Lim have been members since July 2006; Peter Crosby, Vitor de Matos, and John Gannon have been members since December 2007. We thank them sincerely for their contribution to the life  of the parish The retiring members are not eligible for nomination.
Continuing Members: Don Bonett, Conny Calabrese, Kelley Conlan, Chris Gullo, Nita Hartley, Chelsea McKeown.
Nominations
Any parishioner 18 years of age or older may be nominated or may nominate his/herself. If you are nominating another person, the person who is being nominated must accept the nomination. Nominations will close at 7 pm on Sunday  4 March 2012.  Forms may be placed in the box at the back of the church or returned to the parish office.

Information and Discernment Evening

An information and reflection evening on the role of the Pastoral Council will be held in the Parish Office from 7.30 pm to 9.00 pm on  Wednesday 7 March 2012. Attendance at the information evening is necessary for nomination unless there are extenuating circumstances. At the conclusion of the reflection evening those who have accepted nomination will have the opportunity to confirm their nomination or to withdraw it.

Pastoral Council Meetings
The Pastoral Council meets on the first Tuesday of the month from February to December. Availability to attend meetings on that evening is a condition for accepting nomination.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR LENT 2012

Each year during Lent we are asked to do something extra as an expression of our ongoing conversion. On Ash Wednesday as we receive the ashes we will hear the words: Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.

ASH WEDNESDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2012 Masses: 8.30am, 10.00am (St. Mary's School) and 7.30pm. Ashes are distributed after the Gospel at each Mass. A Liturgy of the Word with the distribution of ashes for children from kindergarten to Year 3 will be held in the church at 11.50am.

PROJECT COMPASSION Caritas Australia is the Catholic agency supporting development projects in Africa, Asia, East Timor and many other places. Each year we are invited to become sharers in these projects through our support of Project Compassion. Take a set of Project Compassion envelopes home with you today. It is an important way we can assist people in the developing world. They are doing so much but with your help through Project Compassion they could do much more.

LENTEN GROUP: Living Faith is the program prepared by the Diocese of Wollongong.  The sessions follow the scripture readings for the Sundays of Lent from the first Sunday of Lent to Passion Sunday. The invitation was extended last Sunday for people to express interest in this program. Unfortunately, at short notice, only a few parishioners were able to make a firm commitment.

The parish Faith Sharing Group that meets in St Mary's Villa Chapel on Tuesday evenings at 7.30 pm will be using the Lenten program and they welcome anyone who wishes to join them during Lent. They will begin on this Tuesday, 21 February. Please meet at the main door of St Mary's Villa before 7.30 pm so that you may enter together without needing to ring the bell and disturb the nursing staff. If you did not leave your name on the list last Sunday, it is still possible to participate. All are welcome but we do need you to contact the parish office by Tuesday 21 February.

Lectio Divina Praying the Scriptures in Lent: Lent is a time when most Catholics make an extra effort to prepare for Easter. Project Compassion is an excellent way not only to give up something for Lent but to reach out to those in need. Another important Lenten practice is to give of our time both to help others and to spend some time in prayer.Once again this year the Diocese of Broken Bay with the Australian Bishop' Commission for Mission and Faith Formation has produced a resource to help individuals and families to reflect on the Sunday readings for Lent. It is not Bible study program nor is it a discussion group. It is a way of reading a passage from Sacred Scripture and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us to reflect on the message of the Word of God. To find more information about this method of prayer visit www.dbb.org.au/ourworks/Pages/Lectio Divina.aspx

A free booklet, Lectio Divina: Your Face O Lord I Seek, is available today from the table at the back of the church and the table near the side door. It begins with Ash Wednesday and then follows the Sundays of Lent. The introduction explains how this method of prayer can be used alone, or in a family, or in a group. The Lectio Divina booklet is an excellent way to prayerfully reflect on the Sunday readings. Please take a copy and use it each week.

PENANCE FOR LENT: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fasting and abstinence from meat. All those who have completed their 18th year and have not begun their 60th year are bound to fast on those two days unless health reasons prevent them. All those who have completed their 14th year are bound to abstain from eating meat on those days. See the church notice board for full details of Lenten Penance.

NEW TRANSLATION OF THE MASS

The articles on the new translation began in the Parish Newsletter for 21 August 2011 and continued each week until November 2011. The topics covered are listed below. To view the full text of each short article please go to the Missal New Translation Notes file at the "Parish Newsletter" tab.