A Parish Conversation

Last week while nattering with Father, I asked him if he had read the current ‘Record’. There was a story of a Dominican Brother, Reginald Mary Chua OP, being ordained into the Diaconate in Perth. What I had found deeply compelling was the story of his conversion. “I love reading of people’s faith journeys’, I said. ‘I think everyone does. It makes us stop and think of our own ongoing journey. ... Imagine the treasures our Parish holds.” And with that (yes, you’ve guessed it) Father replied, ‘Ask for their stories and we can publish them in the Bulletin.” I therefore implore you - to reflect on the moments that have caused you to stop, to ponder, to search; anything which gave rise to a turning towards God. Then put pen to paper and send it in. (If you would rather meet and share your story orally, I will be more than happy to transcribe it.) Every single one of us, has had experiences that have caused us to search deeper within ourselves as to what we believe and think, or where we stand now in our relationship with God. These moments may have been stirred by reading a book, meeting a person, in prayer or meditation. Something in a homily, or a hymn or a Scripture passage may have sparked an ‘AHA’ moment. (I had one once while cleaning the bathtub.) The point is we each have stories to tell, important to us, that have kept us from staying stagnant (or should I say ‘too comfortable’) regarding our faith and our discipleship. Hopefully, when space permits, we can put shorter stories in the bulletin; but we will keep all the narratives in book form which can be emailed out. (‘Stories of our Faith’ perhaps?) Send in too, the pearls your children have uttered with their take on God. And finally, please don’t think this must be a story where you were away from the Church, or that it must be something big with accompanied ‘bells and whistles’. Our lives are defined by lots of small moments that, nevertheless, have immense significance to the way we live it.