A couple of weeks ago, I watched a special celebration, livestreamed through the media, marking the establishment of a new parish in my hometown. This newly formed parish was previously one of nine communities that together made up a single parish when I was young.
Although the parish was geographically large when I was growing up, these nine communities were strongly connected under the leadership of one parish priest. The entire parish community would gather together for all parish activities. One of my favourite events was participating in the parish sports competitions. Each community had its own team with different age groups, and soccer was the most popular sport among them. As some of you might know, soccer is the national sport in Vietnam, and I grew up playing it – a lot.
When I was growing up, my family owned a small grocery shop that was often very busy on Sunday mornings. The shop had a wooden extension at the front, where we displayed meat, fish, and vegetables for sale, while the main part of the shop contained cabinets with other groceries. I remember helping Mum on these busy mornings as she needed extra hands to help arrange the goods. At that time, only a couple of us younger children were still at home with Mum; my older brothers and sisters had already moved to the city to study or work.
Mum needed help not just with arranging goods, but also with sales, as customers often flooded in all at once, and things could become hectic. Back then, we didn’t have calculators, let alone EFTPOS machines – every transaction had to be calculated mentally. As a child, with a great passion for soccer, and really keen to spend time with friends, I would quietly sneak out when the number of customers started to lessen and Mum wasn’t watching. I would play soccer for a few hours, either with friends from school or the altar server group, then return, with a great sense of guilt, and jump straight into helping Mum pack everything up. Naturally, Mum wasn’t too happy about that, and at times, I got a few smacks as a result.
Displeasing Mum was one thing, but my passion for soccer was another – I needed to polish my skills to compete in the parish competitions. The community, that has now formed the new parish, had a strong soccer team, and our team was always eager to defeat them. However, even though we appeared to “not be under the same roof” in soccer, we were still united under the same parish roof. We shared our faith – celebrating the Eucharist, learning catechism, doing charitable works and mission, and taking part in all kinds of parish activities together. In the end, though the parish was made up of many communities, it was still one parish.
When I watched the livestream of the celebration establishing the new parish – which used to be part of ours – I felt a sense of separation. Many friendships had been built and strengthened over the years, and it felt almost surreal to think that many of my friends now belonged to another parish. However, seeing the newly formed community welcome their new parish priest and celebrate the Eucharist together in a church full of people gave me great confidence that they will flourish as their own parish community. With a renewed sense of identity, the life of the new parish will grow stronger and build a firm foundation of faith for generations to come.
Coming back to the reality of our own parish, Our Lady of Pentecost, we seem to be doing things the other way around – but it is not necessarily a negative way. Parish boundaries have changed over the past century in response to population growth and urban development. They are now spreading more widely into regional areas, bringing greater balance across our State as a whole. As a result, the urban and suburban population has thinned, and this has brought our communities back to their origins (see the Decree of Amalgamation of the Parish of Pentecost, effective 26 October 2024). It is, indeed, a return to our shared heritage and a renewed sense of unity.
That said, this return may not be easy for some in our parish. Identities that were once well established within individual communities are now shifting. However, if this change helps our parish to grow in faith, celebrate in joy and hope, and embrace new opportunities, then each member must be open to journey together as one united community.
With this, I wish to inform our parishioners that the Parish Pastoral Council has commenced a review of Mass times in accordance with the Parish Pastoral Council’s annual Strategic Plan. We plan to announce the outcome of the review in the new year. The current Mass times will remain in place during Advent and the Christmas season.
The Parish Pastoral Council has discussed the matter at length, aiming to ensure that all five church communities have at least one dedicated Mass each weekend, along with a range of other options across the wider parish. However, this will continue to be under review should attendance numbers change, as we adapt and renew our celebrations together as one parish community.
19 Brenbeal Street, Balwyn VIC 3103
Telephone: 03 9816 9291
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours:
Tue - Fri 9:00am – 5:00pm
John Morrissey says:
At 81, near the average age of our parish, I don’t think I could turn out for the parish football team. I’m active in SVDP and a few other things. What do you recommend?