Spirit blows in for golden jubilee of St John XXIII centre
Local
The celebration of 50 years of St John XXIII Mass Centre on Sunday October 12 started with the curtains closed and the centre looking slightly dim.
Then came the words Pope John XXIII spoke at the start of the Second Vatican Council that it was time to ‘throw open the windows of the Church and let the fresh air of the Spirit blow through’.
And with that the curtains in the centre, which has windows all around, were opened to let the light and the Spirit blow in. This greeting of the light was led by some of the original parishioners of the Mass centre from when it was opened 50 years ago.
Archbishop Patrick O’Regan then led the celebratory Mass along with parish priest Fr Kym Spurling, Fr Peter Milburn, previous parish priest and Deacon Anthony Hill, joined by the congregation of past and present parishioners.
The gathering procession was a celebration of many of the groups that are pivotal to the life of the parish.
Proclaimers of the Word were parents of either adult children who grew up in the parish or of a child who has become active in the parish through the Family Faith Formation. Other readers were children who have recently celebrated the Sacraments of Initiation following formation in the parish.
The music was led by a parent who played the organ in the parish more than 30 years ago and by a talented guitarist and liturgist. Another procession included parents of children baptised in those early days.
Archbishop O’Regan spoke about his knowledge of the Modbury centre starting with the comments and experience of religious Sisters at his school who had been associated with the parish and the Vincentian order who educated the seminary students at the time. Those seminary students gifted a hand-carved altar base which they made themselves in 1973 and which is still in use at the centre today.
The congregation was enlightened by Fr Kym’s description of and reference to the architecture of the Mass centre and contextualising some of the practices we have in celebrating Mass today in accordance with their origins 50 years ago.
It is fortuitous that we have a parish priest now who has also walked the earlier history of the parish when he was a newly ordinated priest.
After the Celebration of the Eucharist and during the morning tea a PowerPoint presentation was played showing highlights of the earlier years, creating discussion and laughter as older parishioners reminisced on those past events and enabled old friends to catchup.
Tales of old, whether true or not, were eagerly exchanged, one which was true was that Fr Halloran did ride a donkey as part of the Palm Sunday procession with evidence on film which was shown on the day.
The time capsules from 1975, 1985 and 2000 which had been placed in the centre’s wall had been retrieved before the celebration.
The contents of these time capsules were treated with all the dignity that remind us that we stand on the shoulders of all who have gone before us.
These items were displayed along with an extended photo history and display of documents and information about life at the Mass centre for the month of October.
For some time leading up to the celebration the parish community embraced the opportunity to share precious memories of parish life. Short versions were recorded on tags and displayed on a memory tree. This followed what parishioners did in 1975 when they documented their thoughts and hopes for the new Mass centre.
These contemporary accounts of memories, along with other items and the earlier historical material from the previous time capsules, will be interred for the next generation of worshipers.
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