From the Parish AGM on the 29th January 2008

Parish Chairman, John Snook writes:

Following the election of the new Pastoral Council on Tuesday 23rd January 2007 the Council went on a formation weekend at Jacobs Well to plan for the 18 months ahead and to re-define the vision and mission statement for the parish.

The Mission remains “to fulfill Christ's command to evangelize all people”.  The vision is to change the face of the mountain through planting the seeds of faith.

Each Councilor is responsible for a portfolio which in turn contains several stewardship groups.   The council has met ten times during the current term of office to discuss progress, each meeting has a focus subject to provide a theme for the meeting.

In pursuing our mission of evangelization, some changes have been introduced, the first Sunday of each month has been designated Welcome Sunday and tea and snacks are served in the piazza after the 8.30am mass.  This gives parishioners, both new and old an opportunity to meet and fellowship over a cup of tea.

There is a weekly audio presentation in the hall on Thursday nights on Jesus and the Gospels.

 The Archdiocese held a Synod in September of this year for which the focus was Evangelization.  The Parish sent 4 delegates to the Synod, Fr Justin, Sr Lucas, Annabelle Burgess and myself.  We held a “Mini Synod” in the church hall in October based on the material presented and the discussion points of the synod.  Though poorly attended by parishioners, those who did attend found it a very profound experience and have requested more such discussions in the future.  

This year we also achieved 10'000 hours of Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament and it is ongoing.

Couples for Christ gave a short presentation at the Masses on Sunday 14th October followed by a weekend Christian Life program retreat/workshop.  Couples for Christ are a lay missionary organization that originated in the Philippines and have now spread throughout the world.  Their mission is family evangelization and they have programs for couples, singles, youth, children, widowed & widowers, the entire spectrum of the parish.  This is not aimed at marriages “in trouble” but rather a renewal of gospel values in family life.  Again the turnout of parishioners was disappointing, however two “households” of about 10 members each have been formed in the parish and continue to meet weekly following the Christian Life Program, these meetings consist of worship, praise, song thanksgiving and a bible based teaching, followed by a light snack.  Further Christian Life Program weekends are planned for the year ahead.

The Parish has an RCIA (Rite of Christian initiation of Adults) programme and  4  new members of the Church were received into full membership of the Church at the Easter Vigil Mass, as well as a further 4 members who completed their initiation into full membership of the church.

Life Teen was launched in the Parish in July of last year and is aimed at the youth from grades 8-10, this program, like all catechetical programs, needs the committed support of parents to ensure that their children attend.  The core Team members invest a great deal of time and effort in the planning and presentation of the The Parish is sending Mawunda Sibiya  to the World Youth Day to be held in Sydney, Australia in July 2008, Annabelle Burgess our Youth Pastoral Assistant will be accompanying the Archdiocesan team.

This is a brief overview of the activities of the Council, all the portfolios whether directly or indirectly affect our efforts at evangelization, there are 65 ministries in the parish and all need more volunteers to help.

Evangelization starts with each one of us personally, we need to make use of the opportunities to deepen our faith and our understanding of our faith so we can witness effectively to others.

A little late chronologically - but the first of our isiZulu articles from December 2007:

UMGIDO KHISIMUSI WEZINGANE ENAZARETHA

Umgido kakhisimusi wezingane owabe use Nazaretha mhla ziyisishiyagalolunye ku Zibandlela ngonyaka odlule, wabe usungulwe yinhlangano ye SVDP, ixhaswe ngumphathi wenkonzo u Baba Justn, ingxenye yebandla, nababexhase ngezipho ezingajwayelekile ezinhlobonhlobo.
Njalo ngonyaka siba nomgido ofanayo lapho sihlanganisa abazali kumbe ababhekeleli babantwana ngokusemthethweni, labo abathola ukudla maphasela ngokuxhaswa, ngenxa yokuntula nobummpofu ababhekene nabo.
Kulolosuku labo bagadi kumbe abazali babantwana nabo bathola amaphasela abo kanye nesipho ngamunye,njengenkukhu eqiniswe ngamakhaza kumbe iphakethe likaswidi onhlobonhlobo.

U-Charmaine Dube, no Treasure Kunene, intsha yasesontweni, eyilunga le-Life Teen, njalo ngenyanga uyalekelela ekunikezeleni abantu ukudla maphasela ngenyanga. Kuyo yonke imicimbi yezingane kakhisimusi ulekelela ngokugoqa izipho zabantwana, abuye ame ngasemnyango lapho kungena khona abantwana ukuze aqiniseke ukuthi bonke baphelele.

Kubo bonke okhisimusi esesike sabenza bezingane, umlingisi baba khisimusi kuvame ukuba ngu Terry Whitfield wase Queensbugh. Umpheki wamazambane athosiwe njalo kuba ngu Jan, wenhlangano i-Da Gama.

Nazareth Children's Christmas Party - December 2007

Nazareth Children's Christmas party was hosted by our SVDP members, supported by Fr Justin, parishioners & many special sponsors. The event took place on Sunday 9th December 2007 at 1pm in the Nazareth Hall
This is an annual event, to which the  children of guardians or parents who receive monthly food parcels from  our SVDP society, are invited.  On the same day, the parents or guardians receive their monthly food parcel along with a special small ‘anyana’ gift which could be a frozen chicken or a packet of mixed sweets.

Charmaine Dube (Life Teen member) and Treasure Kunene (Life Teen Core member), both from our Parish, assisted in handing out the monthly food parcels.  Each year they handle the wrapping of toys and ensure that names are ticked off accordingly on the arrival of guests.

Terry Whitfield from Queensburgh takes on the role of Father Christmas who draws huge smiles and laughs from the children. Jan has cooked frozen chips, sponsored by Da Gama, for many years.  To all these people, the children and their families from Nazareth are very grateful.