CHANGES

About 50 parishioners (and Frs Ian & Matthew and Deacons Nathan & Greg) from around the Diocese came together for the Summer School on Vatican II with Fr Tony last Saturday. It was incredibly interesting and informative. We have much to thank Fr Tony for. I wonder how many remember St Joseph’s church, pre-Vatican II and after? When news filtered back on the changes to how Mass was presented, Fr Steve Kelly went to Greg Dudley (then a builder in town) and asked him to divide the timber altar and tabernacle and move the altar forward so he (Fr Kelly) could face the congregation that weekend during Mass. This of course necessitated the Sanctuary being extended out. I can’t imagine how that very first Mass, must have felt for Father and the parishioners. In 1972 there was a major remodelling of St. Joseph’s where Greg formed the concrete forms for the tabernacle and altar that touch Mother Earth and the brick form for the lectionary . The marble was then cut and formed around these. It was then the altar rails (where Communion was received), and the choir loft were taken down. New pews were ordered to fill the extra space created for the people of God in the Church. (Not pertinent to this conversation but interesting nonetheless is that Archbishop Clune who consecrated St Joseph’s in 1933 is Greg’s maternal great-uncle; and Greg’s dad was the first Parish Pastoral Chair here. His ties to the parish go deep.)