Celebrity Concert- "Songs for Soibada"

The Concert held on Saturday 4th September 2010 was a resounding success. The Mater Maria Hall was full and there was a star studded cast from Les Miserables, Phantom, Boy from Oz and others plus local performers.

It was a night to remember! The Pittwater Parish Soul Band performed, the La Mont dancers danced, the performers sang (and tap-danced and played), Tamara witnessed, the raffle was drawn, we listened to an inspirational speech from Mr Abel Gutteres (Timor Leste Ambassador to Australia), we saw the DVD about the village of Soibada and Timor Leste more generally.

It was a unique night that would have been worth attending even if it cost four times as much and was not for a very deserving cause. But the fact that we were supporting the poor village of Soibada made it even better. Performers, organisers, the AV company and many more volunteers worked tirelessly to make this a brilliant event. You can see photos from the event by clicking this link. Then "View Slideshow fullscreen" for best display.

Here are some of the highlights. Note that if you click your mouse on an image, it will expand then you can move it around or close it. Or you can just open one image then press the right or left icon on the image to scroll through all photos.

First Eucharist 2010

The sacrament of First Eucharist will be celebrated at Maria Regina church on Saturday 11 September at 5pm and on Sunday 12 September at 9am.

The sacrament of First Eucharist will be celebrated at Sacred Heart church on Saturday 18 September at 5pm and on Sunday 19 September at 9.30am and at 6pm.

We look forward to seeing all our candidates at the compulsory practice for both parents and children to be held at the following times -

Avalon
Thursday 9th September 2010 at 3.45pm for children making their first Eucharist on 12 September 2010 at 9am.
Thursday 9th September 2010 at 4.30pm for children making their first Eucharist on 11 September 2010 at 5pm.

Mona Vale
Thursday 16th September 2010 at 3.45pm for children making their first Eucharist on 19 September 2010 at 6pm
Thursday 16th September 2010 at 4.30pm for children making their first Eucharist on 18 September 2010 at 5pm
Thursday 16th September 2010 at 5.15pm for children making their first Eucharist on 19 September 2010 at 9.30am

For further details contact the Sacramental Director (Suzy Caruso) on 99977311 xtn13 or by clicking this link.

Strengthening Friendship: People to People

The essence of last week’s Australia Timor-Leste Friendship Movement conference in Maubisse, Timor Leste was friendship. The conference brought together more than 100 people from Friendship groups, like Pittwater and Soibada’s, for what was Timor-Leste’s largest international conference outside Dili. The Friendship Movement is warmly supported by the Timor Leste Government. Snr Archangelo Leite, the Timor-Leste Minister for State Administration, said that he wanted to see it continue to develop and to progress. He said that governments come and go, but that friendship continued. According to the Australian Ambassador to Timor-Leste, HE Peter Heyward, The Friendship Movement is a true symbol of the closeness of Australia and Timor-Leste. He said that the people to people relationships provided an underlying substance to more formal bilateral relations.

The Friendship Movement has committed itself to continuing for the next ten years. A website will be established to share information between Friends in Timor-Leste and Friends in Australia.

A number of issues considered to be challenges were discussed and processes to overcome them were devised. Several issues that are very relevant to our relationship with Soibada are:

Communication: language, telephone, internet.

Road access

The conference addressed a number of themes. The greatest strength was identified as the long-term commitment of both Australian and Timor-Leste friends to the movement. There have also been many successful local projects. In his closing remarks, the Director of State Administration, Snr Abilio Caetano, referred to brothers and sisters coming together in love, peace and solidarity.

Addressing the conference, the President of Timor-Leste, HE Jose Ramos-Horta, highlighted the role played by the Friendship movement in underpinning relations between Timor-Leste and Australia.

President Ramos-Horta said: ‘No country in the world has committed more than Australia to Timor-Leste.’ ‘My hope,’ he continued, ‘is for each suco in Timor-Leste to be adopted by a council in Australia. I want each school in Australia to adopt a school in Timor-Leste.’

Pittwater’s relationship with Soibada is a significant part of establishing such lasting friendships. The primary purpose of this relationship with the people of Soibada is to provide support for local projects and build skills within the Soibada community that will contribute to the long term independence and sustainability of the community. However, the development of lasting friendships is integral to the success of any projects undertaken.

Please don’t forget the Inaugural meeting of the Pittwater Friends of Soibada at 7pm on 22 September at the Avalon Recreation Centre. All are welcome to attend.

Timor Facts

Access to safe water and hygienic sanitation is a significant problem.

There are no significant dams and only two perennial rivers.

The rivers are steep and none are suitable for transport.

The most people rely on underground water from wells for drinking.

Any water available for irrigating crops is reserved for rice fields.

There is high rainfall in the wet season (our summer), and abundant natural springs all over the island.

Despite all this rain and the springs the people there have only a fraction of the water that we have to use each day.

One flush of our toilets is what the average person living in Timor Leste uses all day.

Nearly two thirds of the population live in rural areas where there is either no or very limited access to safe drinking water. 

Before 1999, less than half of the population of East Timor had access to safe water, and according to the UN, most of the water systems were  focused on urban areas.

Water-born diseases are rife.

Independence and the contamination of water supplies

 When an overwhelming majority of East Timorese voted for independence from Indonesia in 1999, it led to violent opposition. 1999 Militia opposing East Timor independence killed pro-independence supporters and threw bodies in the water wells.  Thus, they contaminated the country’s supply of clean drinking water. 

 Much of East Timor’s infrastructure was destroyed following the independence ballot of 1999. This included water supply infrastructure. Exacerbating this situation was the already degraded state of rural water supply systems due to inadequate design, poor construction and low quality materials.

Tetum Word of the Week

kolega or amigo or maluk  - Friend

The Catholic Parish of Pittwater

View South from Barrenjoey Lighthouse

The Catholic Parish of Pittwater is part of the Diocese of Broken Bay. From October 2008, it has been under the care of the Salvatorian Order.  

Pittwater is a large expanse of water bordered by National Park and suburbs. A tombola separates Pittwater itself from the ocean, which boasts a number of picturesque and popular beaches.

The Parish is situated at the "top" end of Sydney's famed "Northern Beaches". It extends from and includes the suburb of Warriewood in the South and Palm Beach in the North plus those in between. It includes the suburbs of Church Point, Scotland Island, Lovett's Bay, Elvina Bay, Coaster's Retreat and Mackerel Beach to the West.

The Parish Priest is  Fr George Kolodziej
	"My prayer is that this Parish of Pittwater is going to be a community of HOPE providing spiritual nourishment to ALL"

The Laity plays a major part in Pittwater Parish. Here is a video celebrating the role of the laity. It will give you an idea of what happens in the Parish.

The music is provided by our very own Soul Band and the third section was composed, sung and self-accompanied by Lauren from our Parish.

Click the player to start or pause. There is a full screen icon on the bottom towards the right. You will need a recent version of Adobe's Flash Player and you might be asked to download it. You will need a Broadband connection to view the video. However, most people have this.

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

The Parish has two Churches with associated Primary Schools and one Secondary School (Mater Maria College, Warriewood).

Barrenjoey Lighthouse at the Northern end of Palm Beach is the iconic symbol for the Diocese of Broken Bay of which Pittwater Parish is a part.