St Mary's War Memorial School
West Wyalong

A K - 10 school in western NSW, Australia
part of the Archdiocese of Canberrra and Goulburn

An Active Parish Community

PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL

This central parish body was established in the 1970's and took on a major role after the Diocesan Synod of 1989. The Pastoral Council examines and puts into action pastoral initiatives which help to strengthen the parish community. The Council consists of 9 members and some recent initiatives have been: involvement in the National Church Life Survey, "Little Mass", visit of the Drummoyne Parish, the Drought Relief Program, the Lenten Program and preparation for the Synod, the session on Coping with Rural Stress and the Parish Barbecue and Bush Dance.
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ST VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY

A much loved Catholic organisation which is the parish's outreach to the needy in our community. The central body of our parish S.V.de P is the "Conference", a group of Catholics dedicated to the ideals and work of the Society. The Conference meets every second Tuesday for prayer, spiritual formation and review of the activities of the past fortnight. Our "Vinnies Store" is staffed by members of the Conference, a manager and many dedicated volunteers, making up a wonderful little community of people who help raise the finance necessary to fund the work for those in need.
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CATHOLIC WOMEN'S LEAGUE

This group of dedicated Catholic ladies has been the mainstay of the parish since 1969 particularly in the area of parish development. In more recent years the League has been involved with outreach to the house bound, providing the "afterwards" for many a funeral, caring for the church building, as well as, having an interest in national and international issues such as the status of women, bioethics and the World Union of Catholic Women's Organizations. The League meets each month for a time of prayer and spiritual formation and to review and plan various activities.
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ST. MARY'S SCHOOL

Traditionally, the Catholic School has always gone hand in hand with the Catholic Parish and so the Sisters of Mercy started their first school at St. Patrick's Wyalong in 1896 with 196 students and 6 Sisters. By 1901 St. Mary's Church School, had been built of corrugated iron at West Wyalong (the "Tinny') and so a group of Sisters travelled daily to teach there. By 1903 there were 103 students at Wyalong and 167 at West Wyalong. The present St. Mary's School was built in 1961 and the Sisters of Mercy provided principals until 1979, continuing the strong bonds between parish and school. The first lay principal was appointed in 1980 thus carrying on a great tradition.
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PARISH CATECHISTS

Or the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, to give them their official name is a dedicated group of Catholics who teach Catholic Scripture in the State Schools as trained and properly qualified Special Religious Education Teachers. Each week, they teach the Catholic children in the State Primary Schools in Wyalong, West Wyalong, Weethalle, Tallimba, Rankin's Springs, Ungarie and Burcher. All Catechists have had an extensive period of training and each term they meet for an In- service Day to refine their skills in this important pastoral work for our parish.
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CENTACARE WEST WYALONG

A Catholic counselling service which assists with personal, marriage and family counselling, was set up by our diocesan Centacare in Canberra and funded by a
special work of the Sisters of Mercy, the Mercy Foundation, for two years during the drought and recession of 1994. When the funding finished, the Parish Pastoral Council and the Parish Finance Committee took up the challenge to subsidise this service. Centacare Canberra and St. Mary's Parish has funded this service since 1996 which provides a counsellor for two days a week in its own office in the Main St.
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RECONNECT CENTRAL WEST

Because of the success of Centacare West Wyalong, our home base, Centacare Canberra introduced a new service "Reconnect Central West" in 2000. This is an
initiative of the Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services and is aimed to target young people who have recently become homeless or who are at the risk of homelessness, before they have the necessary skills to live life independently. There is a full-time family counsellor in Cowra: and a permanent part-time Youth Worker/Community Development Worker based in the Centacare Office at West Wyalong and these two service the areas of Cowra, Molong, Boorowa, Blayney, West Wyalong, Boorowa and the surrounding districts.
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WORSHIP MINISTRY

There are many parishioners involved in this ministry, Acolytes, Readers, Special Ministers of the Eucharist, Organists, Over-head Projectionists, participants in the Offertory Processions and so on. These generous people give of their time not only at their rostered Sunday Mass, but also at week-day Masses. With the shortage of priests, the Celebration of the Word and Holy Communion has become an important lay worship ministry and many are involved in this. Part of the Worship Ministry of our parish is the participation of St. Mary's School students, staff and parents, particularly at the Vigil Mass on the 4th Saturday of the month when they play a major part with music and song and also with liturgical movement.
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LITTLE MASS

Another initiative of the Parish Council was the re-introduction and re-organisation.of the special Children's Liturgy of the Word on the 1st Sunday of each month ("Little Mass"). This is aimed at preschool children, Kindies and Years 1 to 3. Parents are invited to bring their children to the Altar at the beginning of Mass and move out to the chapel where the Scripture readings for the day are presented in a manner more easily understood by the children. They then join the Offertory Procession at the Mass and place before the Altar the little projects they have completed. We are thankful for the talented and dedicated parents who organise this activity.
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PASTORAL CARE

A special work of our Acolytes is the Celebration of the Word and Holy Communion at the Waratah Village every Sunday and every second Thursday. This is a service which is appreciated very much by the members of the Waratah Community. In an ageing community some people are unable to come to Mass on a Sunday, and so our very generous Special Ministers of the Eucharist take Holy Communion to them in their own homes, not only on Sundays, but also during the week in some cases. They also visit the Hospital and the Nursing Home every week.
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ECUMENICAL ACTIVITIES

In the past, the Ministers' Fraternal and Ecumenical Services have been a part of the life of most parishes. However, in more recent years our parish involvement in the Alpha Program and the Christian Men's Breakfast has been outstanding in building better relationships with our sisters and brothers of all the Christian Churches here. We pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to bless our efforts in this great work.
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BALL COMMITTEE

Except for some years during World Wars I and II, the Catholic Debutante Ball has continued to be a feature of our parish social life for 104 years. Year after year the dedicated men and women of the Ball Committee have worked very hard to make this a great social event and have always succeeded. We are indeed very fortunate to
have such a talented and energetic group as the present Ball Committee to continue this great tradition, which, alas, is disappearing in so many places.
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FINANCE COMMITTEE

This group of parishioners review the finances of the parish and advises on the kinds of activities we should be engaged in. One of its first major decisions was the annual funding of Centacare West Wyalong for as long as this service would be needed here. This was followed by the funding.of major repair work on St. Mary's Church, Stage 1 of the refurbishment of St. Mary's School and the re-building of the Presbytery. Our plans for Stage 11 for a major refurbishment of St. Mary's school were dropped by the Catholic Education Office, which developed its own plans. However, the Finance Committee funded the restoration and renovation of the Old Church-School building, with the result that, thanks to their wisdom, the parish plant is all in good order.
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