Sunday Mass Times

Weekday Mass Times

Sacrament of Reconciliation

or by appointment with Fr Alex, please contact the parish office on (03) 9412 8499

Holy Hour/Adoration

Safeguarding: Children, Young People and Vulnerable Persons

• Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Safeguarding Commitment

• ACBC Safeguarding Guidelines

At Saint Timothy Catholic Parish Forest Hill we are committed to a safe and nurturing culture for all children and vulnerable persons in our Church. Saint Timothy's Catholic Parish Forest Hill holds the care, safety, well-being of children and vulnerable persons as central and fundamental responsibilities of the Church. This commitment is drawn from and inherent to the teaching and mission of Jesus Christ, with love, justice and the sanctity of each human person at the heart of the Gospel.

We adhere to the Victorian Government's Child Safe Standards and follow the Archdiocesan Safeguarding Children and Young People Code of Conduct. A copy of this document is available for viewing below.

Safeguarding Lens:

How can parishes monitor their compliance for safeguarding? The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne’s Safeguarding Children and Young People Framework has been informed by the following organisational child safety frameworks.

• Victorian Child Safe Standards
• National Catholic Safeguarding Standards
• National Principles for Child Safe Organisations

A comparison of the requirements of each of the organisational child safety frameworks can be found in the Information sheet - Organisational Frameworks for Safeguarding Children and Young People

The Parish Child Safety Assessment Tool (located here) enables parishes to self-assess their compliance with the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne’s Safeguarding Children and Young People Framework noted above. This tool can be useful to facilitate your parish’s readiness to be audited by the Victorian Government Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP).

The parish takes the safety, well-being and inclusion of all children very seriously and has policies and procedures in place to maintain a Child Safe environment.​

• Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy 

• Commitment to Child Safety

• Code of Conduct Child Safety

• Safeguarding Children and Young People Code of Conduct Declaration

• Reporting abuse or safety related misconduct

Members of the Parish Safeguarding Committee are: Theresa Nguyen, Mary Italiano and
Fr Gerard (Contact details)

Reporting and Responding

We work to ensure all children, families and staff know what to do and who to tell if they observe abuse or a victim, or if they notice inappropriate behaviour. Our Parish’s reporting policy is detailed in the Reporting child safety related misconduct and/or child abuse document available below and provides guidance on how to make a report when there is a reasonable belief that a child in our parish environment is in need of protection or if a criminal offence has been committed.

Our Parish records any child safety complaints, disclosures or breaches of the Archdiocesan Safeguarding Children and Young People Code of Conduct and stores the records in accordance with security and privacy requirements.

pdf Information Sheet Safeguarding Responsiblities V1 1 (280 KB)

pdf Safeguarding Children and Young People Code of Conduct (331 KB)

pdf Safeguarding Children and Young People Code of Conduct Declaration (265 KB)

https://ccyp.vic.gov.au/child-safety/being-a-child-safe-organisation/the-child-safe-standards/

COVID 19 Online Safety for Parents and Children

Policies Attachments:

Media Release Pathways Victoria

Archdiocese Safeguarding

Archdiocesan Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy

pdf Parish Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy - July 2020 (310 KB)

pdf Reporting child safety related misconduct and/or child abuse (777 KB)

pdf Reporting Abuse or Safety-Related Misconduct (84 KB)

pdf Expansion of mandatory reporter groups – fact sheet People in religious ministry – commencing early 2020 (755 KB)

Protecting God's Children ~ A Resource for Parents

As children’s first and most enduring educators, parents are best placed to begin conversations with their children in an age and developmentally appropriate way. Protecting God’s Children Parent Resource: A Catholic Parent’s Guide to Keeping Their Kids Safe is a protective behaviours resource aimed at supporting Catholic parents of children aged 5-12 years old. The resource helps parents teach children a range of important personal safety skills, supports the development of emotional intelligence skills and promotes a child’s understanding of the right to feel safe through engaging activities and storybooks. Using the concept of "basket fillers", the resource begins by exploring the theme, “God gave all children the right to feel safe at all times” and sequentially builds on:

• children’s understanding of safety
• awareness of their feelings and early warning signs
• body awareness
• helping seeking strategies
• empowering children to say no in unsafe situations
• reinforcing the concept of personal space, and
• importantly the theme of “Nothing is so awful that we can’t talk with someone about it”.

Whilst we maintain that adults are ultimately responsible for maintaining safe environments for children, it is just as important to empower children to recognise when they are feeling unsafe and to tell a trusted adult (or adults) so that action is taken to help them be safe and feel safe.

Developed by Andrea Musulin (Director of Safeguarding, Catholic Archdiocese of Perth), this resource has been adapted by our Professional Standards Unit (PSU) for use by families within the Melbourne Archdiocese. We also thank Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB (Archbishop of Perth) for making the resource available to us. Protecting God's Children Parent Resource.

Single living - not single minded

I've been seeing a lot of cute and nice blogs or inspirational quotes or images about single life lately, but few of these seem to capture single life in a vocational sense. To me it seems there's a whole lot of "wait patiently for the right man" single life going around (hey, guys get frustrated about being single too - the friend zone is real!!!) It seems to me that there can be a single mindedness about single life - that it's just about not having a boyfriend or girlfriend. I beg to differ. But first, a quick review:

In the Church we talk about four "States of Life":

• Single
  
• Ordained (deacons, priests and bishops)
  
• Married
  
• Religious or Consecrated (including nuns, sisters, brothers and other consecrated women and men)

It's the single that is the hardest to pin down, since it can be expressed in so many ways. So here's my short guide to living singly - but not single minded!

1. We all live the single vocation at some point in our lives All of us spend some time being single by virtue of not being in one of the other States of Life. Call it "Consequential" or "Temporary" single life. The reasons for this time could be simply because you haven't been asked out yet, or because you're discerning one of the other vocations. Living singly isn't necessarily an intentional choice.

Interestingly, this includes people that are dating. In my own case, I consider myself living the single life even though I'm not "single". Though I am in a relationship, I'm not married yet, I haven't made that ultimate binding commitment to my partner. Yes, I am committed to her and to our relationship; but we haven't made the marital commitment to each other, so to expect that level of commitment of her other would be an unfair burden. Furthermore, a mark of marriage is that it is a free commitment of individuals to each other. To adopt a marital-level commitment to each other now would make marriage a progression, not a choice. I think this applies to any vocation: when we're discerning we still live the single life, because to adopt the commitments of another state of life binds the freedom we need to freely choose that vocation.

2. The single life can be an intentional short-term commitment In my own life I've committed to being single for a time. This isn't "voluntary loneliness", rather its making one's life fully available to a purpose or a mission. For me this time was when I was serving with NET Ministries. The choice not to pursue a romantic relationship freed my attention to serve my teams and the youth we ministered to. It doesn't have to be a mission-related choice: I have friends who, because of different circumstances, just aren't ready for a relationship. They've made the choice to work on themselves first before sharing their life with another.

3. Some people choose single life as a lifelong commitment No, these aren't crazy people! These are people who have discerned that God calls them to a specifically different purpose than ordained or religious or married life. Being permanently single allows one to commit their whole life (time and resources) to serving God, the Church or others.

4. There's a difference between being alone and being lonely The greatest fear that comes with single life is loneliness. Choosing the single life is not choosing loneliness, it's choosing to be alone. Being alone is a far different thing to being lonely. We see this in Jesus' life in the Gospels. He is constantly surrounded by people, but he also goes off to be alone. Realistically though, having time alone comes with all states of life: ordained and religious men and women obviously make this choice too, but even married couples will have time away from their partners. As a society we need to stop believing the negative connotations of being alone.

5. Single life necessitates choice At some point, living singly leads to a choice, whether it be to a relationship or to specifically discern the ordained or religious life or to remain single. "Consequential" single life isn't a permanent choice. When single life remains consequential then it becomes single mindedness, it becomes avoidance of any other possibility. Make the choice to be intentionally single or be open to the idea that God might be calling you to something other than what you're waiting for.

6. But while you are single, do something amazing! For me, being single allowed me to travel across Australia, to live in different cities, to explore the priesthood and discover what I sense is my life purpose. For friends it has given them the space to resolve issues in their life allowing them to fully commit their life to someone else. The marital vows or the religious vows or the promises of ordination aren't burdensome - in fact I think they're freeing, but that's a whole 'nother article! Those commitments however are specific. Since single life remains so undefined (in a legislative sense), there are endless possibilities for how one can serve God, Church and the world while living singly.

As a vocation single life isn't the painful last alternative, not does it need to be ignored because its hard to define. Living singly is a reality we will all experience at least for a time. It's important that we seek to understand how God would call us to use those solitary times in our lives.

pdf Acknowledge the Gift of Single People in Parish Life (129 KB)

pdf Ten ways to Live Happily and Alone (128 KB)

pdf Single Life (95 KB)

Acknowledgement: http://haveyouaskedthequestion.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/single-living-not-single-minded.html

CURRENT MEMBERS OF OUR SL PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL (Sometimes referred to as the Parish Stewardship/Leadership Committee) ARE:

Sonya O’Farrell – Feargal and I moved to Blackburn South in 2000 so this is my 20th year as a Parishioner and my second as Parish Secretary. I was born in Navan, Co Meath, Ireland and came to Australia in 1997. Feargal is also Irish and we have four children who all attended St Luke the Evangelist Primary School. I coordinated the St Luke's Playgroup for twelve years and managed the St Luke's School Canteen for nine years. I look forward to serving on the Parish Pastoral Council to ensure that this community continues to thrive.

Nigel Tauro – I have been a Parishioner at St. Luke's since late 2018, when I moved to the area with my wife. We have 1 child, a daughter, who was born in 2019. I spent a good portion of my growing years in Dubai, in the Middle East, where I was a Parishioner at St. Mary's Church, Dubai - which is one of the largest Parishes in the world. I spent a few years studying in the city of Bangalore in India. I moved to Australia in 2016 and for the past few years, I have been working at an Airline Catering Company at Melbourne Airport. My hobbies include sports, music, travelling and trivia. I am humbled to be a part of the Parish Pastoral Council here at St. Luke's and am looking forward to serving the community as best as I can.

We thank all these Parishioners for accepting the responsibility of being members of our next Parish Pastoral Council. As much as it is a statement of trust by us in them it is also a statement of trust by them in us.

ST. LUKE THE EVANGELIST PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL GUIDELINES
AND NOW FOR OUR CURRENT SL & ST COMBINED PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL

One Mission Two Parish Communities living the Good News through hospitality and outreach

ROLE OF THE PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL:

The Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) is made up of those parishioners who, after a process of discernment by fellow parishioners, are invited to share responsibility for the life and faith development of the St. Luke’s parish community in partnership with the Parish Priest. The PPC gives witness to the equality, dignity and responsibility of all the baptized to share in the mission of Jesus Christ.

                                                       “Co-responsibility requires a change in mentality, particularly with

                                                       regard to the laity in the Church, who should be considered not as

                                                     collaborators with the clergy, but as persons truly co-responsible for

                                                      the being and activity of the Church.”          (Pope Benedict XVI)

The PPC has a role of oversight, looking out for the whole parish community rather than various sectional interests. It works with parishioners to build a community of faithful followers of Christ by being accessible and available to parishioners and working with them so that all may become involved in the life of the parish community, grow in faith and influence the society around them.

“The thing the Church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds

and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity.

I see the Church as a field hospital after battle.” (Pope Francis)

Working in close partnership with the Parish Priest, the PPC seeks out and responds to the ideas, aspirations, needs and concerns of parishioners. It seeks to be aware of what is happening in the St. Luke’s community, encouraging the work of existing groups whilst providing opportunities for new initiatives to emerge in harmony with the goals of the Parish Plan.

PROFILE OF PASTORAL COUNCIL MEMBERS

Members of the St. Luke the Evangelist Parish Pastoral Council aspire to:

Servant leadership: offering their gifts and talents to build up the community in a spirit of shared responsibility through service;

Co-responsibility: working closely with the Parish Priest and each other harmoniously for the common good rather than particular interests, and seeking the input of parishioners regarding their concerns and hopes, to establish the direction of the parish;

Hospitality: listening to the concerns and aspirations of parishioners as well as welcoming all without judgement, in the spirit of the Gospel.

MEMBERSHIP AND OPERATION

The Parish Pastoral Council has up to 12 Members duly appointed, and consists of up to 5 ex-officio members including: the Parish Priest, the Principal of the Parish School, a representative from the School Advisory Board, the St. Vincent De Paul Society and the Parish Care Group and up to 7 other parishioners chosen through the parish discernment process.

The PPC meets once every school term for two hours on a weeknight and time agreed by the members. Other opportunities for further involvement in church or school events may also arise because of PPC initiatives and subject to members’ availability.

The term of ordinary (non-ex-officio) membership is for two years. To facilitate continuity, it is anticipated that approximately half the PPC members will choose to continue for a second term. Anyone who serves two consecutive terms will then stand down for at least one term.

CONDUCT OF MEETINGS

The Parish Pastoral Council will choose a Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and Secretary. These office-bearers together with the Parish Priest form the Executive of the PPC who will

• Coordinate the business of the Council between meetings;
• Distribute the agenda, minutes and all other relevant material at least one week before each meeting;
• Ensure that the PPC reports after each meeting to the Parish Community of St. Luke the Evangelist.

Each meeting will begin with a period of reflection and prayer arising from the conviction that awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit affects and informs the meeting discussions and decisions.

PPC members will endeavor to:

• Honour, respect and genuinely listen to each other;
• Respect the ideas and initiatives suggested by parishioners;
• Use a consensus model of decision making whilst recognizing the ultimate responsibility of the Parish Priest for the parish community.

PPC members participate in a Reflection/Retreat Day once a year to facilitate a deeper understanding of the mission of the St. Luke’s PPC in the context of the Church’s mission as well as to enhance the way the members can work best together as a team.

KEY TASKS

The Parish Pastoral Council has the mandate to:

• Develop and implement the Parish Pastoral Plan.
• Build and strengthen unity by bringing the various groups, entities and viewpoints together in a collective direction inspired by the parish vision and plan.
• Facilitate and encourage new initiatives that will enable St. Luke’s parish community to more faithfully give witness to the values of the Gospel.
• Find ways to communicate and engage in an invitational way with members of the wider, ‘non-churched’ or ‘non-practising’ community.

REVIEW

These Guidelines will be reviewed by the Parish Pastoral Council Members at the end of each two year membership cycle.

“The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age,

Especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and

Hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.”

(Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Vatican Council II)

pdf Parish Pastoral Council handbook (1.26 MB)

document Parish Pastoral Council Code of Conduct (201 KB)