TODAY, 20th Sunday in Ordinary, August 16 is a day short of one month and we will be in the Hall for Masses.
The Sacramental celebrations will be complete with Confirmation on August 29 and the Fund Raiser Trivia Night on September 12.
The following week the builders will enter the Church. The Stations of the Cross from Italy have arrived and the Crucifix, Ambo and Baptistery are in process.
One interesting aspect was the sourcing of the stone to match the altar stone. I had no idea where the stone came from or who sculptured the altar.
But, one evening, when I was looking for the list of those who donated or dedicated an item to the original Church, I contacted Don Matheson.
He gave me a book The House of the Church: St Bridget’s Greythorn. It is a Souvenir Publication dated August 1980, with an introduction by Father John O’Shea.
In addition to the families that donated an item, there was a list of builders and tradespersons. Most have ceased to trade. But F. Hallett and Son Pty Ltd (Ecclesiastical and Monumental Masons) Bridge Street Richmond were listed and Mario Landini contacted them.
They are no longer in Richmond but Thomastown and Clayton. We contacted the younger son of the stonemason who had no recollection of the stone or the altar but asked his older brother, who came out to our Church, and remembered well securing the stone and building the altar with his father.
Anthony Russo, our artist, contacted the older son and they traced the stone to Gosford, NSW. We now have the stone and it matches perfectly the altar and will be made into the new Ambo for proclaiming the Word of God in the Church.
Thanks to all those who persevered in securing the stone. Now the work can proceed.