A New Church
+ Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
29 Jul 2007
The biggest population growth is not occurring in Sydney, which is too expensive, but in Queensland and around Melbourne. But new suburbs are opening up here also and on July 15th I solemnly dedicated a splendid new Church of the Holy Spirit at Carnes Hill in South West Sydney.
Typically Catholics have liked to capture the hills for their Churches, and this is no exception, being well sited with its primary school and next to a huge shopping centre.
Local community leaders, the parish priest in particular, but architects and builders too, in fact all involved in some special way, are proud to have a part in constructing a new centre for worship and community building, which will last for decades, perhaps even centuries.
Time and again at anniversary celebrations in the parishes, older parishioners or their children and grand children, will proudly recount their family contributions.
Most of us take it for granted that Christian churches are spread through our suburbs and country towns.
It took an Asian migrant to point out the obvious to me, that such churches are not found in every country. In fact it was these centres of worship, local advertisements for Christian faith, hope and love which prodded this woman towards becoming a Catholic.
Just recently a friend remarked on the dull monotonous suburbs constructed in the vanished Communist empire, where new churches were not allowed and no spires pointed heavenward to remind them of the Transcendent, of Godly love.
Catholic Churches are places where heaven and earth should meet, where believers regularly go to nourish their faith, to open their hearts to the invisible and loving God and to resist those voices in our society which assert that God is not necessary.
An architect once claimed that a Catholic Church is a gathering place for those searching for God, but this is a mistake. A Catholic Church is where worshippers who have found God in Jesus Christ his Son gather to pray and celebrate the sacraments. That is why local communities labour so hard to make God’s house beautiful and functional.
With government funding available, it is easier for a new community to build a Catholic school than to build a Church (although significant parental contributions will be required for decades to pay off both debts).
In fact 51 parishes from the Sydney Archdiocese contributed to the cost of the Holy Spirit parish plant. The Church is built to last, recognizably Catholic in its style and a pleasing mixture of the new and the old. Beautiful stain glass windows, some statues, including one of Mother Teresa of Calcutta make a fine setting.
The opening Mass was a celebration of faith and hope in the future, the responses were loud and confident, well matched by the community hymn singing. The parish choir, in which Samoan and Filipino parishioners played a leading part, did a superb job.
This parish will be a great communal and religious asset to the district. It will last longer than the debt!
