The weekly Wanganui Pastoral Newsletter is back on line for 2010.

Just click on "Weekly Church Bulletin" on the side menu to access all the weekly happenings and events in the the Wanganui area parishes.

Listed below are the mass times for the Wanganui Parishes over the Christmas Period.

Christmas Masses 2009 (pdf)

This weeks "Thought for the Day" published in the Wanganui Chronicle Newspaper for the week Monday 13th April 2009 to Saturday 18th April 2009 has be written by the Parish Priest of St Mary's Parish - Monsingor David Bell. We have published the series of reflections below for your information.

Thought for the day (pdf)

Bishop Peter Cullinane along with five parishioners representing the full age range of St Marys Parish officially opened the new Community Centre, Church, Hall and Marae alterations on Sunday 29th March in front of a full congregation of 550 people.

The life of our people and the wider community will be blessed by having the use of these facilities and the mission of the parish enhanced.

Buildings are not an end in themselves but are built to serve the people. As the Gospel today says: "Father, glorify your name" we can hope that these amenities will be used to glorify the work of the Lord.

No one should seek special kudos for what has been done but we thank the many people who have been involved in bringing this undertaking to a conclusion. From planning,fundraising,building etc. everyone who has taken pride in their work and done it to the best of their ability is giving glory to God through the work of their hands.

It is up to us, the people of God to use these facilites for the greater glory and honour of God and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.

The following article appeared in the Wanganui Chronicle and Mid Week Newspaper in the week prior to the new Community Centre Opening.

The article written by Gerard Lynch, Chairman of the Building Committee outlines the history of this major undertaking that has been a dream for over 10 years and culimates in the  official opening on the 29th March 2009.

Wanganui Chronicle Article March 2009 (pdf)

Sunday 29th March 2009 has been confirmed as the Official Opening date for the New Community Centre.

A full day of events have been planned commencing with a City Wide mass in St Mary's Church at 10am.

The Offical Opening will take place in a civil ceremony at 11.30am followed by a luncheon in St Joseph's Hall for all who are present.

This day will mark another significant milestone in our Parish History, and we are looking forward to as many current and past parishioners, priests, religious and community leaders who have had an associationwith St Mary's Parish over the years being in attendance.

The Weekly Pastoral Church Bulletin is now back on-line for 2009 after the Christmas Holidays.  Please take the opportunity to visit this site each week for updated information on the Wanganui Parishes

St Mary's new Community Complex is operational for Christmas.

The complex was used for the first time at the 9am mass on Sunday 21st December and will be operational for the Christmas ceremonies. The complex is more that 90% complete, the remainder will be finished in the New Year following the holiday break. There was a strong positive response to the new facilities from all who attended with many staying behind to enjoy morning tea and a chance to have a look through the  new complex.

The Historic Places Trust have done themselves no favours in the recent publicity campaign they have waged around the St Mary's Presbytery.  Much of the discussion in the press has been ill informed or simply not true.  It certainly lacks balance and objectivity.

St Mary's Parish Leadership and Palmerston North Diocese have followed a thorough, professional and open process in reaching the decision we reached with respect to this building.  We accept that some people may not agree with this decision and many will be saddened by the demolition, but nevertheless it is supported by the vast majority of our community.

The salient facts are:

1. Since the new St Mary's Church was built in the early 1970's the Parish has planned to remove the building because it encroaches on and dominates the architecturally and religiously important church.  The presbytery did not adequately meet modern standards of accommodation for our priests or administrative and pastoral staff.

2. The Parish considered the feasibility of adapting and modernising the building for Parish use. The costs associated with strengthening and refurbishing the building were budgeted to be in excess of $1M (not $350,000).  The Parish instead decided to invest in new buildings which would better meet the current and future needs of the Parish and wider Wanganui Community.

3. The planned redevelopment of the Parish site has been public knowledge since May 2007. The planned redevelopment includes proposals for the presbytery site. Given its proximity to St Mary's Church the land would not be sold but retained for future, undetermined Parish use. It is not planned to use the land for a carpark: the Parish has sufficient parking already to meet local authority planning requirements.

4. The Parish and Diocesan leadership were in dialogue with the Historic Places Trust throughout the process which continued until the week before demolition commenced.  The Trust were made aware of the issues facing the Parish especially the limited financial resources.  These discussions centred on saving the building and the financial assistance the Trust could possibly provide the Parish.  No substantial funding proposal and no viable alternative options were presented to the Parish by the Trust or its associated parties.

5. A Certificate of Compliance was granted by the Wanganui District Council in May 2007. This preceded the WDC consultation document 'Heritage Consultation 2007' released in August 2007 that included St Mary's Presbytery as a possible heritage building.

6. The Historic Places Trust Category I classification was placed on the building only after the Parish applied to WDC for a Demolition Permit.  The Parish submission to HPT argued strongly that the building had no noteworthy historical significance, and that the reasons forwarded by the HPT for registration were tenuous at best.

7. Classification does not afford protection to the building.  A Heritage Order affords greater protection.  The Historic Places Trust can legally place this on a building.  They chose not to in the case of the presbytery.  Instead they lobbied WDC to place a Heritage Order on the building. The 30 June 2008 WDC Council Meeting discussed this proposal and rejected it.  At the same meeting the Demolition Permit was approved.

8. The Parish has gone to extraordinary lengths to record and conserve elements of the the building for posterity.  These include gifting substantial parts of the building to WDC for the benefit of the District, photographic records and archaeological examination of the site.

In light of the discussion in the press, we are publishing on this web page copies of correspondence to the Historic Places Trust which clearly state the position of St Mary’s Parish, supported by the Bishop and Diocese of Palmerston North and the process that was followed. 

We trust this brings greater balance and verity to the debate.

Gerard A Lynch

Chairman, St Mary's Parish Leadership Team

HTP1 (doc)

St Mary's Wanganui HTP2 (doc)

Submission to new zealand historic places trust3 (doc)

Submission to NZ Historic Places Trust4 (doc)

The Word - "A Thought for the Day"

Each week representatives from different churches in Wanganui contribute to "The Word" column in the  Wanganui Chronicle daily newspaper. The format is a short passage from Scripture followed by a reflection around that passage. The parish priest of St Mary's, Monsignor David Bell has written the following contribution for that column. 

The Word - On Line (pdf)

The latest issue of the Bricks & Mortar newsletter is now online. Items include a full update of  fundraising and building progress so far, plus upcoming Fundraising Events.

Bricks & Mortar Newsletter August 08 (pdf)

Fr David Bell the popular parish priest of St Marys has been elevated to the role of Monsignor. Bishop Peter Cullinane made the announcement at the annual "meet the Bishop" Sunday held in St Mary's Church on the 6th July 2008. Monsignor Bell has been parish priest of St Mary's Parish for last eight years having been appointed following the withdrawl of the Marist Order of priests who servered Wanganui and the River Communities for 150 years. The announcement was greeted by a standing ovation from a full church of parishioners from all the Wanganui city parishes.

Building progress on the new Community Centre is advancing at a great rate. The builders have been taking advantage of the settled weather. The next stage is to complete the roof before the winter weather really starts in earnest.  It is anticipated that the extensions will be completed by the contract deadline of 30th September 2008.  Recent delays have meant that the project may not now be completed until end of November 2008.

 

Fundraising events planned over the next few months include a film evening, quiz night, grocery grab at a local Supermarket and prepared meals sale. All these events will be advertised on this web site so be sure to keep an eye out for the details.