December: Dedicated to the Immaculate Conception

Dear brothers and sisters in Carmel,

What a great weekend we had at our annual retreat!! As Lyn remarked, ‘Fr Philip did a grand job and the whole atmosphere including the weather was great. I am sure everyone went home with new resolutions and walking on air!’  Thank you for your attendance and prayers. For those of you who could not come, be assured that you were in our prayers.

Thank you, dear Megan, for all the hard work you have done this year, and in previous years, to make our retreats such a success.

My deepest gratitude to our Council members, the team behind the success of our retreat, who worked joyfully and silently about: to Lyn for ensuring that registration on the day went smoothly; to Marian for keeping us well-fed and cared for during our tea breaks and for the numerous trips you made to show people to their accommodation, to Karen for diligently keeping tabs on the accounts, and to Christine for doing so much – preparing and printing of retreat leaflets, the Prayers of the Faithful for Holy Mass, song sheets and sacristan duties at the retreat. You are all so amazing and I thank God for giving me such a wonderful team to work with. Thank you, Team.

How quickly the year has gone by! As it is our final meeting for the year, please remember to bring a plate for our special year-end afternoon tea. Also a gentle reminder to get gifts for the Sisters and contributions for the friars of the Community of St John – our show of gratitude to them for all the support and love they have showered on our Community.

Please note that there shall be no Bethany Day in December.

May God’s Joy and Peace be with you, your family and loved ones this Christmas!

Happy Christmas & God bless,