Community & Outreach

After School Program – (OSHC)

The Out of School Hours Program provides a facility for the before and after schools hour care of Primary School aged children attending St. Mary’s Primary School Greensborough. The program is managed daily by our Coordinator and a Team of experienced, qualified and friendly Staff. It is overseen by a Committee of Management drawn from parents from the school who utilize the facility. The Program operates daily on school days during school Terms. Hours of operation are 7.00am-8.45am and from 3.30pm-6.30pm. The Program is located in the James Kierce Centre at St. Mary’s Primary School.
  • For more information contact 9432 7103 
 

Al Anon, AA Ladies Meeting and for Families

 

Community Kitchen – All Saints Anglican Church, Greensborough

Whether you’re a local worker, live locally, are a church member or just looking for a place to have a meal – All Saints Anglican Church welcomes you to a monthly Community Meal. The desire is to create a safe space for all people to connect, be encouraged & feel cared for as a valued member of our local community. The Community Meal runs from 12 – 1:30pm on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. Food parcels of fresh groceries and non-perishables, as well as referrals to other agencies are available for those who require this service. Parishioners of St Mary’s volunteer at the community lunches at All Saints. Contact details appear on the All Saints website.
 

St Mary’s Parish Archivist

Under the direction of the Parish Priest the Parish Archivist establishes and maintains control over all Parish records of enduring value; interacts with all Parish groups to ensure that records are retained; appraises, processes and analyses all record in terms of archival retention; develops systems for the orderly listing and storing of archival records; establishes rights of access and provides access to information for authorised enquirers; authorises the destruction of unneeded records; provides security storage and skilled professional attention for documents of high value; provides reports on the growth and usage of the Archives; interacts with professional associations of Archivists, and; cooperates with St Mary’s School Archives managers for mutual benefit. St Mary’s Parish Archives share a purpose built room in the school with St Mary’s School Archives.

 

Bereavement Group

Associated with St. Mary’s Funeral Ministry, the Bereavement Group are a dedicated group of people who contact recently bereaved parishioners and offer companionship during their grieving journey. We commenced in 2001 and have had training suitable to our role, but are not grief counsellors or social welfare workers. We make contact, either by phone or personal encounter, visit people in their homes, and mail cards both at the time of loss and upon its first anniversary. For funerals held at St. Mary’s, we supply a small wooden cross as a memorial of the loved one, and it is kept on the Remembrance Banner at the back of the church for the current year.

All grieving people are invited to attend a monthly Memorial Mass, held on the last Friday of each month (February to November), and share a cuppa afterwards in the Gathering Space. Once a year, on the last Friday in November, we plan a Remembrance Mass to which all people who have lost a family member during the year, are invited. The Memorial Garden on the Grimshaw Street side of the church is also administered by our group. We meet on a monthly basis to pray together, organise phone calls and sending of cards, plan our monthly Memorial Mass or annual Remembrance Mass, and share our experiences with the bereaved in a confidential and supportive manner. We are always looking for compassionate people to join our group, so if you are interested please contact the Parish Office.
  

Catering after Funerals

St. Mary’s Catering After Funerals group is a dynamic and compassionate group of volunteers that come together at short notice to provide a funeral catering service that is professional, non-intrusive and respectful to each individual situation. Catering provided is a light refreshment which includes cakes and slices, a variety of sandwiches @ $3 per head, hot food such as party pies and sausage rolls can be included for a total of $5 per head. Cash or cheque to St. Mary’s Pastoral Care. The maximum amount is for 100 people - it is plenty of food, however, it is a light refreshment after a funeral. Tea, coffee and water are included. Catering only available for morning funerals before 11.30am. We understand the urgency of organising a funeral - we take the stress out and take on the catering component at St. Mary’s Church, however it is appreciated that we have as much notice as feasible.
 
We are always looking and very welcoming of new members to help in this sometimes very busy group. The more the merrier. Volunteers need to be happy to be contacted and available at sometimes very short notice. We do not meet on a regular basis, we address any issues as they arise. The various ways to help/volunteer are through grocery shopping, baking cakes and slices, helping to prepare on the day of a funeral (set up), helping to prepare sandwiches and cleaning up.
  • For more information contact Veronica Collum on 0437 192 551
 

Communion to the Sick

People who are unable to attend Mass due to illness or frailty, are welcome and encouraged to request that Communion be brought to them. We have a dedicated Team who visit people in their homes on Fridays and who visit Aged care Facilities on other days.” If you are interested in assisting with this ministry or would like to request a visit contact the Parish Office. 

Fete Committee

 
  

Grandparents Group

The Catholic Grandparents Group meets monthly on the first Tuesday of each month in St.Mary's parish house at 10.00am. The group prays for our grandchildren, parents, youth generally, vocations, the whole community, and to support grandparents, parents and anyone in need who may be experiencing difficulties.  The meeting would also encourage people to partake in parish activities. It's limited to one hour and commences with a prayer for grandparents and continues with the Rosary, the scripture readings, reflections and discussion re. the previous weekend Masses, and catechism points.

 

Greensborough Inter Church Council (GCIC)

The Greensborough Inter Church Council was formed on the 17th Sept. 1989 and is made up of representatives of the following churches: 
  • ANGLICAN All Saints Greensborough, 
  • BAPTIST Greensborough, 
  • CATHOLIC St Mary’s Greensborough, 
  • St Thomas’ North Greensborough, 
  • LUTHERAN Greensborough and
  • LIVING FAITH Greensborough. 
Each church has two or three representatives on the Council, which meets four times per year. The current President is Bill Jeffrey from the Living Faith Church. The aim of the Council is to foster friendship and understanding among the various churches and to celebrate what we have in common. This is done by way of the following activities: The Way of the Cross on Good Friday – usually at All Saints, Greensborough followed by hot cross buns and a cuppa; Christmas Carols at St Mary’s on the first Sunday in December; A collection is taken up and the proceeds given to Kalparrin Early Intervention Centre Greensborough; and Sausage Sizzles to raise money for the GICC Community Fund to help people in emergencies.
 

Knights of the Southern Cross

 
 

Library Committee

St Mary’s Parish Library was established in 2004 by a group of parishioners who aimed to provide a collection of religious resources for St Mary’s Parish. Resources are chosen to further the education of borrowers in their faith, to give them inspiration in their spiritual lives, and to provide entertainment with a religious/spiritual theme. Many of the items would not be readily available in public libraries. The Committee functions under the direction of the Parish Priest. It consists of the Convenor/Volunteer Librarian and a group of interested parishioners. Volunteers to join the Committee and/or staff the Library are very welcome. The Committee's function is to:
  • Oversee the general management of the Library
  • Provide volunteer staffing for the Library
  • Suggest and discuss acquisitions when funds are available
  • Discuss the retention or disposal of donations
  • Manage funds received through donations
  • Cull resources no longer needed
  • Organise library promotion activities

The Library is located in the Gathering Space near the entrance of the Church. The Library is usually open after Masses at the weekend and during the week after Mass when a committee member is available. Library membership is open to anyone within the Diamond Valley Deanery. Loans are for one month.  Access the Parish Library Catalogue here.
 

Parents’ Association

The Parents’ Association exists to encourage social interaction within the school community and to raise funds to support the school. It meets regularly throughout each term. Click here for more information.
 

Prayer Shawl Ministry

The Prayer Shawl Ministry makes us more aware of the need of others. Prayer and knitting fills the heart with compassion. The aim of the group is to create beautiful pieces for the Oncology Unit and the mother baby wards at the Royal Women's Hospital. All articles are blessed before they are sent to the hospital. The group meets in the Gathering space each Monday at 10.00am - 11.30am (except on school and public holidays). The people in the group are friendly and compassionate. Everyone is welcome, just come along.
  • For more information contact Flo 9435 9333 
 
 

Social Justice Group

The Social Justice Group has several objectives:
  • To pray together and encourage each other in our hopes, concerns and frustrations as we work for social justice
  • To create awareness in our community of issues both local and global
  • To support other parishes in our Deanery and other local social justice groups
Some examples of what we do:
  • Publicise and distribute Project Compassion material.
  • Celebrate Reconciliation Week, where we use our Message Stick to link the Gospel with the Aboriginal community.
  • Collect food and toiletries from parishioners for Asylum Seekers.
  • Collect money through a monthly giving program, for housing for Refugees and Asylum Seekers – last year parishioners donated $4,433.
  • Publicise Social Justice Sunday, distribute the Bishop’s annual statement and follow up where possible. The 2018-2019 theme was on Housing “A Place to Call Home”.
  • Collect household batteries, to save poisonous chemicals going into the environment, and take them to the Banyule Council’s Recycling Centre. Approximately 30kgs is collected each year.

We meet in the Parish House every 4-6 weeks on a Monday evening, or when there is an issue that we think should be looked at. Overall, we would like to take on more justice challenges, but we know that is not possible. We have to rely on the Holy Spirit and others to help us transform our world. Everyone is most welcome to join the group or come along and share your ideas and concerns.
  • For more information contact Ellen Smiddy (9435 5145)
 

St Vincent de Paul (Vinnies)

St Vincent de Paul Society (SVdP) is an international Catholic society which assists people in providing the everyday necessities of food, clothing and shelter. The Society is organised at National, State and local levels, the local branches referred to as conferences. The Greensborough Conference of SVdP (Victoria) is based at St Mary’s, Greensborough and St Thomas the Apostle, North Greensborough. 
 
About 15 members meet every Thursday evening in St Mary’s parish house. Our main work is responding to calls for assistance from people in Greensborough and Watsonia, who are struggling to pay the rent, buy clothing – especially for growing children, and even to put food on the table. Two members visit each caller’s home, to get to know the people we assist, and to better understand their financial situation. We provide parcels of donated food and supermarket vouchers, and we check if any further support is required. Assistance is not limited to providing the basic necessities. Many people also need help to pay for electricity, gas, and water; contracts for telephone and web access; school fees, books, uniforms, sports and excursions; and various other bills.
 
If you would like to join, but you don’t feel home visits are for you, there is always the Vinnies Shop. While not directly associated with Greensborough Conference, the Vinnies Shop, 25 Sherbourne Road, Briar Hill, stocks good quality recycled clothing, homewares, books, and toys. Apart from the Store Manager, all other workers are volunteers.