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a healthy church...transformingLIFE

Tasmanian Anglican

October 2002

 

 

 

 

 

Booties & Teddy Bears

by Neil Vearing

 

 

In the mid 1950s Canon Williams and Mrs Williams began a Mothers' Union group in the Parish of St James New Town.

The new group had a vision to connect with the wider community and saw a need with the many young mothers having their babies at Calvary Hospital.

A roster was soon arranged and a visiting program was implemented. Each week a member of the MU would visit the new mothers and their babies and leave a pair of booties. This ministry has continued until July 2002 when it was decided to discontinue the weekly visits. The Bootie Ministry involved many people in the Parish with the need for a constant supply of booties and in later years, teddy bears.

Will continue

The Maternity Staff of Calvary recently sponsored an afternoon tea in appreciation of the visitors' ministry. The Parish of St James and St Andrew and Calvary Hospital extend their heartfelt thanks to all the visitors and suppliers of booties and teddy bears. The new mothers and babies at Calvary will continue to be visited by our regular Pastoral Visiting team and booties and teddy bears will be offered from a supply provided by the Mother's Union members of the Parish.

New Life for Parish Hall

For the last twenty-odd years the Parish Hall at St James' New Town has been well known by Anglicans and the wider community as a secondhand furniture store. However, at the end of February this all changed when the tenants decided not to renew their lease.

The lease of the hall has been a great source of income to the Parish for many years and some saw this change as a crisis but, as in all crises, there comes an opportunity. The Parish Council has taken the bold decision to look at ways in which the hall can be used for ministry and outreach for the Parish and to this end the Parish is taking every opportunity to use the hall for various functions. There have been several Parish lunches and the fortnightly Garage Sale has been able to spread out over a larger space. Following the Diocesan Ordinations in July the Parish played host to three hundred plus for lunch.

On the 12th of October the Parish Fair will again be held in the hall.

Starting at 10.00am the usual stalls and various foods will be there for all to browse and enjoy. It is also hoped that in the future the hall will be available for other parishes, the diocese and community groups. The decision not to re-lease the hall on a permanent basis has also meant that there is a large cost to restore the hall to its former glory. To assist with this there will be a fundraising program and any past and present parishioners are invited to make a donation towards the restoration.

For further details contact the Parish Office 6228 1551.