With the expansion of neighbouring suburbs and the creation of new ones, the parish community of St John the Evangelist, Riverstone, are in a period of growth.
And the local parishioners are energised and enthused about what they can do to help.
Parishioner for more than 40 years Peter Sullivan describes a change in the cultural demographics as well as a generational change. “We’ve been coming to the parish for so long, so we’ve watched the different groups of the parish change from Irish, English and Australian to Polish and Maltese to now people from South Asia, the Pacific and parts of Africa,” he says.
“I find it’s a welcoming community for our new people and I’m happy it’s so diverse now. The way the older parishioners have adjusted to that has been really good.”
Peter’s wife Jacinta was the parish secretary for 13 years, and herself was one of the new migrants to make Riverstone her home when she married Peter during the 1980s.
“It is a beautiful community,” she says. “We’re very loving, caring and outreaching. We have a lot of new families and young children in the parish now and I look forward to the parish becoming more multicultural and the community growing in the future.”
Fr Zak going the extra mile
The strength of community and energy in the parish can be partly attributed to Fr Zakaria (Zak) Gayed, who has been Parish Priest for almost 10 years.
“He’s so pleasant and wants to do so much for everybody and the Church,” parishioner of almost 50 years Jenny Shipley says.
Parish Special Religious Education (SRE) Coordinator Helena Greedy agrees: “Fr Zak will go the extra mile for his parishioners.”
Peter adds: “He’s willing to take the parish forward and he’s done a lot of good things within the time he’s been in the parish to try and build this community.”
Parish centre to be a hub of activity and connection
There’s an extra buzz in the parish following the recent announcement that the Poor Clare’s Convent located next door to the parish will become the new Parish Centre, where a range of meetings and gatherings will be able to take place.
“There’s a bit of extra enthusiasm being brought to the parish,” Parish Manager and parishioner of more than 40 years Tony Brooker says. “A lot of people are very keen, very proactive and very supportive of the project.
“It has been a challenge to get to know people with such a small parish site, but we really hope that the Parish Centre will play a part in that and will allow us to welcome more people to the parish.”
Parish Secretary Melissa Spence says the Parish Centre will be an advantage to the community. “I think it will bring the community together by having different rooms for different groups within the parish.”
Jenny says, “It will give us so much more room to have things that we want to have. Fr Zak has been so generous in letting us use the presbytery for our use, so we’ll be able to give him his space back.”
Celebrating family at Christmas
The parish is excited for the upcoming Christmas season, with preparations underway for a combined carols evening with St John’s Primary School – another one of Fr Zak’s initiatives.
“Christmas is a great time to get together in our faith to celebrate Jesus,” Peter says.
Melissa enjoys seeing everyone coming together at Christmas. “It’s so lovely to see familiar faces again, families together, and everybody’s happy and smiling.”
120th year in 2024
2024 will be a big year for St John’s as they commemorate the 120th anniversary of the church building, whose foundation stone was laid by Cardinal Moran, Archbishop of Sydney, in April 1904.
Although plans are in the beginning stages, Melissa is dreaming big.
“I’ve started reaching out to parishioners who have been here a long time to see if they have any photographs or stories to tell about the parish,” she says. “We’re celebrating the 120th anniversary because we have older parishioners who we want to be able to celebrate this milestone with.”
Looking to the future, the parishioners hope that as the local community grows and evolves, they will be able to move with it.
“My hope is that we grow and flourish and people get involved in the parish,” Peter says.
This article was originally published in the 2023 Advent and Christmas | Summer edition of the Catholic Outlook Magazine. You can read the digital version here or pick up a copy in your local parish.
