I am pleased to let you know that the Archbishop indicated his intention to ordain Gary Tognola and appoint him as the Assistant Curate in our parish. This appointment comes with the usual provisos that he completes his current study successfully. Gary has been most recently placed at the parish of East Redlands. I met with Gary this week to begin our discussions regarding this appointment and know that he is pretty excited to have been placed here at Mt Gravatt. Gary will officially start following his ordination on 4 December.
Gary writes,
"The foundation of my faith was laid at an early age in the community of St Peters at Wynnum. My working background has been in retail and most recently in wholesale distribution. I have an eclectic taste in music, love to read and write poetry, and finding quiet spaces in nature to connect with God. I was a Tae Kwon Do instructor and was a pastoral carer at the Mission to Seafarer Brisbane (pre-Covid). I have been married to Janelle for twenty-seven years. We have three children, Courtney (17) Rebecca (22) (with her husband Adrian, who is expecting our first grandchild) and our eldest, Stephanie (25), (with her partner James). A growing family with which I try to spend as much time as I can."
Please keep Gary, Janelle and their family in your prayers as they make this significant transition. You may wish to keep the ordination date in your diaries so we can support him by being present in the Cathedral for this event.
The coming year is shaping to be very significant in the life of this church. It will have been 125 years since the first "Divine Service" was held in the newly constructed church in Mt Gravatt. You are probably also aware that we intend to enter into a period of discernment to prepare an updated Mission Action Plan for our church. We are planning various activities as part of this process, including prayer, workshops, teaching and research. We hope to present a completed MAP late in 2022.
To kick off this time of discernment will be two important whole of parish events. On Sunday, 21 November, we will be joined by Bishop John Roundhill at all services that day. In this way, we can begin our Mission Action Planning with prayer and worship as we commit ourselves to it with God's help. On Saturday, 27 November, the Archbishop of Brisbane, Phillip Aspinall, will lead a morning workshop helping us engage in the Mission and Vision of the Anglican Church of Southern Queensland. This workshop will be followed by a lunch which is an excellent opportunity for us to celebrate together in ways that we have found difficult in 2021.
God's Peace