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On
the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Holy Family Parish,
Mount Druitt, Bishop Kevin Manning launched the project to refurbish the church.
Just two years later, on 8 July 2007, he joined with the community to celebrate the work that had been accomplished and to bless that work.
An early example of the distinguished Sydney architect, Phillip Cox, the building was designed as a centre/hall with plans to build a church in future years.
Forty years on, that did not look like happening and the building was in need of repair. And so the work began.
With limited funds the work has been a wonderful community project. Saturday working bees involved parishioners, community service and work-for-the-dole participants.
The generous practical and financial support of some other parishes of the Diocese also made this work possible.
With the exception of one weekend, when rain was predicted, we were able to continue to use the church through the generosity of a team of volunteers who weekly turned a building site into a worship space.
Stephen Edwards Constructions were very flexible in working with the community and John Farrugia and Dave Leighton from the Catholic Education Office gave valuable advice as the work proceeded.
Entering the church you come first to the water hole baptismal font, which honors the many Indigenous Australians living in Mt Druitt.
The
umber, ochre and sienna colors, so often found in Indigenous art can be seen at
the base of the water hole and are picked up throughout the interior.
The sanctuary moves through the antiphonal liturgical space towards the chapel and is capped by a canopy in the four liturgical colours, all in Australian hues.
The liturgical space is wrapped in the mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption.
On the glass panels there are Jewish, Christian and Islamic texts, which speak of the birth of Jesus and the New Testament texts that speak of the life of the Holy Family.
Timber and copper salvaged from demolition were used to create the Stations of the Cross on either side of the liturgical space.
Large screens on either side of the church and PowerPoint presentations have increased the singing a hundred-fold!
Behind the liturgical space is the Therry Chapel. According to local tradition, Fr John Therry gathered Catholics in the home of Margaret and George Druitt, who gave their name to the district, for the celebration of Eucharist.
The chapel opens into an amphitheatre linking the church and school and providing the school with a place for prayer.
We set out to rebuild a church. With such great community involvement, we ended up rebuilding Church in the community.
* Fr Peter Confeggi is parish priest at Holy Family Parish, Mount Druitt.