Parish News
Lenten Piety Stall
A wide variety of religious items and Easter Cards are now available to purchase in the Church Foyer with Prices starting from $2 to $15.
Cash payments only. Please see the Church Wardens for assistance.
Volunteers
Easter is the largest liturgical celebration throughout the year and many volunteers are needed across all ministries. If you are on the regular roster and attending any of the Easter Liturgies, could you please consider volunteering.
We are in need of Extraordinary Ministers of Communion, Lectors, Altar Servers, Acolytes & Wardens. Please write your name on the sheets on the rear table of the church or contact Helen Williamson on 0408 970 120.
Volunteers are also needed to participate in the 'Washing of the Feet' at the Holy Thursday mass. Please write your name on the sign-up sheet at the rear of the church if you would like to volunteer.
Jubileum 2025
Resources and copies of the Decree on the Proclamation of Places of Pilgrimage in the Archdiocese of Sydney on the occasion of the Jubilee Year of Our Lord 2025 are available to take home in Church Foyer.
Global Mission: No age limit!
Ever thought volunteering overseas was beyond you? IT’S NOT. Palms always values our older participants for the wisdom and resourcefulness they share in communities! Palms is celebrating Seniors Week with a special online session showcasing older volunteers’ experience and insights from the mission field.
Explore our unique opportunities and match your life experience to the experience of a lifetime! Contact 9560 5333 palms@palms.org.au
Venue: Online via Zoom- Scan the QR or register at palms.org.au/events
Date: Thursday 27 March 2025 Time:11am -12 pm
New Book Release
A wonderful St Patrick’s Day 2025 present…. [for your unlawful or lawful wife or husband]?
Irish Bigamy - New insights into Colonial New South Wales Published by Colonial Press, Goulburn, NSW.
This fascinating book is the first to examine colonial bigamy with emphasis on its widespread practice amongst Irish convicts in penal New South Wales. Although illegal, bigamy was condoned by civil and most church authorities between 1788 and 1825. Bigamous marriages in the colony had far reaching implications for first families who lived in destitute circumstances in Ireland.
· Featuring original letters written by Irish convicts/ families for the first time
· More than 100 Catholic and Protestant case studies
· Analyses the Catholic Church’s response to bigamy cases
· Comprehensive Referencing, and Subject and People indexes
· A must read for anyone interested in Australia’s early history
Chapters:
Part One: Ireland: Marriage and bigamy. Irish bigamists transported. Families left behind.
Part Two: New South Wales: Two parallel legal systems. 1798 emancipists. Almorah and Mariner. Female bigamists. Male bigamists. Dual bigamists. Catholic Church intervention. Avoidance and Deception. Bigamy or Digamy? Trigamy.
Author:
Damian John Gleeson, Dip FHS (SAG) PhD (UNE), PhD
Honorary Associate, University of New England UNSW
2022-2023 Australian Religious History Fellow, State Library of New South Wales.
Irish Bigamy is available direct from the publisher. Order by email: irishbigamy@gmail.com
Signed copies may be paid for and collected from St Martha’s Parish, Strathfield. $30 list price.
