Amid the chaotic intensity of huge cities and even in tiny towns, people tend to create their own ‘village’…the local shops, that favourite café, a treasured hairdresser, and one’s church; all places where people know people and can chat; places where people can function at their best.
Since 1915 the tiny wooden
Catholic church but not just a church, St Agatha’s, has been serving a
community, not only for the regular rhythm of religious celebrations where
generations of families have had their theological beginnings through to life’s
end, but also a building echoing the joys of social events and the whispers of
quiet reflections. It is a place which has been for many in the town of
Toogoolawah and beyond, the beating heart of their ‘village’.
On Sunday 30th April,
St Agatha’s closed its doors for the last time following a very moving Sunday
Mass delivered by the Auxiliary Bishop of Brisbane, Bishop Ken Howell, alongside
Esk and the district’s own Father Dave
O’Connor, for a saddened but grateful congregation, not the least of whom were
the small group of Esk Community Choir members who, led by Alexis FitzGerald
and her faultless accompaniment throughout the Mass, were honoured to sing beautifully
the hymns, a core element of this final gathering in this little wooden church. Notably, Choir member, Anna Wheildon’s
virtuosity was heard to extend beyond her voice in the choir with her eloquent
delivery of readings during the mass.
By: Sue Walker
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