National Briefs

THE humble ukulele is bringing people together in a parish outreach that is as good as it sounds. Every Thursday evening about 20 people gather in the small hall of Holy Name of Mary Church Hunter’s Hill, Sydney, to play and sing an eclectic repertoire from Amazing Grace to You are My Sunshine, and Show Me the Way to Go Home. The requisite for joining is having a desire to play the instrument and be willing to learn under the guidance of Marist Fr Aliki Langi. 

• The Catholic Weekly

CATHOLIC Psychiatric Pastoral Care has provided a unique ministry in Brisbane, caring for people with a mental health issue, for more than 30 years. Now a new chapter in the life of this ministry has begun in the heart of the inner city. The Centacare Mental Health Hub is now operating in Fortitude Valley in a renovated building that has been home to CPPC for the last three decades.

• The Catholic Leader

QUEENSLAND Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Foundation has turned stolen wages to good use with the latest round of scholarships presented to more than 450 students. From the 1890s through to the 1970s, the Queensland Government held on to wages meant to be paid to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers. The scholarship money came from the interest on unallocated stolen wages reparations funds from the first set of reparations in 2008.

• The Catholic Leader

CATHOLIC Charismatic Renewal, a lay-led community, is celebrating 50 years since it began in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. Cardinal James Robert Knox, a champion of the faith formation of clergy and the laity, encouraged CCR Melbourne to pursue its ministry of helping people to grow in faith through the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the presence of a loving God in their lives. CCR Melbourne is part of a network of thousands of prayer groups and communities around the world.

• Melbourne Catholic