1.5 Parishes, schools and centres
The parishes
There are twenty-six parishes in the Diocese of Broken Bay. Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral is located in Hornsby Cathedral Parish, Waitara. Most parishes are led by a parish priest who may be assisted by one or more assistant priests and/or a deacon and parish pastoral workers including pastoral assistant, parish office staff and youth minister. The leadership of many parishes is also served by a Parish Pastoral Council which provides advice and support to the Parish Priest.
Parishes are also served by groups, committees and associations who volunteer to assist and coordinate various ministries such as liturgy, children's liturgy, youth ministry, sacramental programs, religious education in State schools (CCD), visitation to the sick, St Vincent de Paul, family or neighbourhood groups, adult education and social justice.
Parish bulletins can give some idea of the wonderful service that parishes provide to their own communities and the common good of the broader local community. One mission of pastoral charity
All aspects of work of the Curia are expressions of pastoral charity, the loving service of the diocesan community in the spirit of the gospel. To strengthen pastoral care of priests and parishes, parish services are coordinated in regions called deaneries. These are:
One parish priest in each region is designated as dean. The schools and their administration
There are 36 primary, seven secondary and one K-12 systemic school in the Diocese of Broken Bay. A listing of schools can be found here. There are other Catholic schools in the Diocese founded by religious orders called congregational or independent Catholic schools. Catholic systemic schools in the Diocese of Broken Bay are administered by the Diocesan Schools Board and the Catholic Schools Office. The CSO is not responsible for the administration of Diocesan congregational Catholic schools. There are diocesan nominees on the Catholic Education Commission (NSW) and the Catholic Commission for Employment Relations (CCER) which liaise with the NSW government on education, school and employment issues. These peak NSW bodies are similarly linked at the national level with bodies responsible for liaison with the Federal government. Each school has a Website to assist in communication with parents and the wider community. They typically provide access to newsletters and other information such as school term dates, support of student learning and public relations such as enrolment information and annual reports. Early Learning Centres
Diocese of Broken Bay Early Learning Centres are a joint venture between CatholicCare, the Diocesan Catholic Schools Office and Catholic Parishes in the Diocese. As part of a Broken Bay Diocesan vision for early childhood support for families, including care and education, CatholicCare currently provides four Early Learning Centres at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Primary School Forestville, Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School Terrigal and St Brendan's Catholic Primary School Lake Munmorah. Our Lady of the Rosary Primary School Waitara, offers both long day care placements and school readiness programs. A new ELC is opening in 2015 at St John the Baptist Primary School Woy Woy. Family Care Centres
Family Centres are located at Waitara, Naremburn and Brookvale, and Warnervale. Each Family Centre provides a range of family and parenting services that directly address family well-being, parenting, relationship skills, and early childhood development. Family Centres can work in partnership with other organisations or refer families to other agencies when needed. Each Family Centre is different in its type and level of service provision to respond to local community needs. Typical services provided at our Family Centres include:
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Parish social profiles
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