Urgent Update re Surfers Paradise Catholic Parish

Closure of Churches and services from Wednesday afternoon, 5th of March, until an update on Saturday 

After advice from the Archdiocese of Brisbane concerning the oncoming Cyclone, Alfred, Surfers Paradise Catholic Parish, including the parish office and the three churches of Stella Maris - Broadbeach, Saint Vincent's Surfers Paradise, and Sacred Heart - Clear Island Waters, will be closed from 2pm Wednesday the 5th of March. It's important that we all take necessary precautions to ensure the safety and well-being of our employees, parishioners and volunteers.

The personal safety of our parishioners, staff and volunteers is our highest priority.  With the expectation of extremely heavy rain and strong winds from Wednesday evening, we have accepted the advice that any Mass times or scheduled events be cancelled from the afternoon on Ash Wednesday onwards.  Parish offices and churches will be closed from 2 pm Wednesday the 5th. 

This means the 6 pm Mass for Ash Wednesday evening at Sacred Heart, Clear Island Waters, is cancelled.  Also, the regular Thursday 9 am and Friday 9 am Masses at Sacred Heart, Clear Island Waters, are cancelled.  We would like to inform you that all scheduled meetings planned in the parish from Wednesday afternoon onwards should also be cancelled.

We are continuing with the following Ash Wednesday Morning Masses tomorrow, but please use your discretion about whether to attend even these Masses, depending on the weather conditions on Wednesday daytime as well. 

The following masses are still on for ASH WEDNESDAY - 5th of March 2025

7 am St Vincents - Hamilton Avenue - Surfers Paradise 

9 am Stella Maris Church - Hedges Avenue -Broadbeach - 

9 am Sacred Heart - Fairway Drive. Clear Island Waters 

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Cancelled masses are: 

Wednesday at 6 pm and Thursday and Friday at 9 am this week. 

The funeral mass for parishioner Ron McConnell has been rescheduled to next week - on Thursday, the 13th of March at 11 am at Sacred Heart Church, Clear Island Waters. 

If an emergency contact is needed with a priest, you can still call the Parish Office  (07) 5671 7388 and then press option 3 when prompted. We will attempt to respond to emergencies if the circumstances allow us. 

We pray that the Lord will keep us safe during this cyclone and its aftermath and guide everyone to act safely and with consideration for others.

God bless and keep safe, 

Fr Paul

Fr. Paul W. Kelly

Surfers Paradise Catholic Parish,

50 Fairway Drive,

Clear Island Waters,

Queensland, 4226

Parish Office (new no.): (07) 5671 7388 (9 am – 2 pm Mon-Fri) - excluding public Holidays

ADVICE FROM THE VICAR GENERAL OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF BRISBANE - FR PETER DILLON: 

As you are aware Cyclone Alfred is forecast to cross the southeast Queensland coast at category 2 strength late on Thursday or early Friday morning. There are extremely high rainfall predictions from Wednesday evening through to Sunday, which increases the risk of flooding. It's important that we all take necessary precautions to ensure the safety and well-being of our employees, parishioners and volunteers.

It is critical that everyone is prepared for this weather event, below is a guide and links to help with the preparation and post clean up.   Here are some important steps to consider:

1. Stay Informed: Keep yourself updated with the latest weather forecasts through reliable sources such as local news channels, weather apps, or websites.

Tropical Cyclone Alfred | Disaster Management | Queensland Government

2. Personal Safety: The personal safety of our parishioners, staff and volunteers is our highest priority.  With the expectation of heavy rain and strong winds from Wednesday evening, it is strongly recommended that any Mass times or scheduled events be cancelled from late afternoon on Ash Wednesday.  Parish offices and churches should be closed from late tomorrow afternoon. We trust that you will use your best judgement in making the most prudent decisions to keep everyone safe.
3. Secure Property: Secure or bring indoors any outdoor furniture, equipment, or decorations that could be blown away or cause damage in strong winds.

• Ensure fridges are cleared of perishable items.
• Ensure all confidential documents are secured in lockable cabinets.
• Prepare staff to work from home if possible. Relevant equipment should be taken from the office to work from home.
• Where possible turn off power, gas and water before leaving the work premises.
• Prioritise the removal or dropping of any accessible shade sails
• Lock doors and windows and ensure all are secure.

4. Motor Vehicles

• Fill vehicles with fuel.
• Park vehicles under solid shelter and above susceptible flood areas.
• If a road has water over it, do not drive through it.  If it's flooded, forget it
• If you need to lodge a claim for a motor vehicle, please take photos of the damage and send an email to claims@vero.com.au. Please quote policy number MSL024887835.

5. Greenwaste and Sandbags: Please check your local Council website for green waste drops and sandbag collection locations. Please find some links below.

• Brisbane
• Moreton Bay
• Redlands City Council
• Gold Coast City Council
• Sunshine Coast: Currently appears to not have any open Sandbag stations. Local Hardware stores may be able to provide stock for DIY Sandbags.

 

6. For urgent safety matters, please contact Emergency Services by dialling 000 or for fallen power lines call Energex.

 

Be safe and God bless.

 

Yours in Christ

 

Fr Peter

www.surfersparadiseparish.com.au

Our parish office location is found here:  Please see here for a map with details of the location of the parish office. 

Please take into account the environment before printing this email.

This message contains privileged and confidential information intended only for the use of the addressee named above unless otherwise stated.  If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you are hereby notified that you must not disseminate, copy, or take any action in reliance on it.  Please notify the Archdiocese of Brisbane immediately if you have received this message in error.

Acknowledgement of Country - This is Kombumerri Country - The Traditional Custodians of this region. 

We respectfully acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First People of this country. We pay our respects to the Kombumerri people, the traditional custodians of the land we live and work upon, throughout this parish of Surfers Paradise. We acknowledge Elders, past and present and emerging, as they hold our Indigenous people's memories, traditions, culture and hopes. We pay tribute to those who have contributed to the community's life in many ways. We affirm our commitment to justice,  healing, and reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.