There is something about sharing a meal that creates deep connections between people.
At St Paul’s, we have discovered this many times over. Some years ago, monthly Monday “after Mass” dinners became a regular part of parish life. Each month, a group would gather at a different café or restaurant, enjoying good food and, perhaps even more importantly, good company, and yes, the occasional drop of a good vino. Father Tim seemed to know the staff wherever we went, and the evenings became occasions for conversation, laughter and getting to know one another a little better.
Like so many things, the dinners came to an end with the government restrictions around COVID. But the appetite for good food and good company persisted.
We see it at our monthly morning teas and parish celebrations, the Men’s shed meals at Molly’s, and the Rosary group morning tea every fortnight. There is a sense of anticipation as people arrive with plates of food and help to set things up, and then there is the eating and chatting together. Christmas midnight Mass sees parishioners stopping afterwards to share fruitcake and champagne (so many times supplied by Peter Quinn) in a sort of contented but muted excitement as we contemplate the birth of Christ, and prepare our minds for the noisy happy Christmas Day celebrations. So many different ways we have remembered our Parish Feast day, often with cheese and wine after the Saturday Vigil Mass, and who remembers the freshly made scones the next morning as we crowded into the porch of the church to escape the rain – noisy, chaotic and joyful. We’ll not easily forget the successful 2026 Shrove Tuesday Carnivale! Fr Mariusz even arranged for an ice-cream van, to the delight of young and old alike, and no one seemed to want it to end.
We also celebrate milestones in the parish with meals together – the Parish 60th Anniversary dinner, Fr Tim’s 70th birthday and then his farewell morning tea. With sadness we again farewelled another priest with a morning tea, as Fr Mariusz prepared to depart for his next parish. Again, a massive crowd turned up to show Fr Mariusz how much they cared for him, and again, no one seemed to want to go. But then we have the parish 70th Anniversary lunch to look forward to. Each time we gather over a meal connections are formed.
And there is a bond not only among those who share a meal, but also among those who prepare the food. Parishioners who bake, cook, carry dishes, make coffee and serve others, share recipes and form friendships of their own. We talk. We listen. We laugh. We take an interest in one another.
We know that Jesus often shared food with others. The Gospels show Him eating with friends, disciples, tax collectors and sinners. He did not simply preach to people; He shared meals with them. At every Mass, the priest prepares the ultimate meal for us: the Eucharist, where we are nourished by Christ.
The Acts of the Apostles describes the early Christians as those who “broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts” (Acts 2:46).
That same spirit can still be found here at St Paul’s.
