Welcome to the fold of the Good Shepherd, Raquel!

On Sunday 16th July, the Feast (suppressed by the Sunday) of Our Lady of Mt Carmel, we welcomed Raquel Elyssa McLaurin into the Christian Community at the Church of the Good Shepherd - Walbundrie. 

Christmas Mass Timetable 2016

Mass will be celebrated:

Howlong at 6 pm Christmas Eve
Walbundrie at 9 am on Christmas Day.

Walbundrie Sizzles

Fathers Lee and Speekman and our 13 Walbundrie children.

The present Church of the Good Shepherd, Walbundrie celebrated its 85th Anniversary on 17 April. The first Mass was held on 19 April 1931 by Bishop J. W. Dwyer, Bishop of Wagga Wagga. The Parish Priest at the time was Father Percy.

A family day celebration was planned and so a Sausage Sizzle was held at Bill and Betty Nesbitt's property 'Clorinda' after the 9 a.m. Mass. The day was a run through in preparation for our 100th Anniversary Celebration in 2031 but a less formal day was organised on this occasion.

Mass was concelebrated by Howlong Administrator Father John Speekman and former Parish Priest Brendan Lee.

The theme of the Mass was 'Let the Little Children Come'. Our Church is blessed by the high attendance of children attending Mass each fortnight and this Mass was no exception, with fourteen present. Former residents and relatives of the Walbundrie area were in attendance, as well as Parishioners from St Brigid's, Howlong and visitors from Albury, Lavington  and Marrar.

Our Own Correspondent"

New Mass Times for Howlong Parish

From Saturday 9th of July the new weekend Mass times for the parish will be as follows:

6 pm Sat Vigil - Howlong

9 am Sunday  - Walbundrie

This arrangement will be reviewed if it becomes necessary.

Arnold/Power Christmas Shenanigans 2015

WALBUNDRIE WANDERINGS

Longstanding Walbundrie resident Bernie Coyle had just celebrated his 70th Birthday and parishioners from both Walbundrie and Howlong wished Bernie a Happy Birthday and many more happy years to come.

Bernie was born the year his parents Noreen and Bert bought their property 'Clare' at Walbundrie  in 1945. Although he was baptised at St Patrick's in Albury, Bernie has had the Church of the Good Shepherd, Walbundrie as his home church ever since. This would have to be some sort of Mass attendance record (70 years at the one Church).

William Coyle (Bernie's Grandfather) selected an adjoining property to 'Clare' in 1909. The original Walla Walla Crown Lands was thrown open for selection by ballot and William was successful, naming his property 'Linda Vale'.

Cakes and Coffee were consumed in his honour after the Mass which was said for his intentions..

Bernie is pictured looking a bit savoir-faire in the following photograph.

From Our Own Correspondent

Bernie Coyle 70th in 2015

Our Lady's Grotto at Howlong ..

Parishioners and visitors to St Brigid's often comment on the beautiful Grotto dedicated to Our Lady. It was a project of the Parish's Catholic Women's League and was officially opened by Bishop Hanna on 17 August 2003.

Many problems had to be overcome by the CWL members just in order to gain permission for it to be erected. Eventually all problems were overcome and the contract was granted.

On a sad note, St Brigid's CWL has voted to disband, due to the tyranny of age and lack of new and younger members to carry on their proud history. We gave thanks to all present and past members at St Brigid's for their fine (and often unrewarded work) over the years.

The CWL members in the official opening photograph were (left to right);

Jean Weidner, Noela Jeffery, Bishop Hanna, Helen Hickey, Cath Farrelly, Joan Pargeter, Frances Murphy, Mary Lavis and Ann Dix.