Christmas is a special if not magical time of the year. It brings back happy memories of our younger days, family events and traditions that have been passed down through

generations. It is a time of peace, joy and love.

Is has again been a very good year in all areas of our village and I hope we have met your expectations and you continue

to enjoy the home-like environment we have to offer.

2018 has also been an enormous year for St. Hedwig Village.

Earlier this year we received Council approval to redevelop and modernise our site, and we are working towards

finalising our plans to go out to tender. We still have a couple of hurdles to overcome before we are ready.

continue …

St Hedwig Village Issue 66

St Hedwig Village News

December 2018

Summer Edition

2018 Christmas Message

Ora et Labora

In busy days of noise and action – and especially

when my journey seems long and my energy is spent – lead me to be still, Lord, and discover anew

that you are with me.

Amen

from our Chairman

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Chairman’s Christmas Message continued….

CEO’s Message

By the time this newsletter goes to print and is distributed, it will only be a short time before we celebrate Christmas. Where has the year gone? This is a

question that many of us ask, and I find myself thinking or asking more frequently these days. Once October

arrives the rest of the year is a blur as we all start preparing for the Christmas and New Year period.

December is always busy with celebrations, lunches, dinners and shopping.

October proved to be the wettest month of the year and just when the royal couple, the Duke and Duchess of

Sussex were visiting. The rain was a big welcome for our thirsty gardens and has now helped the grass and

flowers to grow like crazy. Some of our down pipes had trouble with the sudden down pours and we experienced some flooded paths, blocked drains and

leaks. But we are not complaining. We just hope that it has benefited the farmers and graziers further out west

and that it continues to rain for some time yet over the coming months.

On behalf of the Board I would like to thank the Management and Staff for the good care they have

provided for you.

My wish for you is a joyous Christmas with your family and friends, filled with Love and Peace, and a healthy and fulfilling 2019.

Jacob Hanich Chairman

Some significant events over the last few months have included our St Hedwig Feast Day on 16th October 2018. Residents and staff celebrated the day with a High Tea, staff performance, a special

lunch, a celebratory Mass and a short play about the life of St Hedwig.

St Hedwig had a long life for someone born in the 12th century. She was 69 years of age when she died. Her entire life was devoted to helping the marginalized and poor. Many of the building works that she undertook, the monasteries/convents are still standing and in use today and are tribute to

her efforts.

In November we held our Celebration of Life ceremony. We do this every year, and it is a very moving and thoughtful ceremony where we remember the residents who have passed away during

the year. Families are invited to celebrate with staff and reflect on the lives and memories of their loved ones. No matter if the person was with us for one day or for many years we remember them and pray for them. This year’s symbol of reflection was a red rose.

Kathy Eberl

Chief Executive Officer

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German Volunteer Hi!

My name is Ashley Backhaus, I am 18 years old and I will be a volunteer here at St Hedwig

Village for the next four months. You may be surprised to learn I come from Germany, as my name isn’t exactly German, well, my 13

year old brother’s name is Bryan, so I guess it shows that my parents have always loved the

English language and culture. I live in the Western part of Germany, in a town with a

population of 550,000 called Essen, in the province of North Rhine-Westphalia, with my aforementioned brother, my Mom Ada and

my Dad Frank.

I went to a catholic high school and graduated this year in July. I plan to study dentistry but first I wanted to take some time off, do social

work and travel at the same time, so St Hedwig Village was the perfect opportunity

for me.

In my free-time I dance Latin-American dances and play the piano. I also love to read, watch movies, travel, and listen to music.

I am delighted to be here, and am looking

forward to spending as much time as possible with you over the next few months.

Warm greetings to you all,

Ashley Backhaus

Wishing all our readers the most wonderful

Christmas and peace and goodwill for a bright New Year.

Kathy Eberl

Pastoral Care / Spirituality Week – 21st to 27th October

“Pastoral care is an ancient model of emotional and spiritual support that can be found in all cultures and traditions. The term is considered

more inclusive of distinctly non-religious forms of support as well as those from religious

communities”.

The theme this year is “Hospitality – Cultivating

Time”.

Spiritual care has a wonderful history of cultures

and religions that build a communities’ sense of support and meaning. This year’s theme continues

the emphasis on hospitality with a focus on cultivating time. The welcoming and belonging associated with hospitality require time that is

treated as precious in developing relationships.

This nurturing of connections requires an attitude of listening and appreciation. For those involved in

the task-oriented dimensions of health and support, there is a temptation to achieve the quantitative dimensions of the profession and miss the depth of

relationships that requires time.

Time allows the cared-for to express the real problem, the deeper implications and the meaning of despair that is felt at a soulful level.

Cultivating and nurturing time is a challenge in an

age of instantaneous communication and multiple sources of connection. Human presence flows back and forth – it takes time for mutuality and trust to

develop. Cultivating time conveys to the recipient a treasuring of them as a person no matter what they

are going through.

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Fr Roland’s Message

Liebe Bewohnerinnen und Bewohner von St Hedwig.

Vor uns liegt der Advent, liegt Weihnachten, Silvester und Neujahr und noch so vieles.

Gerade Silvester und Neujahr spielen eine große Rolle in unserem Empfinden. Wir nehmen deutlich

wahr und wir feiern dies ausgiebig: Wieder ist ein Jahr vergangen und ein neues beginnt.

Wie schnell doch so ein Jahr vergeht, und je älter ich werde umso schneller verfliegen die Jahre. Das lässt mich an Albert Einsteins Relativitätstheorie denken – nicht im physikalischen Sinne, aber Zeit ist

auch relativ in der Wahrnehmung.

So manche Unterrichtsstunde damals in der Schule oder so manche Predigt in der Kirche schienen ewig

zu sein. Ein spannender Film, ein schöner Abend mit Freunden dagegen verging wie im Flug.

Und weil wir ja unsere Zeit messen und einteilen, Sekunden, Minuten, Stunden, Tage, Wochen, Monate, Jahre und so weiter, können wir auch mit der Zeit umgehen.

Wir können die Zeit bemessen und dann auch einteilen. Das aber lässt uns auch erfahren, dass Zeit begrenzt ist. Wie oft haben wir zu hören bekommen oder es selbstgesagt: „Tut mir leid, ich habe leider

keine Zeit (für dich)“.

Wie schön hingegen war es und wie wohltuend, wenn es hieß: „Ich habe Zeit für dich“. Oder „Ich

nehme mir Zeit für dich“.

Zeit ist relativ, es kommt darauf an, was wir mit ihr machen. Und eine der schönsten Erfahrung im Leben ist doch, dass wir keine Zeit verlieren, wenn wir sie verschenken. Zu wenig erscheint sie uns nur, wenn wir mit ihr geizen.

Und so möchte ich mit dem Gedanken über unsere Zeit zurückkehren zum Anfang mit Advent und

Weihnachten. Gott in der Ewigkeit, ist Mensch geworden und hat sich Zeit genommen, Zeit für uns, seine Menschen, Zeit für dich und mich.

Herzlichst

Ihr Pfarrer

Fr Roland Maurer

Pastoral Care Condolences

We take this opportunity to extend our condolences to

the families who have lost loved ones:

Marija Cavuoto, Ervin Grosas, Egid Kolaric, Ernestine Schweiberer, Romano Stoch, Anneliese Urbaniak, Betty Vagyoczki and Maria Zentai.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this sad time.

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The History of Christmas Carols Carols were first sung in Europe thousands of

years ago, but these were not Christmas Carols. They were pagan songs, sung at the Winter

Solstice celebrations as people danced round stone circles. The Winter Solstice is the shortest

day of the year, usually taking place around 22nd December. The word Carol actually means

dance or a song of praise and joy! Carols used to be written and sung during all four seasons, but only the tradition of singing them at Christmas

has really survived.

Early Christians took over the pagan solstice celebrations for Christmas and gave people Christian songs to sing instead of pagan ones. In

129, a Roman Bishop said that a song called "Angel's Hymn" should be sung at a Christmas

service in Rome. Another famous early Christmas Hymn was written in 760, by Comas

of Jerusalem, for the Greek Orthodox Church. Soon after this many composers all over Europe started to write 'Christmas carols'. However, not

many people liked them as they were all written and sung in Latin, a language that the normal

people couldn't understand. By the time of the

Middles Ages (the 1200s), most people had lost

interest in celebrating Christmas altogether.

This was changed by St. Francis of Assisi when,

in 1223, he started his Nativity Plays in Italy. The people in the plays sang songs or 'canticles'

that told the story during the plays. Sometimes, the choruses of these new carols were in Latin; but normally they were all in a language that the

people watching the play could understand and join in! The new carols spread to France, Spain,

Germany and other European countries.

The earliest carol, like this, was written in 1410.

They were usually sung in homes rather than in churches! Traveling singers or Minstrels started

singing these carols and the words were changed for the local people wherever they were

traveling.

When Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans came

to power in England in 1647, the celebration of Christmas and singing carols was stopped.

However, the carols survived as people still sang them in secret. Carols remained mainly unsung

until Victorian times, when two men called William Sandys and Davis Gilbert collected lots of old Christmas music from villages in

England.

Before carol singing in public became popular, there were sometimes official carol singers called 'Waits'. These were bands of people led by

important local leaders. They were called 'Waits' because they only sang on Christmas Eve (This

was sometimes known as 'watchnight' or 'waitnight' because of the shepherds were

watching their sheep when the angels appeared to them), when the Christmas celebrations began.

Also, at this time, many orchestras and choirs

were being set up in the cities of England and people wanted Christmas songs to sing, so carols

once again became popular as did the custom of singing carols in the streets. Both of these customs are still popular today! One of the most

popular types of Carols services are Carols by Candlelight services.

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Dear residents, When you read this Melbourne Cup will have happened weeks ago. It’s one of the most Australian

traditions. The whole country stands still for one race in the afternoon of the first Tuesday in November. Even St Hedwig’s had its very own celebrations and “in house” race.

Basically a race is about covering a certain distance in a certain time. The winner is who comes in first. So it’s about getting there first and as fast as one can.

This gives us an impression on life. We have a limited amount of time and sometimes in order to get

things done we postpone other things to arrange our lives more efficiently.

Yet, life is not a race. Life is not about getting from A to B in the fastest possible time and way and to

be in first and to get a trophy.

Life is about what is happening in-between the beginning and the end. Life is about all those who we meet and who accompany us as we accompany them. And what about the trophy at the end! The trophy, we will get is not for being first but for how we lived the “race of life”.

News from the Pews

Sunday 2nd December – 1st Sunday in Advent – Mass in the Link at 1:15pm

Tuesday 11th December – Anointing of the sick during Mass at 3:15pm in the Hostel Chapel and 4:00pm in the Link

Thursday 20th December – Nativity play during the Mass at 11:00am in the Link.

Tuesday 25th December – Mass in St Hedwig Village – 11:00am in the Link.

Sunday 6th January - Epiphany – Mass in the Link at 1:15pm with visit of the Three Magi

Sunday 3rd February – Sunday Mass in the Link at 1:15pm with Blasiussegen (blessing of the throats)

Please check the Pastoral Care notice boards throughout the facility for any further updates.

Fr Roland Maurer

Pastoral Care News

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Spring is a lovely time of the year, the days are longer,

warmer and there are lots more outdoor activities. October is well known for the

month of celebrations and this year was no exception. On the

1st of October was International Day of the Older

Person and what better way to recognize this day than with a

lovely visit from the Dance

Couple, Candy and Charles. This talented couple are

professional dancers and they encourage residents to be a

part of the performance. It was lovely to see our Nursing Home residents enjoy dancing

and be included in the performance.

Tuesday 16th we celebrated St

Hedwig Feast Day. The day started with a lovely High Tea for residents, staff and visitors

in each of the Nursing Home dining rooms. Both dining

rooms were beautifully decorated to fit the occasion.

Residents who could not make it to the dining room were not

Nursing Home Activity Report left out of the special morning as the decorated trolleys with

lovely High Tea treats made their way to each them. After the morning tea came the staff

performance which was held outside. Everyone enjoyed the

wonderful line dancing. A special thanks to staff who

participated and gave up personal time for rehearsals.

The beautiful day and music

added to the occasion. The day was a huge success and a

lot of fun.

Ursula’s and Heike’s popular Family Breakfast took place on Sunday 21st. Residents

enjoyed a lovely Sunday morning Buffet style

Breakfast. Residents were able to choose their own food and

return to the Buffet for seconds and thirds.

The atmosphere was lively with

lots of chatter and laughing. Staff joined the residents for the Family Breakfast, which made

it an enjoyable morning. The activity brought back happy

memories for our residents. They remembered their own

noisy family breakfasts.

November is Spring Carnival

time as we prepared for the Melbourne Cup with sweeps,

hats, fascinators and decorations. Residents and staff were ready to enjoy the day.

We started with a staff fashion parade and St Hedwig’s own

horse race that stops the Nursing Home. This year’s

winner of the St Hedwig Cup was Ashley, our new volunteer from Germany. The afternoon

ended with everyone watching the Melbourne cup at 3:00pm

and waiting to hear the results and to collect the winnings.

RAO’s Nursing Home

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Hostel Activity Report

In the month of September we celebrated the achievements of men. All our gents are

exceptional in their own way. In special organized activities we highlighted some of the

social issues that men can face. We celebrated the diversity of all males in our facility. Our

gents choose to attend the movie morning. The movie “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” was a classic adventure film and was well received

by male and female participants.

Everyone loves ice-cream and finally the ice-cream trolley was assembled and ready to use.

Residents had a blast and enjoyed ice-cream on the stick. As the bell rang residents came and

reminisced about childhood memories and the truck that stopped in their street to sell ice-

cream. Some of the residents even took the opportunity and went behind the nostalgic trolley and served ice-cream.

Tag der Heimat is a very important day to

celebrate especially for the German residents living in St Hedwig Village. A group of

residents watched the fantastic dance performance by the St Raphael’s German Folk

Dance Group. The residents very much enjoyed listening to old time German songs,

eating traditional German food, watching the spectacular dancers wearing traditional German costumes and of course chatting with

old friends.

Our residents love to go on the bus trips.

Recently we visited Flower Power and Canterbury Leagues Club. The club has

renovated their bistro area and the residents commented that it was a great choice for an

outing. The bus trip to the Wallarah Bay Club was a long drive but very enjoyable. All

participants could not wait to meet Margaret Krüger our previous Recreational Activity Officer.

Some of our residents attended Seniors Dance – “Support NSW Farmers”. They joined this event with passion for ballroom and line

dancing. Also a visit to our local pre-school was very much enjoyed by our residents. They

engaged with the young children and their parents in outdoor play. All participants are

looking forward to our next visit.

Music can trigger long forgotten memories and reduce anxiety. Music has been proven to promote better health and a higher level of

functioning. Our residents use new technology and enjoy listening to the music of their

preference. Music releases endorphins in the brain and may reduce anxiety, relieve

depression and boost the immune system among other benefits.

In November Melbourne Cup Day high tea

was very well attended. Residents were swept up in the excitement of Australia’s favorite race day.

RAO’s Hostel

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Our Bingo Club members enjoyed a variety of pizzas for our monthly Bingo lunch which

is no reflection on the lovely food from Jack’s Hostel kitchen,

just a welcome change from the normal routine. Tag der Heimat

started off with a solemn Mass followed by traditional German food and a lively entertainment

program of which the children’s folk dancing group proved to be

the most popular.

During October we farewelled

our long-time resident, friend and Bingo Club member Olga

Klingelstein. We thank her daughter Ursula for the delicious

cakes she donated to the Bingo Club to create a light party mood for Olga’s last day in our village.

We wish Olga and her family many good years together. As in

the previous 2 years the Bingo

Club again organised our own

Oktoberfest for the monthly Club lunch. Many thanks to the wonderful members who helped

to inflate 40 balloons and to decorate the Community Hall

with blue and white tablecloths, vases, serviettes and streamers,

to Jack for a lovely German lunch and to the members who

came in traditional dress to contribute to the happy

atmosphere. October was also the month when we celebrated the life of St Hedwig, the

patron saint of our village, by a commemorative Mass,

followed by a generous Morning Tea in the St Raphael

Church Hall which was provided and served cheerfully by the St Hedwig Village staff.

Valla Berehulak, who has been a valued and popular volunteer

in the Hostel since she moved into our village, has not been

well and we wish her the best for a quick recovery and we hope to see you soon in good

health again.

November has just started with fairly mild temperatures in

contrast to some very diverse weather patterns during the

previous two months. There

were some wild rain storms which caused considerable

damage to the flowers alternating with a few sudden

hot days, wilting the delicate new roses that had just started to come into full bloom. Adolf

went with his camera through the village to find a few

Retirement Village News

Arno celebrated his 90th Birthday on 30th August

magnificent specimens which are

the result of the combined efforts of our Gardener John and some

village residents.

Congratulations to all the

residents who celebrated their birthdays during the last three

months with very special wishes to Christel Mulders 92 years,

Sinie Weevers 95 years and Lisa

Kellerman 97 years. With only a few weeks to this year’s end, on

behalf of the Village Resident’s Committee, I like to wish the St

Hedwig Administration staff, their families and all our residents a joyful Christmas and a happy

New Year 2019.

Ursula Fober

Village Residents Committee Secretary

In September our much liked and respected pastoral

carer Maria Lynam said good-bye after many years of devoted service to the residents of our village,

hostel and nursing home to move nearer to her family on the North Shore of Sydney. Although we

all miss her we wish her many happy years with her children and grandchildren.

Mrs Kellerman

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Happy Birthday to all our staff and residents

who have recently celebrated a birthday.

We hope you will be happy and feel well cared for during your

time with us. We look forward to getting to know you better.

Welcome

Stanislaus Saldanha

Lucy Zovatto

A warm welcome to our new Nursing Home and Hostel residents: -

Congratulations to the

following staff on reaching a milestone

anniversary at St Hedwig Village in December 2018, and January and

February 2019.

Twenty-five Years

Slavica Richert

Catherine Delaney

Fifteen Years:

Joselito Pimping

Twin sisters Mrs Patricia Roche and Mrs Betty Hageman our

Nursing Home residents

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Most people would by

now be aware that Maria

Lynam, our Pastoral

Care Coordinator, has left St Hedwig Village. Maria had been with St

Hedwig Village for over 11 years and during this

time supported and cared for many residents,

families, friends and staff. Maria has moved to the other side of Sydney to be

closer to her family which made travelling to

Blacktown too far. We wish her well for the

future and for her personal and professional life.

We miss her terribly.

Christmas in Croatia

In Croatia, preparations for Christmas start on 25th November which is St Catherine's day. People also celebrate Advent. Over 85% of people in Croatia are Catholics so Advent is an important time for them.

It's traditional to have an Advent wreath made of straw or evergreen twigs which has four candles. The wreath symbolizes endlessness and the

four candles symbolize different parts of history and life: First Candle (purple): creation - hope; Second Candle (purple): embodiment - peace;

Third Candle (pink): redemption – joy; Fourth Candle (purple): ending – love. A fifth candle is sometimes added in the center which is lit on Christmas Day! You can buy wreaths, but many people like to make

them. People also often have a paper Advent Calendar.

As well as St Catherine's day, other saints’ days are celebrated in Advent in Croatia. On the 4th December it's St Barbara's Day; on the 6th December it's St Nicholas's Day and on 13th December it's St Lucia's day.

On St Nicholas's Eve (5th), children clean their shoes/boots and leave them in the window. They hope that St Nicholas will leave them

chocolates and small presents in their boot. If children have been naughty, Krampus (a big monster with horns who sometimes travels with

St Nicholas!) leaves them golden twigs to remind them to behave. On St Lucia's Day people often sow wheat onto small plates. The grassy sprouts that grow are put underneath the Christmas Tree on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Trees are very popular and are normally decorated on

Christmas Eve but some people put them up and decorate them on St Nicholas's Day. In Croatia they're traditionally decorated with ornaments in the shapes of fruits. They used to be real fruits or persevered candied

fruits that were sometimes covered in gold! There's an old Croatian tradition that young men gave their girlfriends a decorated apple at

Christmas. In rural parts of the country, it is still customary to bring straw into the house on Christmas Eve as a symbol of future good crops.

A yule log called a 'badnjak' (also the word for Christmas Eve) was traditionally brought into the house and lit on Christmas Eve. But not many people have fireplaces these days!

Presents are normally exchanged on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

Many people like to go to a Midnight Mass service. In Croatian

Happy/Merry Christmas is 'Sretan Božić'. Christmas Eve and Christmas

Day are mostly celebrated with close family. On Boxing day friends and

extended family visit each other. On Christmas Eve, most people eat dried-cod called 'bakalar' or some other kind of fish as it's considered as meat fast. The main Christmas Day is often pig on a spit, turkey, goose

or duck. A popular side dish is sarma (cabbage rolls filled with minced pork meat). There's also always lots of small cookies and cakes to eat

with donuts being very popular! There's 'Krafne' which are filled with jam, jelly, marmalade or chocolate and also 'fritule' which are flavored

with lemon and rum. The Christmas celebrations finish on Epiphany (6th January).

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our residents, staff,

volunteers, family members and friends.

Issue 66

Anna Bay Holiday Sunday the 14th of October we set off on our journey to Anna Bay. The weather was good and our trip was fast.

On Monday the 15th we all woke up feeling fresh and ready for our holiday to start. We had an enjoyable breakfast then set off on a drive ending up at the golf club

for dinner. This looks out over the water and beach and it is absolutely beautiful.

Tuesday we found this little mini cafe on site at the caravan park. We all walked down and enjoyed a yummy lunch.

Wednesday we spent the morning in our cabins to rest ready for a big day out. We went dolphin watching. This

was a cruise ship and we spent about an hour and a half on the water. We saw so many dolphins!

Thursday came and we then went to the golf club once again for lunch as it is just beautiful looking at the horizon and over the water.

Daniella Grech

St Hedwig Village