The Chimes

A New Norcia Double Celebration

They were blessed with the rain holding off for Nora’s arrival. It was a special day for Nora and Brian with family having travelled from Ireland joining with their local family.

For family who were unable to be present, the ceremony was live streamed back to Ireland.

The wedding completed, we turned to the two little cherubs for their baptism. They were the perfect pair, not a single peep coming from either.

With all the official parts of the day successfully completed, the whole family retired to the Hostel, where Abbot John had prepared their wedding dinner. By all accounts, the celebration continued well into the night.

Congratulations Nora and Brian from all your New Norcia family, and welcome to Ava and Isaac, the two newest members of the parish!

Christmas in July Dinner

Guests started the night off by enjoying pre-dinner drinks and platters of canapés, mini bruschetta and vol-au-vents at the bar in the large dining room and also having a look through the Memorabilia Room and Chapel whilst mingling. They then moved to the small dining room for a buffet dinner.

The warm fire in the beautifully restored open fireplace, Christmas decorations and delicious traditional Christmas dinner created the atmosphere of a traditional “wintery” Christmas and was enjoyed by all.

The ladies thanked New Norcia for ”completely surpassing all our expectations twice now” and we are looking forward to their next event in September – “Spring in New Norcia”.

Solemnity of St Benedict.

There was a community morning tea at 10:00am attended by the monks present on site, oblates, guests and staff.

Father Robert travelled to Perth to celebrate mass for New Norcia oblates at the Redemptorist monastery in North Perth. The Redemptorists were very generous in inviting Father Robert to celebrate their normal morning mass, and for that to include the oblates of New Norcia.

There were about 60 people at mass, including 13 New Norcia oblates. Following the mass, the oblates then had a meal together in a local restaurant and enjoyed catching up with each other and recent happenings at New Norcia.

Evening vespers were a solemnity for our Holy Father Benedict, followed by a barbeque dinner with the monks, oblates and two monastery residents.

Meanwhile, back at the monastery the monks followed a special timetable, which included:

• morning tea with staff, contractors and guests
• dessert at lunch
• coffee, chocolates and a whisky after lunch
• late afternoon prayer
• early Vespers and Benediction
• BBQ tea, concluding with the Salve Regina

Olive Oil Judges Training Day

Approximately 20 people attended the training which required the participants to taste 6 individual oil samples in small blue containers. The reason blue containers are used is that it does not allow the judges to eliminate an oil because of its colour.

The judging is based on the following points:

1st Oil should be at room temperature of 28 degrees,

2nd Flavour

3rd Complexity of the oil, does the oil taste of fruit or tomato

A talk was delivered by Dr Monica Kehoe from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development on the Xylella fastidiosa, which is a bacterium that slowly chokes olive trees to death.

It has infected 20 of Italy’s 150 million olive trees, mostly in the Puglia region,which used to contribute a large amount of Italy’s total olive oil production.

The Xylella fastidiosa has spread through other olive producing counties such as Spain and France. The only control is the removal of the affected trees and a safety zone around the remaining grove.

There is no evidence that this bacterium is in Australia at this time. This may be attributed to Australia’s strict quarantine practices.

Lunch was a Spanish style meal of fresh salads, olive oil, cold meat and fresh bread, tables and chairs were moved out from the olive shed and intothe small grove.

Western Australian History Foundation Grant 2023

Tom Stephens, whom you will remember as our guest speaker at the last Studies Launch, is working on the history of one of our earliest monks, Jerome Rodoreda, who is the great-great grandfather of Tom’s wife, Gillian. Our thanks go to the Foundation for this very generous donation and we look forward with great excitement to the publication of Tom’s book.

New Norcia Vision Statement

The purpose of the gathering was to explore our vision for the future, and we are pleased to share with our readers the statement generated from our sharing.

Guest Speaking

Among various activities (reading, walking, excursions…and so on) regular meetings include a guest-speaker. After accepting an invitation to one particular group several years ago, I have been added to the list of available speakers. This year, I have accepted seven invitations, including South Perth (February), East Perth (June), Kingsley (July).

This month I braved the stormy weather on Tuesday 8th, travelling to Mandurah. It’s always inspiring to meet with such groups, where one witnesses a real sense of community and mutual support. Due to the age group involved, members love to learn about the history of New Norcia, and many have visited or have some association, thus eager to hear of recent happenings and developments. Some groups follow up on my invitation to visit, arranging a bus trip, and we enjoy offering Benedictine hospitality to them.

I look forward to presenting the New Norcia story to the Woodlands and Attadale Probus Clubs later in the year.

Current Vacancies

HR Officer

The actual working arrangements are highly flexible, with starting and finishing times negotiable to suit individual requirements. No weekend or public holiday work is required.

Your key roles and responsibilities will include:

• Managing the recruitment and induction of new staff
• Maintaining Staff files
• Preparing Job descriptions and Employment Agreements for new staff
• Ensuring compliance with Fairwork legislation and other industrial award requirements
• Assisting with performance management when required

Formal qualifications in HR and Workplace Health and Safety, whilst not essential, are highly desirable to support this role.

Baker

We are currently seeking an experienced baker to join our New Norcia Bakery Team.

The successful candidate must be available to work afternoon and evenings on a rotating roster.

Weekend and public holiday work will be required.

Your key roles and responsibilities will include:

• Producing traditional breads daily, in the 130 year old wood fired oven
• Hand moulding
• Working with the other bakers to ensure a high standard of product and range
• Excellent organisational and communication skills to ensure product is delivered on time
• Maintaining a high standard of cleanliness
• Supporting other team members and foster good working relationships with other stakeholders

Subsidised on-site accommodation is available to the successful candidate.

An attractive salary based on your previous experience is available.