A former convent in Annandale is now a presbytery, parish office and gathering place for the amalgamated parish of St Brendan Annandale and St Michael the Archangel Stanmore and, for the people who worked for it, the clearest sign yet of what happens when two communities decide to become one.
The building tells the story.
Once an empty convent, it now serves as the presbytery, parish office and meeting place for the combined parish community. In May, with a crowd gathered in the front garden and students from both parish schools looking on, Bishop Daniel Meagher blessed and opened it after a special Mass.
“May all who come here know the presence of Christ, experience the joy of his friendship, and grow in his love,” he prayed.
“A lot of work has gone into this. An awful lot of work,” Bishop Meagher said.
“Amalgamating the two parishes, trying to get them working together. And the old convent has now become a wonderful parish office and centre for the combined parish, and a place for the parish priest to live, with the school next door, a new childcare centre and more classrooms.
“It’s terrific to see. The whole idea is to adapt and grow.”
For parish priest Fr Matthew Meagher, that progress answers a suspicion that shadows every merger.
“Some people think mergers are just managing decline of dying parishes. No, we’re actually entering into a new era,” he says.
The two communities had been walking together for two decades before the paperwork caught up with them, sharing Mass times, sacramental programs and the work of their schools. “So it was an obvious thing just to merge them together,” Fr Meagher said.
Knowing something makes sense, however, does not make it easy. For some, a merger can feel like a loss before it ever feels like a gain.
“I must admit, at the start we were all nervous about it, because of the unknown,” one parishioner said. “After you get over your fears of something different, it’s wonderful. We’ve met so many people over here on the other side of Parramatta Road.”
Another described the shift that matters most. “Often they amalgamate churches, but people still see it as separate,” the parishioner said. “I think we’re starting to see it as one common parish.”
The proof is not in the paperwork, but in the pews. “We started an 8am Mass on Sunday morning, we used to have it pre-COVID and the numbers are slowly creeping up,” a parishioner said. “There’s a lot of mums with their kids at the back of the church. And they’re the future of the church.”
The fruits are showing in the two schools as well. St Brendan’s principal Hayley de Vries has begun bringing her students together with those of St Michael’s, Stanmore, led by principal Katherine Miff, while staff from both schools are increasingly working together.
“I think it’s a great opportunity, not only for the two parishes but for two schools to come together,” Ms de Vries said.
For Fr Meagher, the new building answers a problem the parishes had carried for years — they had nowhere simply to be together.
“One of the big things is to build a place like this, a place where they can come and spend time together, meet each other and become closer,” he said.
“We didn’t really have any facilities before for parish meetings or parish groups. But now we do, and that’s the big difference. Parishes need facilities.”
The work itself became a parable of the thing it was building. “It’s a symbol of everyone working together within the parish,” one parishioner said. “We had other parents help out, which was really lovely. Fr Matthew’s very gifted at finding the right people to do the right job.”
Deacon Lawrence Zimbe agrees. “It is working out well: to bring all the people together in this family of one parish,” he said. “It’s a joint effort. The grand opening is a real sign that everyone is involved.”
Fr Meagher adds: “The main aim is that the Catholic faith is celebrated and promoted, and whatever is the best way to do that is the best way to move forward,” he said. “In this area, to merge is the best way. It’s worked well here.”
“The Coming Together” is the latest in a series of videos produced by the Parish Renewal Team within the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation, sharing the fruits of amalgamation across the Archdiocese of Sydney.
To see the rest of the series visit Collaborations for Mission at www.sydneycatholic.org/sydney-centre-for-evangelisation/
