Mary Bowmans 90th Birthday Celebration

Happy 90th Birthday, Mary!
After Sunday Mass on 8 January, it was the pleasure of the people of St Augustine’s Kyabram, to honour esteemed parishioner, Mary Bowman, for her 90th birthday, with morning tea with cake in the church’s gathering space. This was a great opportunity to acknowledge Mary’s lifelong faith-filled service to the parish and school community – and indeed the wider community and district.

Mary’s ministry at St Augustine’s goes back to her youth when she first began answering the weekday Latin Mass like an altar boy – when no boy turned up – and then stepping in at the age of thirteen to play the church organ for Benediction because the organist was unavailable. Mary continued to play the organ and manage the singers for the next 75 years, an achievement that has facilitated her involvement with many families during different stages of their lives – at first sacraments, weddings, funerals, and other celebrations.

Over these many decades, Mary’s great pleasure has been to play for second and even third generations of these families. But Mary was active in all things parish – from assisting with the parish cricket club andm social activities in her younger years, visiting the sick, organising home communions, and standing in as sacristan, special minister, reader or liturgy leader as needed. She has been a member of many church committees and groups. To name only a few: the church centenary organisers, two re-building committees, the Liturgy Group, the Parish Pastoral Council, Passionist Family Groups, the Parish History Book and 140 the anniversary committee, ecumenical groups, and more recently, the Plenary Council parish meetings.

Mary has been associated with St. Augustine’s School since she herself was a student there, then as a parent of ten children, a volunteer, a member of the Mothers’ Club and later, the Past Students and Friends Association.

Outside of the parish, Mary has been a mover and shaker as member or chairperson in many organisations, including the Senior Citizens Club, the Fauna Park, the Kyabram councils amalgamation advisory group, the Save Our Town Hall committee, the Residents and Ratepayers’ group and its various off-shoots, and more.

In the early 1980s, Mary resolutely lobbied for people with disability to have equal opportunities and to participate fully in society. For this work she was given the local Australia Day Citizen Award in 1982, Kyabram’s first female so acknowledged.

In 1988 she was elected to the Kyabram Town Council, serving for six years, two as mayor. And then in 1997, after the ‘94 council amalgamations, Mary was honoured with being the first Mayor of the new Shire of Campaspe.

These days, Mary may have slowed down, but she hasn’t stopped yet. She is still involved in numerous groups and causes and continues to network with family, friends, parish, community and local government.

The people of St Augustine’s Parish wish Mary many blessings, and health and happiness always. Happy Birthday!

A New Year Message from Bishop Shane Mackinlay. Planned Giving Thank You