Filipino Community
In the 1990’s, there was a steady increase in the Filipino population in New Zealand. Due to this, Catholic Churches in New Zealand started to be re-energised to some degree as Filipinos, being a predominantly Catholic people, continued to also re-energised their faith in the parishes in their vicinity. As Filipinos always do, they started to be involved in the many churches activities. This is witnessed also at St Thomas More parish. At that time, Filipinos in the parish began to be involved in the upkeep of the church in rostered cleaning and spring cleaning, Legion of Mary, altar servers etc. In 1996, a group of a few music loving couples formed a choir to serve the 5:30 PM Vigil mass every Saturday. It grew to more than 30 members at one time consisting of adults and the younger generation. More than 20 years later, the community still serves the Vigil mass with almost no exceptions.
In the first decade of the millennium, there was an exponential growth of Filipinos in the country that almost tripled by the end of the decade. As a result, there were more Filipinos gathering at the churches. At St Thomas More, it can be seen in a more active community participating increasingly in the various parish activities. In April 2008, we saw the appointment of the first Filipino representative to join the Parish Council, sanctioned by Father John Bland, the parish priest at the time. Other ethnic groups also joined later on. In the same year, 2 couples started a Filipino community sponsored morning tea after the 10am mass every third Sunday of the month. After a few months, the 2 couples became 3,4,5, …essentially displaying the “bayanihan” spirit of the Filipino culture - meaning spirit of communal unity, work and cooperation to achieve a particular goal. 10 years later, the Filipino community still serves morning tea on the third Sunday of the month after the 10am mass. Other ethnic groups also started to serve morning teas on other Sundays. In August 2008, we saw the first Filipino PPC chairman which inspired the community to be more involved in the parish. We saw, in 2009 the Tawag Awit choir group which serves the 10am mass every two months on the third Sundays which continues today.
In 2016, Simbang Gabi (Dawn mass or Misa de Gallo in Spanish) was introduced in the parish. Simbang Gabi is a Filipino Christmas tradition which is a series of nine dawn masses which begins on 16 December and ends on the midnight mass on Christmas Eve. First Wednesday and First Friday masses were also introduced recently.
Today, Auckland is home to the largest Filipino population, with a high percentage in the North Shore area. Filipino’s particularly in the St Thomas More Parish are now seen actively participating in other committee's like Religious education for adult, RCIC, CLOW, Extra Ordinary Ministers, Health & Safety. The community also actively participates in cultural & fund raising activities.
This community through the blessing of the Holy Spirit, will continue to be part of the St Thomas More Parish existence and will continue to advocate and practice the advancement of the Catholic faith.
Gary Olanday, Feb 2018
In the first decade of the millennium, there was an exponential growth of Filipinos in the country that almost tripled by the end of the decade. As a result, there were more Filipinos gathering at the churches. At St Thomas More, it can be seen in a more active community participating increasingly in the various parish activities. In April 2008, we saw the appointment of the first Filipino representative to join the Parish Council, sanctioned by Father John Bland, the parish priest at the time. Other ethnic groups also joined later on. In the same year, 2 couples started a Filipino community sponsored morning tea after the 10am mass every third Sunday of the month. After a few months, the 2 couples became 3,4,5, …essentially displaying the “bayanihan” spirit of the Filipino culture - meaning spirit of communal unity, work and cooperation to achieve a particular goal. 10 years later, the Filipino community still serves morning tea on the third Sunday of the month after the 10am mass. Other ethnic groups also started to serve morning teas on other Sundays. In August 2008, we saw the first Filipino PPC chairman which inspired the community to be more involved in the parish. We saw, in 2009 the Tawag Awit choir group which serves the 10am mass every two months on the third Sundays which continues today.
In 2016, Simbang Gabi (Dawn mass or Misa de Gallo in Spanish) was introduced in the parish. Simbang Gabi is a Filipino Christmas tradition which is a series of nine dawn masses which begins on 16 December and ends on the midnight mass on Christmas Eve. First Wednesday and First Friday masses were also introduced recently.
Today, Auckland is home to the largest Filipino population, with a high percentage in the North Shore area. Filipino’s particularly in the St Thomas More Parish are now seen actively participating in other committee's like Religious education for adult, RCIC, CLOW, Extra Ordinary Ministers, Health & Safety. The community also actively participates in cultural & fund raising activities.
This community through the blessing of the Holy Spirit, will continue to be part of the St Thomas More Parish existence and will continue to advocate and practice the advancement of the Catholic faith.
Gary Olanday, Feb 2018