The Catholic churches of Balcatta and Gwelup released a parish annual in February for the first time in their history.
The two churches form one parish community, with most Masses being said at the St Lawrence and Mary Immaculate Church in Balcatta.
Parish priest since 2010, Fr Irek Czech SDS offers pastoral care at both the Balcatta church and the nearby church of St Theresa in Gwelup.
Fr Irek, who had been thinking of producing an annual for the past three years, said he was delighted to be able to print 500 copies of the 16-page, full colour publication.
“It’s for the parishioners, just to inform them what was happening during 2012,” he said.
“I want people to feel that this is their parish, and that this is one big family. That is why we put photos on the front cover of parishioners, both young and old.”
The process of collecting hundreds of photos from parishioners and then selecting the best ones took several months, but Fr Irek said he was pleased with the final result.
“Many parishioners have said this was a wonderful idea … they were happy especially with the quality and the information provided,” he said.
The annual contains Fr Irek’s report for 2012, several pages illustrating life in the parish from throughout the year, and several prayers for recitation.
The Salvatorians, the religious community to which Fr Irek belongs, are well known for their use of modern communication tools for evangelisation.
Fr Irek said part of his desire to produce a parish annual emanated from the vision of the Society’s founder, Fr Francis Jordan.
“He asked us to use all the means available to evangelise,” Fr Irek said.
He said he hoped the publication would be produced each year.
“If it is successful, if people like it and take it home, then we’ll produce another one next year,” he said.
“If not, we’ll probably create something different, like a calendar with photos from the church.”
The parish annual is available at the Balcatta and Gwelup churches for a donation to cover printing costs.