MAPOON’S new church won’t be ready in time for Christmas but that won’t stop the community from getting together.
Reverend Craig Mischewski is travelling up from Weipa to lead a service at the PCYC rec centre at 11am on Christmas Day.
He’ll travel up after his service at St Luke’s Cooperative Parish in Weipa earlier that morning.
“It’s my first Christmas up in Mapoon and I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
“We’ll have a normal Christmas service with some carols, some sermon, and some prayer.”
The Uniting Church minister said he was excited about the prospect of future services at the new church, which is expected to be finished in early 2021.
“It’s going to be so great for Mapoon. They deserve it. They have been waiting since 1963,” Rev Mischewski said.
He’s referring to the fact the church was burnt to the ground by the state government, having forced the people of Mapoon to relocate, sending them to the NPA.
But the Mapoon people are a resilient mob and not only returned to their home and rebuilt, but managed to lobby for funding to build a community church.
Once it’s completed, it will be open to all denominations.
“I think that’s awesome,” Rev Mischewski said.
In Weipa on Christmas Day, the Catholic Church will be without its priest Father Dariusz, but he will fly in for services on Saturday and Sunday.
CHRISTMAS SERVICE TIMES
St Joseph’s Weipa
Friday, December 25 – 8.30am
Saturday, December 26 – 6pm
Sunday, December 27 – 8.30am
St Luke’s Weipa
Friday, December 25 – 9.15am
Mapoon PCYC
Friday, December 25 – 11am
