“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

“Christ in You”

This is a powerful affirmation by St Paul of the reality of Christ’s presence in the lives of Christians. Christ is present in all things: 

• as Creator, holding all things together 
• as he is united with his Body, the Church 
• as the one in whom God’s fullness dwells, reconciling all things to himself by his self-giving love on the Cross (1.15-20)

This creating, upholding, uniting, and reconciling presence of Christ is the source of the gifts we share as a parish community. Christ’s presence is the source of our life together in faith, worship, service, and mission.

Christ’s Open Arms
At the centre of the logo is Christ and the rays of light radiate from him to the world. Christ faces us with open arms in a gesture of generous welcome for our parish community and for all people. In welcoming us, Christ teaches us to welcome all the people who may walk into our lives, be present in our churches for special occasions, or meet us in our family home or workplace. The wounds in Christ’s hands remind us to imitate Jesus in his self-sacrificing love that others may live.

The idea for using this image of Jesus in the logo came from the beautiful statue high at the front of the Lumen Christi Office, next to Wollongong Cathedral. The statue represents Jesus with a strong and loving face and with a gracious gesture of open arms. For our Lumen Christi Staff, this statue represents how all parishioners and visitors need to be received with kindness and attention. We are committed to making our parish and our parish office a place of hospitality that gathers people together and assists them in their time of need.

Lumen Christi

Underneath the logo is the title of our parish, Lumen Christi, the Light of Christ. The words “The Light of Christ” are sung at the Easter Vigil as the Paschal Candle is held high before the people after it is lit from the newly blessed Easter Fire. Christ’s Light is himself as the Truth and the Life (John 8:12; 14:6). It is Christ as the Resurrected Lord who conquers sin and death through his self-sacrificial love for us (John 12:32-36). He is the Light who lifts our hearts in the hope of forgiveness and eternal life (John 11:25-26). Christ calls us to share in his Light and to be the light of the world by doing good works that move the hearts of people to praise our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14-15).

Parish Pastoral Plan

Our Pastoral Plan focuses on the presence of Christ who enriches us with gifts to share for building up our parish community as the Body of Christ. After a time of reflection on the theme “Christ in You” that gave us a more lively awareness of the gifts we have and can share, we set ourselves goals relevant to five main areas of parish life:

• Community Life
• Worship as a community of faith and service
• Mission in bearing witness to Christ’s truth and love
• Parish Support through our Parish Staff
• Stewardship of our facilities and properties