St Luke’s Parish in Woodvale has a thriving Friendship Group of over-60s who meet in the parish hall for activities and get together regularly for other events.
Its president, Judy Anderson, told The Record the group has been going for 17 years and has 40 members who meet once a month.
The membership fee is $5 and the monthly meeting is held at noon on a Monday, with the annual general meeting in September.
Activities have included trips to New Norcia; Seabird, past the Moore River, for lunch; St Patrick’s Basilica, Fremantle; St Brigid’s Church, West Perth; Belmont races, and the casino, where the new bus picks them up and it costs $10 to play from 10am to 3pm, including a meal – not counting additional gambling.
“No one wants to miss their cards, even on a Monday public holiday – they play the game called Frustration,” Mrs Anderson told The Record.
“About 10 people have passed away. It used to be called the Seniors’ and Friendship Group.”
Mrs Anderson was Treasurer for 10 years and has been president of the group for 12 months.
A Healing Mass with parish priest Fr Francisco Mascarenhas is held every second month, with a 9am Mass once a month, followed by morning tea.
Sometimes 40 or 50 attend, sometimes 60 people, she said, and eight to 10 men play carpet bowls – one lady left the group.
Her husband, Garnet, was President for three years.
The meeting and activities generally go from noon until 2.45pm, but with school holidays, the group has extra time.
One of the younger members, Beth Galos is the Secretary and her husband, Wally, the Vice President/acting treasurer.
Mrs Galos prepares a monthly newsletter for the group and announced that a Father’s Day luncheon would be held at the Kingsway Tavern on August 31 and that the group hoped to purchase new bowls with a grant from the Western Australian Lotteries Commission.
She said it was suggested a game of bingo be played after the meeting each month, with points and a small prize, and no money. The meeting decided bingo would be trialled for three months.
Members in hospital were remembered with a card and a posy of flowers and birthdays and anniversaries are mentioned at the meeting and in the newsletter.
Raffles are drawn and winners announced.
Fr Francisco said the Friendship Group was a novel concept and meetings were held unless it was a public holiday.
“It is great how you keep in touch,” he told the meeting on Monday, July 9.
Inaugural president Peter Brown told the meeting the church opened in April 1995 and the Seniors’ Group, as it was then known, held its first meeting in September of that year.
Mr Brown said: “Fr Laurence used to take out the St Luke’s Primary School bus (and) there would be an esky full of cheese, biscuits and wine.”
Mrs Anderson said that when she joined in 1999, “they were lucky to get 13 to a meeting”.
“There have been wonderful outings and wonderful people.”