Good Friday services in Gympie, Fraser Coast, Bundaberg

Hope amid the war in Ukraine, pandemic and battle to keep the region’s only rehab filled hearts and minds as crowds at churches across Gympie, the Fraser Coast and Bundaberg showed Easter traditions were still alive and well in the Wide Bay.

From the war in Ukraine to a battle on the home front again drug and alcohol addiction, prayers went up from churches across the Wide Bay as the faithful marked Good Friday.

Gympie priest Father Adrian Farrellyfrom St Patrick’s Church said the pandemic had caused numbers to fluctuate since 2020, but attendance was slowly increasing.

“People are returning to coming together,” he said.

Easter numbers were normally “healthy”, according to Father Adrian, and he hoped this year would be no exception.

Full list of Gympie services here

In Hervey Bay, Bayside Christian Church Pastor Ross Davie was preparing to host popular Brisbane evangelists Carl and Fiona Butler starting with a 9am communion services followed by hot cross buns for morning tea.

Father William leads Gympie’s St Patrick's Church through the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday morning.

A men’s breakfast is scheduled for Saturday morning, 7.30am with Mr Butler sharing stories from his recent ministry trip to Africa, a women’s leaders event at 6.30pm with Mrs Butler and Easter Sunday celebration services at 9am and 5pm.

A traditional water baptism will follow the Sunday morning service at 11.30am at the beach next to the Urangan Pier.

In a message to his congregation in the lead up to Easter Ps Davie said “Easter is a very important focus for every Christian, as we remember the finished work of Jesus on the cross where he paid the price for all of our sins”.

“We also celebrate the miracle of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead to bring us new life,” he said

Fraser Coast services were popular on Good Friday.

The church is also currently calling on the community to help the Bayside Transformations drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre which risks closure after the landlord listed the Torquay Terrace property for sale.

Full list of Fraser Coast services here 

Father Peter Tonti, from the Catholic Parish of Bundaberg had Ukraine on his heart and mind this Easter.

“You only have to think of what’s happening in Eastern Europe at the moment and our own situation with Covid and all the difficulties that we face, so as a church, we say “Christ is our light”,” he said

“And that comes from the creation story when God spoke and said ‘let there be light’ and then we go and say in John’s gospel that the word was made flesh, so that’s Christ.

Father Peter Tonti at Bundaberg had Ukraine on his hear at mind this Easter. Photo: Angeline Lowther

“If we recognise Christ in our life, then we can think of more than the stuff we live in.

“I believe the light is already in us, we’ve just got to let that light in us grow and if we can get that light to grow, we can look at each other in the eye and say, “dignity and respect can look after the world”.

Father Tonti said as in all disasters where there is “darkness and trouble”, it was heart warming to see people coming together.

“As a church, we welcome people into our community who want to make that beautiful difference in our world.”

Full list of Bundaberg services here.