On Saturday 6 December and Sunday 7 December we had services for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, for the Afterfeast of the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple, and in honour of Great Martyr Catherine of Alexandria (+c. 305 AD) and Great Martyr Mercurius of Caesarea (+3rd Cent. AD).  All-night Vigil was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning.  For the first time since Pascha 2025, we were joined for Divine Liturgy by Protodeacon Martin Naef.  At the end of the service, our parish rector congratulated Father Martin on his appointment as second protodeacon at Saints Peter and Paul Diocesan Cathedral in Strathfield and thanked him for his long and faithful service to the parish.  As a token of gratitude from the parish, he was presented with a gold set of new protodeacon’s vestments: an embroidered sticharion, double orarion and cuffs.  'Many Years' was then sung for Father Martin, his Matushka Tatiana, and for our long-serving Parish Council member Katherine Marcotrigiano who was celebrating her name-day.  Following the service, a festive lunch was served in Father Martin’s honour.