 At
its first Community Meeting for 2005, the Ryde community
decided that it wanted to do something special for Bishop David Cremin
in this his year of retirement. Bishop David has been an extraordinary
friend of the Brothers for close to fifty years and it was only fitting
that the Brothers held a special tribute for him. (Photo: Br Aengus - Patrician
Provincial - arrives in the college chapel with Bishop David following
behind saying hello to friends.)Realising that Bishop David is
a very special person to many other
Religious in the Sydney area, it was decided to open up the idea to
other Congregations. And they jumped at it.
 So very quickly we
had a Tribute Organising Committee made up of
members of provincial leadership teams from quite a few different
Congregations. It was decided to keep the tribute simple and personal.
The tribute was held on Sunday the 18th of September at Holy Cross College, Ryde, using the chapel and hall facilities of the college. Over two hundred religious Priests, Sisters, and Brothers attended, representing over twenty Congregations. (Photo: Bishop David listens to the reading as he sits with representatives of the organising committee.) Proceedings began at 2:00 with prayers of thanksgiving in the college chapel, and then the gathering moved across to the hall for the more social aspects of the afternoon: meeting old friends over good food and drinks; a few speeches with good things said simply, sincerely, and swifty; an audio-visual presentation on the life and times and friends of Bishop David; presentation on the life and times and friends of Bishop David; a cutting-of-the-cake ceremony; and finishing off with the meeting of more old friends over more good food and drinks. It was a good few hours spent together letting Bishop David know that he has made a very special contribution to the lives and stories of so many Congregations and individial religious in Sydney. Bishop David must have enjoyed it himself as, apart from the kitchen staff and the resident Brothers, he was the very last person to leave the function, spending all of his time making the effort to see every person who came and to make them feel a little special as has always been his way. Thank you to all those who helped to make the afternoon so successful: the Ryde community and other members of the Patrician province; the
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