(The Leonard Room)

Purpose
The purpose of this document is to outline the policies and procedures that will apply to the use of the St Peter’s Toorak Parish Hall, The Leonard Room (‘the Parish Hall’) for functions.

Scope
This document applies to the use of the Parish Hall by parishioners and residents of The Benson Toorak.

Policy
The Parish Hall is a state-of-the-art facility available for hire for a variety of functions, such as morning teas, dinner functions, cocktail parties, receptions and business seminars. It may be hired separately or in conjunction with events held in the partnered parishes of St Peter’s, Toorak and Our Lady of Lourdes, Armadale. A commercial kitchen, off-street parking, ramp access to the main entrance and all-ability toilet facilities are also available.

Contact
Please contact Madeline Dimasi at the Parish Office for more information.
E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
T: (03) 9068 8600
A: 583 Toorak Road, Toorak 3142

Safeguarding & COVIDsafe Plan
Please click here to visit our Community page for up-to-date information on Safeguarding & COVIDsafe Plan.

Access
The Parish Hall may be accessed either through the main entrance of the Parish Centre or by means of the Parish elevator from the Lower Ground carpark.

The Parish Carpark at the front of the Parish Centre may be used for loading and unloading goods e.g. catering supplies.

Ramp access is available via the main entrance to the Parish Centre.

Capacity

Hire fees

• Hire fees are charged at the discretion of the Parish Business Manager.
  
  
• Hire fees must be paid at least 72 hours prior to the commencement of the function. Fees may be paid by credit card or direct deposit.
  
  
• Residents of The Benson Toorak are permitted to book the Parish Hall a maximum of two (2) times per calendar year at no charge for hire. For three or more bookings per calendar year, residents will be charged the hire fees outlined above.

Hire fee inclusions
The following are included in the hire fee:

• Underground parking in the Parish carpark (limited)
• Commercial kitchen for the storage, heating and service of pre-prepared meals only
• Glassware, crockery and cutlery, serving utensils, platters etc
• Cleaning supplies including commercial dishwasher, tea towels, mops and buckets
• Tables and chairs

Hire Fee exclusions
The following are excluded in the hire fee:

• Table linen can be supplied at an additional cost.
• Hirers are not permitted to use the commercial kitchen for the full preparation and cooking of meals.
• Wait staff.
• Also excluded are provisions of Flowers, decorations, chair covers etc.

Security Bond
In addition to the Parish Hall hire fee, Hirers may be required to pay a security bond of $500. The decision to levy a security bond is at the discretion of the Parish Business Manager. Security bonds will be refunded within seven (7) days after the function, subject to all invoices being paid, the conditions of hire being met and no damage to the Parish Centre having occurred.

Cleaning Fee
The Hirer agrees and acknowledges that the Parish Hall and Parish Centre are maintained in good repair and a clean and tidy state at the commencement of the hire period and must be returned in the same condition at the end of the hire period. In the event that the Parish Business Manager considers the Parish Hall or other facilities utilised by the Hirer are not in a clean and tidy state at the completion of the function an additional cleaning fee may be charged to the Hirer.

Function Coordinator
In addition to the Parish Hall hire fee, prospective Hirers may be required to pay for the services of a Function Coordinator for their function. This decision will be at the discretion of the Parish Business Manager. The Function Coordinator fee will be in addition to any Parish Hall hire fee that may apply.

The standard hourly rate for the Function Coordinator will be advised at the time of booking the function and may vary from time to time. If a Function Coordinator is required, the minimum booking period is three hours. The Function Coordinator will commence duty one hour prior to the start of the function and finish one hour after the completion of the function.

The role of the Function Coordinator is as follows:

• to assist external suppliers (e.g., caterers) with obtaining access to the Parish Hall
• to provide assistance with the setup of tables, chairs and AV equipment
• to manage the heating, cooling and lighting systems
• to provide advice on the operation of the kitchen equipment, use of the glassware, crockery and cutlery etc.
• to provide guests with access to the Parish carpark if required
• to ensure the facilities, including the kitchens, are left in a clean and tidy state
• to ensure alcohol (if any) is served in accordance with the Responsible Service of Alcohol guidelines
• to advise on security arrangements throughout the function and to ensure that the premises are appropriately secured at the end of the function
• to act as warden in the event of an evacuation for fire, flood or other emergency
• to assist with handling any spills, breakages or other damage and to ensure all incidents are reported to the Parish Business Manager as soon as possible and no later than the next business day
• to ensure all guests are QR coded and double vaccinated (if required in the future)

Function Coordinators should not be expected to prepare and serve food and drink during functions or to clean up the facilities afterwards.

Hirers
Hirers must be eighteen (18) years or older. Proof of age may be requested.

Hirers are responsible for the following:

• being present at all times during the function or ensuring that another responsible adult is present at all times and providing these details to the Parish Business Manager
• ensuring their guests behave in an appropriate manner
• ensuring children under the age of 12 are appropriately supervised at all times and are not permitted into the kitchen areas
• ensuring guests do not enter the residential areas of The Benson Toorak without authorisation
• coordinating the provision of services by external suppliers (e.g., caterers), notifying Parish Business Manager of their details, and paying them directly for their services
• arranging the cleaning the facilities to a suitable standard, including the kitchens, immediately on completion of the function
• ensuring external suppliers (e.g., caterers) provide sufficient staff to serve food and drinks
• covering the cost of any damage or breakage that is incurred during the course of the function

In addition to the above, Hirers hosting functions where a Function Coordinator is not present are responsible for the following:

• attending a briefing session with the Parish Business Manager on the use of the facilities prior to the function
• ensuring any spills or breakages are cleaned up immediately and reporting these to the Parish Business Manager no later than the following business day
• ensuring alcohol (if any) is served in a responsible manner
• providing access to the Parish carpark for their guests and ensuring they depart quietly on completion of the function
• acting as warden in the event of evacuation for fire, flood or other emergency
• ensuring the security of the facilities is not compromised in any way during the function (e.g., by propping open external doors)
• securing the facility at the end of the function and returning the keys to the Parish Business Manager the next business day.

Making a booking
To book the Parish Hall:

1. Check availability with Madeline Dimasi at the Parish Office:  T: 9086 8600    E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
2. Complete and submit the Parish Hall Booking Form (this will be provided by the Parish Office)
   
3. Attend a briefing session with the Parish Business Manager if required
4. Pay any fees applicable at least 72 hours prior to the function

The Parish Business Manager reserves the right to refuse functions in the Parish Hall if:

• the proposed function is inconsistent with the appropriate use of the facilities; or
• the proposed function is likely to be detrimental to the interests of the Parish;
• the proposed function will be potentially destructive to property or persons within the Parish Centre; or
• the proposed function conflicts with other planned functions within Parish Centre; or
• the proposed function is outside the designated function hours; or
• previous functions hosted by the Hirer have not been conducted in an appropriate manner consistent with the appropriate use of the facilities or The Benson Toorak by-laws.

Cancelling a booking
The Hirer may cancel a booking by written notice to the Parish. Cancellations made with less than 72 hours notice may incur a cancellation fee of 50% of the Parish Hall hire fee.

The Parish reserves the right to cancel a booking without notice in the event of an emergency.

The Parish also reserves the right to cancel a booking by prior written notice to the Hirer if:

• the Parish becomes aware that the function is inconsistent with the appropriate use of the facilities; or
• the Parish considers the proposed function will potentially be destructive to property or persons within the Parish Centre; or
• the prescribed fees have not been paid in the specified time frame; or
• repairs, alterations or additions are required to the Parish Centre.

If the Parish cancels the booking without fault of the Hirer, the Parish will refund any amounts paid by the Hirer in relation to the booking. The Parish will not be held liable for any loss or damage or loss of profit suffered as a consequence of exercising its right to cancel the booking.

Smoking
Smoking is not permitted in the Parish Centre, on the Parish Hall Terrace or in the Parish Gardens. Hirers and their guests who wish to smoke must make their way to the public footpath at the front of the Parish Centre.

Fires, candles and smoke machines
Smoke machines are not permitted in the Parish Centre or on the Parish Hall Terrace.

Birthday candles and sparklers are not permitted inside the Parish Centre. Birthday candles and sparklers may be used on the Parish Hall Terrace as long as the Terrace doors to the Parish Hall remain closed.

The Hirer will be held responsible for all costs associated with the Metropolitan Fire Brigade attending site as a result of a breach of these conditions resulting in the activation of the fire alarm.

Decorations and other materials
No adhesive tape, Blu-Tak or the equivalent is allowed to be placed on any painted or fabric surfaces. Gaffer tape is the only tape allowed to be used on the floors.

No confetti, rice or other objects may thrown inside or outside the Parish Centre.

Animals
Animals, with the exception of accredited Assistance Dogs, are prohibited from entering the Parish Centre.

Parish Offices
Hirers and their guests are prohibited from entering the Parish Offices located within the Parish Centre unless a member of staff is present.

Welcome to the website of the Armadale and Toorak parishes.  
We hope you use this website to get to know us better.

Our parishes have been an important part of the fabric of Melbourne’s Catholic community for over 90 years. The role of the website is not only to provide historical information on the parishes, but also to up-date you on the latest news and coming events.

If you are new to the parishes, Father Dean Mathieson, parish priest of Armadale and Toorak welcomes you to our community.

A team of deeply committed parishioners is engaged in volunteer work to help with the many demands of the two parishes. This website can assist you in finding out how best you can support the partnered parishes.

We hope you enjoy this website. We’d love to hear from you and we welcome any questions or suggestions you may have. 

 
Click here to read more about our upcoming Parish Activities

 Follow us on Instagram
@armadale_toorakpartneredparish

Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians; the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Bunurong people of the Kulin Nations, who have walked upon and cared for the lands upon which we are all individually located and gather on.

We recognise their deep spiritual connection to land, waters, culture, language and community, extending back tens of thousands of years. We pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, to Elders, Past, Present and Emerging; and commit ourselves to the ongoing Journey of Reconciliation.

Feast Day:  29 June

When Fr Walter Ebsworth came to Toorak in 1927 the existing chapel on the site was called St Stanislaus.  To the casual observer this could be taken as a reference to an 11th century Polish bishop and martyr,  or Stanislaus Kostka, a young Polish Jesuit saint of the 16th century.  However,  the name referred to the parish priest of South Yarra Fr Robert Stanislaus Benson.

Fr Ebsworth announced that a new and bigger and fitting parish church would have to be built to accommodate the people of the new parish and that it would be called after St Peter. At that time the only other parishes in the diocese called after St Peter were Daylesford (1861, now in Ballarat) and Epping (1911). St Peter as patron of the parish signified devotion to Peter the rock of the Church, the prince of the apostles to whom Our Lord entrusted the keys of the Kingdom of heaven.

Despite the Depression, the first part of the church was built and opened for worship in 1934.  Two of the stained glass windows placed later in the apse of the sanctuary depict St. Peter.  One window shows him in the boat with Jesus calming the waters.  The other window shows Jesus entrusting the keys to him with the famous basilica in Rome which was built over the shrine of the Saint (not to be discovered until the excavations carried out during World War II).

We have great devotion to St. Peter who is like us in so many ways. Mentioned in each of the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles and the First Letter to the Corinthians, with two Letters of the New Testament bearing his name, he is like us in so many ways.  By turns he is rash and steadfast, quick to deny but sincere in repentance, a questioner of the Lord’s purposes but ready to launch into the deep, a follower who became a leader, ultimately prepared to lose his life in order to gain it.

No wonder that we like St Peter, a fitting friend and patron for our parish.

Feast Day:  11 February

Our Lady of Lourdes was the title chosen for the parish of Armadale by Fr Michael O’Brien, the founding pastor who was appointed in 1922. He had been an Army Chaplain in France during the First World War.

According to the tradition he wanted to build his church to look like a French parish church and to call it Our Lady of Lourdes. It was the first parish church in the diocese to be dedicated to God under the title of Our Lady of Lourdes.

The first of the apparitions of Our Lady to St Bernadette on 11th February 1858 in the small village of Lourdes in the French Pyrenees introduced a genuinely popular reawakening of faith in God and warm devotion to Our Lady, as the Immaculate Conception. The messages to Bernadette, as she relayed them to her parish priest and to the local people, invited them to prayer, the practice of the faith, conversion as well as the experience of physical and spiritual healing in the waters of the spring which Bernadette herself had opened up at the direction of "The Lady".

Despite the initial misgivings of the church authorities and the clumsy interference of the civic officials, the consistency and simplicity of Bernadette’s words convinced them and others of her sincerity.

Well before St Bernadette’s death at the convent in Nevers in 1879, a church for pilgrims had been built at the grotto of the apparitions and the fame of the shrine had spread. During his service in France in the First World War Fr O’Brien may have heard more about Lourdes. One can only admire the faith that may have inspired his desire to establish this devotion in Armadale Melbourne.

Let us also resolve to be thankful for the care and love of our Mother, Our Lady.

Rev. Fr Dean Mathieson
Parish Priest
(03) 9068 8600
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Mrs Madeline Dimasi
Parish Secretary/Executive Assistant
(03) 9068 8600
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Tuesday - Friday - 10:00am - 4:30pm

Ms Delisa Gonsalves
Pastoral Associate
t: (03) 9068 8602
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Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday:  10:30am - 6:00pm
Thursday:  10:30am - 2:00pm

Mr Frank Glynn
Business Manager
t: (03) 9068 8603
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Monday-Friday - 9:00am-5:00pm

Mrs Gabrielle Yuen
Communications & Publications Administrator
t: (03) 9068 8600
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Tuesday & Friday 

Ms Annie Van Rensburg
Young Adult Minister
t: (03) 9068 8600
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Friday

St Peter's Church
581 Toorak Road, Toorak, VIC, 3142

 
Our Lady of Lourdes Church
629-631 High Street, East Prahran, VIC, 3181

 
Sunday Mass Times

Saturday Vigil

6:00pm Mass at St Peter's

Reconciliation: From 5:15pm before the 6:00pm Mass. 

Sunday

  9:30am Mass at St Peter's

11:15am Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes

Weekday Mass Times

6:30pm Mass at St Peter's

Wednesday 
9:30am Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes

Thursday 
9:30am Mass at St Peter's

Friday 
10:45am Stations of the Cross at St Peter's

11.30am Mass at St Peter's

Parish Priest
Rev. Fr Dean Mathieson

Parish Office
583 Toorak Rd, Toorak VIC 3142
T: (03) 9068 8600
E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Parish Office Hours
Monday - Closed
Tuesday - Friday 10am to 4.30pm 

Public Transport to St Peter's Toorak: 
- Tram #58
- Stop #138 (Woorigoleen Road/Toorak Road)

Car Park (limited parking available):
- Under The Benson at 585 Toorak Road Toorak

 

Follow us on Instagram
@armadale_toorakpartneredparish

For all Marriage/Wedding Enquiries please CLICK HERE

For all General Enquiries please complete our contact form below.

Parish Caring Services

Visitation of the Home Bound
Delisa Gonsalves - (03) 9068 8602 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..au
Please email Delisa or the Parish Office with your contact details and we will get back to you.

The Deal Mens Group (Alcoholics Anonymous)
Please contact Michael 0448 050 904 or the parish secretary, Madeline Dimasi 9068 8600 for more information.  
https://aameetings.org.au/find?near=Armadale+VIC

Parish Facilities

St Peter's, Toorak - Parish Centre (The Leonard Room)
Madeline Dimasi - (03) 9068 8600
Please Contact Madeline for more information
 

Our Lady of Lourdes, Armadale - Parish Hall
Madeline Dimasi - (03) 9068 8600
Please Contact Madeline for more information

Parish Ministries

Toorak Ecumenical Covenant (Celebrating 45 Years)
Parish Office - (03) 9068 8600 or Delisa Gonsalves (03) 9068 8602 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Please Contact the Parish Office or Delisa for more information.

Visitation to the Home-Bound
Delisa Gonsalves - (03) 9068 8602 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
If you would like to volunteer, please contact Delisa or the Parish Office for more information.

St Peter's & Our Lady of Lourdes Organists
St Peter:  Conrad Helfrich (Music Director) 0418 392 997  and  Danuta Southern (pro tem) 0409 141 892
OLOL:  Phillip Byrnes 0417 126 974   
If you would like to Cantor at the weekend Masses, please contact Conrad Helfrich  or  Phillip Byrnes.

Flowers at Our Lady of Lourdes and St Peter's
If you'd like to make a donation towards the flowers or volunteer to assist with flower arranging, please feel free to contact Madeline in the Parish Office.

Lectors & Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist    
St Peter:  Anthony Muir  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.         OLOL:  Parish Office  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
Please contact either Anthony or the Parish Office if you would like to volunteer as a Lector or an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist.

Volunteer Essentials:

It is now a requirement by the Archdiocese of Melbourne that all Volunteers complete and submit to the Parish Office the following documentation:

• a signed copy of the Parish's Code of Conduct
• a completed  pdf Ministry Volunteer Application Form (331 KB)
• Certificate of Food-handling if helping with the Parish Morning Teas and Pizza Night (link for certificate can be found under 'Safeguarding - Food Handling')
• a Police Check if helping with Thanksgiving, Sacramental Preparation and Visitation
       

All Parish Volunteers will also need to have an updated WWCC Card that has been registered to:

• Organisation Name: Partnered Parishes of Armadale and Toorak
• Organisation's Address: 583 Toorak Road, Toorak, VIC, 3142
• Organisation's Telephone Number: (03) 9068 8600
• Organisation's Occupation Type: 64 - Religious Organisation

     Volunteer Documents to Download

• pdf How to Register VIT Card with WWCCV (763 KB)
• pdf How to Apply for a WWCC (3.34 MB)
• pdf How to Update WWCC to include an Organisation (1.18 MB)
• pdf Ministry Volunteer Application Form (331 KB)
  

     Please contact Delisa Gonsalves on (03) 9068 8602 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for information and assistance.

COVIDSafe Plan:  The Partnered Parishes of Armadale and Toorak have a COVIDSafe Plan in place.  Copies of the COVIDSafe Plan can be found at the back of the Church and in the Parish Office.  For a digital or hard copy of the COVIDSafe Plan please contact Delisa on (03) 9068 8602 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Stewardship Giving

Your Stewardship giving provides for the continuing missions of our two parishes and pays for the parish operating costs.

During COVID, for the many parishioners who have enquired as to what to do with their weekly Stewardship envelopes, you may wish to take the opportunity to contact Madeline Dimasi at the Parish Office, 03 9068 8600, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. who will be happy to assist you.

Thanks again for your generosity.

Presbytery Offering

Your Presbytery offering supports the Parish Priest to meet normal household expenses and stipend.  

If you would like to donate to the Presbytery Offering, please contact Madeline Dimasi at the Parish Office 03 9068 8600, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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