VIVIAN Puccini-Scuderi’s mother played the organ for her local church and her grandmother did laundry for her parish priest – as well as cook his Sunday pasta – and now Mrs Puccini-Scuderi is volunteering her talents for the St Stephen’s Cathedral Guides and Welcomers.
“My family has always had that involvement and it’s just kind of engrained in me to carry on with something just as a thank you to the Church,” she said.
“I wanted to give back to the Catholic Church something of myself because my grandmother, my mother, they volunteered for the Church and it’s always something I wanted to do.
“It’s the passion that stands out; I’m passionate about doing it, to give back for what the Church has given me – a safe place and a good upbringing.
“I’ve always got God in my heart and I want to share what the Church gave me.”
While the cut-off date for expressions of interest was still a while off, set for April 13, Mrs Puccini-Scuderi was eager to start the training.
She said she was eager to start training because she wanted to start learning.
“I’m interested in the history and architecture of the cathedral,” she said.
“I come from a family of builders and (construction) does interest me.”
Mrs Puccini-Scuderi had already received a guided tour from Cathedral Guides and Welcomers chair Dr Barbara Reynolds-Hutchinson, which she said was “awesome”.
Dr Reynolds-Hutchinson said guiding is “a bit of a cross between knowing your information and keeping people interested”.
She said the training was informative but was not daunting because there is a strong community ready to help new faces through the process.
“By the time you finish you’ll know more than you think know,” she said.
She said the commitment was what people could manage.
“They need to fulfill the training, but generally the commitment is what people can manage,” she said.
A trainee will also have a supervisor come mentor from the beginning of the training right through the six-month probation period, which is mandatory for all archdiocese volunteers.
The Guides and Welcomers have a dual responsibility as COVID-safe marshals, which means there was a keen awareness of the pandemic and social distancing.
The training in total spans six days, one day a week for seven weeks with a break halfway through.
“The information day is on Thursday the 15th of April, just after Easter, and the training itself starts on the 22nd of April,” Dr Reynolds-Hutchinson said.
“On the last day we have an induction ceremony and then they start their six months probation.”
She said the guides were looking for anyone who was interested.
