On Thursday 2 March two online follow-up meetings were held to provide opportunities for participants at the Diocesan Assembly to share updates on their local action plans. People who had not attended the Diocesan Assembly were also invited to attend these meetings. Communication and listening, hospitality and welcoming, were key focuses for parishioners working on the synodal journey in their parishes.
Almost all of the meeting participants felt that it was important to share what they had heard and workshopped at the Diocesan Assembly with their own parish communities. Many had decided to set the ‘pause’ button and start to work more on listening and dialogue rather than jumping straight into ‘action’ for the sake of action without truly considering its purpose or mission.
Fr Novie, Parish Priest of Echuca summed this up, “People are longing for the experience of being listened to,” he said. “With everything we do, we need to actively engage in listening and dialogue.”
Alana from Kyabram said Kyabram parish leaders felt communication was the most important of the five key themes which emerged from the Preparation and Consultation Meetings for a Sandhurst Mission and Pastoral Council. “We need to keep parishioners on the journey with us, so at Sunday Mass, we reported about what had occurred at the Diocesan Assembly,” she said. “We need to reach out to our parishioners and keep them informed about the issues impacting the Church. We are now having cuppa after Mass, so people have an opportunity to chat.”
Hospitality was a key theme of the online conversations. All the attendees felt that hospitality was a way of engaging parishioners which can lead to more authentic long-term relationships and a deeper sense of belonging in community. Sally Holmes from the Chancery suggested that small gestures make a difference, “Picking up the phone with a smile on your face, or laughing out loud can be contagious,” she said.
Christine Sebire of Echuca Parish said that Echuca was creating a Welcoming Team. “This Team is not a greeting or hospitality team, but a team which helps people to connect with other parishioners and parish groups by finding opportunities for people to make long-term connections and find a sense of belonging to the parish,” she said.
Fr Junray Rayna, Parish Priest of St Kilian’s had just returned from the Divine Renovation Conference in Sydney when he attended the Diocesan Assembly. The Divine Renovation Conference, he said was about moving from being a maintenance Church to a missionary Church. “I’ve learned that it’s important to understand why we do things,” he said. “As Catholics, (and especially) as cradle Catholics, we have warmed the pews for a while now, but now it’s time to warm people’s hearts,” said Fr Junray. “Do people experience warmth and connection in the Church?” he asked.
Fr Junray gave examples of local action in St Kilian’s Parish which is aimed at creating a sense of belonging, a sense of feeling valued. Having specific hospitality volunteers take turns each Sunday after Mass has been very fruitful for parish life. “We have hospitality themes, and we have greeters who welcome people before Mass. We don’t have a Children’s Liturgy, so we prepare a folder for every child,” he said.
Fr Junray gave an example of finding ways to include and engage people in a way that works for them. He said after trying different approaches to encourage the Karen people to participate more in the leadership team, he found that the community garden was something they felt they could confidently and enthusiastically take stewardship. “The Karen also have hosted hospitality after Mass, they are so natural with hospitality and they want to share their culture,” he said.
A phrase Fr Junray used – tapping people on the shoulder to give them the confidence or encouragement to take part in something and then thanking them with a pat on the shoulder– reflected a concept mentioned by several others over the course of the two meetings. It was also agreed that it is important that the same people are not repeatedly tapped on the shoulder as this could alienate other would-be participants or volunteers.
Almost all of the online participants agreed that listening and dialogue should be a strong focus for any community group.
Fr Novie said that Echuca was in the process of creating a parish hospitality space. For this to be successful there must be a process of listening to hear what kind of hospitality space people need and ask ourselves what the purpose of this hospitality space is.
Sr Cecilia Merrigan said that Echuca Parish established a ‘Care for Creation Team’ in 2022. “We’re trying to encourage the community have a sense of positive stewardship of our earth and the gift that we have. We’re working with the Uniting Church to establish a Repair Café which will reach out to a wider community than our own,” she said.
Sr Cecilia explained “We are probably guilty of leaping into action, but we need to spend more time on reflection and understanding the sacredness of all God’s Creation,” she said.
Connection between parish and school communities also featured in the discussions. It was put forward by Less Pethybridge, St Mary’s Echuca Vice Principal, that for authentic connection between school and parishes both sides need to work together on shared goals and each need to regularly invite the other into their space to eliminate a sense of divide.
Dr Elissa Roper who attended the evening meeting commented that it’s terrific for people from different parishes in the diocese to be talking about their parish landscapes and the challenges they face. “You’re learning from each other,” she said. “The spirit is moving.”
