At their fourth and final meeting for 2023, members of the Sandhurst Mission and Pastoral Council (SMPC) continued their collaborative work documenting a strategic plan for the Diocese based on the results of the dialogue and consultation which took place last year and the concrete proposals from the Diocesan Assembly.

The members have formed three strategic direction interest groups and are defining goals to give life to their respective strategic directions. They are committed to using a synodal process, emphasising dialogue and collective discernment as essential components of decision making.

The meeting was held at St Brendan’s Shepparton and commenced on Friday evening, 17 November. The meeting continued on Saturday, 18 November, following morning Mass celebrated by Bishop Shane Mackinlay.

As well as working on the strategic plan, members were kept up to date with developments in the Diocese and beyond:

Bishop Shane shared an overview of the Synod on a Synodal Church and his time in Rome at the First Session; Dr Chris Cotter shared some of his experience at an intensive course on Enhancing Catholic School Identity and the Searching for Parish Engagement Scale research projects at KU Leuven; Christine Sebire reported on the recent meeting of the College of Consultors; Mick Chalkley reported on his first meeting as a member of the Diocesan Finance Council; Fr Jackson Saunders reported on the first meeting of the Youth Ministry Reference Group; and plans for the 150th Anniversary of the Diocese were included in the meeting papers.
Members of the SMPC share a desire to strengthen the sense of communion and shared responsibility among the faithful, and aim to foster a more missionary, responsive, and inclusive Church. Their commitment to transparency and accountability is evident in the Meeting Reports which can be downloaded from the diocesan website.

Download the  pdf SMPC Meeting 4 Report (17-18 November 2023) (223 KB) .