Last week, Bishop Shane announced the appointments of Michael (Mick) Chalkley as Chair of the Sandhurst Mission and Pastoral Council (SMPC) and Elizabeth (Libby) Dowling as a Member. Both appointments follow the resignation of Chair, Gabrielle Downie in July.

Mick Chalkley has been appointed Chair of the Council for the next twelve months. Mick is a current member of the Council and takes up this appointment following Gabrielle Downie’s resignation in July. (You can read more about Mick Chalkley here: https://sandhurst.catholic.org.au/item/2586-get-to-know-mick-chalkley-smpc-and-ddf-member)

Libby Dowling will take up a North-Eastern Deanery member position which became vacant with the resignation of Gabby Downie. Libby is an active parishioner at Sacred Heart, Yarrawonga where, amongst other things, she is a member of the Parish Pastoral Council and facilitates the parish Baptism program.

Libby was born in Boorhaman and grew up amongst the St Martin’s Church community in Wangaratta Parish. She completed her teacher training in Ballarat and then taught in Elmore and Wodonga before marrying her husband Chris and moving to Yarrawonga, where she and Chris have been cropping canola and wheat for thirty-five years.

A mother of four and grandmother of nine (almost eleven) grandchildren, she cares deeply about the future.  Libby carefully shares her observation that many Catholics seem to have been in a “kind of funk” about the Church, but now the tide is turning. “The Spirit is moving, and we need to move with it,” she says. “There are people out there who are searching, wanting to learn more about our faith. There is a real movement to harness all that is good about our faith. This appointment allows me to work with others to help these people find answers and to open doors, not only for the Church, but for everyone in our world.”

Libby says she is looking forward to the first Council meeting. “I think I’ll be doing a lot of listening,” she says. “It’s exciting to have an opportunity to share ideas and work collaboratively with others to create a more dynamic Diocese and Church.”

In his announcement last week, Bishop Shane expressed his gratitude to Libby and Mick for their willingness to take on their respective roles asking us to pray for them, and all members of the Council, as they continue their endeavours for us to become a more missionary and pastoral Church.

The next Council meeting will be in Shepparton on Friday 21 November and Saturday 22 November.

To learn more about the SMPC go to the Mission and Pastoral Council section of our website.