A COVID-19 safe group of twenty gathered to celebrate the 45th Sandhurst Marian Festival at Sacred Heart Cathedral on Sunday 10 October. Bishop Shane Mackinlay and Father Stephen Bolling led the devotions and Bishop Shane celebrated the Mass of the day.  The festival was live-streamed to hundreds of virtual attendees.

Saturday 30 October 10:00 a.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Online live via Zoom

The 2021 Sandhurst ‘Wheel of Prayer’ Day will focus on new and old ways to ‘stay connected’. After an introduction by Dr Chris Cotter, Director of Mission and Pastoral Life, there will be four workshops led by experienced local presenters. The workshop topics are “Men’s Groups”, “Finding God in the Bits and Pieces”, “Catholic Charismatic Prayer” and "Faith Circles".

Sandhurst Youth Ministry has invited Gen Bryant, a Catholic musician from Melbourne, to help facilitate a Music Ministry Workshop for the young people in our Diocese. The workshop is open to anyone in the Diocese aged 15-30 who wishes to gain some new skills and insight into what Music Ministry is in different settings.

Saturday 20 November 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. 
St Kilian's, Bendigo  for 15 -30 year olds 

The Theme for Sandhurst's WYD Celebration is  Stand up! (Acts 16:16). As numbers will be capped, SYM is encouraging Hubs across the Diocese so that as many people can participate in this live-streamed event, while benefitting from the company of fellow Hubbers in person.  

10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Sunday 28 November
The Good Loaf, 404 Hargreaves Street Bendigo

The festive annual L’Arche Bendigo Christmas Market is a great way to catch up with L’Arche Friends and enjoy a variety of Christmas Fare including, L’Arche Artwork, Craft, Christmas Cakes and Puddings, Vintage Kitchenalia and more … This is a fundraiser to support L’Arche communities and networks in Bendigo.

Year 12 has always been a challenging time, but for the Class of 2021, who have been studying for exams and preparing for life beyond school, the past two years of COVID-19 have been particularly stressful and full of uncertainty. Bishop Shane provides words of encouragement and some gentle useful advice.

The months between the first and second general assemblies of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia are a time for “prayer, reflection, maturation and development”, according to a concluding statement from the first assembly.

The statement, approved by the Council’s members during Saturday’s final plenary session, speaks of a week in which regular prayer and spiritual conversations, encouraging deep listening, “allowed space for still nascent dreams and visions to come to greater maturity”.

The First Assembly of the Fifth Plenary Council closed on Sunday 10 October with Mass celebrated by Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President, Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge.

In his Homily, Archbishop Coleridge reflected on his week as one of 278 members, seeking to capture how they felt at the end of the assembly.

“Weary and a bit ragged, because it was very hard work; relieved, even slightly surprised, because so much could have gone wrong; satisfied, because it has produced real fruit; grateful to God and to each other, because it has all been more gift than hard work; intrigued to see what happens between now and the second assembly in the middle of next year,” he explained.

As he closed the formal proceedings of the first general assembly of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia on Saturday evening, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, the Council's President, reflected on a week that had been “inspiring, challenging and sometimes unsettling”.

By Katie Eldridge

Despite several rounds of remote learning and lockdowns across the state, a spirit of kindness and social justice is still present within the St Joseph’s College, Echuca community.

During the month of September, students, families, and staff raised an outstanding $2,490 to support ShelterBox.