10 Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst Year in Review 2022 This year the Church doors have indeed been open. Whilst the pandemic is still with us and we continue to take precautions, especially for the most vulnerable, for the most part we have been able to reconnect with one another face to face in our communities and our places of worship. The removal of restrictions has allowed us to experience in a personal and tangible way those different senses of ‘Church’: a consecrated people gathered in a consecrated building. As Pope Francis reminds us in The Joy of the Gospel, the ‘doors are open’ because we are a Church that ‘goes forth’. We are a missionary Church, sent out to reach everyone: “We have to regard ourselves as sealed, even branded, by this mission of bringing light, blessing, enlivening, raising up, healing and freeing” (The Joy of the Gospel, 273). My work and the work of the Sandhurst Mission and Pastoral Life Team has been encouraged and inspired by this vision. It has been my privilege to lead the Mission and Pastoral Life Team in 2022: Ruth Lawlor (Youth Ministry Coordinator) and Katrina Strong (Communications Officer). Both Ruth and Katrina have undertaken important work in their discrete areas of responsibility and on our team projects. With a significant number of projects for the team, either under way or on the horizon, we welcomed Mrs Leslie Cooper in a part-time capacity as Mission and Pastoral Life Team Project Officer in August. We are still seeking to recruit suitably qualified and experienced team members to fill vacancies in Formation for Mission and in Youth Ministry roles, and hope to do so early in the new year. Our year began with a Zoom farewell to Lyn Breen, Adult Faith Education Coordinator and a long-serving staff member in the Chancery. Fr Brian Boyle EV, Alma Limbrick (Kyabram), Fr Rom Hayes and Sr Cecilia Merrigan CSB (Echuca) each spoke of Lyn with deep affection and respect. The farewell certainly recognised Lyn’s achievements, but also the way Lyn has served the diocesan community, which was always characterised by faithfulness, humility, and determination. I also thank Lyn for her strong contribution to the mission and pastoral life of our Diocese. In late January through to March members of our diocesan community were invited to contribute to the worldwide consultation for the 16th Ordinary Synod of Bishops, for a Synodal Church. Whilst the number of submissions was numerically small, especially in comparison to the First Phase of the Plenary Council in 2017-2018, the themes were consistent. People “A Church that ‘goes forth’ is a Church whose doors are open” Pope Francis, The Joy of the Gospel (46) DR CHRIS COTTER From Director of Mission and Pastoral Life
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