Year in Review 2023 Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst 15 Sandhurst Diocese Reports have emerged: missionary and pastoral outreach, the promotion of connections between groups, initial and ongoing formation, and the promotion of the equal dignity of women and men. The Council is developing priorities, goals and actions to address the strategic directions. The Council has also made recommendations to Bishop Shane for people from the Diocese to attend regular meetings of diocesan bodies. Mr Mick Chalkley (Council member from the Western Deanery) was appointed to the Diocesan Finance Council, and Mrs Christine Sebire (Council member from the Western Deanery) and Mr Brendan Lindsay (St Brendan’s Parish, Shepparton) now attend meetings of the College of Consultors. Along with dozens of parishioners and some priests from across the Diocese, members of the Council also participated in the ‘Sandhurst Scripture Talks’ which were held in May on Zoom. The topic for this year was: The Acts of the Apostles: ‘making decisions with the Holy Spirit’. Our presenters were scripture scholars Fr Brian Boyle EV (Administrator of the Cathedral Cluster of Parishes in Bendigo) and Dr Rosemary Canavan (Catholic Theological College, Melbourne). Fr Brian introduced us to the book of the Acts of the Apostles and Rosemary helped us understand how the early Christians sought the guidance and wisdom of the Holy Spirit when making important decisions in the life of the Church. The learnings were invaluable as we discovered together what it is to be a synodal church today. It has been my privilege to lead the Mission and Pastoral Life Team in 2023: Ms Ruth Lawlor (Youth Ministry Coordinator), Ms Katrina Strong (Communications Coordinator) and Mrs Leslie Cooper (Project Support Officer). In September we farewelled Ruth as Youth Ministry Coordinator. Ruth completed just over five years in the role and in July led a Sandhurst pilgrimage group of young adults to the 2023 World Youth Day celebrations in Lisbon, Portugal. Ruth demonstrated dedication and commitment to young people and a desire to grow and adapt the Church’s ministry among them. I thank Ruth for her enthusiastic contribution to the mission and pastoral life of our Diocese. Building on this work, a Youth Ministry Reference Group has been established. This group will provide advice to Bishop Shane and the Mission and Pastoral Council on the future direction and approach to Youth Ministry in Sandhurst. In August and October, the Office for Mission and Pastoral Life hosted four Zoom sessions entitled “Carrying Forward the Plenary Council”. Parishioners from across the Diocese learnt a little more about Decree 1 (Reconciliation – Healing Wounds, Receiving Gifts) and Decree 3 (Called by Christ – Sent Forth as Missionary Disciples) and participated in a simple listening and dialogue exercise which any parish or group could undertake. The exercise invited parishioners to reflect on what their faith community was already doing or could do in relation to the Decree. So, whilst the Plenary Council as an event has concluded and we await the final approval of the Decrees by the Holy See, the “Carrying Forward the Plenary Council” document reminds us that many of the Decrees contain the kinds of things that dioceses, parishes and other Catholic entities can do or are doing already. The Sandhurst Theology Scholarships were expanded this year to include courses in Spiritual Leadership and Clinical Pastoral Education. Several parishioners have used the financial support provided by the scholarships to enrol in courses aimed at developing their theological knowledge and pastoral leadership capabilities. The Sandhurst Pastoral Associates and Lay Coordinators Network farewelled Sr Nellie Versluys RSJ in February and since then a group of Pastoral Associates has been meeting in person and online to consider ways to support Pastoral Associates and other lay people involved in ministry in parishes across the Diocese. In August, Glen Avard (Cornella) stepped down from the role as Lay Coordinator for the Rushworth Parish. Maree Stewart (also from Cornella) was appointed and commissioned by Bishop Shane on 6 August. Maree joins the three other Lay Coordinators for Rushworth who are continuing in their roles: Rebecca Catania (Murchison), Mary Jo Fortuna (Rushworth) and Greg Fitzpatrick (Stanhope). A month before Pope Francis promulgated his Apostolic Exhortation on the Climate Crisis Laudato Deum, Bishop Shane celebrated the first ever ‘Care for Creation’ Mass for our diocesan
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTQ0MTI=