Listening Stage
11 July 2023
MET facilitated Catherine McAuley Staff Listening Session
At the invitation of Principal Mary Refalo, and Religious Education Coordinator Genevieve Banks, Qwayne Guevara (Lead Facilitator of the Synod) and Donnie Velasco (MET Facilitator) facilitated a listening session with over 120 staff of Catherine McAuley, a Catholic girls’ secondary in Westmead. The Listening Session sat as part of the Staff Formation Day, which concluded Term 2. The remainder of the day was largely facilitated by the MET Team of the Diocese of Parramatta along with Sr Elizabeth Dowling RSM, who ran various workshops in areas of ecology, refugees, youth engagement, stewardship of the environment, and mercy, which is the charism of the school.
Consecrated Life Listening Consultation
On Wednesday 5 July, 32 consecrated people from our Diocese gathered for a listening consultation towards our Synod, held at the Bishop Bede Heather Centre in Blacktown. The gathering opened with a reflection from Sr Patty Andrew, newly appointed Vicar for Consecrated Life in the Diocese of Parramatta, speaking on themes of synodality and being a prophetic witness. She noted that in our current context, Consecrated and Religious are called to be ‘leaven in the dough’, rather than a ‘light on the hill’.
Consecrated people from the Diocese of Parramatta on Wednesday 5 July at the Bishop Bede Heather Centre, Blacktown. Image: Diocese of Parramatta.
The consultation with Consecrated people from the Diocese of Parramatta on Wednesday 5 July at the Bishop Bede Heather Centre, Blacktown. Image: Diocese of Parramatta.
Finalising the Synod Writing Group
The members of the Synod Writing Group are being finalised this week as we move closer to the Synod in October. The Synod Writing Group will develop the Synod Working Document based on the hundreds of submissions that have been collected over the past few months of Listening, through consultation sessions, online and by mail. The Synod Working Document will be the basis for the agenda at the Synod in October.
Be A Member of Our Diocesan Synod: 12-15 October
Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv warmly invites applications for membership to the Diocesan Synod, which will be held on 12 to 15 October, 2023. As the Synod is a gathering of the Church, Synod Members are to be baptised Catholics and must be at least 18 years of age. The Synod has an agenda and process that makes it different from the broad consultation processes. Details of the selection criteria and requirements are available on the Synod website: parracatholic.org/synod2023_membership/
Applications close on 31 July.
There are just 3 weeks left to have a spiritual conversation with your friends or family, to listen to where the Holy Spirit is guiding our local Church. Submit your stories, hopes and needs to the Synod before July 31.
To find out more about the Synod go to parracatholic.org/synod2023
