On a chilly Friday night, there were smiles, vibrancy and warmth as The FaithFeed Conversations, an initiative of Pastoral Formation – Mission Enhancement Team, held its first face-to-face gathering in over two years at the Bishop Bede Heather Centre, Blacktown.
The FaithFeed provides a space for those in their mid 20s to 40s to gather and share conversations about life, faith and action in the world.
Donnie Velasco, Pastoral Formation Facilitator, and one of the evening’s co-hosts, welcomed both new and familiar faces.
“This is a space for sharing. Everyone is welcome and we are grateful for the grace we receive through stories that reveal the divine,” he said.
“It’s such a special thing to share people’s experiences.”
Participants are seen during The FaithFeed Conversations at the Bishop Bede Heather Centre, Blacktown, on Friday 15 July. Image: Diocese of Parramatta
Sr Grace Roclawska, Head – Formation for Mission, was quoted at the start of the event as the audience were introduced to the evening’s theme of listening. She outlined the key ingredients to effective listening: that one must be open and willing to hear what the other person is saying and letting what they are saying inform and transform your response.
“It is life changing when you take the time to listen, take a breath, stop what you are already thinking, and hear and understand what you have heard to then respond,” she said.
“In listening, we give up a bit of ourselves to hear from someone else and we are putting that other person first before ourselves.”
The FaithFeed volunteer co-hosts Justine and Kester Rozario, alongside Donnie and Pastoral Formation Facilitator Raimie Caramancion shared two segments of Pastoral Formation’s Soul Food podcast with the audience, which were then discussed in groups.
(L-R) The FaithFeed Conversations co-hosts Raimie Caramancion, Donnie Velasco and Kester and Justine Rozario. Image: Diocese of Parramatta
In the first clip, Francis O’Callaghan, Religious Education Coordinator at St Columba’s Catholic College, Springwood, speaks about why speaking about your faith can be awkward, but sees value in those uncomfortable situations.
“It’s not easy to broach the topic of faith with people because we’re living in a pretty diverse faith experience,” he says on the podcast. “Sometimes you can start having a conversation with someone thinking it’s going to go a particular way, and then discovering it going in a different way,” he explains.
“If you’re a person who is beginning that search for meaning around faith, it’s difficult to know who is going to enhance your understanding, who is going to build on it and who is perhaps going to challenge you.”
On the podcast, Francis goes on to explain the need to be comfortable around making potential ‘mistakes’ in conversations around your faith.
“We need to be comfortable in these conversations to make mistakes, realising that particular world views may not be for me or have changed my life completely,” he says, reassuring that all people make mistakes.
One participant shared how the snippet spoke to them as being the “Catholic” person at work. He said that he feels he is a person that people can have a conversation with about faith and religion. Sometimes, however, he encounters people who shut down a conversation knowing that he is a person of faith.
“What I’ve learnt is that neither of us are taking the time to listen and understand the other person, and how important it can be to just listen first before assuming what the other person is going to say,” he explained.
Participants are seen during The FaithFeed Conversations at the Bishop Bede Heather Centre, Blacktown, on Friday 15 July. Image: Diocese of Parramatta
In the second podcast segment, Carol Teodori-Blahut, a parishioner from Our Lady of the Nativity Parish, Lawson, recognised the need to listen to one another, referencing her role as part of the Australian Plenary Council process.
She urges people to accompany people and help them recognise their gifts and the power of them sharing them. She also encouraged people to be vulnerable and recognise their limits. This allows others to help. “We give our gifts, and we receive our gifts and if that’s the case, we’re whole,” she says.
“If we are able and free enough and accepted enough to be who we are and recognising wherever we are, we are the presence of God there. Nobody can be where you are.”
One participant was moved by the importance of both giving and receiving, especially in her work with young people, and how both are required to feel whole.
“Because our popular culture and society is so individualistic, it can be hard to feel whole. But can we really be human if we’re not in relationship? Can we really be whole without each other?
“If wholeness is about relationship, then part of that is our vulnerability.”
Participants are seen during The FaithFeed Conversations at the Bishop Bede Heather Centre, Blacktown, on Friday 15 July. Image: Diocese of Parramatta
If you would like to be directly involved in The FaithFeed, you are welcome to contact Donnie as the coordinator of the initiative on 0432 042 140 or donnie.velasco@parracatholic.org
Outside of The FaithFeed sessions, Pastoral Formation are organising a few social gatherings on a Sunday at different parishes throughout the Diocese to reinvigorate the community. Follow the team on Facebook and Instagram for updates.
Pastoral Formation are presenting ‘Scripture with Dr Laurie Woods’ – an introductory short course on several passages in the Buble. These sessions will be held at the Bishop Bede Heather Centre, Blacktown, and will run for four Thursdays: 11, 18 and 25 August and 1 September. These sessions are face-to-face only with limited seating. For more information, contact the team via met@parracatholic.org or for direct sign up, visit www.pfparra.org.au/signup
View images from The FaithFeed Conversations here or below.
