This booklet is the fruit of the gathering the 'Sale Diocesan Assembly' held in September 2019.
It serves as both feedback from the sessions for those who may not gave been able to be present as well as stimulus for those who wish to work out that we can already be doing in our Parishes.
It covers five themes and includes a pastoral planning tool to aid discussion in your parish or school.
As we slowly emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, we take stock of our parish and school communities and notice what has changed, what opportunities might be open to us and how we can be more attentive to the stirrings of the Holy Spirit in our midst.
The Diocesan Gaudium et Spes Plenary Team has had some lengthy discussion on how best to assist you and your communities as you seek to strengthen the bonds of community and pastoral life that have undergone so much change in the last 18 months.
You will recall the energy, joy and faith which brought together the People of God in our Diocese for the 2019 Diocesan Assembly in Sharing our Story – Celebrating our Faith – Shaping our Future. The Assembly focussed on five themes drawn from Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium - The Joy of the Gospel and was given added impetus by the national journey toward the fifth Plenary Council of Australia.
In the light of all that is happening, it is timely to keep in mind the wonderful resource from our 2019 Diocesan Assembly, Diocesan Assembly Ideas for Pastoral Initiatives, which we hope that you will use as a way of re-engaging your faith communities. The fruits of the Diocesan Assembly are a rich gift for us and a guide for our future direction.
While Covid-19 may have interrupted the journey and set us off course, let us come together once more and take up the task before us. Let us discern our way forward through the lens of faith. Covid-19 disrupted our lives; however, it proved how resilient, imaginative, creative, caring, compassionate and faithful our parish communities are.
Our Diocesan Assembly has provided a rich compass for the journey ahead for every parish and also provides direction for the journey ahead in our Diocese. The pastoral priorities of Faith Formation and Spirituality; Leadership and Governance; Families and Vocation; Liturgy and Prayer; and The Welcoming Community. underpin who we are and who we are called to be, and invite us to consider our response from both a parish and diocesan perspective.”
The Diocesan Gaudium et Spes Team has developed Sharing Our Story and Your Pastoral Planner to assist parishes, schools and other agencies and groups unpack the Ideas for Pastoral Initiatives from the 2019 Diocesan Assembly. These resource contain tips for getting started, meeting outlines, prayers, planning pages and links to other downloads to assist your discussions.
Your Parish Social Profile and the Diocesan Social Profile are useful tools for you pastoral planning. They are based on the demographic data from the Australian Census and are important tools that may assist in a fuller understanding of the communities you serve.