After a successful discernment session held at St Peter’s Primary School on Saturday 22 July, ten people, along with ex-officio members (Fr Paul Gooley, Tony Worner, Fr Roland Agrisola and Fr Prodencio Bognay) will form the new Parish Pastoral Council.

At the start of the discernment session, the Parish was blessed to have twenty people of energy, faith, passion and commitment in the circle for discernment – most were present in person, but some were unable to attend and they provided input via a pre-recorded video or via their nomination form.

During the day the group prayed, listened, discussed and reflected on the formation of the new Council. The group was open to, and conscious of the need for, diversity of backgrounds, gifts, skills, experiences and visions in Council representatives.

As a result, the members of the new Pastoral Council are : Daniel Barakat, Matthew Bushe, Therese Freeman, Shane Hyland, Elizabeth Johnson, Tess Koning, Tony McAlister, Zac Parnell, Debbie Rennes, and Brigitte Rieger.

Fr Paul acknowledged the time, talents, and gifts of everyone who put their name forward to be part of the discernment process.

“I offer my congratulations to those appointed to the Council and my profound gratitude and thanks to those who participated, with courage and integrity, in the discernment process to help us form a Pastoral Council with a strong awareness of the gifts and talents of others in the community who can support them in their Council role,” said Fr Paul.

‘The willingness of all nominees to engage with the process is what made the day such a rich and fruitful experience,’ he added.

The path to forming the new Pastoral Council began with a review of current processes by Daniel Ang held in 2021. His findings, along with other information gathered (under the guidance of Lisa Bright and Richard McMahan from Synodal Consulting) during the Parish’s Season of Renewal, proved invaluable in clarifying the role of the Pastoral Council in strengthening our Parish community.

Two Information Sessions were held on Wednesday 28 June that promoted awareness of the role of the Pastoral Council and encouraged a diverse range of people to nominate to be part of the Discernment Process.

Some of the nominees who were not appointed to the Pastoral Council have already expressed interest in joining sub-committees to help move particular projects forward, which offers further strength and support to the new Council.

The new Council will be introduced and commissioned on Sunday 6 August at the 9am Mass where the Pastoral Renewal Team (PRT) will also be thanked for their work for the Parish’s Season of Renewal over the last nine months.

Everyone is invited to this Mass and for a cuppa afterwards to meet the members of the new Council and to welcome the Bishop who is here for Confirmation and visitation. The Pastoral Council will then participate in a day of formation.

One of the first tasks of the new Council in seeking to strengthen God’s mission in our Parish, will be to engage with our parish community to understand and bring to life the data gathered at the Parish Visioning day (held on 28 May) and other renewal events in the form of a Pastoral Plan.

Please continue to pray for the St Agnes’ Catholic Parish community, and our new Pastoral Council, as we endeavour to keep our parish vision – Everything is to be oriented towards the praise and glory of God – firmly in focus.