Parish Secretaries and Pastoral Associates from across Lismore Diocese gathered in Bonny Hills on 9-10 October for their annual conference, themed ‘In the footsteps of St Mary MacKillop’.

The 17 delegates from parishes between Kingscliff and Camden Haven, found the tranquil beauty of The Francis Retreat in Bonny Hills the perfect setting to enjoy a time of collegiality, spiritual refreshment, learning and information exchange.

The delegates were grateful for the opportunity to come together as a group, as many of them work in small one or two-person offices.

One commented “It was wonderful to get together, to share ideas, to pray together, to meet new people, and to put faces to names of people we usually talk to on the phone”.

Facilitated by Julie Youngberry and Marijo Bradley from the Chancery in Lismore, the conference covered various topics across compliance, sacramental record-keeping, IT and parish liturgies.

Before breaking bread at the conference dinner, Fr James Foster celebrated Mass in the retreat’s beautifully intimate Romero Chapel.

Planning is already in the pipeline for next year’s gathering.