Over 70 people came together for St Agnes’ Catholic Parish Visioning Day on Pentecost Sunday 28 May with the diversity of the gathering truly reflecting its theme, “Living Hope – Many Parts, One Body”*.

A spirit of optimism and enthusiasm was evident as those who gathered took time to connect with each other, to honour and celebrate our community and all who contribute to it, and to discern the future needs of St Agnes’ Catholic Parish.

The event, which was hosted in the Lochinvar Centre at MacKillop Senior College, began with a lovely BBQ lunch, ably cooked by Parish volunteers; then moved into a time of gathering and small group conversation from 1-4pm; and closed with many of the participants joining the congregation for the 5pm Mass at St Agnes’ Church in Hay Street, Port Macquarie.

“It was wonderful to seeing our community dreaming together about how, as people of hope, we renew and grow St Agnes’ Catholic Parish moving forward in our service of God’s mission,” said Tony Worner, the Parish’s Leader of Formation and member of the Pastoral Renewal team.

“A huge thank you to all who attended the day, all who prepared the wonderful food and hospitality, table coordinators, welcomers, musicians and those working behind the scenes, especially our facilitators and the other representatives of our Pastoral Renewal Team”, he concluded.

Facilitators, Richard McMahon and Lisa Bright from Synodal Consulting took participants through sessions that gave the opportunity to share information, to discover and to dream about the future.

The idea of intentional discipleship advocated by Pope Francis underpinned the day as participants were asked to reflect on how our Parish was being faithful to the mission and Person of Jesus Christ. We engaged in a process of See-Weigh-Act to build our understanding of how we can become more intentional in our pathways to action as members of our Parish community.

In the final session participants were provided with an outline of the discernment process the Parish will undertake in re-establishing its Pastoral Council (PPC), the qualities being sought for the Council, and the nomination process involved.

Once re-established the PPC will help the Parish in moving towards the primary goals identified during our Visioning Day and continue to engage with our community to foster our parish mission.

The content and information shared at the Visioning Day will be made available on our Season of Renewal page on the Parish website for those who were unable to attend. The outcomes from the Visioning Day will also be shared over the coming weeks.

• See the resources used on the day
• Find out more about Parish Pastoral Council information sessions and how to nominate

Parish Pastoral Council Nominations
Please note, nominations for the Parish Pastoral Council discernment process are now open. If you would like to nominate yourself or a fellow parishioner to be a member of the Parish Pastoral Council, information and nomination forms are available from the Presbytery Office or in the Church.

There will be information sessions on Wednesday 28 June at 12pm and 7pm in the Parish Hall for those wanting to find out more about the role of the council. Nominations need to be submitted by Monday 3 July All those nominating for the council will be asked to join a discernment session on Saturday 22 July to finalise the process of selection.

If you have any questions or would like more information about the Parish Pastoral Council, please contact Tony Worner through the Parish Administration Office 6588 7444 or [email protected].
*1 Corinthians 12:12