Webinar: Faithful Stewards of God's Grace

OCEANIA WEBINAR
FAITHFUL STEWARDS OF GOD’S GRACE
TUESDAY 16th FEBRUARY 2021, 11am (AEDT), 10am (QLD), 1pm (New Zealand)

Parish Pastoral Councils, Diocesan and Deanery Pastoral Councils, Pastoral and Parish Leadership teams – are invited to explore best practices for lay pastoral ministry in an upcoming webinar. Lay Pastoral Ministry is a very broad term embracing ministry offered by both employees and volunteers in a range of settings including parishes (e.g. family ministry teams, sacramental preparation teams, music ministers, pastoral associates, youth ministers), in dioceses (e.g. faith educators, evangelisation teams, support services), chaplaincies (e.g. in ethnic communities, hospitals, prisons, schools, and universities), and in education (e.g. principals, mission and youth coordinators and religious educators in Catholic schools and universities, and special religious educators in state schools). The webinar is hosted by the Pastoral Ministry Network (formerly known as NAPPA) and the Mission Planners Network of Oceania (MNPO).

Continuing to build upon the three webinars held in 2020 attended by over 250 people across Australia and New Zealand, this upcoming webinar will speak to the document ‘Faithful Stewards of God’s Grace’ which affirms and celebrates the role of the laity in our Church. Faithful Stewards of God’s Grace was released in 2018 and approved by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference to “affirm a common vocation for all the baptised faithful”. (Catholic Leader, 2018) It was prepared by the Australian Catholic Council for Lay Pastoral Ministry (ACCLPM).

At the document launch Archbishop Mark Coleridge stated, “Lay pastoral ministry is entering into a new phase and that’s one of the things the bishops recognised in asking this document to be prepared. We all are baptised, and have received gifts of the spirit, for the building up the body of Christ. That’s what this document is all about.” Ursuline Sister Kari Hatherell, who was chair of the ACCLPM at the time of the document launch, shared that Faithful Stewards of God’s Grace “was important for people who see lay pastoral ministries as a vocation.” “The document is an essential resource for all lay pastoral ministers in Australia and all those who work with them, in particular parish priests, pastors and deacons, as together people form parish teams of leadership,” Sr Hatherell said. “We believe that Faithful Stewards of God’s Grace is a vital tool as we move towards this Plenary Council, It is offering us a way of thinking about ministry in our parishes and in our dioceses in collaboration with ordained ministry. We believe it will add to the conversation greatly.” (Catholic Leader, 2018)

Of the webinar platform itself, Sophy Morley, Diocesan Coordinator for Liturgy & Pastoral Ministry and the Plenary Council in the Diocese of Sale sees that “it is a very user-friendly platform for people to access. Participants appreciated the ease of connection made with people from other parishes, dioceses, states and even from other countries to hear and share experiences of community.”

For further information, please contact Lisa on 0448 652 720.

This event will be hosted by the Pastoral Ministry Network (formerly known as NAPPA) and supported by the Mission Planners Network Oceania and the Diocese of Parramatta.
Previous webinars and resources can be found at www.thewell.org.au