Reconciliation, mercy, leadership for Mission, Indigenous advocacy, and the face of the future Church in Australia were among the key themes explored at this year’s Mission: One Heart, Many Voices Conference.
The three-day conference, held in Sydney, was organised jointly by Catholic Mission and Catholic Religious Australia and was attended by 18 SVDs and staff.
Bishop Vincent Long of Parramatta Diocese, who was the keynote speaker at the conference breakfast, embodied the tone of the discussions when he called for the Church in Australia to embrace change as it looks to the future.
“The Catholic Church today, dear friends, is in crisis, especially the Catholic Church in this country,” he said.
“In 20 to 30 years’ time, will the Church in Australia be a vibrant force or an irrelevant minority, relegated to the ghetto?”
Referencing the Biblical Exile, Bishop Vincent said that throughout human history, God has consistently brought new life out ashes.
“I believe we are living that privileged moment in the history of the Church in this country,” he said.
Bishop Vincent painted a picture of the Church he hoped to see in 30 years’ time: a Church of humility and servanthood; a Church which goes beyond the margins; a Church which is the true face of God’s love and mercy; and a Church of the baptised and not of the ordained only.
“We have a choice to make,” he said. “Not, I believe in holding on to the now, but having courage to face the future and to reimagine that future, like the Exodus, and in that we will find new life.”
Indigenous themes were also prominent over the three days, with presentations from Evelyn Enid Parkin and Prof Larissa Behrendt.
Evelyn, who is a Quandamooka woman from Queensland’s Moreton Bay and the Queensland representative of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, spoke on her lifelong quest to integrate her Aboriginal spirituality with her Christian faith. She told of the hurt that Indigenous people experience when they don’t feel welcome in the life of the Church and of her hope that the Church of the future will be a place of enculturation, love and respect for Australia’s First Peoples.
Larissa, a Eualeyai/Kamillaroi woman, spoke of her work with the Strengthening Indigenous Communities program at the University of Technology, Sydney, where she lectures on Indigenous issues and law.
“To begin to change entrenched socio-economic conditions, it is crucial that communities are empowered and Indigenous people are involved in the policy making, as well as the design and the roll-out of development programs,” she said.
Fr Tim Norton SVD joined with Fr Noel Connolly SSC to present a masterclass on mission theology entitled: “Mission with, not Mission to”.
Other topics explored by a rich array of speakers and workshop presenters included the spirituality of the bush, Mission and Scripture, women and Mission, ecological theology, social media and Mission, Mission Theology, responding to the child sexual abuse scandal, Mary, organisational change, human trafficking in Australia, ethics and moral leadership, refugees, Christian-Muslim relations, prayer and music, evangelisation and more.
The conference opened with a powerful reflection on reconciliation and forgiveness, with Mrs Ginn Fourie sharing her own deeply personal experience of forgiveness.
It concluded with Fr Frank Brennan SJ outlining his vision of a Church for Mission in 2030.
“For us to be a Church of Mission in 2030, we must provide a place at the table for all … for Indigenous people, for women, for refugees and for the abused,” he said.
“We must be adaptable and open to change.”
PHOTOS
TOP RIGHT: SVD delegates get together during a break at the Mission conference
MIDDLE LEFT: Bishop Vincent Long delivering his breakfast address
BOTTOM RIGHT: Prof Larissa Behrendt speaking at the conference.