FAITH educators and interested Catholics from throughout Queensland will help make history on June 30 when they gather at various centres to take part in the Australian Church’s first ever national e-conference.
The Year of St Paul National E-Conference, entitled “Paul – The Man, the Mission and Message for Today: igniting his purpose and passion”, will be webcast live to sites across the nation and will offer opportunities for local gatherings to discuss the sessions with the guidance of a trained facilitator.
Archbishop John Bathersby of Brisbane will open one of the Brisbane archdiocese’s sessions at Paddington’s Lavalla Centre.
The session, which runs from 10.30am to 4pm, will be facilitated by centre director Marist Brother John Thompson.
Other centres participating in the conference include the Faith and Life Vicariate at The Catholic Centre in Brisbane City; St Peter’s parish, Rochedale; the Australian Catholic University Banyo campus and the O’Shea Professional Development Centre at Wilston.
The session at Marymount College, Burleigh Waters, is fully booked.
Cairns, Toowoomba, Townsville and Rockhampton dioceses also have centres taking part.
Television identity Mike Bailey will host the e-conference which is an initiative of the Broken Bay Institute and the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.
The event will feature sessions from world-renowned Scripture scholars Jesuit Father Brendan Byrne, Josephite Sister Michelle Connolly, and film, media and communication scholar Jesuit Father Richard Leonard.
Br Thompson said the conference “would allow the Church across Australia to take part in an exciting innovation in a cost effective way”.
He said the Lavalla Centre’s conference area could take up to 100 participants and encouraged all interested people to register.
The national e-conference is a commitment of the Australian Catholic Bishop Conference’s Commission for Mission and Faith Formation, and the Broken Bay Institute (BBI) to respond to the call of Pope Benedict XVI to highlight the legacy of St Paul for Catholic communities today.
To register to attend the e-conference at the Lavalla Centre contact Br John Thompson on (07) 3512 9800 or email jthompson@fms-sydney.org.au
National e-conference co-ordinator is Virginia Ryan who can be contacted on (02) 9847 0556 or by email at Virginia.ryan@ddb.edu.au
