ORGANISERS are expecting 650 participants to attend this week’s Summit 2023, during which a new set of priorities “under the influence of the Holy Spirit” will be unveiled for the Brisbane Archdiocese.
The three-day event starts on Thursday and is open to all who belong to the faith community across SE Queensland; parishioners, educators, parents, support staff, catechists, lay leaders, religious and clergy.
“It aims to empower, inspire and equip delegates in the mission of the Church,” event organiser Nattasha Mierendorf said.
“I’m excited about engaging with the apostolic priorities for the archdiocese and hearing from some of the best Catholic voices in the country.
“With so many people coming together I’m also excited about what the Holy Spirit will do in this space.”
During Summit 2023 Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge will share his vision and priorities for the Archdiocese.
That vision is contained in a doument called “With Lamps Ablaze”, that Archbishop Coleridge wrote whilst on his annual New Year retreat “in a moment of inspiration from the Holy Spirit”.
“In the Church now our lamps have not gone out: far from it,” he wrote.
“But they have begun to flicker and their light has dimmed. We need our lamps to burn brightly as we go out to meet him who is the light, the one who said: ‘I have come to bring fire on the earth and how I wish it were blazing already’ (Luke 12.49)”
Among the ‘lamps’ or priorities outlined by Archbishop Coleridge are; teaching prayer, reshaping parish communities, implementing integral ecology and embedding synodal governance.
He will be joined at Summit 2023 by keynote speaker Sherry Weddell, a US evangelist, best-selling author of Forming Intentional Disciples and co-founder of the Catherine of Siena Institute.
Added to the Summit 2023 list of speakers and panellists is Dean Parkin, Campaign Director of Yes23. The Quandamooka man is one of the principal advocates for a First Nations Voice to Parliament being enshrined in the Australian constitution.
He will appear on a panel with Fr Frank Brennan, Rector of the Newman College, Brisbane Auxiliary Bishop Tim Norton, Thelma Parker and Jane Caeolin from ACU.
The Summit will include keynote presentations and panel discussions, masterclasses and moments for personal encounter with Christ through prayer, praise, and Eucharist.
Ms Mierendorf said she hoped Summit 2023 would build on the momentum of the Australian Church’s historic Plenary Council that held its final assembly last July.
The Plenary Council resulted in decrees on key Church matters being sent to Rome for review and approval by Pope Francis.
“I hope participants in Summit 2023 will find a light that they can share in their own way with family, faith communities and workplaces,” she said.
It is not too late to register. For more information visit https://evangelisationbrisbane.org.au/summit/
