Great to see those at the Duc in Altum gathering with Fr Gerald

On Saturday morning 17 August 2024 and Thursday evening 29 August 2024, Fr Gerald held the Duc in Altum sessions. Duc in Altum means to put out into the deep and is reference to when Jesus first called Peter. This scripture is a perfect backdrop for Fr Gerald to share his faith journey, in particular his reflections when he was called to be our Parish Priest. When asked what his vision was in taking the role, he says, “I want us to continue working on the Vision that we already have ‘to have a community of faith and love’.”

To help us consider where we can get involved or enjoy being involve, Mario guided us through a number of activities.

• Getting to know our gifts and what work we enjoy and are good at (Brainstorming & Planning, Action oriented, Analytical, Communication and Nurturing & Caring)
• Identifying our Ministry, found in Ephesians 4 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd and Teacher).
• Prioritising where our parish efforts should be, and
• Indicating the areas of the parish we would like to participate in.

Fr Edgar also spoke and shared his experience of attending Alpha “I walked in the door and the first thing I saw was FOOD and everybody being welcoming”. Being welcoming and building connection through sharing food is great foundation for us to get to know each other and work together. In reinforcing Fr Gerald’s message Fr Edgar shared a quote that applies to our parish “when you want to go fast, go alone, when you want to go far, go together”. Let’s go together and build our amazing parish, one that calls to family and friends and those that have turned away or do not yet know Christ.

Overall it was wonderful to see a great cross section of participants from the Parish Pastoral Council, prayer groups, the Choir, the Vietnamese community, Filipino community, some new faces, and many Alpha Alumni.

It was such a joy to get to know each other’s gifts, reflect on what our parish does well and prioritise areas that we need to do more or improve on.  

We will summarise the outcome of the two sessions and share results with you soon. In the meantime, keep an eye out in the bulletin for opportunities share your gifts. You can also check our "Parish Planning" page to see materials from our parish planning related activities.