Mission 2017, 15-17 May 2017, Sydney
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Presenter Resources

Six keynotes, five masterclasses, five lead conversations, thirty-five workshops and seminars, and ten experiences that creatively engage the heart in mission through the arts.

Our aim is for Mission: one heart many voices 2017 to be a gathering for dialogue and celebration, for deep listening and collaborative learning.

“Most inspiring talk for a long time!”

2015 Conference participant

  • Mrs Evelyn Enid Parkin

    Quandamooka woman

    NATSICC Queensland Representative Masters of Theology

     

    Evelyn is a Quandamooka woman of Moreton Bay Queensland. She is very passionate about spirituality, identity and relationship with the Holy Trinity and its people of this ancient land, Australia.

    Evelyn’s journey as an Aboriginal Christian is a continuing life story with God and how he made himself known from the time she was a little girl growing up in her community called ‘One Mile’. Over the time Evelyn listened to her country’s Elders and Ancestors, spent time researching in the Western way and studying in the many areas of Aboriginal Culture and Christianity while gaining a Masters of Theology at Banyo University Queensland in 2006. Evelyn went on to teach Contextual Theology to mature aged students at ‘Wontulp-Bi-Buya College in Cairns.

    Evelyn is married to Alan and together they have four children and six grandchildren. She participates in her community and enjoys being on the Board of the Minjerribah/Stradbroke Island Museum. Evelyn was recently elected as the Queensland Representative with National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC).

  • Fr Frank Brennan SJ AO

    Chief Executive Officer, Catholic Social Services Australia

    Jesuit priest Fr Frank Brennan is chief executive officer of Catholic Social Services Australia – the Catholic Church’s peak body for social services in Australia. Catholic Social Services Australia represents 53 member organisations who serve hundreds of thousands Australians each year in metropolitan, regional, rural and remote communities.

    Fr Frank has been a long-time advocate for human rights and social justice in Australia. His contact and involvement with people who are poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged began early in his priestly ministry. At every step, he is there in the public square amplifying the voice of conscience, especially the voice of those who are marginalised.

    Labelled ‘the meddling priest’ by Paul Keating and ‘an ethical burr in the nation’s saddle’ by Kevin Rudd, the National Trust has classified him a Living Treasure.

    Father Frank is currently an adjunct professor at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture and the Australian National University College of Law and the National Centre for Indigenous Studies. He is also the national director of Human Rights and Social Justice for Jesuit Social Services, and superior of the Jesuit community at Xavier House in Canberra.

  • Dr Cathy Ross

    Lecturer in Mission, Regent’s Park College, Oxford

    Tutor in Contextual Theology, Rippon College, Cuddesdon

    Dr Cathy Ross is Tutor in Contextual Theology at Ripon College Cuddesdon, MA Coordinator for Pioneer Leadership Training at Church Mission Society (CMS) and Lecturer in Mission at Regent’s Park College, Oxford.  She comes from Aotearoa/NZ.  Until 2010 she managed the Crowther Centre for Mission Education at CMS, and was the J V Taylor Fellow in Missiology at Regent’s Park College, Oxford.  She is also the General Secretary of the International Association for Mission Studies. She has previously worked in Rwanda, Congo and Uganda with NZCMS.  Her recent publications include Women with a Mission, Rediscovering Missionary Wives in Early New Zealand, (Auckland:Penguin, 2006) and Mission in the 21st Century, Exploring the Five Marks of Global Mission (ed with Andrew Walls); (London:DLT, 2008), Life-Widening Mission: Global Anglican Perspectives (Oxford:Regnum, 2012) and Mission in Context (with John Corrie, Ashgate, 2012), The Pioneer Gift (with Jonny Baker, London:SCM, 2014), Mission on the Road to Emmaus, (with Stephen Bevans, London:SCM, 2015), Pioneering Spirituality (with Jonny Baker, London:SCM, 2015). Cathy’s research interests are in the areas of contextual theologies, World Christianity, feminist theologies and hospitality. She is married to Steve, a GP in Oxford and they have three children and one grandchild. She enjoys tennis, swimming, coffee, travel and watching the All Blacks.

  • Professor Larissa Behrendt

    Professor, Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning

    Director, Strengthening Indigenous Communities, University of
    Technology, Sydney

     

    Professor Larissa Behrendt is a Gamilaroi/Eualeyai woman. She is a member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences and a founding member of the Australian Academy of Law. She chaired the National Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.

    Larissa has published numerous textbooks on Indigenous legal issues and is the author of Indigenous Australia for Dummies. She has won numerous awards for her work in fiction, Home and Legacy. Her most recent book is Finding Eliza: Power and Colonial Storytelling.

    Larissa wrote and directed the Walkley nominated feature documentary, Innocence Betrayed and has written and produced several short films.

    She is a board member of Sydney Festival and NSW Museums and Galleries, member of the Australia Council's Major Performing Arts Panel and was the inaugural chair of National Indigenous Television and for over nine years was a Board Member and Chair of Bangarra Dance Theatre.

    Larissa was awarded the 2009 NAIDOC Person of the Year award and 2011 NSW Australian of the Year. She is proud to be the new host of Speaking Out on ABC Local Radio.

  • Professor Robert Schreiter CPPS

    Vatican Council II Professor of Theology,
    Catholic Theological Union, Chicago IL

    Theol.Dr., University of Nijmegen;
    Study: Oxford University

    Fr Schreiter is a globally respected mission theologian and has published seventeen books in the areas of inculturation, world mission, and reconciliation.  Among them are Constructing Local Theologies; The New Catholicity: Theology between the Global and the Local; Reconciliation: Mission and Ministry in a Changing Social Order; and The Ministry of Reconciliation: Spirituality and Strategies. Fr Schreiter has chapters in a further 120 books, and more than 150 articles in academic and church journals and his publications have appeared in 21 languages.

    Robert Schreiter is a priest and member of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.  He is a sought after teacher and lectures in academic and church circles on inculturation, intercultural communication, reconciliation, religious life, and world mission.

    He is past president of both the American Society of Missiology and of the Catholic Theological Society of America. In addition to holding guest professorships at universities in Germany and the Netherlands, he has lectured in over fifty countries around the world.  For twelve years Schreiter served as a theological consultant with organizations and groups around the world on programs in reconciliation and peace building.

     

 

Sad News

We are saddened to announce that Robert Schrieter will be unable to travel and present in person due to ill health. We are working with him to find alternate ways of bringing you his valuable input at the conference.

  • Professor Elaine Wainwright rsm

    Professor Emerita in Theology, University of Auckland

    Elaine Wainwright, a Sister of Mercy in the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea, is Professor Emerita in Theology of the University of Auckland. She is a New Testament scholar who has published extensively in the fields of feminist and ecological readings of gospel texts and has lectured in these fields in Australia and internationally. Her most recent publication is Habitat, Human and Holy: An Eco-Rhetorical Reading of the Gospel of Matthew which was published last year by Sheffield Phoenix Press. She is committed to bringing her scholarship alive in the life of the Church.

Breakfast Presenter

  • Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv

    Bishop of Parramatta

    Chair of Australian Catholic Social Justice Council and member
    of the Permanent Committee

    Bishop Vincent Long was born in 1961 in Dong Nai, Vietnam. Since the fall of Saigon in 1975, his family has been dispersed: his mother, a brother and a sister are in Melbourne, three brothers are in Holland, a sister remains in Vietnam, and Bishop Vincent is now in Parramatta.

    In 1984, he became a professed a Conventual Franciscan Friar (OFM Conv) and studied for the priesthood in Melbourne. After ordination in 1989, he was sent to Rome for further studies and was awarded a licentiate in Christology and Spirituality from the Pontifical Faculty of St Bonaventure.

    After working in Australian parishes for seven years he was elected Superior of the Order of Friars Minor Conventuals in Australia in 2005. He served as Assistant General in Rome from 2008 until 2011, responsible for the Asia-Oceania section
    of his Order.

    In 2011 he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne until 2016. During that period, he was Episcopal Vicar for Justice and Peace and for Social Services and
    was Chair of the Catholic Education Commission (Victoria). On 5 May 2016, he was appointed the 4th Bishop of Parramatta. Nationally, he serves as the Bishops Delegate for Migrants and Refugees, Chair of Australian Catholic Social Justice Council and member of the Permanent Committee.

    Bishop Vincent is the first Vietnamese born bishop to lead a diocese outside
    of Vietnam and the first Vietnamese born bishop in Australia.

Conference Presenters

Mr William Akela

Volunteer, Community Based Rehabilitation, Callan Services Vanimo

  •  

    William ‘Willie’ Akela Willie, 20 years old, is a hearing impaired Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Volunteer with Callan Vanimo. He provides support to Callan’s CBR Officer and other volunteers through the disability outreach program and the community-based early childhood program. He became involved in this work to learn new skills and help other people with disability.

Ms Alyson Armitage

Parramatta YCS Coordinator, Australian Young Christian Students

  •  

    Alyson Armitage is Coordinator of Parramatta Young Christian Students. She believes that young people have the power to create great change and that they should not be underestimated. YCS has opened many doors for her and provided her with skills that will last a lifetime.

Ms Laura Bradley

Digital Media Manager, Archdiocese of Sydney

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    Laura Bradley is the Digital Media Manager of the Archdiocese of Sydney she manages the youth website www.Xt3.com. Laura is a media graduate and was a Youth Minister in the Diocese of Broken Bay for two years. Laura has a passion for online evangelisation and capturing Catholic content to share with the world.

Mrs Lisa Bright

Sacramental and Ministry Coordinator, Mary Queen of the Family Parish Blacktown

  •  

    Lisa Bright is married and a mother of three children. She is the Ministry Coordinator at Mary Queen of the Family Parish Blacktown after working in Youth Ministry with the St Vincent de Paul Society (Diocesan & State), Congregation of the Mission and Parish Youth Minister (Volunteer & employed) for over 15 years. Lisa is also very involved in her local parish in a variety of areas. Lisa has a Bachelor of Commerce (Human Resource Management) and a Bachelor of Theology and runs a kitchen manufacturing business with her husband. She enjoys watching her children enjoy life, working in all areas of Church and experiencing the immense joy that living as an ‘Intentional Disciple’ has to offer.

Sr Lyndall Brown rsj

Educator

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    Lyndall Brown is a Sister of St. Joseph whose life has been enriched in the various ministries she has been involved in, beginning with Education. For many years Lyndall has been involved in working with adults, enabling them to enrich their lives through retreats, workshops in spirituality and personal group, and through Spiritual Accompaniment

Ms Monica Brown

Director, Emmaus Productions

  •  

    Monica is Director of Emmaus Productions and is a renowned Christian composer and workshop facilitator. She works internationally in New Zealand, Ireland, the UK, Canada and the USA in the areas of spirituality, liturgy and religious education and the integration of the arts. Monica is editor of the liturgy site, www.liturgyritualprayer.com and the producer of the new Emmaus Online Video Prayer and Meditation Library. Monica has been awarded a Masters Honours Degree in Education from the Australian Catholic University, having completed her thesis on spiritual development and the integration of creative process. Her music for children and adults is widely used in communities, schools, parishes and retreat centres, and is touching the hearts of people throughout the world. Visit www.emmausproductions.com 
    for more information.

Ms Vicky Burrows

Director, Aboriginal Catholic Ministry Perth

  •  

    Vicky Burrows is the current Director of Aboriginal Catholic Ministry Perth. She is a non-Aboriginal women with a passion for reconciliation, faith and the role of Aboriginal people in the Church. Vicky has a background in Community Development, Theology, Politics, Education, and has sat on various national Catholic bodies

Ms Christine Carolan

Executive Officer, ACRATH

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    Christine Carolan is the Executive Officer of ACRATH, a national counter trafficking collaboration of Catholic religious and their partners. ACRATH work to raise awareness, support people trafficked into Australia, and to advocate for systemic change. Christine has worked on the issue of human trafficking since a global Catholic sisters’ call for action in 2001. Christine learnt the Christian commitment to social action from her days in the See-Judge-Act world of the Young Christian Students movement while she was at school and university. Christine learned social justice and advocacy during the long campaign for East Timor’s independence. Christine has taught in secondary and tertiary settings in Australia, Timor Leste and the USA for over 20 years. Christine was awarded a Centenary medal for her work in a community campaign for and with East Timorese asylum seekers.

Shaykh Wesam Charkawi

Founder, Abuhanifa Institute

  •  

    Shaykh Wesam Charkawi was born and raised in Australia. From an early age, he sought the path of knowledge in the traditional Islamic sciences. Having studied for the past 12 years in various parts of the world including Syria and Lebanon, Shaykh Wesam is currently undertaking his masters in Sacred Islamic Law.

    Sh. Wesam now works in a Sydney based school as the chaplain and works at grass roots mentoring and assisting the young through their journey in life.

    In 2003 he founded the Abuhanifa Institute which teaches the essential sciences of Islam to young Muslims. Its ultimate focus is generational change.

    Sh. Wesam continues to work and participate with organisations and events that strive for social cohesion and is a keen advocate of reaching out to the wider Australian community.

Archbishop Mark Coleridge

Archbishop of Brisbane

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    Archbishop Coleridge was ordained as an Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne in 2002, appointed as Archbishop of Canberra-Goulburn in 2006 and Archbishop of Brisbane in 2012.

    After ordination in 1974, he worked as an assistant priest in various Melbourne parishes before studying Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute. He completed a doctorate in sacred scripture in 1992. He has worked in the Vatican Secretariat of State and been Master of the Catholic Theological College, Melbourne.

    Archbishop Coleridge is also a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture and a member of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. He is the Chair of the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation.

    In reflecting upon his four decades as a priest and a Bishop, Archbishop Coleridge has noted that almost nothing had turned out as he expected, but invariably events had turned out better than they would have had he planned them himself. As he has been moved to reflect “Jesus often surprises, but he never disappoints.”

Ms Jenny Collins-White

Program Manager, Advocacy and Mission Formation, Catholic Mission

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    Jenny is the Program Manager for Advocacy and Mission Formation programs in schools. She has studied mission, scripture and theology extensively and holds a Bachelor Degree in Social Work, with additional qualifications in Journalism and Adult Education.

    Jenny has led Catholic Mission’s outreach and advocacy programs for more than thirteen years. Jenny’s national and local programs engage thousands of children, women and men in outreach and are considered transformational. They include Village Space, ‘Get-Involved-Locally’ (a homework support and community relationship program with Sudanese refugees), and the campaign to ‘End Child Detention’. Jenny works closely with the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC) and her work with Catholic Mission has taken her to Aboriginal communities in regional NSW and some of the poorest areas of the Philippines and Thailand.

Fr Noel Connolly SSC

Head of Mission Studies, Broken Bay Institute and Catholic Institute

  •  

    Noel Connolly is a Columban missionary priest.  He presently is head of Mission Studies at the Columban Mission Institute, the Broken Bay Institute and the Catholic Institute of Sydney. Besides mission theology, his major interest is in growing our increasingly multicultural Australian Church. He has worked with numerous Dioceses to help welcome and enable overseas priests and religious.

Ms Aoife Connors

Media and Communications Director, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference

  •  

    Aoife Connors is the Media and Communications Director at the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. Prior to emigrating from Ireland, Aoife worked as a News Reporter at Irish Medical Times, a Freelance Writer for the Dungarvan Observer newspaper and Media Advisor for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress hosted by the Dublin Diocese. Aoife graduated from Dublin City University with a Masters in International Journalism and a Bachelor Degree in Journalism.

Mr Christopher Cotter

Assistant Director of Schools, Catholic Schools Office Wagga Wagga

  •  

    Chris has worked in Catholic education for over twenty-five years as a teacher, leader and administrator at school and system level. He is passionate about Catholic education and delights in discovering and sharing practical ways to integrate faith, life and culture in Catholic schools and systems.

Mr Samuel Dariol

Project Coordinator, Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum (CAPSA), Jesuit Social Service

  •  

    Samuel Dariol works as a community organiser with Jesuit Social Services to build, mobilise and maintain support in the Catholic community for a compassionate and welcoming approach to people seeking asylum in Australia. He leads the Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum (CAPSA), a project which involves working with schools, parishes and community groups to shift public perceptions towards people seeking asylum, and subsequently to agitate for policy change.

Ms Andrea Dean

Acting Director, Office for the Participation of Women

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    Andrea Dean grew up in the small gold mining village of Adelong on the south western slopes of New South Wales. After training as teacher she worked in various fields of education for more than 30 years.

    Initially she taught in rural New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. A highlight was the time she spent living in Papua New Guinea where she worked in the Vanimo district from 1993 to 1996.

    Eventually settling in Canberra, Andrea has been involved in leadership, facilitation and teaching through the Catholic Education Office, the Australian Catholic University and the University of Canberra. In 2004, she received a Churchill Fellowship and visited the USA to investigate programs in teacher formation. Since 2009, Andrea has worked as an independent consultant and life coach in her business which is called Future Matters. She offers retreats and spirituality days for Catholic schools and organizations as well as supporting the implementation of mentoring programs and collaborative development of Vision and Mission Statements. Currently she is training as a spiritual director, coordinating a national Catholic leadership program for young women and acting director of the Office for the Participation of Women within the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

Sr Ruth Durick osu

President, Catholic Religious Australia

  •  

    Ruth was appointed as Provincial of the Australian Province of the Ursulines of the Roman Union in July 2012. She has been President of Catholic Religious Australia since June 2016. Ruth has been a member of the Executive Committee of CLRI (NSW) for three years and the CRA Council for two years.

    Ruth’s background is in secondary education having ministered at St. Ursula’s College Toowoomba, O’Connor Catholic High School Armidale, St. Ursula’s College Kingsgrove and Domremy College Five Dock. She was principal for seven years of Ursula College, a residential college at the Australian National University. From 2006-2011 she was Co-ordinator of the Young Catholic Women’s Interfaith Fellowship program, a project of the Office for the Participation of Women in the Catholic Church.

    The words of Pope Francis who spoke of the distinctive sign of consecrated life being prophecy, calling us to “scrutinise the times in which we live and to interpret events” (Letter to all Consecrated People) hearten Ruth. She is also inspired by Pope Francis’ call for us to “create alternate spaces” where the gospel can thrive (Chapter ll #2).

Mr Shane Dwyer

Director, National Centre for Evangelisation

  •  

    Shane was appointed as the Director of the National Centre for Evangelisation (NCE) by the Australian Bishops. Previously he worked as the Assistant Director (Formation) with Lasallian Mission Services, as the Senior Coordinator for Faith Formation with the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, as the Director (Academic Resources) for the Sydney College of Divinity and as the Academic Dean for the Broken Bay Institute. An experienced Catholic teacher and lecturer, Shane’s skills include the creation of adult faith formation resources, producing and delivering theological course material, and the provision of spiritual direction and ministry support across a diocesan, seminary and university setting. Shane completed a Licentiate in Sacred Theology at the Gregorian University and a Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology at the Angelicum University. He also qualified with a Bachelor of Theology from Sydney College of Divinity and a Bachelor of Arts – English Literature from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Dr John Falzon

Chief Executive Officer, St Vincent de Paul Society National Council of Australia

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    Dr John Falzon is an advocate for social justice. He is trained in sociology, theology, politics and poetics and has worked in academia, in community development and in research and advocacy in non-government organisations. John is also a poet.

    John has written and spoken widely on the structural causes of marginalisation and inequity in Australia. He has long been an advocate for a fairer and more equitable society, regularly commenting on matters of social equity and injustice in the media and public arena. He is the author of The language of the unheard (2012).

    John has been the Chief Executive of the St Vincent de Paul Society National Council of Australia since 2006 and a poet since 1973.

     

Mr Denis Fitzgerald

Executive Director, Catholic Social Services Victoria

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    Denis works with member organisations in reflection on mission; its implications for the work of Catholic social services; and how to use this understanding to increase our contribution to those who are marginalised or disadvantaged. His previous careers were in international relations, public policy and general management; his studies have included philosophy, business and public policy.

Mrs Ginn Fourie

Peace activist

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    Ginn was born and raised on farms in South Africa. Graduating in physiotherapy she travelled extensively learning her craft before returning to South Africa and marrying. Here she pioneered a new venture in the provision of health care for the elderly and became the mother of Lyndi and Anthony. After four years in the United States the family once again returned to South Africa as farmers. For the next 24 years Ginn continued her physiotherapy practice, and returned to the University of Cape Town where she continued her studies and lectured.

    Ginn’s daughter Lyndi, aged 23, was killed at the Heidelberg Tavern massacre in 1993, propelling Ginn to study for a Doctorate on Forgiveness and Conciliation in South Africa. In 2002 she met Letlapa Mphahlele, the leader who ordered the Heidelberg Tavern attack. In 2003 Ginn took early retirement and abandoned the degree in order to practice what she had learned – then with Letlapa founded the Lyndi Fourie Foundation. www.lyndifouriefoundation.org.za

    In 2015 Ginn and her husband immigrated to Margaret River, Western Australia. She now facilitates Conscious Communication workshops, practices Spinal Alignment, Remedial Massage, Quantum Energy Coaching and holds Mediation sessions – a very rewarding career in assisting the community with healing and compassion. She hopes to have completed her autobiography by June 2017.

Mr Patrick Fox

Cross-cultural Consultant and Education Manager Immersion Program, Catholic Mission

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    Patrick has studied widely and extensively in areas including theology, education, music, philosophy, international development and cross-cultural studies. He has lived in the United States of America, Italy, Guatemala (in both Indigenous and Latino Communities) and Singapore and has travelled extensively. Fluent in five languages, Patrick’s most recent work has been throughout Asia working with multi-national companies in cross-cultural relationships and communications.

Dr Jill Gowdie

PEO Identity, Mission and Religious Education Services

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    Jill is well known for her work in Australia and overseas as leader, presenter and writer in teacher and leadership formation. Her qualifications and experience span theology, journalism, religious education, liturgy and spiritual formation. Her PhD studies in Educational Leadership, awarded Summa Cum Laude by the international examiner, broke new ground in the area of contemporary formation, drawing together the areas of theology, formation, missiology, change theory and best practice in adult professional learning. Jill established the national network for Formation for Australian Catholic Educators (FACE), a genuinely collaborative and collegial network for those involved in formation of Catholic educators in Australia. She has been visiting fellow in Leuven university and Oxford University. Her most recent publications include the Australian contribution to a new book highlighting international perspectives on ‘New Thinking in Catholic Education since Vatican II’.  Jill has a new book - Formation for Mission – Stirring the Soul of Catholic Education soon to be published.

Ms Suzanne Greenwood

CEO, Catholic Health Australia

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    As a Lawyer and Catholic Executive dedicated to the healing ministry of Christ, Suzanne has previously been General Counsel to the St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland and Corporate Counsel and Company Secretary to St Vincent’s Health & Aged Care.

    She has served on several advisory committees with the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane including the Archbishop’s Women’s Taskgroup which examined present roles and future directions for women in the Catholic Church and she then subsequently Chaired the Women’s Resource Advisory Committee for the Brisbane Archdiocese.

    Suzanne was also a member of the Board of the Brisbane Archdiocesan Development Fund, the Good Sams Foundation, the Queensland Law Foundation, the Queensland Law Society and of Epilepsy Queensland.

Professor Br David Hall

Dean, ACU, La Salle Academy

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    David is the foundation Dean of the La Salle Academy at the Australian Catholic University, a department within the University with oversight of programs for the development of teachers and leaders for Catholic schools. His emphasis is on designing and delivering programs of the ‘head and the heart’- seeking to develop ecclesial leaders for a church that engages a pluralist global society in bringing about the reign of God in contemporary and yet to be imagined ways. He adds to his Australian commitments leadership of a program that is developing Catholic schools leaders across twenty-two countries in Africa. David is a Marist Brother.

Dr Ricki Jeffery

Chief Executive Officer, CentacareCQ

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    Dr Ricki Jeffery is currently the Chief Executive Officer of CentacareCQ, working to develop strategies based on research and evidence ensuring CentacareCQ is sustainable and continues to provide services to the communities it serves.  With a split focus on the right now, near future and long term, Ricki is responsible for Centacare’s activities meeting current need, preparing for medium term demand and paving the way for long term sustainability.

    Previously, Ricki has worked in regional economic development with experience with regional communities in both Australia and the USA investing in civic engagement, looking at capacity not deficiency and in coaching community leaders.

Mrs Sue and Mr Leo Kane

Educators

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    Sue and Leo Kane are a married couple with a special interest in spirituality. They have both completed a Masters in Theology, and are currently involved in adult education. A lifetime in Christian education and ministry has led them to the realisation that to be contemplative is an essential part of being human.

Mr Peter Kearney

Singer songwriter

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    Peter Kearney has been called a pioneer in contemporary religious song. His earliest hymns 'Fill My House' and 'The Beatitudes' published in 1966 became internationally known. From 1982 Peter made music his work. As well as writing and publishing he has toured in all Australian states and overseas in Ireland, the United Kingdom and the USA to present his workshops and concerts.

    To date, fifteen albums of his songs and hymns have been published. His compositions have been included in many hymnals. His 'This Is Our School' has been adopted as a school song by hundreds of Australian schools.

    Peter's earthy songs of justice and compassion have been recognised as a distinctive contribution to the modern Church. Many of his songs were inspired through a forty-year friendship with Father Ted Kennedy. Ted became well known as a great friend and fierce advocate for Aboriginal people in St. Vincent's Parish, Redfern in Sydney.

    The 'big work' of Peter's creative life 'Good Morning Good People', a musical-narrative on the life of St. Francis of Assisi, has been presented all over Australia. There have also been over forty concerts in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

    In recent years Peter has created a series of audio-visual sequences for DVDs and live presentations. One of these isWalking the Camino (Spain), made after he walked 700+km along the Camino Frances, an ancient pilgrimage path to Santiago in NW Spain, burial place of St. James the Apostle.

Ms Marietta Latonio

Program Evaluator, Good Shepherd Welcome House Cebu

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    Marietta Latonio is a social worker who lives and works in Cebu, Philippines. She has been the director of many welfare programs; led implementation of community-based programs for more than 20 years; worked for many NGOs focused on the welfare of women and children; has been a lifelong advocate for children’s human rights, and more recently involved with the “I Have a Voice” research project.

    She is now the monitor/evaluator of programs at Good Shepherd Welcome House in Cebu. Not only does she work with and support girls and women on the street; but she educates pimps about trafficking, and networks with bar managers in an effort to identify and help women in need.

    Marietta has done many international presentations, and is now getting a degree with research focused on interventions for recovery of trafficking survivors.

Dr Martin Laverty

Chief Executive Officer, Royal Flying Doctor Service

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    Martin Laverty was CEO of Catholic Health Australia before moving to the Royal Flying Doctor Service in 2014. He serves on the boards of the NDIS, the ACNC, and the NSW Public Service Commission. A lawyer by training, Martin’s doctoral thesis assessed the mission contribution of board directors in public juridic persons governing Australian Catholic hospitals.

Fr Brian Lucas

National Director, Catholic Mission

  •  

    Father Brian Lucas is a priest of the Archdiocese of Sydney, and the National Director of Catholic Mission. He holds postgraduate qualifications in law, jurisprudence, theology, religious education and general studies, and is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

    Prior to his appointment at Catholic Mission in 2015, Brian was for 12 years the General Secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. He also served as Secretary and Financial Administrator of the Archdiocese of Sydney from 1990-2002, and held parish appointments at St Mary’s Cathedral and Sydney.

    Brian was an official media spokesman for the Archdiocese of Sydney for over 17 years. He has been a director of Catholic Church Insurance Limited and is an adjunct professor of the Australian Catholic University. He is a co-author of the Church Administration Handbook (St Paul Publications 2008) and Celebrating with Children (St Paul Publications 2012), and the author of Pleasing to God – The Call to Church Administration (St Paul Publications 2015).

    He currently lives in Sydney.

Bishop Columba Macbeth-Green

Bishop of the Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes

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    Bishop Columba Macbeth-Green is the 7th Bishop of the Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes. After spending two years with Conventual Franciscans, he joined the Order of St. Paul the First Hermit (Pauline Fathers) in 1990, and studied for the Priesthood at Vianney College in Wagga Wagga and was ordained a priest in 1997. ( The Pauline Fathers, founded in 1215 in Hungary, are semi-contemplative order who observe the Rule of St. Augustine. They are based in Poland and are custodians of the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa.)

    As a Pauline Father, Fr. Macbeth-Green served as Administrator of Tarcutta Parish from 1998 to 2002, as Sub-Prior of the Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy at Penrose Park from 2002 to 2004, and a Administrator of Moss Vale Parish from 2004 to 2006.

    From 2000 to 2006, he served as a New South Wales Police Chaplain. From 2006 to 2014, he served as Police Chaplain in Queensland.

    At the time of his appointment as Bishop, he was the Provincial Vicar of the Pauline Fathers for Australia and Rector of the Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians at Marian Valley, Canungra, Queensland, where he served from 2006 to 2014.

Mrs Sue Martin

Coordinator, Sustainability Centre St Ignatius Riverview

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    Sue trained as an agricultural scientist and has been working to engage her community to “care for country”. Sue is the Sustainability Centre Coordinator at St Ignatius’ Riverview, and assists Jesuit schools across Australia as they care for our common home. Sue also works in her local parish St Madeleine’s Kenthurst.

Mr Valentine Masa

Coordinator, Callan Services Vanimo

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    Valentine Masa is the Coordinator at Callan Services Vanimo. Valentine was born in Bougainville, PNG, and worked as a teacher for three years before beginning work with Callan Services in Bougainville in 2006. Valentine has a primary and secondary education certificate, a certificate in Disability Studies and a Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education. Valentine began coordinating programs at the Vanimo Resource Centre in 2013, and was recently appointed to be a member representing Special Education with the Diocesan Catholic Education Board. Valentine is married with three daughters, and in his spare time he enjoys playing soccer and rugby.

Mrs Lorraine McCarthy

Australian Co-ordinator, Alpha in a Catholic Context

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    Lorraine McCarthy is a Pastoral Associate in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, has a degree in Theology and a Post-Graduate Diploma specialising in Adult Faith Formation. She is a Spiritual Director trained at the Heart of Life Contemplative Spirituality Centre and is part of the Pallotti College Retreat Team. Lorraine teaches the Catherine of Siena Institute Called and Gifted Workshop. Lorraine is currently the Alpha in a Catholic Context Co-ordinator in Australia and has run Alpha in Parishes since 1999. Through her role in Alpha Lorraine arranged and coordinated the visit of Fr James Mallon, author of “Divine Renovation” to Australia in November 2016. Lorraine is passionate about growing Parishes through strong pastoral vision and adult faith formation that prioritises the making of missionary disciples.

Fr Patrick McInerney SSC

Director, Columban Mission Institute

  •  

    Rev Dr Patrick McInerney is a Columban priest. He was assigned to Pakistan for over twenty years. He is Director of the Columban Mission Institute, Coordinator of its Centre for Christian-Muslim Relations and a staff member of its Centre for Mission Studies. He offers courses on Islam and Interreligious dialogue, participates in interfaith conferences and organizations, and gives talks on Christian-Muslim and Interreligious Relations to a wide variety of audiences.

Dr Dominic McLoughlin

Principal Consultant, Ithikos Pty Ltd

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    Dr McLoughlin works with organisations to build engagement through increased trust in the workplace. His PhD (UNSW) research established the importance of integrity and trust in organisations. Dominic has helped clients in many industries, including IT, finance, retail, education, and health care. He also holds a Master of Business and a Bachelor of Commerce.

    Dominic also has 20 years’ experience teaching and facilitating a diverse range of university courses on people management. He is a Fellow of the Australian Human Resources Institute and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (UK).

Ms Gelina Montierro

Administrative Assistant and Content Creator, Archdiocese of Sydney

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    Gelina Montierro works for the Archdiocese of Sydney as a communications and digital media expert. Gelina is a media graduate and is passionate about creative media evangelisation.  With a background in digital design, she has produced multimedia content for several Catholic organisations.

Mrs Patricia Mowbray

Disability Project Officer for the Secretariat of Pastoral Life

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    Trish and her husband Glenn have four children, who live with disability. She has a strong background in the disability field and has actively worked with and for people with disability and their families since 1980. In 2013 she received the ACT Local Hero award for services to people with disability in the ACT.

    Trish is also Executive Secretary for the Relations with Aboriginal and Torres’s Strait Islander Peoples, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

Fr Tim Norton SVD

Director of Courses, Centro 'Ad Gentes'

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    Tim was born in Sydney. He studied BSC (applied physiotherapy) after high school and worked in NSW hospitals. In 1984 he joined the Society of the Divine Word (SVD). He took final vows in 1990 and was ordained a priest in 1991. Tim worked for seven years in pastoral ministry in Mexico prior
    to returning to Australia to work in initial formation (seven years) and then province leadership and administration
    (nine years). Since 2014 Tim lives and works in Nemi, Italy, running renewal courses for SVD brothers and priests.

Mr Dominic Ofner

Coordinator of Campaigns and Development, Edmund Rice Centre

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    Dominic joined the Edmund Rice Centre in early-2016 and coordinates the Centre’s campaign, promotional and communications activities. His work focuses on the areas of Indigenous peoples, refugees and Pacific Island peoples affected by climate change. He has a background in policy, campaigning and community organising, having previously worked as an adviser to two Members of Parliament, a Trade Union and a political party.

Ms Shirley Quaresimin

Deputy Chairperson, NATSICC

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    Shirley Quaresimin is the NATSICC Deputy Chairperson
    and member of the Aboriginal Catholic Council (Perth Archdiocese). Shirley is a Nyikina person from the Kimberley and was involved in the establishment of NATSICC over 20 years ago. She brings vast experience of regional and urban Aboriginal Catholics to NATSICC.

Mrs Jacqui Remond

National Director of Catholic Earthcare Australia

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    Jacqui Remond is a mother of two children under 7, with over fifteen years’ experience as an environmental educator and advocate. She is National Director of Catholic Earthcare Australia, the ecological agency of the Catholic Church in Australia, and now lives in Manly. Catholic Earthcare Australia is mandated, through the activities of research, education, advocacy and outreach to give leadership in responding to Pope John Paul II‘s call for an “ecological conversion” of humanity. Among other things Jacqui is developing partnerships and ecological conversion programs to enable the Catholic Church in Australia to become a leader for ecological sustainability, through the ASSISI Initiative and the NEEN Project.

    Jacqui is Convenor of the National Council of Churches Australia Eco Mission Project, the NSW Eco Mission network and represents the Catholic Bishops on the Australian Education Sustainability Alliance and the Justice & Peace Advisory Council in Sydney.

Sr Grace Roclawska csfn

Sacramental Coordinator, Mary Queen of the Family Parish Blacktown

  •  

    Sr Grace Roclawska csfn ministers as Liturgy Coordinator at Mary, Queen of the Family Parish, Blacktown since 2009. Working within the charims of the religious Congregation to which she belongs – Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, she enjoys the collaboration and team approach in the process of amalgamation of two previous Blacktown parishes into one. Her Master of Theology Degree and experience of different leadership roles, enables her to help form families who are preparing their children for the sacraments. She loves Church, challenges and people who are passionate about their faith.

Ms Kirsty Robertson

CEO, Mary MacKillop International

  •  

    Kirsty has lived, worked and travelled in over 30 countries including most recently in Ethiopia and Brazil. She has worked in International Development for faith based agencies for nearly 20 years with a passion for embedding Gospel Values in long term development programming.

Ms Alison Ryan

Youth Minister, Mary Queen of the Family Parish Blacktown

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    Alison Ryan is the Identity and Mission Coordinator at Mary Queen of the Family Parish, Blacktown. Her formation was in the Antioch Youth Movement and she grew up very much involved in her parish community. She began working in Ministry roles in 2009, while studying a Bachelor of Theology at Australian Catholic University – majoring in biblical studies and drama. Alison had the amazing experience of traveling to and studying in the Holy Land. It was here that her passion for The Word of God grew, learning with Rabbis and studying in the land itself made Scripture come alive. So it is her love of the Bible, for music and for walking with people in their relationship with God really drive her ministry.

Ms Penny Ryan

Artist

  •  

    Penny Ryan is a Sydney artist, working most recently in ceramics. After working for many years as a researcher, social activist and consultant she studied printmaking at Meadowbank TAFE. She then majored in ceramics at the National Art School in Sydney.  She is currently doing her Masters of Fine Arts there, exploring Australians’ responses to the issue of people seeking asylum, with a participatory art project, The Confined Hearts Project.

    Her works in ceramics are driven from ideas and take a non-functional form, frequently exploring the consequences of our history and how we are addressing the present. Her work is often large scale and frequently pushes against the constraints of working with clay. For more information about her work visit www.penny-ryan.squarespace.com

Ms Cathy Scott

Director of Mission, St John of God Richmond Hospital

  •  

    Cathy has leadership experience in Catholic Education including as School Principal and Parramatta Diocesan Director Religious Education. She has been Director of Mission at St John of God Richmond Hospital since 2010. She was Regional Mission Coordinator of St John of God East from 2011-2015 and Acting Group Director Mission from July 2015-November 2016. From 2011 until 2014 Cathy was a Board Member, Spiritual Care Australia.

Sr Noelene Simmons sm

National President, ACRATH

  •  

    Noelene Simmons is a Marist Sister. She has a background in secondary teaching with twenty four years experience in secondary schools in Sydney, Queensland and New Zealand.  She has held various administrative roles within her congregation and in secondary colleges. Currently she is the National President for ACRATH (Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans) and represents Oceania at Talitha Kum (The International Network of Consecrated Life Against Trafficking in Persons). Her work with ACRATH includes giving presentations to raise awareness about human trafficking, advocating on behalf of those affected by this crime, networking with other NGO’s working in this field and managing the ACRATH website and social media platforms.

Mr Francis Sullivan

CEO, Truth, Justice and Healing Council

  •  

    Francis Sullivan is the Chief Executive Officer of the Truth, Justice and Healing Council, established in 2013 by Catholic Religious Australia and the Australian Catholic Bishops to coordinate the Church’s engagement with the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

    Francis has worked in government and private practice and has held positions as secretary-general of the Australian Medical Association, chief executive of Catholic Health Australia and senior adviser to the Minister for Health in Western Australia.

    Francis is a member of the PM Glynn Institute. He is also a member of the government’s National Redress Advisory Council and has served as a consultant to the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers at the Vatican and is an Adjunct Professor at the Australian Catholic University in recognition of his work in public policy advocacy.

The Baabayn Aboriginal Corporation Team

 

  •  

    Baabayn Aboriginal Corporation was founded by five Aboriginal elders from Western Sydney. Their purpose is to connect with individuals and families in a welcoming environment, providing them supports and links to services that help them heal from the past and nurture their sense of confidence and pride in the future. The group has strong knowledge of the community and has built contacts within and outside the community.

The CLEM Team

Catholic Life, Education and Mission (CLEM)

  •  

    The CLEM team exists to support the evangelising mission of the Church as it is lived out within Catholic schools.

    The team aspires to share the good news of Jesus Christ and to make the richness of our Catholic spiritual heritage accessible to the staff, students and their families who form our Catholic school communities.

The L'Arche Australia Team

 

  •  

    We are people with and without intellectual disabilities, sharing life in Communities belonging to an International Federation. Mutual relationships and trust in God are at the heart of our journey together. We celebrate the unique value of every person and recognize our need of one another.

    Our Mission is to make known the gifts of people with intellectual disabilities revealed through mutually transforming relationships. To foster an environment in Community that responds to the changing needs of our members, whilst being faithful to the core values of our founding story. To engage in our diverse cultures, working together toward a more human society.

    For more information: www.larche.org.au

The La Salle Team

"This Work of God is also our Work"

  •  

    The Lasallian Family in the District is spread across four countries and is engaged in the Lasallian educational mission through primary and secondary schools, teacher's colleges, welfare works, youth ministry, Lasallian Foundation Australia, formation for mission, Signum Fidei, Lasallian Family (PNG), Young Lasallians and Lasallian Volunteers. The mission is shared between the Brothers and Lasallian Partners whose mission "is to provide a human and Christian education to the young, especially the poor" (Rule of the Brothers of the Christian Schools).

The NATSICC Team

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC)

  •  

    The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC) is the peak advisory body to the Australian Catholic Bishops on issues relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholics. The Council was founded in 1992 and the Secretariat is based in Adelaide. Each State and Territory nominates a representative via their local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ministry. The Council meets monthly via teleconference and twice yearly on a face to face basis. NATSICC advises the Bishops Commission for relations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholics. NATSICC is a not for profit organisation that is funded by the Catholic Church and Caritas Australia’s First Nations program. For more information on representatives www.natsicc.org.au

Ms Lana Turvey-Collins

Program Manager for Advocacy and Mission Formation, Catholic Mission

  •  

    Lana works as Catholic Mission’s Adult Formation and Professional Development Program Manager. Prior to that she worked as diocesan director in the Sydney Archdiocese and Broken Bay Diocese. During 2012-13 Lana lived in Zambia, working together with the Pontifical Mission Societies and the Zambian Bishops Conference where the experience of global church, mission and faith in action were a daily encounter of love, justice and compassion. Before joining Catholic Mission, Lana worked with corporate organisations and their executive teams on leadership, and the infusion of vision and values into organisational culture.

    Lana has studied in the areas of mission, theology and Church, holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master’s degree in International Social Development and Human Rights. She has lived and worked in Switzerland, Zambia, Peru, Timor-Leste, New Zealand and Japan. Lana is inspired by the journey of life-long learning and the fulfilment of God’s vision for the world through each person living and leading mission.

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  • Her works in ceramics are driven from ideas and take a non-functional form, frequently exploring the consequences of our history and how we are addressing the present. Her work is often large scale and frequently pushes against the constraints of working with clay. For more information about her work visit www.penny-ryan.squarespace.com

  • The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC) is the peak advisory body to the Australian Catholic Bishops on issues relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholics. The Council was founded in 1992 and the Secretariat is based in Adelaide. Each State and Territory nominates a representative via their local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ministry. The Council meets monthly via teleconference and twice yearly on a face to face basis. NATSICC advises the Bishops Commission for relations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholics. NATSICC is a not for profit organisation that is funded by the Catholic Church and Caritas Australia’s First Nations program. For more information on representatives www.natsicc.org.au

  •  

    Shaykh Wesam Charkawi was born and raised in Australia. From an early age, he sought the path of knowledge in the traditional Islamic sciences. Having studied for the past 12 years in various parts of the world including Syria and Lebanon, Shaykh Wesam is currently undertaking his masters in Sacred Islamic Law.

    Sh. Wesam now works in a Sydney based school as the chaplain and works at grass roots mentoring and assisting the young through their journey in life.

    In 2003 he founded the Abuhanifa Institute which teaches the essential sciences of Islam to young Muslims. Its ultimate focus is generational change.

    Sh. Wesam continues to work and participate with organisations and events that strive for social cohesion and is a keen advocate of reaching out to the wider Australian community.

 
 
 
  • Evelyn is a Quandamooka woman of Moreton Bay Queensland. She is very passionate about spirituality, identity and relationship with the Holy Trinity and its people of this ancient land, Australia.

    Evelyn’s journey as an Aboriginal Christian is a continuing life story with God and how he made himself known from the time she was a little girl growing up in her community called ‘One Mile’. Over the time Evelyn listened to her country’s Elders and Ancestors, spent time researching in the Western way and studying in the many areas of Aboriginal Culture and Christianity while gaining a Masters of Theology at Banyo University Queensland in 2006. Evelyn went on to teach Contextual Theology to mature aged students at ‘Wontulp-Bi-Buya College in Cairns.

    Evelyn is married to Alan and together they have four children and six grandchildren. She participates in her community and enjoys being on the Board of the Minjerribah/Stradbroke Island Museum. Evelyn was recently elected as the Queensland Representative with National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC).

Mrs Evelyn Enid Parkin

Quandamooka woman

NATSICC Queensland Representative
Masters of Theology

  • Jesuit priest Fr Frank Brennan is chief executive officer of Catholic Social Services Australia – the Catholic Church’s peak body for social services in Australia. Catholic Social Services Australia represents 53 member organisations who serve hundreds of thousands Australians each year in metropolitan, regional, rural and remote communities.

    Fr Frank has been a long-time advocate for human rights and social justice in Australia. His contact and involvement with people who are poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged began early in his priestly ministry. At every step, he is there in the public square amplifying the voice of conscience, especially the voice of those who are marginalised.

    Labelled ‘the meddling priest’ by Paul Keating and ‘an ethical burr in the nation’s saddle’ by Kevin Rudd, the National Trust has classified him a Living Treasure.

    Father Frank is currently an adjunct professor at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture and the Australian National University College of Law and the National Centre for Indigenous Studies. He is also the national director of Human Rights and Social Justice for Jesuit Social Services, and superior of the Jesuit community at Xavier House in Canberra.

Fr  Frank Brennan SJ AO

Chief Executive Officer, Catholic Social Services Australia

  • Dr Cathy Ross is Tutor in Contextual Theology at Ripon College Cuddesdon, MA Coordinator for Pioneer Leadership Training at Church Mission Society (CMS) and Lecturer in Mission at Regent’s Park College, Oxford.  She comes from Aotearoa/NZ.  Until 2010 she managed the Crowther Centre for Mission Education at CMS, and was the J V Taylor Fellow in Missiology at Regent’s Park College, Oxford.  She is also the General Secretary of the International Association for Mission Studies. She has previously worked in Rwanda, Congo and Uganda with NZCMS.  Her recent publications include Women with a Mission, Rediscovering Missionary Wives in Early New Zealand, (Auckland:Penguin, 2006) and Mission in the 21st Century, Exploring the Five Marks of Global Mission (ed with Andrew Walls); (London:DLT, 2008), Life-Widening Mission: Global Anglican Perspectives (Oxford:Regnum, 2012) and Mission in Context (with John Corrie, Ashgate, 2012), The Pioneer Gift (with Jonny Baker, London:SCM, 2014), Mission on the Road to Emmaus, (with Stephen Bevans, London:SCM, 2015), Pioneering Spirituality (with Jonny Baker, London:SCM, 2015). Cathy’s research interests are in the areas of contextual theologies, World Christianity, feminist theologies and hospitality. She is married to Steve, a GP in Oxford and they have three children and one grandchild. She enjoys tennis, swimming, coffee, travel and watching the All Blacks.

Dr Cathy Ross

Lecturer in Mission, Regent’s
Park College, Oxford

Tutor in Contextual Theology, Rippon College, Cuddesdon

  • Professor Larissa Behrendt is a Gamilaroi/Eualeyai woman. She is a member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences and a founding member of the Australian Academy of Law. She chaired the National Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.

    Larissa has published numerous textbooks on Indigenous legal issues and is the author of Indigenous Australia for Dummies. She has won numerous awards for her work in fiction, Home and Legacy. Her most recent book is Finding Eliza: Power and Colonial Storytelling.

    Larissa wrote and directed the Walkley nominated feature documentary, Innocence Betrayed and has written and produced several short films.

    She is a board member of Sydney Festival and NSW Museums and Galleries, member of the Australia Council's Major Performing Arts Panel and was the inaugural chair of National Indigenous Television and for over nine years was a Board Member and Chair of Bangarra Dance Theatre.

    Larissa was awarded the 2009 NAIDOC Person of the Year award and 2011 NSW Australian of the Year. She is proud to be the new host of Speaking Out on ABC Local Radio.

Prof. Larissa Behrendt

Professor, Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning

Director, Strengthening Indigenous Communities, University of Technology, Sydney

  • Fr Schreiter is a globally respected mission theologian and has published seventeen books in the areas of inculturation, world mission, and reconciliation.  Among them are Constructing Local Theologies; The New Catholicity: Theology between the Global and the Local; Reconciliation: Mission and Ministry in a Changing Social Order; and The Ministry of Reconciliation: Spirituality and Strategies. Fr Schreiter has chapters in a further 120 books, and more than 150 articles in academic and church journals and his publications have appeared in 21 languages.

    Robert Schreiter is a priest and member of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.  He is a sought after teacher and lectures in academic and church circles on inculturation, intercultural communication, reconciliation, religious life, and world mission.

    He is past president of both the American Society of Missiology and of the Catholic Theological Society of America. In addition to holding guest professorships at universities in Germany and the Netherlands, he has lectured in over fifty countries around the world.  For twelve years Schreiter served as a theological consultant with organizations and groups around the world on programs in reconciliation and peace building.

Professor Robert Schreiter CPPS

Vatican Council II Professor of Theology, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago IL

Theol.Dr., University of Nijmegen; Study: Oxford University

  • Elaine Wainwright, a Sister of Mercy in the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea, is Professor Emerita in Theology of the University of Auckland. She is a New Testament scholar who has published extensively in the fields of feminist and ecological readings of gospel texts and has lectured in these fields in Australia and internationally. Her most recent publication is Habitat, Human and Holy: An Eco-Rhetorical Reading of the Gospel of Matthew which was published last year by Sheffield Phoenix Press. She is committed to bringing her scholarship alive in the life of the Church.

Professor Elaine Wainwright rsm

Professor Emerita in Theology, University of Auckland

  • Bishop Vincent Long was born in 1961 in Dong Nai, Vietnam. Since the fall of Saigon in 1975, his family has been dispersed: his mother, a brother and a sister are in Melbourne, three brothers are in Holland, a sister remains in Vietnam, and Bishop Vincent is now in Parramatta.

    In 1984, he became a professed a Conventual Franciscan Friar (OFM Conv) and studied for the priesthood in Melbourne. After ordination in 1989, he was sent to Rome for further studies and was awarded a licentiate in Christology and Spirituality from the Pontifical Faculty of St Bonaventure.

    After working in Australian parishes for seven years he was elected Superior of the Order of Friars Minor Conventuals in Australia in 2005. He served as Assistant General in Rome from 2008 until 2011, responsible for the Asia-Oceania section of his Order.

    In 2011 he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne until 2016. During that period, he was Episcopal Vicar for Justice and Peace and for Social Services and was Chair of the Catholic Education Commission (Victoria). On 5 May 2016, he was appointed the 4th Bishop of Parramatta. Nationally, he serves as the Bishops Delegate for Migrants and Refugees, Chair of Australian Catholic Social Justice Council and member of the Permanent Committee.

    Bishop Vincent is the first Vietnamese born bishop to lead a diocese outside of Vietnam and the first Vietnamese born bishop in Australia.

Bishop Vincent Long
OFM Conv

Bishop of Parramatta

Chair of Australian Catholic Social Justice Council and member of the Permanent Committee

Mr William Akela

Volunteer, Community Based Rehabilitation, Callan Services Vanimo

  •  

    William ‘Willie’ Akela Willie, 20 years old, is a hearing impaired Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Volunteer with Callan Vanimo. He provides support to Callan’s CBR Officer and other volunteers through the disability outreach program and the community-based early childhood program. He became involved in this work to learn new skills and help other people with disability.

Mrs Lisa Bright

Sacramental and Ministry Coordinator, Mary Queen of the Family Parish Blacktown

  •  

    Lisa Bright is married and a mother of three children. She is the Ministry Coordinator at Mary Queen of the Family Parish Blacktown after working in Youth Ministry with the St Vincent de Paul Society (Diocesan & State), Congregation of the Mission and Parish Youth Minister (Volunteer & employed) for over 15 years. Lisa is also very involved in her local parish in a variety of areas. Lisa has a Bachelor of Commerce (Human Resource Management) and a Bachelor of Theology and runs a kitchen manufacturing business with her husband. She enjoys watching her children enjoy life, working in all areas of Church and experiencing the immense joy that living as an ‘Intentional Disciple’ has to offer.

Sr Lyndall Brown rsj

Educator

  •  

    Lyndall Brown is a Sister of St. Joseph whose life has been enriched in the various ministries she has been involved in, beginning with Education. For many years Lyndall has been involved in working with adults, enabling them to enrich their lives through retreats, workshops in spirituality and personal group, and through Spiritual Accompaniment.

Ms Monica Brown

Director, Emmaus Productions

  •  

    Monica is Director of Emmaus Productions and is a renowned Christian composer and workshop facilitator. She works internationally in New Zealand, Ireland, the UK, Canada and the USA in the areas of spirituality, liturgy and religious education and the integration of the arts. Monica is editor of the liturgy site, www.liturgyritualprayer.com and the producer of the new Emmaus Online Video Prayer and Meditation Library. Monica has been awarded a Masters Honours Degree in Education from the Australian Catholic University, having completed her thesis on spiritual development and the integration of creative process. Her music for children and adults is widely used in communities, schools, parishes and retreat centres, and is touching the hearts of people throughout the world. Visit www.emmausproductions.com  for more information.

Ms Vicky Burrows

Director, Aboriginal Catholic Ministry Perth

  •  

    Vicky Burrows is the current Director of Aboriginal Catholic Ministry Perth. She is a non-Aboriginal women with a passion for reconciliation, faith and the role of Aboriginal people in the Church. Vicky has a background in Community Development, Theology, Politics, Education, and has sat on various national Catholic bodies.

Ms Christine Carolan

Executive Officer, ACRATH

  •  

    Christine Carolan is the Executive Officer of ACRATH, a national counter trafficking collaboration of Catholic religious and their partners. ACRATH work to raise awareness, support people trafficked into Australia, and to advocate for systemic change. Christine has worked on the issue of human trafficking since a global Catholic sisters’ call for action in 2001. Christine learnt the Christian commitment to social action from her days in the See-Judge-Act world of the Young Christian Students movement while she was at school and university. Christine learned social justice and advocacy during the long campaign for East Timor’s independence. Christine has taught in secondary and tertiary settings in Australia, Timor Leste and the USA for over 20 years. Christine was awarded a Centenary medal for her work in a community campaign for and with East Timorese asylum seekers.

Shaykh Wesam Charkawi

Founder, Abuhanifa Institute

Ms Jenny Collins-White

Program Manager, Advocacy and Mission Formation, Catholic Mission

  •  

    Jenny is the Program Manager for Advocacy and Mission Formation programs in schools. She has studied mission, scripture and theology extensively and holds a Bachelor Degree in Social Work, with additional qualifications in Journalism and Adult Education.

    Jenny has led Catholic Mission’s outreach and advocacy programs for more than thirteen years. Jenny’s national and local programs engage thousands of children, women and men in outreach and are considered transformational. They include Village Space, ‘Get-Involved-Locally’ (a homework support and community relationship program with Sudanese refugees), and the campaign to ‘End Child Detention’. Jenny works closely with the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC) and her work with Catholic Mission has taken her to Aboriginal communities in regional NSW and some of the poorest areas of the Philippines and Thailand.

Fr Noel Connolly SSC

Head of Mission Studies, Broken Bay
Institute and Catholic Institute



  • Noel Connolly is a Columban missionary priest.  He presently is head of Mission Studies at the Columban Mission Institute, the Broken Bay Institute and the Catholic Institute of Sydney. Besides mission theology, his major interest is in growing our increasingly multicultural Australian Church. He has worked with numerous Dioceses to help welcome and enable overseas priests and religious.

Mr Christopher Cotter

Assistant Director of Schools, Catholic Schools Office Wagga Wagga

  •  

    Chris has worked in Catholic education for over twenty-five years as a teacher, leader and administrator at school and system level. He is passionate about Catholic education and delights in discovering and sharing practical ways to integrate faith, life and culture in Catholic schools and systems.

Mr Samuel Dariol

Project Coordinator, Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum (CAPSA), Jesuit Social Service

  •  

    Samuel Dariol works as a community organiser with Jesuit Social Services to build, mobilise and maintain support in the Catholic community for a compassionate and welcoming approach to people seeking asylum in Australia. He leads the Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum (CAPSA), a project which involves working with schools, parishes and community groups to shift public perceptions towards people seeking asylum, and subsequently to agitate for policy change.

Ms Andrea Dean

Acting Director, Office for the Participation of Women

  •  

    Andrea Dean grew up in the small gold mining village of Adelong on the south western slopes of New South Wales. After training as teacher she worked in various fields of education for more than 30 years.

    Initially she taught in rural New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. A highlight was the time she spent living in Papua New Guinea where she worked in the Vanimo district from 1993 to 1996.

    Eventually settling in Canberra, Andrea has been involved in leadership, facilitation and teaching through the Catholic Education Office, the Australian Catholic University and the University of Canberra. In 2004, she received a Churchill Fellowship and visited the USA to investigate programs in teacher formation. Since 2009, Andrea has worked as an independent consultant and life coach in her business which is called Future Matters. She offers retreats and spirituality days for Catholic schools and organizations as well as supporting the implementation of mentoring programs and collaborative development of Vision and Mission Statements. Currently she is training as a spiritual director, coordinating a national Catholic leadership program for young women and acting director of the Office for the Participation of Women within the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

Sr Ruth Durick osu

President, Catholic Religious Australia

  •  

    Ruth was appointed as Provincial of the Australian Province of the Ursulines of the Roman Union in July 2012. She has been President of Catholic Religious Australia since June 2016. Ruth has been a member of the Executive Committee of CLRI (NSW) for three years and the CRA Council for two years.

    Ruth’s background is in secondary education having ministered at St. Ursula’s College Toowoomba, O’Connor Catholic High School Armidale, St. Ursula’s College Kingsgrove and Domremy College Five Dock. She was principal for seven years of Ursula College, a residential college at the Australian National University. From 2006-2011 she was Co-ordinator of the Young Catholic Women’s Interfaith Fellowship program, a project of the Office for the Participation of Women in the Catholic Church.

    The words of Pope Francis who spoke of the distinctive sign of consecrated life being prophecy, calling us to “scrutinise the times in which we live and to interpret events” (Letter to all Consecrated People) hearten Ruth. She is also inspired by Pope Francis’ call for us to “create alternate spaces” where the gospel can thrive (Chapter ll #2).

Mr Shane Dwyer

Director, National Centre for Evangelisation

  •  

    Shane was appointed as the Director of the National Centre for Evangelisation (NCE) by the Australian Bishops. Previously he worked as the Assistant Director (Formation) with Lasallian Mission Services, as the Senior Coordinator for Faith Formation with the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, as the Director (Academic Resources) for the Sydney College of Divinity and as the Academic Dean for the Broken Bay Institute. An experienced Catholic teacher and lecturer, Shane’s skills include the creation of adult faith formation resources, producing and delivering theological course material, and the provision of spiritual direction and ministry support across a diocesan, seminary and university setting. Shane completed a Licentiate in Sacred Theology at the Gregorian University and a Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology at the Angelicum University. He also qualified with a Bachelor of Theology from Sydney College of Divinity and a Bachelor of Arts – English Literature from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Dr John Falzon

Chief Executive Officer, St Vincent
de Paul Society National Council
of Australia

  •  

     

    Dr John Falzon is an advocate for social justice. He is trained in sociology, theology, politics and poetics and has worked in academia, in community development and in research and advocacy in non-government organisations. John is also a poet.

    John has written and spoken widely on the structural causes of marginalisation and inequity in Australia. He has long been an advocate for a fairer and more equitable society, regularly commenting on matters of social equity and injustice in the media and public arena. He is the author of The language of the unheard (2012).

    John has been the Chief Executive of the St Vincent de Paul Society National Council of Australia since 2006 and a poet since 1973.

Mr Denis Fitzgerald

Executive Director, Catholic Social
Services Victoria

  •  

    Denis works with member organisations in reflection on mission; its implications for the work of Catholic social services; and how to use this understanding to increase our contribution to those who are marginalised or disadvantaged. His previous careers were in international relations, public policy and general management; his studies have included philosophy, business and public policy.

Mrs Ginn Fourie

Peace activist

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    Ginn was born and raised on farms in South Africa. Graduating in physiotherapy she travelled extensively learning her craft before returning to South Africa and marrying. Here she pioneered a new venture in the provision of health care for the elderly and became the mother of Lyndi and Anthony. After four years in the United States the family once again returned to South Africa as farmers. For the next 24 years Ginn continued her physiotherapy practice, and returned to the University of Cape Town where she continued her studies and lectured.

    Ginn’s daughter Lyndi, aged 23, was killed at the Heidelberg Tavern massacre in 1993, propelling Ginn to study for a Doctorate on Forgiveness and Conciliation in South Africa. In 2002 she met Letlapa Mphahlele, the leader who ordered the Heidelberg Tavern attack. In 2003 Ginn took early retirement and abandoned the degree in order to practice what she had learned – then with Letlapa founded the Lyndi Fourie Foundation. www.lyndifouriefoundation.org.za

    In 2015 Ginn and her husband immigrated to Margaret River, Western Australia. She now facilitates Conscious Communication workshops, practices Spinal Alignment, Remedial Massage, Quantum Energy Coaching and holds Mediation sessions – a very rewarding career in assisting the community with healing and compassion. She hopes to have completed her autobiography by June 2017.

Ms Suzanne Greenwood

CEO, Catholic Health Australia

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    As a Lawyer and Catholic Executive dedicated to the healing ministry of Christ, Suzanne has previously been General Counsel to the St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland and Corporate Counsel and Company Secretary to St Vincent’s Health & Aged Care.

    She has served on several advisory committees with the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane including the Archbishop’s Women’s Taskgroup which examined present roles and future directions for women in the Catholic Church and she then subsequently Chaired the Women’s Resource Advisory Committee for the Brisbane Archdiocese.

    Suzanne was also a member of the Board of the Brisbane Archdiocesan Development Fund, the Good Sams Foundation, the Queensland Law Foundation, the Queensland Law Society and of Epilepsy Queensland.

Professor Br David Hall

Dean, ACU, La Salle Academy

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    David is the foundation Dean of the La Salle Academy at the Australian Catholic University, a department within the University with oversight of programs for the development of teachers and leaders for Catholic schools. His emphasis is on designing and delivering programs of the ‘head and the heart’- seeking to develop ecclesial leaders for a church that engages a pluralist global society in bringing about the reign of God in contemporary and yet to be imagined ways. He adds to his Australian commitments leadership of a program that is developing Catholic schools leaders across twenty-two countries in Africa. David is a Marist Brother.

Dr Ricki Jeffery

Chief Executive Officer, CentacareCQ

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    Dr Ricki Jeffery is currently the Chief Executive Officer of CentacareCQ, working to develop strategies based on research and evidence ensuring CentacareCQ is sustainable and continues to provide services to the communities it serves.  With a split focus on the right now, near future and long term, Ricki is responsible for Centacare’s activities meeting current need, preparing for medium term demand and paving the way for long term sustainability.

    Previously, Ricki has worked in regional economic development with experience with regional communities in both Australia and the USA investing in civic engagement, looking at capacity not deficiency and in coaching community leaders.

Mrs Sue and Mr Leo Kane

Educators

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    Sue and Leo Kane are a married couple with a special interest in spirituality. They have both completed a Masters in Theology, and are currently involved in adult education. A lifetime in Christian education and ministry has led them to the realisation that to be contemplative is an essential part of being human.

Mr Peter Kearney

Singer songwriter

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    Peter Kearney has been called a pioneer in contemporary religious song. His earliest hymns 'Fill My House' and 'The Beatitudes' published in 1966 became internationally known. From 1982 Peter made music his work. As well as writing and publishing he has toured in all Australian states and overseas in Ireland, the United Kingdom and the USA to present his workshops and concerts.

    To date, fifteen albums of his songs and hymns have been published. His compositions have been included in many hymnals. His 'This Is Our School' has been adopted as a school song by hundreds of Australian schools.

    Peter's earthy songs of justice and compassion have been recognised as a distinctive contribution to the modern Church. Many of his songs were inspired through a forty-year friendship with Father Ted Kennedy. Ted became well known as a great friend and fierce advocate for Aboriginal people in St. Vincent's Parish, Redfern in Sydney.

    The 'big work' of Peter's creative life 'Good Morning Good People', a musical-narrative on the life of St. Francis of Assisi, has been presented all over Australia. There have also been over forty concerts in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

    In recent years Peter has created a series of audio-visual sequences for DVDs and live presentations. One of these isWalking the Camino (Spain), made after he walked 700+km along the Camino Frances, an ancient pilgrimage path to Santiago in NW Spain, burial place of St. James the Apostle.

Fr Brian Lucas

National Director, Catholic Mission

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    Father Brian Lucas is a priest of the Archdiocese of Sydney, and the National Director of Catholic Mission. He holds postgraduate qualifications in law, jurisprudence, theology, religious education and general studies, and is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

    Prior to his appointment at Catholic Mission in 2015, Brian was for 12 years the General Secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. He also served as Secretary and Financial Administrator of the Archdiocese of Sydney from 1990-2002, and held parish appointments at St Mary’s Cathedral and Sydney.

    Brian was an official media spokesman for the Archdiocese of Sydney for over 17 years. He has been a director of Catholic Church Insurance Limited and is an adjunct professor of the Australian Catholic University. He is a co-author of the Church Administration Handbook (St Paul Publications 2008) and Celebrating with Children (St Paul Publications 2012), and the author of Pleasing to God – The Call to Church Administration (St Paul Publications 2015).

    He currently lives in Sydney.

Bishop Columba Macbeth-Green

Bishop of the Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes

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    Bishop Columba Macbeth-Green is the 7th Bishop of the Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes. After spending two years with Conventual Franciscans, he joined the Order of St. Paul the First Hermit (Pauline Fathers) in 1990, and studied for the Priesthood at Vianney College in Wagga Wagga and was ordained a priest in 1997. ( The Pauline Fathers, founded in 1215 in Hungary, are semi-contemplative order who observe the Rule of St. Augustine. They are based in Poland and are custodians of the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa.)

    As a Pauline Father, Fr. Macbeth-Green served as Administrator of Tarcutta Parish from 1998 to 2002, as Sub-Prior of the Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy at Penrose Park from 2002 to 2004, and a Administrator of Moss Vale Parish from 2004 to 2006.

    From 2000 to 2006, he served as a New South Wales Police Chaplain. From 2006 to 2014, he served as Police Chaplain in Queensland.

    At the time of his appointment as Bishop, he was the Provincial Vicar of the Pauline Fathers for Australia and Rector of the Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians at Marian Valley, Canungra, Queensland, where he served from 2006 to 2014.

Mrs Sue Martin

Coordinator, Sustainability Centre

St Ignatius Riverview

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    Sue trained as an agricultural scientist and has been working to engage her community to “care for country”. Sue is the Sustainability Centre Coordinator at St Ignatius’ Riverview, and assists Jesuit schools across Australia as they care for our common home. Sue also works in her local parish St Madeleine’s Kenthurst.

Mr Valentine Masa

Coordinator, Callan Services Vanimo

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    Valentine Masa is the Coordinator at Callan Services Vanimo. Valentine was born in Bougainville, PNG, and worked as a teacher for three years before beginning work with Callan Services in Bougainville in 2006. Valentine has a primary and secondary education certificate, a certificate in Disability Studies and a Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education. Valentine began coordinating programs at the Vanimo Resource Centre in 2013, and was recently appointed to be a member representing Special Education with the Diocesan Catholic Education Board. Valentine is married with three daughters, and in his spare time he enjoys playing soccer and rugby.

Mrs Lorraine McCarthy

Australian Co-ordinator, Alpha in a Catholic Context

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    Lorraine McCarthy is a Pastoral Associate in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, has a degree in Theology and a Post-Graduate Diploma specialising in Adult Faith Formation. She is a Spiritual Director trained at the Heart of Life Contemplative Spirituality Centre and is part of the Pallotti College Retreat Team. Lorraine teaches the Catherine of Siena Institute Called and Gifted Workshop. Lorraine is currently the Alpha in a Catholic Context Co-ordinator in Australia and has run Alpha in Parishes since 1999. Through her role in Alpha Lorraine arranged and coordinated the visit of Fr James Mallon, author of “Divine Renovation” to Australia in November 2016. Lorraine is passionate about growing Parishes through strong pastoral vision and adult faith formation that prioritises the making of missionary disciples.

Fr Patrick McInerney SSC

Director, Columban Mission Institute

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    Rev Dr Patrick McInerney is a Columban priest. He was assigned to Pakistan for over twenty years. He is Director of the Columban Mission Institute, Coordinator of its Centre for Christian-Muslim Relations and a staff member of its Centre for Mission Studies. He offers courses on Islam and Interreligious dialogue, participates in interfaith conferences and organizations, and gives talks on Christian-Muslim and Interreligious Relations to a wide variety of audiences.

Dr Dominic McLoughlin

Principal Consultant, Ithikos Pty Ltd

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    Dr McLoughlin works with organisations to build engagement through increased trust in the workplace. His PhD (UNSW) research established the importance of integrity and trust in organisations. Dominic has helped clients in many industries, including IT, finance, retail, education, and health care. He also holds a Master of Business and a Bachelor of Commerce.

    Dominic also has 20 years’ experience teaching and facilitating a diverse range of university courses on people management. He is a Fellow of the Australian Human Resources Institute and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (UK).

Fr Tim Norton SVD

Director of Courses, Centro 'Ad Gentes'

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    Tim was born in Sydney. He studied BSC (applied physiotherapy) after high school and worked in NSW hospitals. In 1984 he joined the Society of the Divine Word (SVD). He took final vows in 1990 and was ordained a priest in 1991. Tim worked for seven years in pastoral ministry in Mexico prior to returning to Australia to work in initial formation (seven years) and then province leadership and administration (nine years). Since 2014 Tim lives and works in Nemi, Italy, running renewal courses for SVD brothers and priests.

Mr Dominic Ofner

Coordinator of Campaigns and Development, Edmund Rice Centre

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    Dominic joined the Edmund Rice Centre in early-2016 and coordinates the Centre’s campaign, promotional and communications activities. His work focuses on the areas of Indigenous peoples, refugees and Pacific Island peoples affected by climate change. He has a background in policy, campaigning and community organising, having previously worked as an adviser to two Members of Parliament, a Trade Union and a political party.

Mrs Jacqui Remond

National Director of Catholic
Earthcare Australia

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    Jacqui Remond is a mother of two children under 7, with over fifteen years’ experience as an environmental educator and advocate. She is National Director of Catholic Earthcare Australia, the ecological agency of the Catholic Church in Australia, and now lives in Manly. Catholic Earthcare Australia is mandated, through the activities of research, education, advocacy and outreach to give leadership in responding to Pope John Paul II‘s call for an “ecological conversion” of humanity. Among other things Jacqui is developing partnerships and ecological conversion programs to enable the Catholic Church in Australia to become a leader for ecological sustainability, through the ASSISI Initiative and the NEEN Project.

    Jacqui is Convenor of the National Council of Churches Australia Eco Mission Project, the NSW Eco Mission network and represents the Catholic Bishops on the Australian Education Sustainability Alliance and the Justice & Peace Advisory Council in Sydney.

Ms Kirsty Robertson

CEO, Mary MacKillop International

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    Kirsty has lived, worked and travelled in over 30 countries including most recently in Ethiopia and Brazil. She has worked in International Development for faith based agencies for nearly 20 years with a passion for embedding Gospel Values in long term development programming.

Sr Grace Roclawska csfn

Sacramental Coordinator, Mary Queen of the Family Parish Blacktown

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    Sr Grace Roclawska csfn ministers as Liturgy Coordinator at Mary, Queen of the Family Parish, Blacktown since 2009. Working within the charims of the religious Congregation to which she belongs – Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, she enjoys the collaboration and team approach in the process of amalgamation of two previous Blacktown parishes into one. Her Master of Theology Degree and experience of different leadership roles, enables her to help form families who are preparing their children for the sacraments. She loves Church, challenges and people who are passionate about their faith.

Ms Alison Ryan

Youth Minister, Mary Queen of the Family Parish Blacktown

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    Alison Ryan is the Identity and Mission Coordinator at Mary Queen of the Family Parish, Blacktown. Her formation was in the Antioch Youth Movement and she grew up very much involved in her parish community. She began working in Ministry roles in 2009, while studying a Bachelor of Theology at Australian Catholic University – majoring in biblical studies and drama. Alison had the amazing experience of traveling to and studying in the Holy Land. It was here that her passion for The Word of God grew, learning with Rabbis and studying in the land itself made Scripture come alive. So it is her love of the Bible, for music and for walking with people in their relationship with God really drive her ministry.

Ms Penny Ryan

Artist

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    Penny Ryan is a Sydney artist, working most recently in ceramics. After working for many years as a researcher, social activist and consultant she studied printmaking at Meadowbank TAFE. She then majored in ceramics at the National Art School in Sydney.  She is currently doing her Masters of Fine Arts there, exploring Australians’ responses to the issue of people seeking asylum, with a participatory art project, The Confined Hearts Project.

    Her works in ceramics are driven from ideas and take a non-functional form, frequently exploring the consequences of our history and how we are addressing the present. Her work is often large scale and frequently pushes against the constraints of working with clay. For more information about her work visit www.penny-ryan.squarespace.com

Sr Noelene Simmons sm

National President, ACRATH

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    Noelene Simmons is a Marist Sister. She has a background in secondary teaching with twenty four years experience in secondary schools in Sydney, Queensland and New Zealand. She has held various administrative roles within her congregation and in secondary colleges. Currently she is the National President for ACRATH (Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans) and represents Oceania at Talitha Kum (The International Network of Consecrated Life Against Trafficking in Persons). Her work with ACRATH includes giving presentations to raise awareness about human trafficking, advocating on behalf of those affected by this crime, networking with other NGO’s working in this field and managing the ACRATH website and social media platforms.

Mr Francis Sullivan

CEO, Truth, Justice and
Healing Council

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    Francis Sullivan is the Chief Executive Officer of the Truth, Justice and Healing Council, established in 2013 by Catholic Religious Australia and the Australian Catholic Bishops to coordinate the Church’s engagement with the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

    Francis has worked in government and private practice and has held positions as secretary-general of the Australian Medical Association, chief executive of Catholic Health Australia and senior adviser to the Minister for Health in Western Australia.

    Francis is a member of the PM Glynn Institute. He is also a member of the government’s National Redress Advisory Council and has served as a consultant to the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers at the Vatican and is an Adjunct Professor at the Australian Catholic University in recognition of his work in public policy advocacy.

Ms Lana Turvey-Collins

Program Manager for Advocacy
and Mission Formation,
Catholic Mission

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    Lana works as Catholic Mission’s Adult Formation and Professional Development Program Manager. Prior to that she worked as diocesan director in the Sydney Archdiocese and Broken Bay Diocese. During 2012-13 Lana lived in Zambia, working together with the Pontifical Mission Societies and the Zambian Bishops Conference where the experience of global church, mission and faith in action were a daily encounter of love, justice and compassion. Before joining Catholic Mission, Lana worked with corporate organisations and their executive teams on leadership, and the infusion of vision and values into organisational culture.

    Lana has studied in the areas of mission, theology and Church, holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master’s degree in International Social Development and Human Rights. She has lived and worked in Switzerland, Zambia, Peru, Timor-Leste, New Zealand and Japan. Lana is inspired by the journey of life-long learning and the fulfilment of God’s vision for the world through each person living and leading mission.

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