Ann Kerley feels “called” to be a Plenary Council 2020 Ambassador in her parish.
“I’ve always been passionate about the Church and about my faith and this is my chance now to do what I feel I’ve been called to do,” the parishioner of All Hallows in Five Dock told The Catholic Weekly.
“I see the Plenary 2020 as being a great window of opportunity to renew the Church and to evangelise those people who have drifted away.”
Plenary Council 2020, which has been approved by Pope Francis, will be a moment of dialogue and communion for the Catholic Church in Australia. All the faithful will be asked to discern what the Holy Spirit is asking of the Church in this country.
The Council will take place over two sessions—one in late 2020 and the other in 2021. In preparation, dialogue sessions will be held in local parishes to give as many of the faithful a voice in the process as possible.
Parish priests and administrators around the country have been asked by the Plenary Council Working Group to consider appointing an Ambassador who will facilitate the dialogue within their parish.
Three questions will be put to the faithful: What do you think God is asking of us in Australia at this time? What questions do you have about the future of the Church for the Plenary Council to consider in 2020? Do you have a story of your experience of faith, or the Church you would like to share?
Maria Alessi, Ambassador for St Jerome’s Parish in Punchbowl, said her role will be to “reflect Christ to others” and to “accept people as they are and gradually lead them to Christ.”
The whole Plenary 2020 process “fits beautifully” within the New Evangelisation as a way to reach those on the margins, she said.
“As Ambassadors we will listen, then engage, and then invite people to dialogue about what God is asking of us.”
Mrs Kerley—an All Hallows parishioner for 35 years—says the Council will be a great opportunity to gauge how the faithful feel about their Church, to determine areas that need to be improved and to explore new ways of evangelising.
“There’s no such thing now as a conveyor belt Catholic from cradle to the grave. We’ve got to start thinking smartly about Church and how we’re able to bring back people,” she said.
“It’s about Christ’s great commission which all baptised people are called to respond to—to make disciples and preach the Good News. It’s about evangelising those people in the pews and then for them to go out and draw others in.”
Can you see yourself in the Plenary 2020 picture?
If you are willing to become a parish ambassador, please contact Barbara Perry:
[email protected]
For more information
The national Plenary Council 2020 website provides information about prayers, resources, news and events, as well as the parish guide to the listening and dialogue process: www.plenarycouncil.catholic.org.au
For more information
If you have questions about the Archdiocese of Sydney’s Plenary Council activity, please contact the PCWG on:
[email protected]