Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge thanked the Emmanuel Community for being a “living sign” of the Holy Spirit for 50 years at a Thanksgiving Mass at St Stephen’s Cathedral last Saturday. Source: The Catholic Leader.
The cathedral was full of community members as well as those impacted by its many ministries.
The Emmanuel Community is a lay-led Catholic mission that invites all people to “experience Jesus in the power of the Spirit”, according to its website.
“We create ways where all generations can find their home in the Catholic Church, thrive in faith, and live out their calling as missionary disciples in the world,” the website states.
Lisa Humphrys, who was present when the community was first founded and remained active, said it was a blessing to celebrate the anniversary.
“What a joy to see many of those who have served so generously and laid the foundations,” she said.
“With our eyes focused on Jesus I pray we will continue to be open to and respond to the leadings of the Holy Spirit.
“My heart is that we will continue to be fired for mission of spreading the Gospel both in Brisbane and beyond.”
Emmanuel Community moderator Pat Keady said the weekend felt like one extended celebration.
“From swapping stories and photos, to inspiring Spirit-led worship in the Cathedral, to celebrating Mass in our humble Emmanuel City Mission home led by Fr Steve Tynan,” he said.
“Hearing how others have intersected with Emmanuel somewhere in their history and how it impacted them is humbling.
“For example, the faith trajectory of Toowoomba boy Peter Mullins, current leader of the Disciples of Jesus community, which took flight after an Emmanuel team prayed for him as a teenager.
“It says we are more connected than we realise, and God is about something bigger than just ourselves.
In his homily, Archbishop Coleridge said he first experienced the charismatic renewal in his first parish as a priest and was delighted to see it continuing “in my last diocese”.
He said the charismatic renewal was sometimes thought to be in the peripheries of the Church or an innovation after the Second Vatican Council.
“Charismatic spirituality in the strongest and deepest sense has always been part of the Christian journey; you only need to read the New Testament to see that,” he said.
FULL STORY
Brisbane’s Emmanuel Community shares 50 years of blessings at anniversary Mass (By Joe Higgins, The Catholic Leader)
