Ministry leaders in health care, aged care, community services and education gathered from across Australia and New Zealand for two days of talks and workshops at the fourth annual Mercy Ministry Companions conference last week. Source: The Catholic Leader.
About 120 participants took part in the Septemeber 15-16 conference held at the Catholic Leadership Centre in East Melbourne.
MMC formation co-ordinator Sr Annette Schneider said hope and hospitality – two of the organisation’s five core values and part of the conference theme – were “absolutely essential” to living out the mission of Mercy Ministries today.
“You only have to look at the news of the night to see where there’s the lack of hospitality and welcome and inclusion,” she said.
“There’s desperation on people’s faces rather than hope.”
The keynote speakers included newly-installed Brisbane Archbishop Shane Mackinlay and Scanlan Foundation chief executive officer Dr Sonja Hood.
Archbishop Mackinlay spoke about hospitality, synodality and hope in light of the “life of the Church and in the scope of our ministries”.
He drew upon Church teachings as well as insights from Scripture and social research, highlighting ways in which the world was “crying out” for hope and hospitality and might respond.
Mercy Ministry Companions was founded as a Ministerial Public Juridic Person in December 2021, to govern ministries which were formerly the responsibility of the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Synodality, Sr Schneider said, “is a strong part of how we (MMC) see our mission in the Church… how we try and do things in our decision making, in our engagement with ministries”.
In her keynote address, Dr Hood spoke about the power of inclusion.
From her background in working towards social cohesion and in sports administration, she drew comparisons and similarities between leadership for inclusion in community groups and in sporting organisations.
Dr Hood also highlighted her foundation’s work supporting migrant and refugee women and their families.
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Mercy conference puts spotlight on hope and hospitality with keynotes including Archbishop Mackinlay (By Joe Higgins, The Catholic Leader)
