Hobart Thursday 23 – Sunday 26 March, 2017
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Report from the National Association of Deacons Conference Hobart Thursday 23 – Sunday 26 March, 2017 Written by Deacon Peter McCulloch, edited and compiled by Deacon Bruce Talbot Report from the National Association of Deacons Conference Hobart – Thursday 23 to Sunday 26 March, 2017 Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. 4 4.00 pm Thursday, 23 March (Deacon Nick McFarlane) ......................................................................... 6 Welcome ............................................................................................................................................. 6 4.15 pm, Thursday 23 March (Dr Brigid McKenna, Director Office of Life, Marriage and Family - Archdiocese of Hobart) ........................................................................................................................... 6 Evangelisation through Marriage and Family ..................................................................................... 6 Part 1: Making Missionary Disciples ............................................................................................... 6 Part 2 - Being Missionary Families .................................................................................................. 8 6.00 pm, Thursday 23 March (Deacon Nick Kerr) .................................................................................. 9 Acknowledgement of Country and Welcome ..................................................................................... 9 6.15 pm, Thursday 23 March (Archbishop Julian Porteous,11th Archbishop of Hobart) ....................... 9 Opening Address and Blessing ............................................................................................................ 9 9.00 am, Friday 24 March (Archbishop Julian Porteous 11th Archbishop of Hobart) ......................... 10 ‘Go Therefore and Make Disciples’ ................................................................................................... 10 11.00 am, Friday 24 March (Mrs Clara Geoghehan, Catherine of Siena Institute of Australia) ........... 13 Called and Gifted Workshop ............................................................................................................. 13 1.30 pm, Friday 24 March (Fr Mark Freeman, VG Hobart Archdiocese and NCP Secretary) .............. 15 National Council of Priests ................................................................................................................ 15 2.00 pm, Friday 24 March (Clara Geoghegan, Catherine of Siena Institute of Australia)..................... 16 The Five Thresholds to Intentional Discipleship ............................................................................... 16 3.30 pm, Friday 24 March (Reports from the NAD Executive) ............................................................. 18 State of the Diaconate ...................................................................................................................... 18 9.00 am Saturday 25 March (Kevin Bailey (Alpha Australia Board Member) & Lorraine McCarthy, (Coordinator, Melbourne)..................................................................................................................... 19 Alpha & Alpha in a Catholic Context ................................................................................................. 19 11.00 am, Saturday 25 March (Sandy Boyce, President (Diakonia World Federation) ........................ 20 Diakonia World Federation ............................................................................................................... 20 11.10 am, Saturday 25 March (Rev Professor Klaus Kiesling, International Diaconate Centre) ......... 21 Evangelisation in the International Diaconal Context ...................................................................... 21 1.30 pm, Saturday 24 March (Dr Stefan Sander, International Diaconate Centre Manager).............. 23 Context as the Catalyst for the Diaconal Ministry ............................................................................ 23 Introduction: ................................................................................................................................. 23 The Diaconate – Response to Local Pastoral Necessities? ........................................................... 24 2 | P a g e Report from the National Association of Deacons Conference Hobart – Thursday 23 to Sunday 26 March, 2017 The IDC and the Beginnings of the Diaconate Movement in Germany. ....................................... 24 Testamentum Domini – a key Diaconal Source Document .......................................................... 25 Ministerial Models of the Diaconate: ........................................................................................... 25 3.30 pm, Saturday 25 March (Fr Paul Cashen, Archdiocese of Adelaide) ............................................ 26 An Introduction to the New Norms and Guidelines ......................................................................... 26 The impact of the diaconate on the Australian church. ............................................................... 27 The influence of Pope Francis. ...................................................................................................... 27 4.00 pm, Saturday 25 March (Fr Michael McEntee, Archdiocese of Melbourne.) .............................. 27 Australian Norms and Guidelines ..................................................................................................... 27 8.30 am, Sunday 26 March (By Dr Christine Wood, Office of Evangelisation, Archdiocese of Hobart)29 Where to from here? Off to mission! ............................................................................................... 29 3 | P a g e Report from the National Association of Deacons Conference Hobart – Thursday 23 to Sunday 26 March, 2017 Executive Summary The focus of the conference was on the role of deacons as ministers of the New Evangelisation. Session 1: Dr Brigid McKenna introduced her topic "Evangelisation through marriage and family" by explaining the two important aspects to the topic: 1) Evangelisation to engaged / married couples and their families, and 2) evangelisation by married couples and their families. She quoted Cardinal Marc Ouellet who said that the family is a bit like the Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona. Like the family, the Cathedral is messy, lofty, colourful, different, extensive and expensive. People are fascinated by its beauty and originality. It's also unfinished. Session 2: The opening address, given by Archbishop Julian Porteous, went back to the appointment of deacons in the early church (Acts 6). He also discussed the vision for deacons as servants working closely with bishops. The seeds of the reintroduction of diaconate were sewn in Dachau but realised through Vatican II. He suggested deacons present to the world an important dimension of the nature of church. Session 3: Archbishop Porteous reflected on the Church in Australia and the forces at work changing the nature of our society and the rise of secularism. Basing his talk on Tasmanian statistics he stated that many areas have only 3% Mass attendance and believes we have reached a crisis point in the church. Quoting Pope Francis, who calls on all Catholics to become missionary disciples, he gave examples of how we can try new approaches to this. Session 4: Clara Geogheghan introduced the program "Called and Gifted Workshop" and explained discernment of charisma through this process so we can identify gifts in order to use those gifts to build up the Church. Session 5: Fr Mark Freeman spoke about the importance of the deacon's role and acknowledged the importance of deacons' wives in the role they play in supporting their husband's ministry. Session 6: Clara Geogheghan described the five thresholds to intentional discipleship based on Sherry Weddell's book Forming Intentional Disciples. She explained the difference between Virtue of Faith and the Act of Faith and described three journeys and the stages of a Christian follower. Session 7a: A presentation on the state of the Diaconate was given by each state's representative detailing what the current situation is in each state. Session 7b: A deacons' wives forum was held concurrently with the State of the nation session enabling wives to discuss their roles in supporting their husband's ministry. This was a lively discussion which most considered too short a time frame to adequately meet their needs. Session 8: The Alpha program was explained as a useful Evangelisation tool. Session 9: Sandy Boyce (Uniting Church Deacon) explained the Diakonia World Federation's role as a global network of deacons and deaconesses across different denominations. 4 | P a g e Report from the National Association of Deacons Conference Hobart – Thursday 23 to Sunday 26 March, 2017 Session 10: Rev Proff Klaus Kiesling described Evangelisation in the international diaconal context. Session 11: Dr Stephan Sander spoke on "context as the catalyst for diaconal ministry". He described various models of Diaconate and introduced the Australian norms and guidelines as well as explaining the US diaconal model. Session 12: Fr Paul Cashen introduced the new norms and guidelines focussing on the history and impact of the Diaconate in Australia. Session 13: Fr Michael McEntee described the process for developing the new