First Peruvian Josephite

Palms  needs missionaries

Throw Open the Doors National Catholic Media Congress

The first Peruvian woman to take final vows in the Australian congregation founded by Blessed Mary MacKillop, the Sisters of St Joseph, made her life commitment in Lima on March 15.  She is Maria Cecilia Paiva Huaringa.

 

On the same day,  Roxanna Apaza Ccallo, a young woman from Pitumavca, high in the mountains, took her first vows.

 

Both women had undertaken their formation in Lima.

 

Sisters of St Joseph Congregational leader Anne Derwin RSJ and members of the leadership team were in Lima for the celebrations.

 

the Sisters in Peru

Palms Australia, a lay missionary arm of the Catholic Church, needs volunteers to offer one to three years of missionary service to help Australia's poorer neighbours.

 

Volunteers may range in age from early 20s to late 70s as long as they have the three "h"s:

health to stand the demands of a life of fewer comforts

heart of compassion that appreciates the goals of the neighbour and a

head to know what will support and develop skills that will have a long-term benefit for the recipients.

Many Palm volunteers work with the indigenous religious in tropical areas such as Timor Leste, Samoa, Solomon Islands, New Guinea and Kiribati supporting educational and administrative development, health care delivery, rural programs and provision of suitable structural development.  The requests are many and the opportunities for volunteers to be gospel people vary.

 

A focus workshop will be held next month, May 23-24, at The Hermitage, Mittagong, NSW, to allow people to reflect on the possibility of becoming an overseas volunteer. Participants will share in the expertise and experiences of Palms Australia staff and returned volunteers.

 

The cost of $160 will cover meals and accommodation. An RSVP is required by May 8 and further inquiries should be addressed to Benjamin Oh,  02 9518 9551 or ben@palms.org.au   Other workshops will be held in Victoria, Queensland and South Australia later this year. To be informed of these details, please contact Benjamin or complete an online enquiry.

 

photo: Jeff and Fiona, a Palms volunteer, at PNG's Mount Sion optical workshop

The architect of one of the world's most successful outreach programs to non-practicing Catholics, Tom Peterson, of the US-based Catholics Come Home, will be the keynote speaker at the National Catholic Media Congress in Sydney, next month.

 

Mr Peterson, the President and founder of Catholics Come Home, will share his insights into how the Church can use television and the Internet to reach out to people in a contemporary way and invite them to return home to the practice of their faith.

 

Other speakers at the National Catholic Media Congress will include the editor of the Sydney Morning Herald, Peter Fray; Sr Hilda Scott OSB and Varcha Sidwell of The Abbey which aired on ABC TV's Compass last year;  Greg Craven, Australian Catholic University Vice-Chancellor; media specialist  Fr Richard Leonard SJ and Archbishop Mark Coleridge (Canberra-Goulburn).

 

There will also be practical workshops facilitated by some of the leading practitioners of media, communication, education and advocacy in the Church.

 

These will include Frank Quinlan, executive director of Catholic Social Services Australia; Martin Teulan, national director of Catholic Mission; Greg Whitby, executive director of schools for the Parramatta Diocese, with Annette Loughlin-Smith of the Parramatta CEO communications office; Tim O'Connor and Margareta Brosnan of Caritas Australia; and Tom Cranitch, communications manager for the Christian Brothers Oceania Province.

 

Registrations close on Friday, April 17. The congress will be held at the Menzies Hotel, Sydney, on May 4, 5 and 6.

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