Last week the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) hosted the first national Formation for Mission Gathering at Mary MacKillop Place North Sydney with 145 leaders of formation, mission and Religious Education from across the country and New Zealand.
Participants were welcomed by national Catholic education executive director Jacinta Collins for two days of collaboration, participation and learning engagement around the vision and mission of Catholic schools and the integration of faith, learning, life and culture in education.
“We were delighted to be able to come together and focus on the critical area of our shared work, engaging with schools, families and communities on the mission and purpose of Catholic education and supporting the faith formation of school leaders, future leaders, staff, students and families,” she said.
Chair of the NCEC Faith Formation and Religious Education Standing Committee Kate Rayment launched a new publication ‘Life to the Full: the mission and purpose of Catholic schools in Australia.”
Breakout sessions included formation for early career teachers, middle and senior leaders, as well as strategic, intentional and ongoing formation, board formation, parent engagement and building contemplative cultures.
NCEC’s mission and policy advisor Laura Avery said, “the Formation for Mission gathering was a wonderful opportunity to come together to discuss formation in Catholic education.
“We are very grateful for the spirit in which those gathered into the two days.”
What the participants said:
“The NCEC gathering on Formation for Mission held recently at Mary MacKillop Place, was two days of rich wisdom, abundant generosity of knowledge and spirit and itself, a formative encounter with God’s mission alive in the hearts of all of those present. Thank you for the opportunity to learn, reflect, and discuss the many and varied elements of formation for mission. An essential gathering, of which I hope there will be more to come – collaboration in this field is critical to the work and profession of formation continuing to flourish.” –Catholic Mission, consultant, Mission Formation & Strategy, Lana Turvey Collins.
“I left the conference feeling hope filled. It was lovely to meet new friends from other Catholic education offices and to be inspired by their current work and initiatives. ‘Accompaniment’ is the buzz word I will take away with me. Thank you NCEC!” –Catholic Education Sandhurst, education officer: Spiritual Encounter and Music Ministry, Maria Ford.
“The opportunity to join with other leaders of formation, mission and religious education to collaborate and to share practice was so valuable. Despite the diversity of our contexts, the sense of shared purpose was both tangible and inspiring” –Assistant director: Mission, Catholic Education, Diocese of Rockhampton Kellie Jenkinson.
“I have attended many conferences where an understanding of the ‘problems’ were discussed, but have walked away feeling somewhat overwhelmed and thirsting for solutions. The Formation for Mission gathering had dynamic and experienced presenters with embedded opportunities for participants to not only discuss the current challenges being faced, but importantly, provided opportunities to share solutions and initiatives to take back to our respective communities. Thank you to everyone involved in this excellent initiative.”-Specialist religious education (secondary), K-12 RE Team, Mission and Identity Directorate, Sydney Catholic Schools, Anthony Munro.
“The NCEC Formation for Mission gathering was a terrific opportunity for all six members of our Catholic Identity team to engage with other leaders in Catholic education through experiences of prayer and liturgy, dialogue and reflection. Having courageous conversations around our mission and purpose, coming to a shared understanding of formation and opening up spaces for making meaning only served to galvanise the reality that we are part of a Christ-centred story that is definitely worth sharing.”- Deputy principal Catholic identity, MacKillop College, Jennifer Levett.
The gathering was an experience of genuine openness as we shared what’s been working, our questions and our ideas for looking to the future. This created a wonderful sense of collegiality and feeling that we are not in this alone but share a real strength when we can work and move forward together.”-Association of St Marcellin Champagnat, director of Marist Formation, Tony Clarke (presenter).
Photo:
Workshop presenters L-R: Barbara Perry Sydney Catholic Schools, Jennie Hickey Jesuit Education Australia,
Gabrielle Sinclair Good Samaritan Education, Jo Spek Catholic Schools Broken Bay, Guy Zangari Sydney Catholic Schools, Sarah Rose Catholic School Parents Australia, Siobhan Allen Catholic School Parents Australia