Why are community and belonging important in the mission of the Church today, and what can a parish do to grow the sense of belonging amongst its parishioners?

More than 120 Catholics from across the Diocese grappled with these questions at the Diocesan Formation Gathering at Notre Dame College, Shepparton, on Saturday, 11 October.

United by faith, hope, a commitment to their parishes and a love for people, participants came ready to learn, share and return home inspired to create new opportunities for others to connect and belong.

Keynote presenter, Dr Paul Sharkey, invited participants to contemplate “How did I get myself into this Catholic place?” He shared how faith had been passed down through generations of his family, painting a picture of his great-great-grandfather, one of twelve Irish settlers who guaranteed a loan to build St Martin of Tours Church in Muskerry. As those twelve guarantors and their families camped beside the church they were building, they also built community and a sense of belonging that sustained them in a new land.

“I find it hard to imagine how they might have escaped being Catholic in that world,” said Paul. At that time, the Church’s initiation practices worked well for Cradle Catholics, and the parish provided a secure ‘holding environment’.

But times have changed.

In the 1960s, we experienced what Paul dubbed a “break in transmission”. “Considering my own family tree, and leaning on the research literature, it’s clear that if you were born before the 1960s, you are more likely to stay involved in the life of the Church, but with each decade after the 1960s, it becomes less and less likely that you will choose to belong to a parish community,” he explained.

So why this “break in transmission”? Catholicism hasn’t changed, and Catholics aren’t doing anything wrong; we’re doing what our parents and grandparents did, but it’s not working in the social milieu of today, explained Paul. This raises the question: What can we do to pass down faith from one generation to the next, and can we learn new ways to welcome those who were not born into Catholic families? “It is a matter of developing new structures and practices that are effective in this new place that we find ourselves,” said Paul.

The good news?

At a fundamental level, people haven’t changed. There’s a huge body of research pointing to a deep human longing to belong, to love, and to be part of something greater than ourselves, and it’s widely accepted that these things are essential to our wellbeing.

A person’s faith does not sit on a continuum of unbelief to belief, explained Paul. In today’s complex pluralistic culture, people are searching for identity, purpose and community, which reveals an openness to encounter – something beyond the self.

And therein lies a profound opportunity for evangelisation: to meet people where they are, and to invite them into the life-giving relationship and belonging found in Christ and His community. We must not only welcome but also actively invite—and to do so, we need to create meaningful opportunities and occasions for invitation, particularly within our strongly secular context, where many competing alternatives vie for people’s time and attention on Sundays.

In the knowledge that a search for belonging and community often precedes encounter, participants heard from parish leaders about how they are welcoming, inviting and supporting engagement within their parishes.

Fr Junray Rayna, Parish Priest of St Kilian’s Bendigo, spoke of his personal challenges and his parish’s journey “from moribund to magnetic”. He touched on his learnings from Divine Renovation, and how simple gestures such as greeting people and walking into the Church with them can make a difference. He spoke of the Community Garden, the Parish Café and the five hospitality groups, which cater for those seeking connection after Mass, and the way people in all these groups have developed deeper connections beyond the Liturgy.

Christine Sebire and Rob Morris spoke of Echuca’s men’s fellowship initiative, inspired by MenAlive. It aims to provide a safe space for men to worship and build connection in a way that meets them where they are in their journey and their knowledge. By providing space for prayer, dialogue and fellowship, The Men’s Group has encouraged even the more reserved men to engage more fully in parish life.

A choice of six Workshops followed the morning presentation. Participants had the opportunity to engage more deeply with each other on a topic of their choice.

After these workshops, participants gathered again as one large group. With a heightened focus on the need to evangelise in ways that are effective in today’s cultural context, participants engaged in Spirit-led inter-parish dialogue where they shared experiences and ideas.

Participants then re-grouped with people from their own parish to explore ways to create welcoming pathways that prioritise love and belonging, which are often precursors to belief.

Earlier in the day, Fr Jake Mudge, Parish Priest of Kennington and Delegate of the Diocesan Administrator, reminded participants that at the core of Parish life is love. The triadic nature of Church, communion, mission and service helps us to understand this. The Church exists as a community (communion) that gathers people into relationship with God and one another and is sent out (mission) to share the Good News, and it expresses that love through action (service) in the world.

Participants at this gathering came with hope and love, and left inspired with practical ideas and a sense of mission, being “doable” and “achievable”.

Mick Chalkley, Chair of the former Sandhurst Mission and Pastoral Council, reflected, “There were so many constructive conversations ... it showed what might be possible if we share our thoughts, talents and ideas.”

Patricia Blanks, from Eaglehawk parish, shared Mick’s sentiment, “… my head is spinning from all the amazing information and beautiful ideas we got from everybody else ... listening to each other, they (participants) were able to see their dreams and know that they are actually possible.”

For Alana Brennan from Kyabram Parish, evangelisation is about simplicity: “We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. It might be as simple as saying hello to someone you don’t know.”

Fr Jophin Joy, Parish Priest of Nathalia and Numurkah, said his key takeaway was courage: “Courage to invite people to the Church — especially those who are hurt or hesitant.”

For almost all of the participants, the Gathering was about hope.  “People were only here because they have hope for the future of our Church,” said Echuca parishioner, Christine Sebire. “They brought that hope and were able to park their worries and look for the positive.”

Mary Zobec, from Kyabram, also acknowledged that there are challenges, but said she felt very hope-filled. “If we can keep hope in our hearts, it will spread to others,” she explained.

The day closed with a sense of purpose and optimism. While the cultural landscape may have shifted, the mission remains the same — to build the Kingdom of God here and now by creating communities where people can belong, believe and become.

Listen to participants speak about the Gathering on our YouTube Channel.. 

Return to Sandpiper 109 (17 October 2025)