Early in October, parish administration staff gathered at the Chancery for their annual professional development conference.
Held over two days, the Conference aims to help parish staff stay up-to-date with legal, financial and governance requirements and provides a valuable opportunity to meet colleagues, share ideas, and build supportive friendships that last for years.
“Attending the conference was incredibly worthwhile,” said Carmel Zito, Administration Officer at Shepparton South. "It gave me the chance to speak with admin staff from other Parishes and realise that many of us are navigating similar challenges. We were able to share how we each approach these situations and learn from one another’s experiences."
Diane Teitzel, Office Manager at Shepparton agreed. "For me, the best part of the conference is catching up with everyone; I look forward to it."
The program included practical presentations on finance, insurance, risk management, archives and communications, with time for networking and team-building activities.
For Acting Business Manager, Greg Westbrook, the conference was a chance to acknowledge the important role these staff members play in parish life.
“Parish Administration staff are the driving force of a parish,” he said. “It’s rewarding, but it can also be very challenging. They are dedicated people who work hard keeping everything going; it’s really not a job, it’s a vocation.”
Sally Holmes, Executive Assistant to the Acting Business Manager, agreed with Greg.
“Parish Administration Staff are at the coalface of parish life, being empathetic when someone has lost a loved one, warm and delighted when someone wants their child baptised – all while they're trying to do a million things at once. I’m sure it takes a good sense of humour as well,” laughed Sally.
Humour is always a flavour of the Parish Administration Conference, a tool for coping with all sorts of challenges. As with every year, the administration staff were tasked to write a short report outlining their parish's activities over the last twelve months, including highlights and challenges. Participants enjoyed hearing about life in other parishes and were relieved to know that they share many of their challenges.
Adding a creative twist this year was the inaugural ‘centrepiece’ competition. Participants were tasked with presenting a centrepiece based on the Jubilee Year Theme, ‘Pilgrims of Hope’.
The winning entry from Christ the King Parish, (Wangaratta area) featured a well-worn work boot and some flowers and trinkets. Donna Richards explained:
“The shoe is symbolic of the journey we are on, and the gold shoelace represents the hope and faith that binds us together on our journey. Inside the boot, is a crucifix, gemstones and jewels; when we go on a pilgrimage of hope, we are filled up, so it’s not about the external, it’s about the internal journey,” said Donna. “The flowers came with it because they smell nice and they’re also the little spring flowers that just came out this week. That’s about hope and new life.”
This sense of spring and renewal continued perfectly with a prayer shared by Fr Junray Rayna from St Kilian’s Parish. Fr Junray recently led a Sandhurst Jubilee Pilgrimage where parishioners were invited to journey together as pilgrims of hope, visiting the five Sandhurst Pilgrimage Sites.
Thanks went out to the team at the Chancery, under the guidance of Kate Pentreath, Executive Assistant to the Business Manager. This was Kate’s first opportunity to convene the conference which was a huge success. Thanks to everyone who contributed and was part of this significant event of the Diocese.
