HOST A LISTENING & DIALOGUE SESSION

From now until Ash Wednesday 2019, everyone is invited to take part in the Listening and Dialogue phase, reflecting on the plenary question: “What do you think God is asking of us at this time in Australia?” 
 
How can I take part in this listening and dialogue phase?
Gather your friends, family and colleagues and take part in this national conversation. A number of facilitator and discussion guides available to download and use locally.
 
 
Around Australia, people are entering into conversations about God and the future of our church. As Bishop Tim Harris of Townsville recently said, “I believe the time has come for the Church to truly pause so it can listen. By listening we learn, by listening we discern, by listening we understand each other better and by listening we can respond better to the new landscape that is now before us.” 
 
A number of agencies and parishes have begun hosting listening sessions around the Melbourne Archdiocese. Some are listed below:
 
Greensborough, Greensborough North, Diamond Creek
Saturday 13 October, 11am - 1pm 
Gathering Space, St Mary's Greensborough 
This session is being hosted by St Mary's Greensborough and is open to all those interested in learning about the Plenary and how to facilitate local listening and dialogue sessions. Tiffany Davis (Assistant Director, Archbishop's Office for Evangelisation) will offer some context for the Plenary and invite those present to experience the process, in order to be able to then facilitate it in their own parishes and groups. If you are from the area and would like to join us on the day, please contact St Mary’s parish office (greensborough@cam.org.au or 9435 1543).
 
Knox Deanery Plenary Discussion Group
Wednesday 17 October 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Our Lady of Lourdes Parish (Orange Grove Bayswater) 
Cuppa and sandwiches on arrival - please register your interest with the parish office (boronia@cam.org.au or 9761 2124). At this session, Jacqui Giuliano (Coordinator of Parish Leadership Formation, Archbishop's Office for Evangelisation) will offer a guide to the process of the Listening and Dialogue
involved. 
 
LEM Listening and Dialogue Session #2
Thursday 18 October, 10am - Midday
Resurrection Parish (402 Corrigan Road, Keysborough)
Groups across the country have been encouraged to engage in multiple experiences of Listening and Dialogue. This session will be an opportunity for lay ecclesial ministers (Pastoral associates, pastoral workers, lay chaplains) to listen and share in an open dialogue to the Plenary question and send our collective responses. Register now > 
 
St Joseph’s Parish Malvern Listening and Dialogue sessions
Tuesday 30 October, 7pm - 9pm & Saturday 1 December, 10am – Midday
Kildara Centre (Rear of 39 Stanhope St, Malvern)
These sessions are open to anyone. They hope to provide an opportunity to discern the future God is calling us to as a Church and will help shape the agenda of the Plenary Council 2020. They will be facilitated by Mark Davis and Anna-Marie McGann. To register your interest to attend or for more information, please contact Anna-Marie McGann via ppc@stjosephsmalvern.org.au. All are welcome to attend. 
 
Central Listening and Dialogue session, hosted by AOFE
Saturday 24 November, 11am - 1pm
Lecture Theatre, Cardinal Knox Centre (383 Albert Street, East Melbourne) - enter via Lansdowne Street
Come and participate in a Plenary listening and dialogue session this November, to be hosted by the Archbishop's Office for Evangelisation. Some ideas will also be offered about how to invite others into this ‘habit of dialogue’ at the local level, especially during the upcoming Season of Advent. If you would like to participate in this session, please register online before 20 November: https://www.trybooking.com/YUIM. For any enquiries contact Suzanne Hermon on 9926 5761 or email evangelisation@cam.org.au. 
 
 
Let us know if you are hosting a session!
If your parish or school/organisation is hosting a listening session and you are happy to invite others along, send us the information and we will promote on this page. Contact us > 
 
 

ANIMATING THE PLENARY PROCESS

Engagement In the past month, over 60% of Melbourne parishes have engaged in one of the Plenary Council project briefing sessions. Regional briefings were held in Albion, Geelong, Montmorency and East Melbourne. A number of people have attended Spirituality in the Pub presentations and also participated in Office-organised Listening and Dialogue sessions.

We are grateful to all those who attended these sessions and thank them for their commitment to the process. Many of these parishes are now animating the Plenary listening and dialogue process in their local contexts.
 
Click on the links above to download an easy-to-follow outline for hosting a listening and dialogue session.
 
 
Facilitation Training
 
The Plenary Council’s first stage of preparation is the "Listening and Dialogue" phase, which goes from now until Ash Wednesday 2019. Some parishes have asked about the possibility of facilitation training. This short video on the role of the facilitator contains some helpful tips for those leading group discussions, especially around how to encourage open and honest sharing. 
 
 
 
 
Online Submissions 
 
To assist with developing a profile about the hopes for the church in Melbourne, parishes are invited to email the responses to the plenary question to plenary@cam.org.au. This will enable us to provide feedback to parishes about the key issues that have been identified in the Archdiocese of Melbourne.

To do this: At the very end of the survey, the respondent will be asked for an email address where their submission will be emailed to them: 

Would you like a copy of your submission emailed to you? (Note: any files you may have uploaded will not be included in the copy.)
• Yes
• No

It will then be possible to forward the information to plenary@cam.org.au.