By Eric Martin
Deacons from across Australia are preparing to descend on Perth, excited to hear about what God has planned for the members of their vocation in 2020 at the biennial 2019 National Association Deacons’ Conference, held from 3 to 6 October at The University of Notre Dame Fremantle Campus.
National Organising Committee Chair Deacon Mark Powell, from the Archdiocese of Perth’s Lockridge Parish, spoke about the aspirations of the Conference organisers.
“We are hoping that the Conference will create a stronger pastoral awareness nationally about how we can better realise a stronger role for Deacons among the wider Catholic community,” Dcn Powell said.
“We are living in a changing world, globally and internally, and we are seeing many opportunities where the role of a deacon can provide support, perhaps where there has not been before, but there is clearly a need within that parish, agency or school.”
Another local deacon highly involved with the Perth Archdiocese in his role as the Director of the WA Catholic Migrant and Refugee Centre (WACMRO), Dcn Greg Lowe, will be presenting at the conference.
He spoke with The eRecord about the subject of his talk, the work of WACMRO and the Australian deacons’ new project: The Welcoming Parish Initiative.
“The Conference is an opportunity for fellowship and faith development in terms of further understanding Jesus, the deacon. Strengthening the identity of the deacon builds capacity to be creative in ministry,” he said.
“The Welcoming Parish is a parish that has discerned to outreach to migrants and refugees living locally who are in need. WACMRO has the data on newly arrived persons – which suburbs they are living in and what their needs are.
“The Welcoming Parish is assisted by the Archdiocesan agency and supported by the Catholic school. Importantly, volunteers are drawn from the local community and welcomed by the parish into the various outreach programmes.”
Dcn Lowe went on to explain that the more tangible skills are learning further to minister effectively to those who are in need on the boundaries of the Church and society – this means the deacon has to be equipped to address existential matters of meaning and purpose as well as facilitate pastoral care.
“The skill is finding the right way, inspired way, to relate to the individual person and their specific need in a timely manner – such sensitivity to the person and their situation is truly diaconal.”
Similarly, Dcn Patrick Moore, director of Fremantle Stella Maris Seafarers’ Centre, is also presenting at the conference, highlighting the importance of the pastoral outreach provided by the agency, which “welcomes” sailors into Apostleship of the Sea facilities around the world.
The Stella Maris/Apostleship of the Sea centres provide hospitality, assistance and support to merchant seamen who might be months away from home and feeling the isolation and strain of such an extraordinary amount of time spent away from friends and family.
“Last year, 1807 commercial ships visited Fremantle Ports and these ships were crewed by more than 40,000 seafarers, most of whom were from underdeveloped countries,” Dcn Moore explained.
“The lives of these men are full of hardship.
“Typically, a man in the Philippines gets some training and approaches a manning agent before flown to a foreign port to join a ship and 21 other men, none of whom he has met before,” he said.
“He will share a cramped space with those men for the next eight to 10 months. He may find some friends, or he could be bullied – and there’s no escape: he will suffer from loneliness, homesickness, constant noise and vibration; he will work 12 hours a day for seven days a week, and if he’s lucky, he will be allowed off the ship for a few hours when they visit a port.
Dcn Moore shared that there is a constant fear of injury and sickness whilst at sea and many men suffer from depression and take their own lives. Last year, almost 300 seafarers were hospitalised in Australia.
“Jesus calls all of us to welcome the stranger, but we have a special responsibility towards these men because we all benefit from their work.”
All deacons, candidates and aspirants from Australia and New Zealand, of any Catholic rite, and their wives are invited to attend, joining those responsible for deacon formation and other interested clergy from across Australia.
Early-bird registration closed on 30 June, but places are still available: visitors looking for accommodation will have an option of either the Esplanade Hotel, the Hougoumont Hotel, Fremantle Bed and Breakfast or Quest Apartments with registration available online at: www.trybooking.com/BBVRV