November 2018, Executive Officer’s report

The first of November was my one year anniversary at AMPJP – it certainly feels like it was a very quick year.

At the beginning of November, we had a teleconference meeting of the AMPJP Council which generated some work for me.

I am also working my way through a formation for PJP governance survey with each of our members. I will write a brief paper on the nature of the different formation programs to assist members decide if there are any areas in which they would like to share resources and work cooperatively.

The past month also saw me engaged with the wider Church – the meeting of Diocesan Coordinators for the Plenary Council 2020 and attendance at the Mercy Partners tenth anniversary celebrations.

While I was in Brisbane for the Mercy Partners celebrations, I met with Dr Maeve Louise Heaney: Director, ACU Xavier Centre for Theological Formation. The Xavier Centre provides theological formation for Catholic organisations. Maeve is involved in the formation of candidates for the priesthood so she was keen to hear about the different understandings and components of formation for PJP governance. We also spoke about possible ways that the Xavier Centre and AMPJP may work together.

Recently, I have marveled at the vibrancy of the flowers of Jacaranda trees and found this reflection which others may find helpful (sourced from: http://www.xt3.com/library/view.php?id=21362)

The flowers of the Jacaranda tree always bloom leading up to Advent and the Christmas Season.

The colour of the Jacaranda tree’s flower is a gorgeous purple, which is also a royal colour, it reminds us that Jesus is the King of King’s.

It’s nature’s way of reminding us to make room for the newborn King in our heart.

The Jacaranda tree also lays down a beautiful royal carpet for this holy occasion when God became Man. There are purple reminders all over Australia and other parts of the world too.

So next time you see a Jacaranda tree you can pray this simple prayer:

Come Lord Jesus, 
Send your Holy Spirit, this Advent
Make room for You in the Inn of my heart
and fill me with the peace,
that only you can bring.
Amen.

New events listed on the website:

• • 11 Feb 2019 Our Enduring Commitment to End of Life Care
  • 2-3 March 2019 Principles and Practice of Church Governance
  • 2019  AMPJP Council meetings, Regional Forums, AGM and Canonical Stewards Forum
  • 26-27 Aug 2019 CHA Governance Symposium, AGM and Awards 

New website content:

The public news section of the AMPJP website now has the following posts:

• Preparing for the Plenary Council (25 Nov 2018 – accessible to the public as well as General members and AMPJP Council members)
• A Trinity of Charisms Light the Way (23 Nov 2018 – accessible to the public as well as General members and AMPJP Council members)

Members of AMPJP can access the following news items that I have posted in the Member area of our website:

• Update to Trustees of member organisations (08 Nov 2018 – only accessible to General members and AMPJP Council members)
• AMPJP Council minutes (02 Nov 2018 – only accessible to AMPJP Council members)
• Privacy Policy (01 Nov 2018 – only accessible to General members and AMPJP Council members)

Looking forward to significant dates in Dec 2018

[1] http://www.un.org/en/sections/observances/international-days/index.html
[2] http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/special-dates-and-events
[3] https://www.catholic.org.au/calendar#year=2018&month=1&day=1&view=month