Australia – ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2002
The Members in the Australian Region gathered at Jane Franklin Hall, Hobart for our Annual General Meeting 2002 with the theme ‘Living the Life and Spirit of the SDC’. The Members were encouraged to see every experience during the week as a gift. The theme suitably helped us to understand the great tradition from Fr George Preca’s time and the early foundation of the SDC to the present.
Most Reverend Adrian Doyle, Archbishop of Hobart, celebrated
Mass for us on 29 December, Feast of the Holy Family. His Grace has had a long
association with us. During his homily, the Archbishop spoke about the
present state of families in Australia. Regretably, many are dysfunctional and
many are made up of many irregular relationships. He thanked the SDC for our
support, commitment and dedication in our work with families.
We were joined each day by a priest from the Archdiocese of Hobart including Reverend Michael Tate, parish priest of St Paul’s, Bridgewater, Reverend Peter O’Loughlin, parish priest of Corpus Christi, Bellerive, Reverend Father Robert Curmi sdb, from the Salesian community in Glenorchy and Reverend Brian Nichols, Administrator of St Mary’s cathedral.
During the AGM, special recognition was given to Jubilarians, Harry Brincat from Brompton, Adelaide and Miriam Belli from Melbourne who also attended the AGM. A Derwent river cruise with dinner celebrated this event. Parents of Members in Hobart and Reverend Michael Tate also joined us for this cruise.
On New Year’s Day, an excursion to the historic town of Richmond was held where we had a Prayer Service in St John the Evangelist church. St John is the oldest Catholic church continually used for public worship in Australia, having being blessed and opened by Bishop Bede Polding in 1837.
Our New Year Eve’s Eucharist was very fittingly and aptly
brought in the year 2003. Little did we know that our
confrere,
Charles Manicolo, would have entered eternal life within three weeks. On this
occasion, Charles entertained us in his usual way, bringing laughter and joy to
all. We thank him for this.
A display on the history of Annual General Meetings since 1957 was prepared for the participants. This reminded us of those who have been incorporated into the SDC throughout the years and urged us to work hard for new vocations.
We thank God for this opportunity to share and reflect on the past year. We forge ahead and continue to channel our energies into building up the Kingdom of God.
Peter Judge
Melbourne – Australia