The local gathering of our Perth Marist Association was held on Wednesday 29 March at the Brothers’ Residence adjacent to Newman College. We had 35 attendees which included our Marist Association members, those whose memberships are pending and a those who came along to see if they would like to become members. We were delighted to welcome Daniel and Katie Lynch, members from Sydney, who now live in Perth. Br Kieran was visiting from New Zealand and was a welcome guest. He shared his Marist experiences from New Zealand with us.
Following a recap of our gatherings from 2016 and looking at the feedback given by Joe McCarthy from our Regional Gathering in November, we looked at our plans and activities for 2017. These are based on the feedback of ideas, requests and suggestions from our members and pending members. They include our first Marist Association Retreat which will be held over 3 days in August at New Norcia. This is the only monastic town in Australia, 130 km north of Perth and where the Marist Brothers began their mission in Western Australia. Its school, St Ildephonsus’ Boys’ School, was opened in 1913 and operated until 1964 under the Marist Brothers.
We also welcomed and congratulated new members to the Association, announced the release of the Marist Prayer App and shared our Formation Module Our Gift to the Church. Br John Horgan and Daniel Lynch shared their knowledge and experience of Marist Youth Ministry, Marist Solidarity and Marist Youth Care. We engaged in great dialogue and prayer throughout the sharing of this module.
We concluded our evening with community building over refreshments and a BBQ provided by the Brothers’ Community.
Dianne Grinbergs