After a number of years of meeting via Zoom it was great to be able to gather in person.   The evening commenced with an ecological reflection led by  Jesuit Social Services’ Claire Thomas and Catholic Earthcare’s Sue Martin, before those who had gathered shared a hot meal.

 Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv, Bishop of Parramatta, who chairs the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Commission for Social Justice, addressed  those who had gathered via Zoom.  He highlighted the core message of the statement “This call to action, obliges us not only to care for our common home as a matter of planetary sustainability but also a sense of God-given stewardship.”  He reminded us how  St Francis understood the importance of living not as a self-centred individual but as part of the larger family of all creation with one Creator God.

The second speaker was Thuy Linh Nguyen, community organiser at the Sydney Alliance.  She outlined the role of Sydney Alliance’s advocacy for renewable energy and affordable housing, the need for subsidies to low-income families to access solar power, and community empowerment strategies through training people on how to switch to renewables.

It was now time for those present to reflect on what they had heard and share with others at their table how they could work to further advance the challenges from the Bishops Statements.  A number of groups from parishes and other Catholic agencies shared how they had responded to the document.

As the evening concluded we received a sneak preview of the Bishops’ Social Justice Statement for 2022-2023 – “Respect: Confronting Violence and Abuse.