Walking Together out West
Archbishop Christopher Prowse joins local parish priests and parishioners for the Walking Together Deanery Visitation at Tumut in rural NSW.
Travelling around our Archdiocese is no small feat.
To travel from Lake Cargelligo, northwest of the Archdiocese, to Eden, on the Victorian border, you would travel 660km and take nine hours.
With an Archdiocese spanning over 88,000 square kilometres, walking together as a community can be challenging, especially during the last several years as we lurch from hailstorms in Canberra to bushfires on the east coast to a pandemic.
Nonetheless, Archbishop Christopher Prowse headed out West to meet, listen and pray with parishioners and faith community leaders as part of his Deanery visitations in the Year of Walking Together.
Archbishop Christopher Prowse and Scared Heart Temora parish priest Fr Sijo Jose with Vietnamese Bakery manager Mia Pham
After Mass, local parishioners shared coffee, cake and stories with the Archbishop and parish priest, Fr Sijo Jose, at Temora’s Vietnamese Bakery.
Bakery Manager Mai Pham, a refugee from Vietnam, shared how she was attracted to Temora’s deep Catholic faith.
“We planned to drive through Temora, but we loved it so much we decided to stay, Ms Pham said. “The town has a very strong Catholic faith, wonderful choices of schools and excellent health services.”
Others shared this sentiment as they praised and promoted living in rural NSW.
Over the last month, Archbishop Prowse has also visited the Archdiocese’s Northern, Southern and Eastern Deaneries.
As the global Catholic Church heads towards the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Archbishop Prowse, on the feast of Mary MacKillop in August of this year, inaugurated the Archdiocese to a Year of Walking Together.
“Being a community that discerns and acts together in the name of Jesus needs to be our priority,” Archbishop Prowse said.
“How can we do this,” Archbishop Prowse asked, ” if we do not share the good things God has given us all?