At a time when the Church is facing a number of significant pressures, over 150 parish leaders from around the country gathered to plan and reflect on the foundations and challenges of contemporary church life.

The 2009 National Conference of Pastors and Pastoral Associates was held at Shoal Bay in September.

According to Conference Organiser and Pastoral Associate at Forster-Tuncurry Parish, Greg Byrne, “Our conference made history in a number of significant ways. While it is traditionally hosted by a single diocese, this year’s conference has been collaboratively organised by five NSW Catholic dioceses: Maitland-Newcastle, Broken Bay, Parramatta, Sydney and Wollongong. It is also the first time the conference had been hosted outside a capital city.”

Featuring seven keynote speakers and 35 workshops, the conference explored many of the social and spiritual issues important to today’s church and broader communities.

Topics included: the changing face of church leadership; connecting with single parent families, youth, non-practising Catholics, the aged and people with a disability; ecological conversion; educating for life and the opportunities and challenges of engaging in contemporary communication technologies.