Providing a place of friendship and support throughout the year is essential to the work of LifeLink agency The Shopfront, but in the lead-up to Christmas, its volunteers aim to inject a bit of festive cheer into the proceedings, according to Director Damian Walsh. By Caroline Smith.

For seminarian John Bosco, the journey of faith has been a profound one, taking him from village life in India to studies at St Charles Seminary Guildford. And now it will take him to the remote parts of the Kimberley in far north Western Australia. By Caroline Smith and Jamie O’Brien.

With multiple factors currently contributing to an increase in homelessness, among other social issues, the work of Daydawn Advocacy Centre in advocating for, and supporting, society’s most vulnerable, is more important than ever, according to its Director, Mark Reidy. By Caroline Smith.

Providing a wide range of social and professional services to people across from metropolitan Perth to the Goldfields and the South West is an impressive task, but one which Centrecare Incorporated (Inc) takes on with more than 70 years’ experience. By Caroline Smith.

Since becoming chaplain at Stella Maris 11 years ago, Deacon Patrick Moore has witnessed quite a few changes to the Fremantle Port, including the size and type of ships coming in, as a result of the Port being dredged three years ago and, of course, changes in the Australian economy. By Caroline Smith

As a former Jesuit seminarian and current writer and literary critic, Gerard Windsor is well-placed to explore Catholic faith and identity from both a theological and personal standpoint in his recent book, The Tempest-Tossed Church. Indeed, personal experience infuses each chapter as Windsor reflects on his own journey of faith and the issues and people who have affected it. By Caroline Smith.

People with intellectual disabilities have been encouraged on their faith journey by regular meetings hosted by Personal Advocacy Service. By Caroline Smith.

A national conference celebrating pastoral music has highlighted the role of music and song in bringing people together and reflecting the very nature of the Church, as an integral part of its ritual, liturgy and prayer, with keynote speakers reflecting on this theme. By Caroline Smith.

Music and song play a key role in the Catholic celebration of liturgy and can help us deepen our faith and become closer to Jesus, Perth Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton told attendees at a recent conference for pastoral musicians. Speaking at the Mass on the second day of the Australian Pastoral Musicians Network 2017 Conference, titled Sing With Joy! United in Diversity, held from 5 to 7 October, Bishop Sproxton described two encounters which had shown him the power of music in the liturgy, beginning with a trip to Paris in 1989, when he stayed with a Redemptorist community. Bishop Sproxton was joined at the Mass by concelebrants Father Wayne Bendotti from the Diocese of Bunbury, the Very Rev Fr Robert Borg, Dean of Hornsby Cathedral Parish, from the Diocese of Broken Bay and Deacon Gary Stokes from the Diocese of Port Pirie. “The Chapel of the community was on a lower floor of the building and it was open to the people of the neighbourhood, and 20 or so would come to the Mass each morning,” Bishop Sproxton said. By Caroline Smith.

When Morley Parish’s Infant Jesus Church marked its Silver Jubilee on the weekend of the 19 and 20 August, there was so much interest in the celebrations that four Masses were needed, together with special meals and a musical concert. By Caroline Smith.