The Emmanuel Centre and the Catholic Ministry for Deaf and Hard of Hearing have this month come together as a community, in response to the Archbishop’s blueprint for bringing the Church to Christ and Christ to the Church.
The Way Forward was launched in parishes across Perth on September 19 and 20, inviting the Perth Catholic community to respond to a questionnaire that will in turn guide the pastoral needs of the Archbishop and the Archdiocese in the years to come.
This led the East Perth based agencies to work together in organising two meetings that would enable those with a disability and their families to watch the video developed for the blueprint plan and respond to the questionnaire.
Emmanuel Centre Co-Ordinator Barbara Harris, explained that the meetings held enabled those who attended – some 25 on each occasion – to share their story, their journey and experience of why the Church was important to them.
“The meetings certainly confirmed the words of Christ, ‘For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them’ (Matthew 18:20),” Ms Harris said.
“One could almost palpably see Christ and the Holy Spirit at work as groups examined the questions and brought forth responses,” she said.
Ms Harris went on to explain that some very common themes were conveyed by those who attended.
“What was understood was that as a Church, the way forward must occur in faith, the services of the Emmanuel Centre and the Catholic Ministry for Deaf and Hard of Hearing ministers unlike other social service organisations and that any structures must be dependent on faith for its validity rather than a ‘social service’ model,” Ms Harris said.
“Those who attended the gatherings are looking forward to meeting again where faith and works can be shared and so build up the Body of Christ,” she said.