Participants of the Conference during praise and worship session. Photo: Supplied.
By Theresia Titus
The national tour of the 2018 Heart Women’s Conference took place in Perth last weekend from 19 to 21 July and attracted almost 100 women from across Western Australia.
Held at The Boulevard Centre in Floreat, the three-day event followed the theme based on the scripture verse of Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of your mind.”’
Archbishop Emeritus Barry Hickey also attended the conference to celebrate the Mass on Saturday, 20 July.
Archbishop Emeritus Barry Hickey celebrated the Mass on Saturday, 20 July. Photo: Supplied.
In his homily, Archbishop Emeritus Hickey said that he hoped that during the few days of the Heart Women’s Conference, participants would find their purpose, and as stated in the the theme from scripture, they could transform through the renewal of mind, heart and soul.
Founder of the Conference, Rosemary Downes, said that she is inspired to begin the Conference during a period of her life when she felt God moved her “to reach out to women of all ages and encourage them in the journey of life”.
“We need time to laugh, to cry and to celebrate who we really are,” Mrs Downes said.
“The thought came to me that this could start with providing a few days of refreshment for the body, mind, soul, and of course our hearts,” Mrs Downes said.
Businesswoman Emma McGinniss during her session on Friday, 19 July. Photo: Supplied.
Joining Mrs Downes as one of the speakers at the Perth’s Conference was businesswoman Emma McGinniss, and Director of Mission Integration at St John of God Midland Public and Private Hospital Tara Peters.
Mrs McGinniss shared her life experiences and stories as a mother and touched on the topic of how to have hearts that are in tune with God’s heart.
She also explained there are two ways the participants may have hearts which are not in sync with God’s heart, one way is by sinning and the other is by conforming to the world.
She invited the participants to ask God to help them transform, ask for forgiveness, recognise the signs of having a hard heart and give their hearts to God.
“You have to guard your heart because a hard heart can mess with your feelings, thoughts, actions and life,” Mrs McGinniss said.
In her interactive presentation on Friday afternoon, Mrs Peters placed gifts and a card at each the table of each participant, who were then invited to discuss their response to the gift they had received.
Mrs Peters explained that the gifts symbolised the lives of participants as being a gift from God, and their response to the gift will decide on what change they can bring to their lives.
“Transformation starts when we treat life as a gift and responding accordingly,” Mrs Peters said.
“If we see life as a gift, we will have a different attitude towards life.”
Director of Mission Integration at St John of God Hospital Midland, Tara Peters, during her interactive session on Friday, 19 July. Photo: Supplied.
Mrs Peters said the first appropriate response to life as a gift would be to be grateful, and by reading the cards attached to the gifts meant the participants should respond to life with a purpose.
The third response is to “handle the gifts with care”, applying the concept of stewardship in life, the participants are stewards, not the owner of their lives.
The last response to the “gifts” is for the participants to share what they have been given in life and be vulnerable to rejection.
Conference participant Carmel Cotter said she really enjoyed the Heart Conference.
“It brought us closer to God and provided friendship and fellowship with other women who are excellent and have beautiful hearts,” she said.
Fellow participant Irene Poli said it was a valuable time for discernment.
“It was a time to discern what my blessing is, my life purpose and put into my life some practical encounters to choose God above all else,” she said.
“We were able to look at the signs of a hardened heart and consider what legacy we would like to leave at the end of our lives.”
The organisers of the conference have announced plans to hold the event in Perth next year from 25 to 27 July.