More than 90 young people congregated in New Norcia from December 5 to 9 for the annual Embrace the Grace Conference organised by the Archdiocesesan Respect Life Office.
Our theme for this year’s conference, Life & Grace, was unpacked by some brilliant guest speakers travelling from all over Australia to be with us.
National speakers, Jonathan Doyle of Choicez Media and Anna Krohn from the John Paul II Institute in Melbourne, came to impart their knowledge.
Local speakers, including Fr Michael Leek OSB, Paul Kelly and Fr Hong Pham, also joined us, sharing their insights, engaging with the participants and challenging them to deepen their faith.
A special thank you goes to the Knights of the Southern Cross; their generous support for this year’s Embrace the Grace meant that our many wonderful guest speakers could join us.
Breaking off into community and sharing groups, participants had an opportunity to debrief from talks, enjoy some great games, learn about some inspiring saints and meet other young people from the diocese.
Conference chaplains, Fr Anthony Van Dyke OP and Fr Roman Wroblewski SDS, assisted in giving participants the opportunity to share in morning and evening prayer and daily Mass.
A main feature of the week gave everyone the opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and pray together in Adoration and Benediction.
The Embrace the Grace Amazing Race saw teams travelling around New Norcia to different “countries”, joining in some fun games and activities to build up team spirit.
Our Saturday night Dinner Dance, a great way to wrap up a wonderful week with many new friends, was one of the many highlights.
Embrace the Grace 2012 was a great conference, not only an opportunity to meet other young people from the Archdiocese and join in some great activities but also a chance to learn more about our faith and be challenged to be witnesses to others in the community.