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1-What does the word “Convention” means?
The Convention is a gathering of Priests,
Deacon, Religious Sisters and the Laity who
participate with them in the management of
the Eparchy and the parishes — i.e., Eparchy
Directors, Members of Eparchy Pastoral
Council, Members of Parish Councils,
Stewardship Committees, and Members of other
parish committees such as: Ladies
Committees, Youth Groups, Confraternities,
Spiritual, Educational and Cultural
Committees. Other specialised people who
work in the parishes or the Eparchy may also
be invited to participate in the gathering.
The Eparch convenes the Convention and has
appointed a Convention Committee to organize
matters prior to the Convention to ensure an
orderly meeting.
2- Convention goals:
2.1 Review of the current situation of the
Eparchy.
2.2 Plan for the near future: until 2012
2.3 Study of issues concerning the overall
Eparchy.
3-Convention Survey 2009
“Review of the current situation of the
Eparchy”
The first goal of the Convention is to
review the current situation of the Eparchy
throughout Australia and New Zealand and to
evaluate plan and develop strategies to
improve services for the whole of the
Melkite community. For this reason a Survey
to all parishioners has been developed as an
initial step to assist with the
identification of gaps in service delivery
and future planning for the Melkite
community. All parishioners will be invited
to participate in the survey and those who
do not attend the church for whatever
reason, will also be highly encouraged to
participate.
Parish Council members in Australia and New
Zealand will be responsible for encouraging
their parishioners to participate in the
survey. Collected surveys will be analysed
and the results presented to the local
Convention Committee/representative, who in
turn will pass it onto the Main Convention
Committee. To maximise parishioners’
participation in the survey it is
advisable to form group sessions per
committee to
ensure that all concerns are
documented.
The Convention held in November 2009 will be
attended by the clergy, all council and
committee members as well as His Grace Arch
Bishop Issam John Darwish. All attendees
will then review the results of the surveys
collated and future directions will be
identified and included in the plan
2009-2012.
The outcome of the convention will give the
Eparchy a better picture of the parishioners
needs to “build our church together.”
His Grace determined, in the first meeting
with the Convention Steering Committee, the
following four points which should be
discussed as part of the preparation for the
Convention:-
1 Spiritual matters
2 Social matters
3 Educational matters
4 The Goods of the Church
Convention
09 Presentation
Hand to hand, heart to heart we look
forward to your input in the Survey and in
helping build our church together.
Preparation Committee |
