Practical ways your parish, school or community can respond to the Archdiocesan Assembly.
The Archdiocesan Assembly is not only a day of prayer and discernment — it is a launching point for action. Across the day, three visions were explored for what our Church is being called to become: a ‘community of communities’, a ‘sanctuary for the thirsty’, and a ‘centre of constant missionary outreach’.
Below are practical Next Steps your Parish, school or community can take right now to animate each of these visions, building on what has already been discerned through our parish assemblies and this Archdiocesan Assembly.
Whatever stage your community is at, there is a place to begin.
Becoming a 'Community of Communities'
Every parish, school, ministry and community has something to contribute to the life of the whole — practical steps to help that gift be shared.
Sacramental Pathways
The Archdiocese is launching a series of ‘post-Sacrament’ retreats aligned to the Sacraments of Initiation for children. In addition, we are developing a series of pre-Sacrament Retreats and accompanying family sessions to support family engagement, including:
Summit: First Holy Communion Pathway
Kingdom: Confirmation Pathway
Basecamp: First Penance Pathway
Liturgical Renewal Offerings
The Synodal Evangelisation Team have been building a suite of Liturgical Renewal Offerings in collaboration with parishes across the Archdiocese. All of these are available HERE
Invitational Campaign
To resource parishes to build this ‘culture of invitation’ we have developed a simple set of resources to support you through a process called “Pray – Invite – Bring.”
Becoming a 'Sanctuary for the Thirsty'
Ways to create space where those not yet in our pews can come with their questions, their hopes and their thirst, and encounter Christ.
Cana Youth
Cana Kids and Cana Youth — Youth ministry in our Archdiocese has had a long and fruitful history. This year, we have moved to consolidate all of our youth groups and ministry.
- Cana Kids: For primary school aged children in years 4-6. We train and resource our Parishes to host Cana Kids Groups as well as Little Liturgies in collaboration with Mark 10 Mission.
- Cana Youth: For secondary school aged students in year 7-12 we have Cana Youth Groups in a rolling cycle of sessions developed by our Parish Youth Coordinators.
- Cana Outreach: Our Cana Youth Team conducts outreach — including in collaboration with Fr Rob Galea — in a number of our Catholic schools, to invite young people into the life of our parishes.
Parish Youth Coordinators
To help accompany young people in our parishes, we support the recruitment, formation and engagement of ‘Parish Youth Coordinators’ to lead the youth ministry of our Parishes: CLICK HERE
Parish Youth Coordinators are employed in pairs. Together they establish a Parish Youth Team of other young adults, and run Cana Kids and Cana Youth groups.
Parish Youth Coordinators are formed within a broader young adult community called THE APOSTOLATE. This involves over a dozen formation sessions across the year as well as retreats and other young adult events such as Guinness & God.
Alpha and Alpha Youth
Everyone needs a space to invite people to explore questions of faith, life and meaning.
- Run an Alpha or Alpha Youth Course, drawing on free resources at alpha.org.au/catholic-context. An Alpha Masterclass is also being hosted here in the Archdiocese on 5 September.
- The Synodal Evangelisation Team has been supporting a number of parishes to create spaces for people wanting to become Catholic through the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA), including a tailored approach for youth in our secondary schools. Head to cgevangelisation.org.au for more details.
Becoming a 'Centre of Mission'
Structures and formation to help our Church move from listening into discernment, and from discernment into mission.
Cenacle: Institute for Synodal Evangelisation
Our Archdiocesan Institute for Synodal Evangelisation has been launched to call, form and send a new generation of missionary disciples. Through adult faith formation and leadership development, delivered online and in person, there is something on offer for all:
- Evangelisation Plan Workshops: Intensives supporting parish leaders and Synodal Evangelisation Teams to discern and develop a practical, context-aware evangelisation plan — especially following a Parish Assembly or this Archdiocesan Assembly.
- Formation Forums: One-off experiences offering approachable, engaging adult faith formation content, delivered in-person and online. Resource packs are available for parishes to host their own Formation Forum.
- Courses: A series of courses combining in-person retreat experience, online learning, online tutorials and practical activities, focused on animating synodal evangelisation in your community.
Instituted Ministries
The Archdiocese has begun developing a framework aligned to the Instituted Ministries of the Lector, Catechist and Acolyte — distinct from existing parish ministries such as readers or altar servers, as a recognition of a discerned vocation, aligned to living and leading through discerned charisms, and instituted by the Archbishop after formation, discernment and pastoral application.
Further information on this pathway will be released across the Archdiocese in the weeks following the Assembly.
Participatory Bodies
The Synod on Synodality called for the integration of synodality into ‘participatory bodies’:
- Parish Synodal Evangelisation Teams: Following the Assembly, all parishes are invited to form a Parish Synodal Evangelisation Team — a distinct group focused on animating the mission of the Church, formed through the Evangelisation Intensives.
- Parish Pastoral and Finance Councils: Draft statutes have been developed that embed synodality within these bodies, alongside ongoing networking of Parish Pastoral Council Chairs for formation, support and prayer.
- Archdiocesan Pastoral Council: An Archdiocesan Pastoral Council Working Group, led by Fr Richard Thompson (Vicar General), is building on the work of the Archdiocesan Interim Discernment Council.
Ready for your next steps?
The Synodal Evangelisation Team exists to support parishes, ministries and movements as we carry forward the hopes and priorities of the Archdiocesan Assembly. Bringing together a range of skills and experience, our team is here to walk alongside your community and help turn the vision of the Assembly into practical, life-giving action.
Our areas of expertise include: leadership formation, parish renewal, catechesis, liturgy, youth and young adult ministry, and outreach.
We’d love to connect with you and explore how we might support the journey already underway in your parish, ministry or movement. Whether you are discerning a new initiative, looking to renew an existing ministry, or simply wondering what might be possible, the team is ready to listen, accompany and work alongside you.
Let’s continue the journey together and bring the hopes of the Archdiocesan Assembly to life in our local communities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have more questions about Next Steps?Find the answers here.
We completely understand that you might have more questions about how to get involved! Check out the Frequently Asked Questions below. If you have more, then contact the Archdiocese today.
Not every initiative will suit every context. Each Next Step is designed to meet parishes where they are — whether that means starting a Cana Kids group, running an Alpha Course for the first time, or forming a Parish Synodal Evangelisation Team. The Evangelisation Plan Workshops through the Cenacle Institute are the best place to start if you want help discerning which pathway fits your community.
For youth ministry, Cana Kids/Youth or Parish Youth Coordinators, contact Christopher Gilroy. For questions about Sacramental Pathways, Liturgical Renewal, Alpha, RCIA or the Institute for Synodal Evangelisation, reach out via cgevangelisation.org.au/contact and our team will point you to the right person.
These Next Steps are intended to be adapted, not applied uniformly. A “community of communities” looks different in Bega than it does in Canberra, and the resources — from Formation Forums to the Pray-Invite-Bring framework — are designed to be scaled to your parish’s size, capacity and local context rather than rolled out identically everywhere.
These Next Steps are intended to be adapted, not applied uniformly. A “community of communities” looks different in Bega than it does in Canberra, and the resources — from Formation Forums to the Pray-Invite-Bring framework — are designed to be scaled to your parish’s size, capacity and local context rather than rolled out identically everywhere.
Full resources for each Next Step are being centralised at cgevangelisation.org.au, with specific pages for Cana Youth, the Cenacle Institute, Liturgical Renewal and Parish Assembly Resources.