THE
OF MARRIAGE
Conference Report 2016 Aerial UTS Function Centre UTS Building 10, 235 Jones Street, Ultimo.
Renaissance of Marriage Conference
“Perhaps now more than
The third national Renaissance of Marriage Conference was held in Sydney on October 21-22, 2016. Drawing inspiration from Pope Francis’ Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, the conference placed a strong emphasis on promoting initiatives that met the real needs of couples and families. The conference was the largest national gathering of organisations and individuals working in the area of marriage and relationship education.
at any time in our history we need a renaissance, a rediscovery . . . united in the goal of advancing our understanding of Catholic marriage.” Bishop Michael Kennedy, Bishops’ Delegate to the Australian Catholic Marriage and Family Council and the Catholic Society For Marriage Education
The Renaissance of Marriage Conference was hosted by the Marriage Resource Centre, an initiative of PMRC (Australia) and co-sponsored by the Australian Catholic Family and Marriage Council (ACMFC) and the Catholic Society for Marriage Educators (CSME). It received support from the Order of Malta, Notre Dame University and Campion College.
“I left with a better understanding about the state of Catholic Marriage Ministry in Australia. It was good to engage with many other conference participants and exchange different ideas and experiences”. Eugene Kwok
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Conference Attendance
The conference was attended by 180 delegates representing leaders from a wide range of organisations and locations across Australia and New Zealand. Delegates included clergy, marriage educators, movements, counsellors, teachers, and parish/diocesan staff. Conference speakers included: Hon. Kevin Andrews, MP
David Lejeune
Karen and Derek Boylen
Matthew MacDonald
Australian Parliament Archdiocese of Perth
Dr Ray Campbell
John Paul ll Centre for Family and Life
OpusFidelis
Marriage & Family Office, Archdiocese of Melbourne
Dr Luke McLindon
Archbishop Mark Coleridge
Mater Mothers Hospital
Jonathon Doyle
Office of Life, Marriage and Family, Archdiocese of Hobart
Archdiocese of Brisbane Choicez Media
Karen Doyle
Choicez Media, Sisterhood
Archbishop Anthony Fisher Archdiocese of Sydney
Anne Marie Goes Pyschologist
Fr Gerry Gleeson
Vicar-General, Archdiocese of Sydney
Anthony and Cathy Hill SmartLoving
Peter Holmes
University of Notre Dame
Lara Kirk
Relationships Co-ordinator, Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn
Denise Lacey
Dr Brigid McKenna Dr Andy Mullins
University of Notre Dame
Paul Ninnes Real Talk
James Parker
International Speaker on Sexuality
Byron and Francine Pirola Marriage Resource Centre
“The most abiding theme was the power of married couples to evangelise and build up the faith of others, especially through hospitality in their homes.” Deacon Nick MacFarlane
“It gave me a better understanding of the wealth and diversity of resources available, and a chance to meeting others who I can contact in the future.” Celeste Boonaerts
Prof Ron and Dr Mavis Pirola PMRC (Australia)
Peter Shakovskoy Men Alive!
Frances Hopkins and Chris da Silva The Culture Project
Christopher West
Theology of the Body Institute,USA
CatholicCare, Melbourne
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Costs & Funding The conference finances are still being finalised but in round numbers they can be summarised as follows: Venue hire and catering
$50,000
Audio Visual Hire Equipment
$8,000
Speaker Fees
$7,000
Marketing Materials
$10,000
Conference Coordinator
$18,000
Graphic Design
$11,000
Administration
$19,000
Total Expense
“There was a tremendous atmosphere and energy. What stood out to me was the consistent message about hospitality and the openness of the family and the centrality of witness.“ Mathew MacDonald
$123,000
This expense was funded through four sources: 1. Conference registration fees of $36,000 2. A $39,885 Australian Federal Government grant provided via CSME 3. A $47,000 grant provided by PMRC (Australia) through its Relationship Education
Foundation
4. A $2,000 donation from the Order of Malta (NSW Branch) In addition, nine delegates received CSME Learning Grants to support their travel and registration costs. These delegates received $720 per person (on average) with a total grant value of $6,490. In addition, several delegates received CSME Learning Grants to support their travel and registration costs. Nine delegates received on average $800 ($7,200 in total).
Feedback from delegates Feedback from delegates was
Poor OK/Good
29%
39%
Excellent / Amazing
71%
60%
“The national gathering of expertise and energy around this crucial topic of Marriage Education was a real highlight for me.” Peter Shakovskoy
extremely positive, with two-thirds of all presentations being rated as Excellent or
“The overall result of the conference was an upbeat injection of hope.”
Amazing.
Andy Mullins
Keynote talks Workshops
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Well done good and faithful servant! The Marriage Resource Centre, through the conference
Many in the audience were
dinner, was delighted to enable a fitting and well-
active within CSME and had great
deserved acknowledgement and celebration of 43 years
appreciation for the tremendous
of dedicated work of the Catholic Society for Marriage
work of the society. Importantly,
Education (CSME).
the mood was very much of a ‘new dawning’ rather than ‘sun
Having announced earlier this year the winding up of the
setting’ as this incredibly important
society, outgoing President Margaret Murphy paid tribute
mission of the Chuch moves
to the many clergy and lay couples and women and men
foward in new ways.
who had been an integral part of the organisation. She was joined by a number of past presidents, who each
On behalf of the Marriage
provided a short personal reflection of the work of the
Resource Centre, the ACMFC and
society. A booklet prepared to honour the past members
all who attended the conference
and their work was presented at the meeting and will be
we say again... thank you!
archived with the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (copies are available from the Renaissance of Marriage website www.rom.org.au)
Future Plans Based on the positive feedback received about this event, and the felt need in the Catholic Church for a conference of this nature, it is the intention of the Marriage Resource Centre to hold a similar conference no later than June, 2018.
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With thanks to our Sponsors & Donors
Cosponsor
Cosponsor
Commenced in 1973, the Society is comprised of member organisations accross Australia. It has contributed a substantial conference grant via the Commonwealth Government.
The Australian Catholic Marriage and Family Council (ACMFC) is an Advisory Body directly responsible to the Bishops Commission for Pastoral Life (BCPL).
Financial Sponsor
Support Services Xt3.com stands for Christ in the Third Millennium. Xt3’s mission is to provide authentic, genuine formation through the Xt3 resource library, diocese events calendar, videos and podcasts and the Ask a Priest forum. Xt3 is a project of the Archdiocese of Sydney and was started during WYD08.
The Order of Malta is an international organisation of lay men and women, founded over 900 years ago with the specific missions of both caring for the sick and poor and of the Defence of the Faith. The NSW Branch of the Order is actively committed to both of these objectives. It is in the context of Defending our Faith that the Order is pleased to cosponsor this important Conference.
Donor 7
The Marriage Resource Centre provides state of the art relationship-focused resources and programs to the Catholic Community. It focuses its work on marriage educators including clergy, and couples and families who are living (or preparing to live) out their lives in the Sacrament of Matrimony.
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