18 November 2020 · 2020-11 newsletter
After several weeks of planning and organising our unique and first National Movement Conference via Zoom took place on Saturday 17th October. This Conference was ‘mini’ because instead of the usual two full days for the Conference we had three hours. With the different time zones we chose morning for WA and afternoon for the Eastern States.
The theme for the Conference was: The Domestic Church and the Schoenstatt Home Shrine.
Sr. M. Isabell gave a much-appreciated input in which she led us into a reflection on the Church in miniature – the Domestic Church – and stressed that the family needs to become what it really is: an original and essential cell of society.
She went on to develop the thought that the Schoenstatt Home Shrine should be for us the central place of this Domestic Church. Here, through baptism, the family participates in the life of the Church and, in the strength of the home shrine, in the prophetic, priestly and kingly mission of Jesus Christ and of His Church.
This was followed by a 15-minute video of the Fenelons, a couple from the USA who both experienced Father Kentenich in their childhood. They spoke about the ‘atmosphere’ that the Home Shrine created in their home and its importance in the formation of the family members.
We also viewed 5 testimonies from representatives from the 4 States in Australia where Schoenstatt is present: Paul & Fiona Webb (QLD), Luis Veas (NSW), Sr. M. Rebecca (WA), Cesar Corpus (NSW) and Rose Paynting (VIC). All these testimonies gave a different emphasis on how they live with their home shrine in their particular circumstances and gave inspiration and recognition of the importance of our Home Shrine.
After a short break, the participants were divided into groups and we used the Breakout Rooms function in Zoom to be able to discuss via the internet with just three of four others. In the first report back the following sentences were shared as a result of gathering impressions from the input session and testimonies:
- “Make God the centre of our lives.”
- “Our Home Shrine is alive and awareness of it accompanies us throughout the whole day. It reminds us that we are children of our Father and our Mother”
- “The Home Shrine enriches the home, is the heart of the home, part of the life within the home, enables us to share it with others and is a safe space for all.”
- "The Home Shrine is constantly with us wherever we go as Head and Heart Shrine".
- “Home Shrine forms and transforms as we take Schoenstatt and Our Lady with us wherever we are.”
- “Creating a sacred atmosphere, where the living faith can be experienced and where Christ’s presence is felt and taken to all.”
- “Create a sacred space in our homes with Home Shrines, and from there reach out to family, fellow Schoenstatt members and everyone we meet.”
Following this feedback, we once again divided into groups with the specific aim of looking forward to see where the Holy Spirit is guiding us into the future. The groups looked for the ‘open doors’ which are being offered to us in this extraordinary time of the Pandemic and how individuals or groups can concretely contribute to an understanding and living of the Domestic Church with the help of our Schoenstatt Home Shrine.
From a plenary session which followed we discerned the following motto for our coming year’s work:
Family, be what you are: Domestic Church.
The address of “family” may include not just the natural family or our particular family circumstances at the moment but also our Schoenstatt Family. To deepen our understanding of the Domestic Church is now the challenge ahead of us for the coming year. It also became clear in the plenary session that we need to find new ways of sharing the richness of Schoenstatt and not be fearful about taking new initiatives. We should work on developing a deeper sense of community and revitalizing our Home Shrines. We want to:
- Go where we are needed
- Take Our Lady with us and
- Trust blindly in Divine Providence.
Altogether we had 45 participants using 29 computers. For some, like Rose Paynting, who at 86 was participating for the first time in a Zoom meeting, it was a huge learning experience regarding the technology, but none-the-less enjoyed by all. Rose was so keen to join the Conference that she had asked the parish secretary to help her. Because of this we had also been able to invite her to give one of the testimonies about the importance of the Home Shrine in her life.
While the technology worked for most, unfortunately one of the participant’s computer ‘failed’ soon after Sr. M. Isabell’s talk and another missed out on one discussion but was able to join again for the plenary.
So, all in all, we can thank God, our MTA and our father that this first experience of a National Zoom meeting was as fruitful as it was.
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