The State Council Retreat brought State Council, Board and Executive Leadership Team members together in person for reflection, prayer and team building at Mary MacKillop Place, North Sydney from 24-26 November.  

Dr Lisa McDonald facilitated the retreat entitled, Presence, Community and Transformation – Inspiration from the Road to Emmaus. 

Participants packed their bags for the live-in retreat, bringing journals and headphones for the option to listen to the podcast version of reflections. 

The retreat is a time of rest, connection with one another and an opportunity for each to deepen the experience of God’s presence, Lisa described.  

The days featured “spiritual practice gems from our tradition”, including lectio-divina, walking together, conversation, Eucharist, contemplation “and laughter, a hallmark of good community,” Lisa wrote.  

This well-loved, yet always fresh scripture about the Road to Emmaus offered a pathway through the time spent together, which also included exploration of Richard Rohr’s ‘The Universal Christ’.  

Bishop Terry Brady, retired Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, and great friend of the Society, celebrated Mass in the Mary MacKillop Place Chapel, where St Mary MacKillop, Australia’s first saint is buried with participants on the Saturday evening.