Tasmania now ‘a church on mission’

By Catherine Sheehan

A new evangelising initiative was officially launched today in the Archdiocese of Hobart. The Evangelium Project is a program of formation to help Catholics become missionary disciples, and to allow them to rediscover the joy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Archbishop Julian developed the program as a response to the cultural challenges faced by Catholics today, with declining numbers practising the faith, and a society increasingly hostile to Christianity.

Evangelium is inspired by the call from Pope Francis, found in his apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, for the Church to become missionary and to spread the joy of the Gospel.

The aim is that the Archdiocese of Hobart become “a church on mission”.

“In the face of the decline of faith among many Catholics and in the society in general, there is a great need for all members of the Church to become missionary,” Archbishop Julian said.

“It is not just formal and official works of evangelisation and spiritual renewal that is needed, but for ‘ordinary Catholics’ to become bearers of the joy of the Gospel to those around them.”

Participants in Evangelium will gather in small “hubs” in parishes or in homes throughout the diocese, to share with one another fellowship and faith. There will be three modules of formation during 2022, during which participants will be invited to follow a discernment process of the “Heart”, “Head”, and “Hands”.

Module one will run from 24 May to 21 June and will consider the topic, “Heart – On developing the heart of an evangelist”.

Module two will run from 19 July to 16 August and will focus on “Head – An understanding of the nature of evangelisation”.

Finally, module three will take place from 20 September to 18 October focusing on “Hands- How to share our faith”.

During each module participants will meet in their hubs once a week with each session consisting of  a short time of prayer and worship, a 20 minute teaching from Archbishop Julian, a moment of personal reflection, and fifteen minutes of group sharing.

The program will be presented on Tuesday evenings at 7pm from the Cathedral Centre in Hobart and livestreamed to the hubs.

Sessions will run for about an hour and each hub will have a leader who will convene the sessions.

To find out more or to register for Evangelium go to evangeliumproject.com