by CHERYL SURREY
The Parish of Tongariro Catholic in Taupō, in partnership with the Diocese of Hamilton, hosted a Divine Renovation “Open House” recently.
This was Divine Renovation’s first in-person event in New Zealand. The event attracted 130 people, including parish representatives, diocesan staff, lay leaders and clergy, hailing from as far north as Orewa and as far south as Wanaka.
With more than 20 parishes in active accompaniment in New Zealand, Divine Renovation seeks to inspire, connect and equip parishes to come alive for mission, bringing people to a relationship with Jesus Christ.
The Taupō event, which spanned two days, was aimed at those with a hunger for transformation in their parish. It was an opportunity to experience what parish life looks like in Tongariro Catholic — a parish in partnership with Divine Renovation which receives on-going coaching for both the parish priest, Msgr Trevor Murray, and his senior leadership team.
Bishop Michael Gielen, Fr John Adams and members of the leadership team of St Peter Chanel, Waimakariri Parish, Christchurch, were also among the guest speakers. Divine Renovation, a donor-funded ministry, offers an ongoing, individualised accompaniment relationship, and helps each parish to discern its own particular and unique path of renewal in the areas of three “keys”: the Primacy of Evangelisation, the Best of Leadership, and the Power of the Holy Spirit.
Parishes like Tongariro Catholic and St Peter Chanel, Waimakariri, are seeing great fruit as they implement these principles of renewal.
Msgr Murray and his team were asked to open the doors of their parish and to share their experiences.
The “Open House”, which took place on July 18-19, sold out three weeks in advance, and had to close registrations at 130 participants. Organisers were impressed at the level of interest.
A spokesperson said that the event was “a fantastic two days with faithful, enthusiastic disciples”. Attendees came from 50 different parishes across Aotearoa.
“We’re so grateful to Msgr Trevor and the Diocese of Hamilton for partnering with us — for being the vessel that will allow the Holy Spirit to enable so many to dream dreams, and step out in faith to be the change-makers that will transform parish cultures to be more invitational and missional,” the spokesperson said.
The Open House event included Mass, eucharistic adoration, opportunities for praise and worship, parish hospitality, and testimonies from parishioners who had experienced life-changing transformations. A variety of workshops and keynote talks explored topics like “Leading out of a Team”, “How to get started in Parish Renewal”, “How to move from Courses to Conversions”, and there was a pre-recorded interview with Fr James Mallon, the founder of the ministry, on the topic of “Evangelisation in the Parish”
Divine Renovation in New Zealand hopes to run another Open House next year and, in February, 2022, the Divine Renovation Australasia Conference will be held in Sydney, Australia, with Fr Mallon attending in-person. Along with on-going webinars and connect events throughout the year, the ministry has a YouTube channel, podcast and variety of books available, the latest “Preaching on Purpose” book will be available
soon. To find out more visit-
divinerenovation.org or email New Zealand’s DR Relationship Guide: [email protected]
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