(Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle)
Newy 87.8 FM – Around 35 pastoral musicians from parishes across the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle have come together for the diocese's first Nourishment Day, a gathering of prayer, conversation, food, friendship and singing.
The event carried the theme Living Music, built around the idea that "music doesn't live on the page. It lives in us."
The day began in prayer, with participants taking part in a ritual in which the musicians blessed one another's hands with holy water — the hands that play, conduct, turn pages and organise music folders.
With the feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop close at hand, the group also reflected on her practical spirituality, summed up in the saying "never see a need without doing something about it."
The morning included time for formation, reflection and conversation about the role of pastoral musicians, led by Paul Mason from the Diocese of Wollongong.
Participants then shared a home-cooked lunch with time for conversation and fellowship, before spending time singing together, exploring repertoire and discovering new music.
Organisers said the day gave those who spend much of the year nourishing the prayer of others a chance to be nourished themselves — to laugh, learn, pray, eat and sing together — before returning to their parishes.
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