BackAustralasian Catholic Coalition for Church Reform (ACCCR) and Garratt Publishing present
MAKING SYNODALITY WORK IN OUR LIVES AND OUR PARISHES
WEBINAR
Thursday 26 June 2025
Catholicism is experiencing an amazing era of change. We hope that the concepts and ideas from the recent Synod on Synodality will become part of our parishes and dioceses.
This webinar reflected on the current state of Australasian Catholics eight months after the final session.
The event was moderated by Christina Reymer and she was joined by Bishop Tim Norton, Dr Elissa Roper and Steph Jorna. Gail Gill gave the concluding summary.
The webinar:
- explored what was happening in the dioceses where action has already begun
- discussed the local synod in Brisbane in 2024, the outcomes and the implementation process
- covered the synodal ways of being in any parish or community
- shared ideas around ministries and vocations pertinent to those in and outside parishes.
We hope this webinar will contribute to re-energising people of faith.
The presentation was recorded and is available to view below.
MODERATOR
Christina Reymer
Christina is a founding member of Be The Change, Aotearoa and a Director of Australasian Catholic Coalition for Church Reform, teacher, international development volunteer, community activist, and business owner. Christina brings a rich perspective from her New Zealand and Dutch heritage to everything she does.
SPEAKERS
Bishop Tim Norton SVD
Tim has been the Bishop of Broome since December 2024. He was an Auxiliary Bishop of Brisbane from 2022 to 2024. Tim completed a Bachelor of Applied Science in Physiotherapy before joining the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) in 1983. He undertook some of his studies in Mexico and returned after ordination for a further five years. He was the Provincial Superior of SVD between 2005 and 2013. Tim was also the director of SVD International Sabbatical Programmes in Nemi, Italy, until 2021.
Elissa Roper
Elissa is a theologian specialising in synodality in the Catholic Church with a focus on building a mature, responsible and loving Church. She has served extensively in the areas of ecumenical and interfaith dialogue, and is a member of the Australian Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue. Elissa is currently a sessional academic with the University of South Australia, teaching theology to primary and secondary Catholic teachers. She and her husband have four children and live in the beautiful Yarra Valley.
Steph Jorna
Steph is a Brisbane-based singer-songwriter, youth leader, and teacher working for the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane as Synod Coordinator and Project Officer-Inclusion. Prior to this, Steph designed and implemented Brisbane Catholic Education’s system approach to student formation and youth ministry. Steph is passionate about shaping and facilitating effective, empowering and psychologically safe retreats where young people encounter the Other through each other.
SUMMARY
Gail Gill
Gail’s professional background is in Catholic Education where she worked in a variety of positions in schools and education offices in the Archdiocese of Sydney and the Diocese of Broken Bay. The last twelve years of her working life were committed to a ministry for women established by Bishop David Walker. During this time, Gail responded to needs in a number of parishes and in one parish was a Parish Life Coordinator. She was a member of the formation team for the Permanent Diaconate for a number of years. Now, in retirement, Gail contributes to a variety of organisations such as Women and the Australian Church (WATAC), ACCCR and Australian Catholics Exploring Diaconate (ACED) and to ministry in my home parish.
