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About the Focus on Welcome and Inclusion
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Welcome and inclusion is about developing the bonds of communion that exist in the Church, which is the Body of Christ. In his pastoral letter, Spirituality of Communion and Body of Christ (3.5 MB PDF), Archbishop John Bathersby, tells us that through baptism we have been immersed into Christ and therefore entered into the mystery of the life of the Trinity. He reminds us that our vocation as Christians is to proclaim the communion that already exists among us. Many parishes are already used to providing a welcoming cup of tea after Mass and other social events to create a positive and friendly atmosphere. These strategies to extend our communion with one another, apart from being in the Church together, are good and should continue. FWI is about continuing these things but also going beyond them. FWI is about reflection, discernment and planning for inclusion. Parishes do not plan to exclude people; they usually are not aware of the need to include people in a planned way. FWI is an activity which requires assessment of the needs of individuals and groups and planning to meet what may be unmet needs. It may involve reflection on how much your parish includes: - people with disability and their families
- indigenous Australians
- families where one partner is Roman Catholic and the other of another Christian tradition
- people from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds
- children and young people
- elderly people
- single parents
- people with little connection with the Church
- you could imagine lots of groups and individuals in your parish
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About our resources
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We provide some resources that you might want to start using now to promote reflection on welcome and inclusion. Our resources have been written for you to download and copy and paste. Use them free of charge, we only ask that you acknowledge our copyright and source.
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