CHILD PROTECTION SUNDAY 11 September
The Australian Catholic Church's Child Protection Sunday again falls at the end of the national Child Protection Week campaign. The focus this year is on the importance of primary prevention to reduce child abuse and neglect in Australia.
Within our Diocese, we are taking the opportunity to announce the establishment of our own Diocesan Safeguards Representatives network which is aimed at creating an awareness amongst our communities of the need for all of us to work together to ensure our children and vulnerable adults are kept safe.
Resource material for these purposes is being dispatched to arrive in Parishes by mid-August.

2016 Concannon College Oration 14 September
The Council of Concannon College and the Director (Student Engagement and Leadership), Mr Peter Munster, warmly invite you to this year's Concannon Oration – Are you M.A.D.? Delivered by Brother Damien Price.
Date: Wednesday 14 September 2016
Time: 7.30pm (audience seated by 7.15pm) Refreshments will be served after the presentation
Location: Allison Dickson Lecture Theatre
University of Southern Queensland West Street, Toowoomba
RSVP: Joseph Roberson rcevents@usq.edu.au | 07 4631 2650
Please see attached flyer for more information.

Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Bus Trip 14 September
Our Lady of Lourdes Parish have organised a bus trip for Wednesday 14 September. Departing at 8.30am, the first stop is Glengallan Homestead. It then proceeds to Stanthorpe RSL for lunch and finally Castle Glen Liqueurs. Tickets cost $50.00 and are on sale at the Parish Office now. Limited tickets are available.

Mercy: A Way of Being in the World 20 September
On Tuesday September 20 the Broken Bay Institute (BBI) will be streaming their 12th National eConference, the title of which is Mercy: A Way of Being in the World. The Catholic Schools Office is again providing a venue for this at Charnley St, commencing at 10:30am sharp and concluding at 2:45pm. The day is made up of three or four approx. 20min (streamed) inputs, each followed by short group discussion. The three speakers to commemorate the Jubilee Year of Mercy will be:
 Archbishop Mark Coleridge, Archbishop of Brisbane and Member of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
 Sr Veronica Lawson RSM, Scripture scholar and author of the highly praised book, The Blessing of Mercy.
 Mr Phil Glendenning, Director of the Edmund Rice Centre and President of the Refugee Council of Australia.
Please see the attached flyer for more details.

Ignite Conference 24 September
Ignite Conference is a national Catholic youth conference held in Brisbane every September.
It's about encountering Jesus Christ and the Church, experiencing dynamic faith, being equipped for living the Christian life, and being empowered to impact the Church and the world.
This year Young Catholics will once again be offering a day trip to Ignite on Saturday 24 September 2016. Registration for the day is $120.
If interested please contact Sarah de Byl at youngcatholic@twb.catholic.org.au.
For more information head to http://igniteyouth.com/conference

SOCIAL JUSTICE SUNDAY 25 September
We celebrate Social Justice Sunday on 25 September. This year, the Australian Bishops' Social Justice Statement is titled: 'A Place at the Table: Social justice in an ageing society'.
The Statement celebrates the value and dignity of older people in Australian life. It challenges us to recognise their significant contribution to society and emphasises that this contribution should not be valued in mere economic terms. The Statement calls for justice for those who are most vulnerable and warns about a view of older people as burdensome or dispensable.
For further details about the Social Justice Statement, visit the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council website www.socialjustice.catholic.org.au or call 02 8306 3499.

DIOCESAN IN-SERVICE 27 September
The theme of the Diocesan In-service day on Tuesday 27 September will be "Families on a Christian Journey: Forming Consciences, not Replacing Them". The aim of the day is to break open the richness of Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation "Amoris Laetitia" ("The Joy of Love"). It is hoped that the day will be a "hands on" approach to this important document on family life. For further details and for registration, please see the attached flyer (in pdf and word format.).
Prior preparation will greatly enrich participation in the In-service. Fr. Peter Schultz has produced a spiral bound booklet highlighting key perspectives of the Pope's Apostolic Exhortation. This will be made available to each Parish in the hope that you may be enticed to explore some of the riches of the Pope's text prior to the In-service.
There are a limited number of additional hard copies of Fr. Peter's work which will be made available upon request. You may also request an electronic version of this material by contacting Sr. Elaine Morzone at emorzone@twb.catholic.org.au or 46327619.

CROWS NEST PARISH CENTENARY 8 October
On Saturday 8 October, 2016 Crows Nest Catholic Parish is celebrating the Centenary of St Matthew's Parish, with Mass at St Matthew's, Crows Nest at 10.30am followed by a luncheon in the Parish Centre at 12 noon.
Tickets are $25 per head for the two course meal and must be pre-¬purchased for catering purposes. They will be available from 15 August – 30 September. No tickets will be available on the day.
For your convenience, tickets may be purchased by direct fund transfer to St Matthew's Parish Social Committee, BSB: 638-070, A/c 7866283. Please quote your full name in the reference section.
For more details contact Pat on 46981607 or 0418874389.

2016 NATIONAL MARRIAGE CONFERENCE 21 & 22 October
The 2016 National Marriage Conference is being held in Sydney on 21 and 22 October 2016, and will explore the themes of Pope Francis' recent exhortation, Amoris Laetitia.
For more information please go to https://www.rom.org.au/

IMMACULATA APOSTOLATE - MOBILE PIETY STALL November
The Piety Stall, set up in November 2015 for the Sacred Heart Parish Fair, is now able to travel to out-lying Parishes within the Toowoomba Diocese. For details contact Sacred Heart Parish, Toowoomba.