STORY - "A Church journeying with young people "

When Maryanne Hacker (nee Healey) attended World Youth Day in Paris in 1997, she realised that she was not the only young person in the church! If that sounds naïve, remember that she was only 15, she had not travelled overseas, she had not heard of World Youth Day before that opportunity, and she was already involved in ministry in her parish of East Maitland.

Fr Geoff Mulhearn had suggested that she might like to go, and she travelled with an Antioch group. While Paris has its own attractions, the experience of being one of 1.2 million young people gathered in the name of church has had a profound and lasting impact.

Fast forward to 2007: Maryanne is 26, married to Andrew, and mother to ten month old Dominic, who was happy to provide entertainment while she was interviewed. Her interest in a church that is relevant to young people has not waned, and she has lent her support and energy to many areas in those intervening years. She qualified as a primary teacher, contributed voluntarily to youth ministry at a diocesan level, and maintained her commitment to what is now Chisholm Region. Earlier this year Maryanne became a member of the Diocesan Pastoral Council.

Andrew and Maryanne have made a conscious decision that the 9.30 Mass at St Joseph's East Maitland is ‘their' Mass. “If anything, I want to go to Mass more because it's part of how we're bringing Dominic up…” There are obvious resonances with Maryanne's childhood as the fourth of six children in a family that worshipped regularly at St Joseph 's.

When Maryanne was invited to nominate as a member of the Australian Catholic Youth Council, she saw an opportunity to contribute on a national level. The Bishops approved the Council in May, under the auspices of the Bishops Commission for Pastoral Life. The Commission considers that the pastoral care and evangelisation of our youth are of critical importance. An Australian Catholic Youth Council will enable it to carry this work forward.

“After just one meeting, a key focus of the Councillors is what happens after World Youth Day,” says Maryanne. “My understanding is that the Bishops decided that they wanted to hear from young people. They want to know what we think are the issues.

“Also, there are hopes for a national structure for youth ministry. This is the first time that every diocese has had a youth minister, because they all have WYD Co-ordinators. There is a hope that each diocese might have common goals and operate from common values, although not necessarily adopt common strategies.”

On a practical level, Maryanne hopes that the names and details of all members of the diocesan community will be entered into a database so that the initial contact is maintained long after WYD08.

“People think that WYD is just for young people, but my impression is that WYD is about the whole church journeying with young people. When I was in Paris, the people travelling with us who were older than 35 added to the experience in terms of maturity.”

The Youth Council is a representative group rather than a group of representatives. Maryanne has long been passionate about the importance of the church, in the broadest sense, being a place where young people – all people – are not merely welcome, but welcomed ! “I think sometimes that's where we fall down.”

Maryanne hopes to be actively involved in WYD08 and Days in the Diocese, but young Dominic is naturally her first priority. As he grows, Maryanne and Andrew will no doubt gain new insights into what the church is, and could be, for children, for young adults, young parents, older members of the community, all God's people!

Tracey Edstein

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