St Hilary's Conference 2025 #2

St Hilary’s Conference 2025 #2

Cultivating Community: Extending Friendship in Christ

Join our half day conference to dive into what it means to be a caring and transforming community in Christ. This is a conference for our whole church.

Monday 12 May

•   Morning: 9:30am – 1pm
•   Evening: 6pm - 9:30pm
•   Livestream: 7pm – 9:30pm

Keynote Speaker: Canon Farag Hanna

Program Morning

09:30   Check-in / Tea and Coffee
09:45   Prayer and Singing 
           Keynote: Cultivating Community (Farag Hanna) 
10:45   Morning Tea
11:00   Electives – 1
11:50   Electives – 2
12:30   Lunch

Program Evening +Livestream
18:00   Check-in / Light Dinner
19:00   Livestream begins
            Prayer and Singing 
            Keynote: Keynote: Cultivating Community (Farag Hanna) 
20:00   Electives – 1 
20:45   Electives – 2
21:30   Prayer and Close

Cost: 

$20 for Morning or Evening (includes lunch/dinner) or $10 livestream

Electives -1

“Pass the delicious salad to the other end of the table please.” (Amanda Lincke)

Being part of a Christian community means encouraging one another to meet regularly. In Heb 10:24-25 it says this; 'And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.' This elective will look at ways we can support each other in strengthening our faith in Jesus. We will look at how we can love and encourage our Christian friends but also those on the fringe. If you love people, this is the elective for you.

Cultivating Kindness: Practical support for hidden disabilities (Elisabeth Ma)

Discover simple, actionable ways our Christ-centred community can express care for people with hidden disabilities. A practical session for anyone who wants to grow in their pastoral understanding and confidence, particularly for the Welcoming, Connect Group, and Pastoral Care team members.

Electives - 2

Me Engaging the Community (Jo Fazio and Kane Lach)

St Hilary's is involved in an enormous amount of community action, particularly through the work of the Hope food drive and Op shop, our mission partners and Kid's Hope. But did you know that there are numerous smaller initiatives started by individuals like you that just had a passion to see something change? Some of these have grown into bigger things, others have run their course and others still are continuing to bless people almost invisible to the broader church. That's where we can all start! So, in this session we'll reflect on what we are passionate about, what God may be calling us to do about it, and where the opportunities and needs are in 2025. It is my hope that the Spirit plants seed in ALL our hearts to begin again engaging our community for good. This elective is for the discontented and uncomfortable, those feeling the tug of the spirit to work for good.

One Body, Many Cultures: Serving God Together (Rachel Li)

We are one body in Christ but we are from many different cultures. Rachel is part of our Mont Albert North 11am Mandarin Congregation and will lead this workshop by exploring how we can better serve one another with our different strengths and cultural backgrounds. This elective is for everyone wanting to grow in their ability to serve God with others in our church from different cultures.