In July, parish leaders, clergy, and diocesan staff gathered in Palmerston North for our second Pastoral Day of 2025, a moment set aside not for strategy, but for encounter: with the Holy Spirit, with one another, and with the Church we are being called to become.
This gathering brought together those in pastoral leadership, priests, lay leaders, and staff who help guide the mission and life of their communities. It was a space to pause and to pray: To encounter the Holy Spirit, listen together in faith, and discern how we are being called to walk together as a synodal people – clergy and laity united in mission.
We opened on Friday with a shared meal, reconnection, and a refresher on the Three Keys of Divine Renovation, especially the power of the Holy Spirit. Through The Wild Goose video series, praise and worship, and adoration in the Cathedral, we were invited into deeper personal encounter.
Saturday continued with Mass, group discussion, and a final call to action. Each parish named one Spirit-led commitment: a step toward renewal and co-responsibility.
Anne Peake, an active parishioner at St Brigid’s Feilding and member of the Liturgy Committee, shares her personal experience and reflection of the Pastoral Day.
Reflections from the July Pastoral Day
By Anne Peake
I was really looking forward to the continuation of the Diocese of Palmerston North Pastoral Days programme, but I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, having been to the first one earlier in the year, I was excited to learn more.
We began the evening with a meal together and were able to reconnect with many people from other parishes whom we had met previously at the Pastoral Day in March. It was good to see so many enthusiastic about what we would learn.
We explored the Three Keys: the Primacy of Evangelisation, the Best of Leadership, but mostly the Power of the Holy Spirit, and how we can trust in the Holy Spirit more deeply.
The videos shown were very thought-provoking and very much about the Holy Spirit. I found them inspiring and interesting.
We were asked how we saw ourselves after one of the videos, dry bones, afraid, and (I can’t remember the third) but maybe that’s because I felt a bit like dry bones. However, with dry bones, new life can be breathed into them, filled with the Holy Spirit, which brings a zest for new life. New life in our parish.
Following the videos and discussions, we went to the Cathedral for praise and worship and adoration. I was blown away at how this opened me to the Holy Spirit, and I was filled with the love of God. It was so moving. The choice of music and prayer filled me with the fire of the Holy Spirit.
I went home that evening feeling even more excited, but wondering if I had the gifts needed to help take my parish from maintenance to mission. As I travelled home, I began to feel that yes, the Holy Spirit is taking me on this journey for a reason. In praying to the Holy Spirit, I would have the strength to find my way.
On Saturday morning, our sessions began with Mass in the Cathedral, a time for reflection and prayer. We watched and listened to more videos, again very enlightening and giving us food for thought.
At the end of the morning, we were asked to make a Spirit-led commitment about renewal and co-responsibility in our own parish, a starting point. We decided to let everyone in our parish know that we were on this journey and that they could be too. So we shared the Pastoral Day experience with our parishioners after Mass, telling them about the Holy Spirit and inviting others to join us on the journey.
We will continue to talk within our parish about this and pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance. I am now looking forward to the Summit in October.
A Step Toward the Summit
The Pastoral Day was a moment of encounter and commitment, just one step on the journey. As Pope Leo XIV reminds us, we are a missionary Church, a Church that builds bridges, encourages dialogue, and remains ever open to welcome.
That journey continues with the Hope and Renewal Summit (3–4 October) in Palmerston North. We warmly invite you to come. Bring a fellow leader, a friend, or someone longing for more.
We hope the Summit will spark renewed confidence in sharing the Gospel, humble and listening leadership, a culture of welcome, and stronger collaboration between clergy and laity.
If you can’t attend, you can still be part of this movement by encouraging others, supporting your parish team, or praying for the Spirit’s work among us.
Let’s keep walking together, open to what the Spirit is doing in our Church. For more information and to register visit www.hopeandrenewal.com.
Emily Sit
Director of Mission and Evangelisation
