WATAC Luncheons at NSW Parliament House

"WOMEN CELEBRATING THE SPIRIT"
WATAC at Parliament House - 14th May 2008

It was a beautiful day, sunshine flooded the Domain and the Dining Room at Parliament House was joy-filled as 120 WATAC women, men and their friends made their way to their tables so they and their friends could enjoy food, friendship and some significant spiritual nourishment for the next few hours.

WATAC has organized twelve Luncheons in Parliament House over the years – it is such a worthwhile event, made possible by the behind-the-scenes work of many people such as Marg Keyes, Maureen Watterson, Anne Cooper and our super-energetic administrator, Helen Coles.

It was a great blessing to have Ann Gilroy for our keynote speaker, and her reflections on some of the issues Bishop Geoffrey Robinson raised in his book, encouraged, enriched and challenged us. Ann Gilroy is a New Zealander who spoke at the 2007 WATAC Conference, and she has recently been appointed to the Leadership Team of the Josephite Sisters which means she is now living in Sydney. The dialogue which followed her talk was quite inspiring and involved all.

Catherine Loy, a young woman who works for NSW Ecumenical Council, spoke briefly of her recent visit to Bangkok where she was involved in the Asian Church Women’s Conference. Catherine connected well with the Luncheon guests and her information re the planned visit of Ayra from Pakistan in September 2008 aroused their interest. Ayra will speak in Parliament House on Thursday 25th September 6pm-8pm. Please put the date in your diary and support the event.

Another great feature of our WATAC Luncheon was the presence of the wonderful various schools who joined us and who were involved in many of the activities which contributed to the success of the gathering: Blessing the Meal; Acknowledging Land; Drawing the Raffle and participating in the dialogue after Ann’s talk. It was a great WATAC event, there is no doubt, a celebration to be remembered.