Working in the ChurchUnderstanding its mission, culture and your place within it
Working in the Church is a professional formation seminar for people serving across Catholic organisations, ministries, parishes, education, health and social services.
Across two engaging online sessions, participants will deepen their understanding of the Church’s mission and culture, explore their own place within that mission, and consider what it means to work effectively and purposefully within the life of the Church.
Archbishop Mark Coleridge will open the seminar by reflecting on the mission that lies behind the Church’s work, before Fr Brian Lucas, an experienced Church administrator, author and educator, leads the principal formation across the two days. Sr Clare Nolan RSC will draw on a lifetime of religious life, service and leadership, while Martin Teulan and a fellow panellist will bring practical perspectives on how mission and Catholic culture are lived within contemporary Catholic organisations.
Whether deeply familiar with the Catholic tradition or relatively new to it, the seminar offers an opportunity to grow in understanding, strengthen professional practice and connect everyday work with the wider mission it serves.
The focus
What will we explore?
01
Understand the mission
Why does the Church operate schools, hospitals, social services, charities, parishes and other ministries? Explore the mission that lies behind the Church’s work and how Catholic identity should shape the organisations that carry it forward.
02
Understand your place within it
What does it mean to work within the mission of the Church? Consider the contribution of lay and professional staff, the relationship between vocation and profession, and how people from different backgrounds can participate meaningfully in the mission of a Catholic organisation.
03
Work well within it
Explore some of the particular realities of working within the Church, including Catholic organisational culture, authority and governance, collaboration between clergy and laity, leadership, relationships, managing up and down, consultation, service and finding meaning in our work.
Across two sessions
Program
Day 1 · Wednesday 25 November
Understanding the Church, its mission and your place within it
Welcome and orientation
Bernard Toutounji, Founder & Principal, New Shore
Opening address
Archbishop Mark Coleridge
Why the Church does what she does, and how the work of those serving in Catholic organisations contributes to her mission in the world.
Understanding the Church
Fr Brian Lucas
The Church’s mission, identity, structures and culture.
Your place within the Church’s mission
Fr Brian Lucas
The contribution of lay and professional staff, collaboration, responsibility and participation in mission.
A life in the Church’s mission
Sr Clare Nolan RSC
Drawing on a lifetime of service in Catholic healthcare and religious leadership, Sr Clare reflects on what it means to live the Church’s mission through our work, and why that mission continues to matter today.
Day 2 · Friday 27 November
Working well within the life of the Church
Working well in the Church
Fr Brian Lucas
Collaboration, authority, relationships, clergy and laity, leadership and some of the particular realities of Catholic organisational culture.
Work as vocation and service
Fr Brian Lucas
Professionalism, service, meaning and connecting our everyday work with the wider mission of the Church.
Practitioner panel
Martin Teulan, Executive Director, Association of Ministerial PJPs
Additional panellist to be announced
A facilitated conversation exploring what Catholic identity and mission mean in the practical leadership and culture of Catholic organisations.
Closing reflections
Bernard Toutounji
Who you’ll hear from
Presenters
Archbishop Mark Coleridge
Archbishop Emeritus of Brisbane
Archbishop Mark Coleridge is Archbishop Emeritus of Brisbane and an accomplished speaker, teacher and Scripture scholar. He studied Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and later served in the Holy See’s Secretariat of State. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne in 2002, Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn in 2006, and Metropolitan Archbishop of Brisbane in 2012, serving until his retirement in 2025.
Fr Brian Lucas
Priest, author and former National Director of Catholic Mission
Fr Brian Lucas is a priest of the Archdiocese of Sydney, ordained in 1980. He has held parish appointments and served as Archdiocesan Secretary, General Secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and National Director of Catholic Mission. He is co-author of The Church Administration Handbook and author of Pleasing to God: The Call to Church Administration and Collaborators in Ministry: A Guide for Lay People and Clergy.
Sr Clare Nolan RSC
Sister of Charity and Catholic health leader
Sr Clare Nolan RSC is a Sister of Charity who has devoted her religious life to the Church’s healing ministry through nursing, health administration and leadership. She served as Director of Nursing at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney and spent 18 years in Congregational Leadership, including six as Congregational Leader. She received Catholic Health Australia’s Sr Maria Cunningham Lifetime Contribution Award for her outstanding contribution to Catholic health and aged care.
Martin Teulan
Executive Director, Association of Ministerial PJPs
Martin Teulan is Executive Director of the Association of Ministerial PJPs and has extensive leadership experience across Catholic and not-for-profit organisations. He previously served as National Director of Catholic Mission and Director of Mission Integration with St John of God Health Care, as well as in senior roles in the Diocese of Parramatta and Church Resources. He is undertaking doctoral research focused on effective ministry.
One additional guest practitioner to be announced shortly.
Who should attend
Who is this seminar for?
Working in the Church is designed for people working across the breadth of Catholic life, including:
- Catholic education, health and social services
- Dioceses, parishes and ministries
- Catholic charities and not-for-profit organisations
- Ministerial PJPs and other Catholic agencies
- Leaders, managers and staff working in operations, finance, HR, communications, administration, governance, mission and other professional roles
Registration
Choose your registration
Early Bird
$220 per person inc GST
Available until Friday 30 October 2026
Standard Registration
$245 per person inc GST
Organisation Rate
$220 per person inc GST
For 3 or more registrations from the same organisation
Your registration includes
- Both live two-hour sessions
- Presentation materials
- A copy of Fr Brian Lucas’s book, Pleasing to God: The Call to Church Administration, posted to each participant
About New Shore
New Shore is an advisory firm for faith-based organisations, focused on supporting strategy, leadership and mission.