Governance & Management Events

Governance & Management has a passionate commitment to being responsive to the movements and developments in religious organisations, especially those auspiced by the Catholic Church.

One of G&M responses to these changes is to sponsor conferences and workshops that provide a framework for academics and practitioners to “meet” to reflect upon the interplay between theory and practice.

Maureen Cleary says that the purpose of such conference & workshops is to “Gather the folks, tell the stories and see what we can learn”. The “ripples” from these conferences is now evident in some parts of church governance and management practice.

ON SACRED GROUND CONFERENCE

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION EXTENDED UNTIL 31 JULY 2011

Albert Einstein once wrote: “The most beautiful and profound emotion we can experience is the sensation of the mystical.” Religious organisations are primarily places where the mystical is nurtured. The mystical image may seem a long way from the chaos of a school ground at lunchtime or the tension of an operating theatre during major surgery or an overcrowded women’s refuge. Yet Catholic human service and diocesan organisations provide the space in society for the “things of the world” to connect with the mystical or the God-centred world. They are the sacred ground in our society today. The same God who spoke to Moses speaks to us today in our religious organisations. The same voice speaks of freedom, dignity, respect, love and concern.

We expect leaders of religious organisations to have the same leadership experience and skills of other marketplace providers of human services. In addition, they also need a spiritual leadership to nurture the God-centred world. This leadership role, and its particular demands, is now a laity responsibility. This On Sacred Ground conference invites conference participants to reflect on their role as a leader of a religious organisation through the rich experience of over 30 international and national presenters.

Some of these previous events are: