“The only way to love and serve people is to encounter them in the margins,” according to distinguished American author and speaker, Rev Prof. Anthony Gittins CSSp. Fr Gittins was in Melbourne on 21 May leading a reflection on ‘Ministry at the Margins’ for more than 50 guests of Catholic Mission and Catholic Social Services Victoria in East Melbourne. It is part of a 4-week tour in Australia, which has seen him lead gatherings in Brisbane, Sydney and Perth. His last stop is Wagga Wagga.

National Volunteer Week starts on May 21 and recognises the wonderful work volunteers do in their communities. One of those volunteers is Mary, who says volunteering makes her feel closer to her family back in Malta. She is part of a team of volunteers who share their time and talents at Villa Maria Catholic Homes' St Bernadette’s Residential Aged Care, in Sunshine. She regularly visits Maltese residents at St Bernadette’s and talks to them in their shared language and about their heritage.

An expectant group of fourteen people gathered on a grey morning at the Flagstaff Gardens in the city of Melbourne on 16 May for the first Catholic Social Teaching Walking On The Land workshop for 2018. This workshop is another in the collaborative venture of CSSV with Edmund Rice Ministries and Kildare Ministries. Two further workshops are scheduled for later in 2018 - 29 August and 28 November.