Following the success of our inaugural Parish Services Expo held last year in Cheltenham, Catholic Social Services Victoria invites you to participate in, and attend its second expo at St Francis Xavier parish in Montmorency on Saturday 6 May 2017, from 9.30am to 1.30 pm.

Volunteering is a precious free resource made available by generous people for the benefit of others, for the Church and our communities. It is giving one's time and personal resources in the service of others. In this it is close to the heart of the Scriptures, where service runs deeply through the history of God's relationship with his people. Are we making the most of this resource, or can we do better?

An update for participants in the August 2016 Reimagining Parish Services Expo provides links to resource material - including volunteering opportunities with our member organisations; and notice of future gatherings.

More than 100 adults and children gathered at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Cheltenham on Saturday, 27 August for the “Reimagining Parish Services Expo”. Leaders from more than 15 parishes in the South Easter corridor, and social service agencies exhibited a diverse range of services. Further Expos in the north, east and west of Melbourne are envisaged.

Planning is now underway for similar events in 2017: Saturday May 6 at St Francis Xavier's Montmorency, and later in the year in the west of Melbourne, and at a parish in the east.

The Building Stronger Parishes research project conducted by the Australian Catholic Bishop's Conference Pastoral Research Office explores how Catholic parishes, in various contexts, use their strengths and available resources to respond to a variety of challenges. This page provides links to further information, resources, reports and books related to the research project.

Social Services Sunday provides an opportunity for parish communities to reflect on our own response to the Gospel call to compassionate service to those who are poor, marginalised or excluded of our society. It is also a time for the wider church community to give thanks for the social service work being carried out by Church agencies on behalf of the Church as a whole.