There were some new faces in Emerald on the second weekend in August.  The Saint Vincent de Paul Society in the Rockhampton diocese held a rare Festival Meeting away from the coast on Sunday 11^th.

It was an opportunity for Vinnies teams across the region to meet, share experiences and focus on the basic tenets of the Society as they assist those in greatest need.

Forty delegates from Bundaberg to Mackay and west to Longreach enjoyed a presentation by Sister Melissa Dwyer, the state spiritual advisor to the Society. Melissa spoke on the history on Vinnies: it is 125 years since its establishment in Australia. However, this was no dry history lesson. Attendees were challenged to work in groups to discuss and report on the relevance of the organisation to the situation in Australia today. Many families need assistance in a variety of ways, in the cities and increasingly in the regions. The Society is one of the first responders in times of great need – through drought, fires and floods - as well as providing on-going support throughout the year.

In a brief Q & A session, two young people from the Emerald community, Jack Heinemann and Abby Nixon spoke about their work with the Neighbourhood Centre in supplying meals - as well as a sense of respect - to local people living on the margins of society.

Awards for long service were presented to members at a function on Saturday evening with some clocking up 60 years of practical community assistance.

It was a great experience for all involved and resulted in a resolution to hold more future meetings in the west.