Ministry Governance Leaders Forum

The 3rd ISMAPNG Ministry Governance Leaders Forum was held in Sydney on 12 and 13 March 2015.  The Forum aims to provide an opportunity for our incorporated ministries to share, collaborate and grow in their understanding of the contribution they make to the broader Institute mission of Mercy.   

The annual event brings together the Chairs and CEOs of all Mercy and co-sponsored ministries and some sisters and ISMAPNG staff who are involved in governance and in leadership formation on behalf of ISMAPNG.  It was a wide group of nearly 60 people that included health, aged care, education, social service, community development, communication and multimedia, ecological ministries and support services.  As the forum grows each year, so does the energy for collaboration and action.  

At the Forum this year Chairs spoke about how the Institute’s ministries served God’s mission of Mercy responding to various areas of need commonly shared across the Institute.  Carmel Crawford and Sr Karon Donnellon provided a number of wonderful reflections and led participants through a process of exploring Mercy Leadership in the light of some of the writings of Pope Francis.  We were also privileged to hear from Sr Mary Wright IBVM regarding canonical sponsorship of ministries.   Reports were given by Ian Hobbs on administration and finance, Sr Annette Schneider on Professional Standards, Sr Marg Endicott and Sr Margaret Moore on mission and John Rochester in his role as Communications Manager.  

There had been a number of achievements since the last Forum, including the launch of the Governance Charter for Incorporated Ministries.  The Governance Charter was first explored at the 2014 Forum and with the assistance of a wide working group become a reality.  The Governance Charter was pre-launched to the Chairs at the 2015 Forum by Sr Annette Schneider and is now about to be circulated to all boards for a one year lived consultation.  It is hoped that throughout 2015 a model Governance Manual can be produced to support the Governance Charter.    Some initial work occurred at this year’s Forum to develop content for the model Governance Manual.  Beyond the Governance Charter and model Governance Manual, there was a commitment by a number of attendees to map opportunities for cross ministry collaboration and action.   This will be an important exercise for the future of our Ministries.

At the end of the Forum there were many positive remarks and a real sense that this event has become an important part of the Institute’s annual calendar.   The 4th Forum will be held in early 2016.

Messages to: Jonathan Campton – Executive Officer Ministries

Photos:
Top – Julien O’Connell (Chair Mercy Health), Barbara Bolster rsm (Institute Leadership Team), Jim Baillie (Thomson Geer Lawyers).

Middle – Mary Wright IBVM, Virginia Bourke (ISMAPNG), Eileen Ann Daffy rsm (ISMAPNG), Jim Baillie.  

Bottom – Denise Fox rsm (McAuley Ministries), Annette Schneider (Institute Leadership Team), Tony Goad (CFO Mercy Health).

Ministry Governance Leaders Forum

The Second Annual ISMAPNG Ministry Governance Leaders Forum was held in Sydney on 13 – 14 February 2014.  The Forum aims to provide our incorporated ministries a sense of security in reconfiguring, belonging to identity, awareness of each other and ownership of group.
 
The Institute Leadership Team hosted the Forum for the chairs of each incorporated ministry and this year also invited the CEO of each incorporated ministry.  It was a wide group of about forty people that included health, aged care, education, social service and ecological ministries.  The forum was full of energy with a great amount of sharing occurring inside and outside the established program.  There was an understanding of the extent of the governance role the Institute has to cover and a keenness to find new ways of working with the Sisters.  

Reports were given by Ian Hobbs, Director of Finance and Administration, Sr Caroline Ryan Ministries Integrity Facilitator and Sr Marg Endicott, Coordinator of the Institute Mission Team.  Carmel Crawford and the Mercy Ethos Team provided a number of practical reflections that participants might be able to use with their boards.

Perhaps one of the most talked about sessions was that prepared by Sr Eileen Ann Daffy and Jim Ballie on the canonical and civil responsibilities for good governance in the ISMAPNG.
 
There have been a number of achievements since the last forum such as the assistance of ministries like Mercy Health and Mercy Education, the development of a common constitution, incorporation of McAuley Ministries and the employment of the Executive Officer Ministries. The group was excited about what could be achieved in the next year and spent time working on a matrix to explain the governance relationships and also the outline of a Governance Charter.  A number of the participants committed to work on these documents to see their implementation before the next Forum.
 
At the end of the Forum there were many positive remarks about the reconfiguring journey thus far.  Many of the participants expressed the view that an institute wide perspective was needed for our ministries to achieve their shared mission in Mercy.  Perhaps one of the kindest comments was that reconfiguration was for mission and that the Forum was evidence that we had achieved that in part. This is seen in our united ministries that are so committed to mission and continuing the work of Catherine McAuley.  The Forum was a great celebration of Mercy.  The Third Forum will be held early in 2015.
 
 
Jonathan Campton
Executive Officer Ministries
 
E:   jonathan.campton@ismapng.org.au

Photo: Sr Sally Bradley presents to the Ministry Governance Leaders Forum