With five vacancies on the Diocesan Pastoral Council (see story above), recently retired member Cindy Augustine, who is a parishioner at Holy Cross in Batavia and represented the Aurora Deanery agreed to talk about why she served.
“I was prompted to seek participation in the DPC as I had been actively involved in various ministries on a parish level and had a strong desire to be involved on a diocesan level. The DPC seemed like the perfect place to start.
“The time commitment was very reasonable and I was able to interact with representatives throughout the diocese and with Bishop (David) Malloy. I began under Bishop Doran and the thought of being part of the DPC during the transition of bishops was exciting, to say the least.
“I was honored to serve as the recording secretary for one of my two terms of service.
“As part of the DPC, we were provided with an agenda and background information to review well in advance so that we could be prepared to discuss the topics of each meeting.
“I felt that my opinions, thoughts, and feelings were listened to and truly valued by Bishop Malloy.
The participants on the council were invested in their faith as well as the tasks at hand and this made for some very interesting and edifying conversation.
I greatly value the time spent on the DPC as I learned much about events and programs from within the diocese as well as how events and directives from the Vatican are considered and implemented.
Interacting with representatives throughout the diocese was also extremely enlightening. As a member of the DPC, I was invited to attend various diocesan functions such as the annual Ministry Day, Youth Summit, and Bishop Malloy’s rite of Ordination as a Bishop. . I already very much miss being part of this wonderful ministry.