The Facilitators
 

Jenny Anderson

Jenny Anderson has been a qualified teacher of relaxation and meditation techniques since 1994 facilitating weekly group classes and corporate programs for many years at Young Heart Relaxation school in Perth. Jenny’s favourite quote regarding relaxation is “begin where you are”.
 

Denis Andrew

After Ordination in 1980 Fr Denis Andrew has spent 30 years in Carmelite parish ministry around Australia. Last year he was appointed Prior Provincial, Australia and East Timor. Fr Denis is interested in the changes that have occurred in Carmelite life and in the Church and wider community over these 30 years. With these changes the Carmelites and the Church are exploring new ways of connecting with people’s faith. Increasingly this involves sharing the Carmelite life with lay people of all cultures connected to the Carmelite spirituality. Despite 30 years of change Fr Denis believes faith and belief remains an important force in Australia and the world, even if in quite different ways – one of these initiatives being to embrace the life and energy of the close links with East Timor and the Asia and Oceania region.

Peter Batten

Rev. Peter Batten (B.Theol. M.A.) has being involved with labyrinths for many years. Peter is currently minister at Port
Melbourne Uniting Church, a creative arts therapist and labyrinth facilitator. He has introduced people to the labyrinth as a form of meditation and healing.
“I find sitting meditation a challenge, then I discovered the labyrinth and my meditation practice became a richer embodied expression” (Peter)

Bernie Bicknell

Bernie has been a parishioner at Middle Park/Port Melbourne for 3 years. He has worked in senior business roles both in Australia and overseas. He is also Chairman of the Lighthouse Foundation, a Melbourne charity working with young homeless people and those at risk. Like us all, he is searching for the secrets of happiness and success.

Anne Boyd

Anne is a Brigidine Sister with a long history of involvement in Catholic Education at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. In 2002 she fulfilled a growing desire and to study the interrelationship between ecology and spirituality and visited a number of centres in Ireland and the United States. She also completed studies in Earth literacy and Earth Ethics. Anne is currently a member of the Coordinating Team of the EarthSong Project,sponsored by eight Religious Orders in Victoria. She is enjoys gardening and bush walking and is an avid follower of the Western Bulldogs!

Mark Brolly

Since joining The Age in 1977, Mark has worked in the media covering a number of areas including religious affairs. More recently Mark has worked as media director for the Anglican Church and has a long time commitment to spiritual activities. Away from work Mark enjoys the companionship of family and friends, reading, sport, music, travel within Australia and overseas.

Hugh Brown

Hugh Brown is a Carmelite priest currently working within the Diocese of Sale as Parish Priest of Churchill and Chaplain to Monash University, Gippsland. Early in his ministry, Hugh taught Theology and Biblical Studies at the Yarra Theological Union, Box Hill and McAuley Teachers College, Mitchelton before it became the Queensland Campus of the Australian Catholic University. After that, he spent 8 years as Principal of Whitefriars College, Donvale and then Parish Priest of Our Lady of Mount Carmel,Middle Park and St Joseph’s Parish, Port Melbourne. Prior to coming to Churchill, Hugh worked for the Catholic Education Office in the Diocese of Sale as the Secondary Educational Consultant and continues to teach Biblical Studies in the Scalan Program of the Diocese which aims to equip leaders in Catholic Education with an introduction to both Theology and Biblical Studies. He also conducts seminars for parishes and schools in the areas of leadership and the formation of Christian communities.

David Cheah

David has been a gadgeteer for as long as he can remember. He believes that he is in geek heaven today with the plethora of gadgets and resources available anytime, anywhere. Coupled with his passion for truth and all things spiritual, David believes that there must be a higher purpose for gadgets and he is totally dedicated to evangelizing how we can use gadgets to fulfill the higher purpose of spiritual growth. Professionally, David is a strategist and futurist advising businesses and organisations on business, strategy, marketing and communications.

Margaret Coffey

Margaret Coffey has been making programs for the Encounter series for several years. She is a graduate of the University of Melbourne (BA) and Monash University (MA) and has a background in historical research and journalism. She has interests in philosophical theology, ethics and inter-religious themes … and in Ireland and things Irish. A highlight of her broadcasting career was a visit to Indonesia in the months prior to the downfall of President Soeharto when she met religious leaders and activists who continue to be important in Indonesian affairs. She maintains a strong interest in developments in Indonesia. Her Encounter programs have won finalist awards in the New York Festivals, as well as the New York Prize for best feature, and both the radio prize and the cross-media prize in the Austcare Media Award.

Jim de Laurier

Jim De Laurier is a Carmelite of many years and has a deep love for Carmelite spirituality. He is a degreed and certified Pastoral Counselor and Spiritual Director with considerable experience. Jim has accompanied people in Africa, America, Europe and now in Australia. He has worked in an ecumenical Pastoral Counseling Centre in marriage and family counseling, was spiritual director for Carmelite students for over ten years and has many years of experience in giving Days of Recollection and Retreats. Before coming to Australia, Jim was the Director of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the United States. Currently, his ministry is the pastoral and spiritual care of the Lay Carmelites of Australia. Jim is a warm and compassionate person, a good listener with the ability to help people at significant points in their lives.

Richard Goss

Richard reads for pleasure, enlightenment, and to avoid danger “Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.” Nietzsche, Human, all too human 1878 - 86

Philip Harvey

Philip Harvey is the Librarian of the Carmelite Library. He is also, amongst other things, the Poetry Editor of the Jesuit online magazine Eureka Street.

Irene Hayes

Irene is Centre Leader at The Carmelite Centre Melbourne bringing many years experience in education, counseling and Human Resource Management consulting to the role. Along with her husband Damien Peile, she is committed to walking the journey of life with people who wish to explore living at a deeper level and continue to grow personally and spiritually. For the last 8 months Irene has been undergoing treatment for breast cancer and will convene the Pink Ribbon Day morning tea in October.

David Hofman

Fr David is a member of the Carmelite Province of Australia and Timor Leste and parish priest at the Carmelite Parish of Port Melbourne & Middle Park. He is also Convenor of the Carmelite Centre and Director of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Middle Park. He has written on liturgy, music, ministry and church architecture for Liturgy News and Summit magazine. He has given talks, workshops and practical sessions on sacraments, theology, liturgical music and various forms of prayer including Lectio Divina in both Melbourne and Brisbane.

Adrian Jones

Adrian Jones has been leading courses in spirituality and conducting retreats for over 30 years. He has a strong interest in Carmelite spirituality. He completed the course in spiritual leadership at Loyola University Chicago and is an accredited spiritual director. Adrian is married and lives now with his wife Maureen in Melbourne. They lived for 20 years on a farm near Foster in South Gippsland where they were able to express their love for the land and the giftedness of the fragile universe of which we are part. Adrian’s desire as a presenter of programs at the Carmelite Centre is to encourage people no matter where they find themselves to engage with their unique journey of life.

Pam Lawrence

In addition to working in education, Pam has strong community interests and runs her business ‘Pam’s Perfect Cupcakes’ specialising in workshops for children.

Pat Long

Pat has worked in secondary schools for many years. She has studied, lived and worked at Genesis Farm in the United States, an ecological learning centre for re-inhabiting the Earth. In 2009 she returned from a two year position at Genesis Farm and is currently working for the EarthSong project. Pat has a strong passion for finding ways to live into the future which honour the magnificence of all life on the planet and acknowledge our interconnectedness with all that is. She is a member of the local community garden and a coordinator of MINTI – Melbourne Inner Northwest Transition
initiative - focusing on building local resilience in the face of climate change and peak oil.

Matthew MacPhee

Matthew has extensive experience walking the journey of faith with people of all ages and stages. As well as previously directing prayer houses across Australia, Matthew has a practical, warm and intuitive manner and believes God is ever present in our hearts and minds. His approach to spiritual companioning is based on learning to know God’s love and how to deepen one’s trust and awareness of this love – which is at our fingertips.

Marita Molloy

Marita has been an active parishioner for many years and is the convenor of the Carmelite East Timor Friends Group. Marita recently visited East Timor to teach English to the Carmelite students.

Peter Malone

Peter Malone MSC taught at Daramalan College, Canberra, and then Fundamental Theology, Old Testament Studies at the MSC seminary in Canberra. From 1972 he taught at the Yarra Theological Union, Melbourne, as well as being on the staff of the National Pastoral Institute and The Heart of Life Spirituality Centre, also in Melbourne.
In 1989 he was elected President of OCIC Pacific (The International Catholic Organisation for Cinema) and was elected world president in 1998. When OCIC and Unda (the Church’s organisation for Radio and Television) merged as SIGNIS (The World Catholic Association for Communication) in 2001, he was elected the first president. He was editor of Compass Theology Review from 1971-1998. He has written on theology, spirituality and cinema, especially Lights Camera Faith, the series called A Movie.

Peter Martin

Peter is an Anglican priest serving as vicar of the parishes of Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale. The faith community run a small House of Prayer adjacent to the Church where people come on retreat. It is a ministry of hospitality offering a simple daily round of meditation and morning and evening prayer which, when combined with the beauty and natural rhythms of the seaside and wetlands environment, provide a spacious and sacred vehicle for the intentional seeker.

Gayle McIntyre

Gayle McIntyre has been a member of OLMC parish since she moved here from Canada with her husband in 2005. Gayle teaches Literature to international students at Trinity College, The University of Melbourne in their Foundation Studies Program. In her spare time she loves to bake, and she began her love of sourdough bread making while living and teaching in Quebec City. She now offers bread-making workshops in her spare time under the name ‘The Bread & Honey Kitchen’.

Teresa Paradowski

Teresa Paradowski made contact with Lay Carmelites for the first time in 1981 during the centenary celebrations of the Carmelite Friars arrival in Australia. She was received into the Third Order in July 1984 and did her formation by correspondence. Teresa’s First Profession was in August 1986 and Profession for Life on 9 July 1989.

Damien Peile

With qualifications in theology, social work and counseling, Damien’s professional life has been spent in assisting people find psychological and spiritual meaning in their life. Currently, Damien works as a counselor at the Alfred hospital and has broad experience in individual and group work exploring themes of grief, loss and transition. He is also an experienced mediator and relationship counselor having worked in organisations including Centacare Family Services and in private practice. His work reflects his own psychological and spiritual journey addressing the question of ‘where do I find God in my life’.

Frank Rosenfeldt

Professor Rosenfeldt is a cardiac surgeon who has focussed on researching the field of cellular metabolism and more recently the supportive role that complementary medicine can play in cardiac surgery and cardiology. This has focused on the role of coenzyme Q10, fish oils, and antioxidants together with mind-body medicine, music and meditation, stress reduction and physical exercise in the management of heart disease. Protection of the heart against damage during cardiac surgery and transplantation has been a lifelong interest and one of which Prof. Rosenfeldt established an international reputation.

Catherine Smith

Catherine is married with four adult children and four grandchildren. She was born in New Zealand and spent her first 50 years there. Catherine began to consciously recognise her Spiritual journey in her mid thirties when a priest introduced her to contemplative prayer and retreats. This began an exciting time where her faith blossomed and she discovered a God, not to be feared, but who loved her uniquely and unconditionally. Parish life was alive and life-giving and Catherine became involved in many aspects of this. To witness others discovering and deepening their spiritual journeys as she listened to their individual stories, energized and often times amazed her. Ten years ago Catherine moved to Melbourne after a short period in the United States. Melbourne is now her home where she enjoys living in this busy multicultural city. For the last eight years Catherine as been a Catholic Chaplain at the Women’s prison in Deer Park where she is privileged to listen to the diverse and individual stories of the women there. Some have discovered for the first time, a God of Surprises, one who loves them intimately. It was during this time that Catherine undertook formal training in Spiritual Direction.
Catherine has been a parishioner of Our Lady of Mount Carmel for the last two and a half years. She is involved in the R.C.I.A. program and again privileged to listen as participants deepen their awareness of the mystery of God in their everyday lives. Catherine is also involved with a Women’s Spirituality Centre in Brunswick.

Charles Thermos

Charles Thermos is an experienced psychologist, teacher, group facilitator, organisational consultant who presently works in private practice and in a large public health organisation. He has a strong interest in the wisdom / spiritual traditions, and in interspirituality, and is committed to his own daily Presence, meditative and other spiritual practices. He is passionate about the simplicity, transformational power, benefits and challenges of universal principles and teachings from these traditions, and particularly keen to share these with others.

Peter Thomas

A filmmaker by profession Peter has gained an interest in meditation due to his involvement in producing television programs about ascetical people and communities. A teacher of meditation his eclectic knowledge is drawn from his
study with the Dalai Lama in India, Thich Nhat Hanh in France and Christian monastic life in both Australia and overseas. Producer of many television documentaries about indigenous issues he won a United Nations Peace Prize in the category of Indigenous Issues for his SBS – TV documentary, “Sacred Stones”.

John Tidey

John Tidey has worked as a journalist in East Africa, the UK, China and Australia. He is a former President of the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers Association.

Clive Wansbrough

Clive Wansbrough is a teacher, mediator and journal writer of some thirty years experience. Clive is a parishioner who attends Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church.