MEETING WITH STONNINGTON GROUP – 9 SEPTEMBER 2026

On the last day of the executive trip to Melbourne, accompanied by Brother Michael Lindstrom as the President of Area Victoria, Brothers Geoff Young, Harry Muller and Lou Daily were guests at the meeting of the Stonnington Group held on Wednesday the 9 September at the Orrong Hotel in Armadale. Brother Kevin Campbell, Secretary of the Catenian association who resides in rural Victoria had travelled to Melbourne and also attended as a guest.

Prior to the normal meeting, a special meeting was held with their Council to discuss options for the next Catenian Australian Conference proposed to be held in Melbourne. Agreement was reached that the next conference would definitely be held in Melbourne, and a small planning group would assess and recommend the structure, format, timing and venues suitable for the proposed functions.

Brother Adam Garvey as Chairman, welcomed all to the meeting and opened with the required prayers. The Group has now grown to eleven Brothers and four joint members. They are receptive to developing into a Circle and advised that with several more recruits, they will plan a suitable timetable for the achievement.

 Further, they agree to host a Brother from the Adelaide City Circle at a future meeting and meet with him to share details of all the necessary work required with their travel to become the vibrant Catenian Group that they are now. The third aspect was that they would like to promote a future pilgrimage to Penola accompanied by Brothers in Adelaide.

Brother Harry Muller then thanked Adam for the well-presented and informative Chairman’s annual report highlighting all the milestones and activities achieved in their first year of operation.

After a meal shared with adequate drink and good fellowship, their guest speaker was then introduced.  He was Father Michael Kong a young Priest who was born and raised in South Korea and moved to Australia in 2006 for language and commerce studies. He grew in his faith and decided the way forward and entered the Melbourne Seminary in 2008 and was ordained a Priest in 2014. Over the years he has served in multiple Parishes in Melbourne and is currently serving as Parish Administrator in the Sacred Heart Church in Kew.

Father Michael is also active in education supporting students well being and faith-based learning. He also maintains a social media presence sharing messages of Christ to reach a broader audience and encouraging engagement with the Catholic faith. He also uses modern communication tools to connect with the community and promoting a strong commitment to the Catholic faith.

Thank you, Father Michael, for an interesting and inspiring talk and contributing to the lengthy discussion that followed.

Lou Daily