Introducing the
Perth Diocesan app

More about the app

The purpose of the app is to further the mission and ministry of the people of the Diocese. It is designed to be a point of connection for the Diocese. Seasonal messages are provided from the Archbishop of Perth, and from St George’s Cathedral.

In exciting first, a Lenten study is being offered through the app. It is written by Julie Ward (of ACYM), based upon a study that previously ran in the Parish of Kalamunda. The study is suitable for individuals and small groups, in the parishes, schools and agencies of the Diocese. Each week groups and individuals are encouraged to share their reflections upon the material presented. These reflections will be reviewed by the study coordinators (Julie, Fr Clive Hillman, and myself.) That which is shared with us will be incorporated into later weeks of the study – we hope that this will digitally ‘gather together’ participants into a broader group, journeying through Lent together.

The Diocesan Prayer Diary is incorporated within the app. The prayer diary is for daily use. For those who pray the Daily Offices, it works well alongside the popular ‘ePray’ app. Each day parishes, schools and agencies are appointed to be prayed for, from the Diocese of Perth and beyond. To pray for one another is transformative – it helps us to grow in relationship with God, and with one another. You might consider praying from the Prayer Diary over Lent as a new devotion.

Also of daily use is the included Calendar. The app adopts the liturgical colour of the day throughout, so when you open it each day you’ll know if there is a Holy Day or Festival appointed. Within the Calendar area of the app, you can access additional information about each festival, drawing upon freely available resources from the Church of England, The Episcopal Church, and Wikipedia. Learning about the festivals in our calendar teaches us about our faith; reflecting on the people and events included in the Calendar can help us to reflect more deeply on the now.

We also provide pastoral resources, for various different circumstances. We plan to gradually expand this area of the app, and we’d love your suggestions for further resources. One of the first people to try out the app let me know that they’d heard about a bushfire on the news, and had immediately opened up the app to pray the ‘Bushfire Prayer.’

The app will continue to be developed over the coming months: we have some exciting ideas lined up. After Lent, we will begin offering weekly reflections within the app upon the readings appointed for the coming Sunday. We hope this will be of particular help to those rural and regional worshipping communities who are without clergy.