Some days ago I had the privilege to attend the Qala parish seminar which was open to all Qala parishioners, not just parish groups as the norm.

A surprising 80 individuals decided to ditch the weekend drive for a two-day long democratic and healthy discussion on the way forward for the church in this tiny village. The pool of ideas, comments, views about the Pastoral Plan 2006-2007 was astonishing and offered great impetus to improve the way in which the church in Qala operates.

This is the way forward for the Church in Gozo and in Malta. The relevance of the Church in today's society is its capacity to be open to improvement, to innovation in thinking and implementation and receptiveness to the ever-changing conditions to human existence. Despite its small size, the Qala parish gave a shining example to the wider Church in Gozo and Malta.

Excellent idea credited to Qala Archpriest Canon Dr Joe Zammit. The illuminating message to the attendees by Gozo Bishop, Mgr Mario Grech was the cherry on the parish cake!

Dr Raymond C. Xerri

Qala, GOZO