Can you please introduce yourself and share about your work at Catholic Mission, but also as a composer?
I am the Catholic Mission Province Director for NSW/ACT and reside in Kiama on the beautiful south coast of NSW. I had a long career as a teacher, Religious Education Consultant and Principal in Catholic schools prior to joining Catholic Mission three years ago.
I have always had a deep connection to Catholic Mission, and as a composer and musician, have written numerous songs for their various campaigns over the years. The best-known song would probably be the mission anthem, “The Face Of God”, which goes back almost thirty years.
You have recently written a song called “One Mission”. Can you please share about it and what inspired you to write it?
My wife, Louise, and I have written and recorded hundreds of songs over the years, and we largely write about themes of mission, justice and ecology. We have published around eight albums and like to describe the music as “Songs That Stir The Conscience.” They are not really hymns or liturgical pieces, but more songs that can be used in other reflective, education or prayer settings.
When I read Pope Leo XIV’s World Mission Sunday message for 2026, “One in Christ, united in mission”, I was immediately drawn to his focus on unity amongst diversity. The words easily lent themselves to become memorable song lyrics with a very clear message.
Listen to the song below.
In your song, the line “many voices, many people, different lives, but one heart unites us” is very powerful. What does unity in mission mean to you in today’s world?
The diversity of people with unique backgrounds and experiences is actually a strength in our world. I see it in the people who work alongside me at Catholic Mission. We are all different and have different roles and responsibilities, but we need to be singing from the same song sheet, singing with one voice, as it were. And that unity, Pope Leo reminds us, comes from our shared mission – that all may have life to the full. Some see diversity as a problem, but that is only if we have no common ground or unity of purpose. The Church and the world are beautiful in their diversity, but even more beautiful when we are united in Christ and heading in the same direction. Pope Leo is a wonderful person to model that unity.
Your lyrics speak about people leaving their homes, others giving generously, all working in solidarity. How have you seen these realities lived out in your own experience of mission?
Absolutely! Each October, we share the stories of those who have left their homes and are building communities in distant lands – Timor-Leste, Mongolia, Zambia, and this year, Malawi. But that vocation is not for everybody, and the people in those environments need people like us here in our relatively comfortable homes in Australia to support them with prayer, storytelling and resources. When school students, parishioners or other supporters do that, they are generously standing in solidarity with those on the margins, and this is a living example of being one in Christ and united in mission.
Looking back on the 100-year legacy of World Mission Sunday, what gives you the most hope for the future of mission?
The Church is, by definition, missionary in nature. It is fundamental to who we are. World Mission Sunday helps to remind us that we are not just a devotional Church, but equally called to be an active agent in transforming the world. This message is universal and transcends space and time, so it will endure no matter what other things change in our Church and world. This is why I came to work at Catholic Mission and why I am ever hopeful that mission will continue to be a driving element of the Church into the future. And Pope Leo, one who worked in cross-cultural mission for decades, makes me even more confident.
If there is one message you would like listeners to carry with them after hearing this song, what would it be?
Hearts open wide – with no distinction or limitation – is the missionary call. All of us have a part to play, no matter who we are, as long as we remain united in our purpose to bring fullness of life to everybody.
