A Prayer for Peace

It is easy, from the comfort of our lounge chairs here in Australia, to cast judgment on what we see playing out on the streets currently in the United States of America. While it is less comfortable to confront the realities in our own backyard, in recent days, the Australian media has turned the spotlight on Australia’s record of black deaths in custody. It has been widely reported that, since 1991, 432 Indigenous Australians have died in police custody. One of those was David Dungay Jr, a Dunghutti man from Northern New South Wales. His last words were also, “I can’t breathe”. So, yes, while it is easy for us to cast judgment on what we see playing out on the streets in the United States of America, we should be very uncomfortable about our own George Floyd moments and, more broadly, our mistreatment of Indigenous peoples and the injustices placed upon them.

The conclusion of Reconciliation Week yesterday, 3 June, reminds us that there is much work to do and that each of us has a part to play in the process of reconciliation for the healing of our nation. At our assembly today, we prayed for peace in our world, in our nation, in our homes, and in our hearts. I invite you to do the same:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

Donations Required

On assembly today, our students launched two charitable giving projects. Ella Dawes, our Outreach Captain, invited students in Years 7 to 10, who missed out on the opportunity to donate to the West End Community House, to contribute toiletries to women displaced by domestic violence. Currently, every three weeks, ten women are assisted by Stafford police. Increasingly, support is also being provided to teenagers affected by domestic and cyber violence. We require enough items to pack at least 30 bags. Items required for each bag include:

toothbrushes
toothpaste
deodorant
soap
hairbrush
underwear (a range of sizes)
shampoo
towel and washer
hand cleanser
sanitary pads
packets of nappies
Coles or Woolworths shopping bags.

Year 11 students Lucy England and Breanne Shepherd also promoted our St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal. On 19 June, the last day of Term 2, there will be a mufti day to raise awareness for homelessness. To participate, students are required to donate winter clothes and other necessities:

jumpers
tracksuit pants
scarfs
gloves
beanies
blankets.

Please ensure that the items are clean and free of holes and stains as Vinnies cannot accept items that are dirty or tattered. If students do not have winter items to give, a gold donation will be just as beneficial. The cash donations made on the day will be given to the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal that supports people at risk or experiencing homelessness.

Variety Hair with Heart

Currently, three students have signed up to participate in Mount Alvernia’s Big Chop in support of Variety’s Hair with Heart. Given the current restrictions on group gatherings, we have rescheduled for this to take place during assembly on Thursday 13 August. The College has a Hair with Heart fundraising page: Hair with Heart Fundraising. If you or your extended family and friends would like to support the students donating their hair for this worthy cause, please follow the link to make your donation. Every little bit helps. Hair with Heart is Variety’s national hair donation initiative. Hair donations are made into specialised wigs for those who have lost their hair due to a medical condition. Funds raised through the sale of the hair go to Variety’s grants and programs to give Aussie kids in need a fair go.

Upcoming Days of Significance

Friday 5 June: World Environment Day

Saturday 13 June: Feast of St Anthony of Padua

Sunday 14 to Saturday 20 June: Refugee Week

Saturday 20 June: World Refugee Day

Richard Rogusz

Quick Dates

Week 7/8, Term 2