FAITH MATTERS

Year 10 Reflection Day 

On Monday 21st August, Year 10 Students had the opportunity to hear from Sam Clear (http://www.walk4one.com/) at Swan Hill Soccer League (Club). It was a fantastic day with the students, who were very inspired by Sam and how he’s walked over 15,600 kilometres over 568 days and with nearly 11 near-death encounters. His reasoning for all this? To promote unity amongst people, and particularly Christians of different denominations. 

Sam shared with students that “there were things in the journey [he] thought [he] knew the answer to.” Yet, when confronted with situations of ferocious animals, startling people and despair, he was surprised by the way many of these circumstances challenged him to not be violent or defend oneself, but to humbly back away and choose peace. 

Towards the end of the day, students were invited to make an honest prayer to God, and show a contribution to this dialogue through a simple liturgy using water. It was beautiful to see the culmination of all these prayers, and how even taking a moment a day to simply pray can enhance our awareness of the need for hope in this world. 

I highly encourage families to head to Sam’s website, and to set an alarm for 4:01pm each day to take a moment to pray for yourselves, someone in your community and a cause for the world. 

Special thanks to Sam for driving up to Swan Hill, Ms Gomez, Mr Hirst, Mr Leary, Kylie Andrews and Dania for their support with the students. Our regards to Sue and Jo at Swan Hill Soccer League (Club) for their hospitality. 

ACBC Social Justice Statement 

Last week the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) released their annual Social Justice Statement for 2023-2024. This year, the theme is: 'Listen, Learn, Love— A New Engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.' 

It would be great if families could have a look at the material, and bring some of these conversations into their discussions around the dinner table. Please visit https://socialjustice.catholic.org.au/2023/08/22/social-justice-statement-2023-24/ for more information.