Mission and Identity
- Taize Prayer Evening
- Freedom Feast and Refugee Advocacy Evening
- Experiential learning in Religious Education
- Red Dirt Immersion
- Prayer of Jesus Meditation
Taize Prayer Evening
On Friday evening we were blessed to engage in an evening of Taize prayer with students, staff and parents from St Pius X College and Mercy College.
The chapel was at capacity as heartfelt voices reached out to our everloving God.
To witness students from both colleges enlivened by the experience and asking for more opportunities like this is testament to the spiritual hunger our young people feel in such a secular landscape.
Our deep gratitude to Mercy College for inviting us and initiating this beautiful formation opportunity.
Freedom Feast and Refugee Advocacy Evening
On Saturday evening we had the privilege of joining Our Lady of Dolours Chatswood in their Freedom Feast fundraiser and advocacy evening, to raise funds to bring a mother and three children to safety in Sydney from Iran.
We witnessed the profound sharing of stories by refugees from Afghanistan who were courageous to share them. To see the joy of a journalist who had been imprisoned by the Taliban, but now felt the warm embrace of Australia was a deeply moving reminder of the power of open hearts and new beginnings.
All involved were blessed to sample incredible dishes from Palestine and Afghanistan.
Our students were once again exemplary in their volunteering to serve the parish and this most important cause.
Experiential learning in Religious Education
We are delighted to release the first in a series of videos that showcases strategies for deepening relationship building with Christ while using all the senses. The Mission and Identity team are presently working with Religious Education teachers to enhance skills in an experiential approach to Religious Education.
This first video in the series, provides the 'why, what and how' behind Biblical Micrography, and how it can transform a student's engagement with scripture, as they open their heart and mind to the movement of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God.
Such videos will provide you with an insight into the Religious Education classroom experience, as well as providing you with activities you may wish to try yourself or to use with your family.
Red Dirt Immersion
Please keep our pilgrims in your prayers as they depart this Saturday for the Red Dirt Immersion. The Red Dirt immersion is an ongoing commitment to the spirit of reconciliation, and moving forward together as one mob. In partnership with Christian Brothers High School Lewisham, the immersion seeks to learn from and accompany alongside Aboriginal communities present in Coonabarabran, Brewarrina, Walgett and Bourke through school buddy programs and cultural learning through on country experiences.
This eight day immersion seeks to deepen our understanding of Aboriginal culture and spirituality as we set out to learn ‘on country and through country’.
We are deeply grateful to Mr Di Sano, Mr Westhoff, Mr Naidoo and Mr Stollery for giving up holiday time away from families to provide our students with this transformative experience.
Once again, please keep us in your prayers as we step out to continue our journey of and commitment to Reconciliation.
The Prayer of Jesus Meditation
‘The Prayer of Jesus’; the third meditation in the series developed by Fr David Ranson, leads deep into the immediacy and intimacy of God’s embrace through prayer.
This profound pilgrimage of discovery leads the listener to the revelation that as disciples ‘it is not in the end we who pray at all, but Christ alive within us praying through the Spirit, to the Father’.
As vessels of ‘divine communion’, I invite you to explore and enjoy this beautiful meditation on prayer.
Thank you to Fr David and to @Anthony Costa and Ministry Media for another extraordinary formation resource.
God bless,
Mr Daniel Petrie - Assistant Principal, Mission and Identity