Living with Strength and Kindliness

One of the many privileges of my role at St Joseph’s is to work with our student leadership teams. One of the features of this work is to explore with our student leaders, what they would like to see in our College and how they can work together to serve, not only the members of our College community, but the wider Echuca Moama community and beyond. To help facilitate this, we have been meeting regularly. It has been such a pleasure to watch these teams grow and to see our students embrace their voice and their ability to make change. 

One of the examples of this, has been the work some of our leaders have undertaken to assist in organise the upcoming Youth Expo in partnership with the Campaspe Cohuna Local Learning and Employment Network (CCLLEN), the Campaspe Shire and other local schools. Assisting with this event, which some of our students will also attend next week, has presented a world of opportunities to our students in bringing together different organisations and groups and requiring them to work collaboratively to achieve a common goal. 

This week is the beginning of the Season of Creation. This year the theme, Seeds for Hope, challenges us to think about what we can do. Pope Francis established 1st September as an annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. The Season of Creation is marked throughout the christian world from 1 September to 4 October (Feast of St. Francis of Assisi) and celebrates the joy of creation as well as encouraging awareness-raising initiatives to protect the natural environment. This week we gathered as staff to reflect on this call and plan our next steps using the Earth Care goals as our anchor document. This opportunity for dialogue created a shared understanding of what is possible. 

We have special connection to the Laudato Si document which is reflected in the design of the Central Plaza at Kildare Campus. As it is inspired by Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato Si’, surrounding the plaza is an inscribed quote from Laudato Si. The quote reads:

“It is our humble conviction that the divine and the human meet in the slightest details in the seamless garment of God's Creation in the last speck of dust of our planet.”

This quote aligns with the idea that the sacred is present in even the smallest parts of creation, emphasising that nothing is insignificant. For all of us as we grow and explore our gifts, we are encouraged to see the divine in everyday details, appreciate the interconnectedness of the world, and respect all of creation.

Lee Pethybridge

College Leader - Faith and Community

St Joseph's College Op Shop

Next week, from Monday 9 - Friday 13 September, we will be running a St Joseph's College Op Shop during lunch in the College Hall at our Brigidine Campus and in the Presentation Space at Kildare Campus. 

Every 10 minutes 6,000kg of clothes are put into landfill in Australia alone. 

At St Joseph's College we aim to live more sustainably and make a positive difference in our society. Thrifting your clothes is a great way to save money and save the environment. 

Students and staff are asked to bring their unwanted clothes to Student Services for donation this week. 

These clothes will be available to purchase for a bargain price of between $2 - $5 through our Op Shop.

All money raised will go to St Vinnies to support people in need. 

We are so excited to be doing this again and need your help to get our shop filled with clothes.

Thank you to all the students and staff who have already supported this initiative. 

Matthew Butler

Living Justice Living Peace