Staff Integral Ecology Retreat

Kildare Ministries Staff travelled to Daylesford Victoria for our Staff Integral Ecology Retreat. We had a range of staff on Retreat, including Teachers, Administration and Student Support Staff, Business managers, Justice leaders and Finance officers. We explored Pope Francis’ Laudato Si goals of:

Working towards an Eco-Spirituality
Educating in Integral Ecology, and
Exploring the Cry of the Earth and the Cry of the Poor.

To maintain our focus on Laudato Si, which was named from St Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of Creation, we structured our program on the notion of Creation as Mother and Sister, emphasizing Interconnectedness between creation, justice for the poor and a simpler more compassionate life in harmony with God’s Earth.

We explored:

A Cosmic Walk in the bush, looking at the timeline of Creation from the Big Bang all the way through to our current existence as humans living on one small planet Earth with all its creatures.
What it means to live with respect to the limited resources of Earth, by exploring the Mellidora – a self-sufficient home and garden created by permaculture co-founder David Holmgren.
Nature-conscious ritual and deep “Dadirri” listening activities that raise our awareness of God as a deeply intimate God, who is present to us through the Spirit that flows throughout each moment of time. These prayers take us back to the Christian mystics like St Francis of Assisi who taught us the importance of gratitude prayers, like the Canticle of Creation, which help us remember our God is not dualistic or separate from us, but deeply entwined in our lived experience of the world.
Throughout the Retreat we immersed ourselves in nature:
- experiencing the power of Water that over centuries has shaped the rock formations at Hepburn’s natural Blowhole
- walking the ancient land formations of Earth at the extinct volcano of Mt Franklin, and raising our attention to the intricate detail within creation through a colour identification activity
- connecting to the power of Wind, and the capacity of a local community to take action in choosing to rely completely on wind energy, through a visit to Australia’s first community-owned wind farm
Sitting with and understanding our sorrow and pain for all the suffering on and of Earth, through the Four Quadrants activity of Joanna Macy.
Recognising the importance of moving through this ecological crisis by reaching out to each other, in gratitude and an intention of support, as we face the future together

Using the Seven Goals of Laudato Si to help us articulate our responses to the key questions that we must continually ask ourselves and each other, “What needs to be done”, and “What’s mine to do?” . In response to these questions, Business Manager Chris Shelly created this list of questions he wanted to ask himself when making business decisions at Kilbreda College. Chris also shared his list at the following Kildare Ministries Business Managers Network meeting.

Student Leadership Retreat

Senior Student Leaders from across Kildare Ministries recently gathered at Saltbush, Balnarring Beach for the Leadership Retreat. Blessed with beautiful weather, the leaders thrived as they were thrown in the deep end to learn about themselves as leaders, and what they hope to achieve as leaders of Kildare Ministries schools in 2026. The group’s energy elevated the moment they were thrown their first challenge -

“We had to make a meal from scratch with no recipes – it was such a great exercise in teamwork, especially the importance of communication and allocating roles to get the job done! " Alice, Brigidine College St Ives

The Student Leaders took great initiative, working together, listening to each other and finding ways to navigate varying levels of cooking experience, timing, food safety, dietary needs and numbers. They served a beautiful meal for all forty people, and our 'silent supervisors' (staff) were very impressed by their teamwork, problem solving and the delicious outcome!

"I loved the opportunity to meet each other and explore the Kildare Ministries theme Justice for 2026." Adi, Marian College Ararat

Our perspectives of each other and our environment impact our understanding of what justice means. To challenge our perspective and remember Jesus’ call that we are each parts of the one whole, we watched video footage and interviews with astronauts who have seen planet Earth from space.

"One thing that is staying with me is that we are all connected, and we all have a common home. We need to remember that everyone is trying to do their best, so we need to give everyone the grace to do that.” Isobel, Marian College, Ararat

This ecological perspective of the world helps us understand that Earth is not just a resource for humans, but has integrity of its very own. We spent time on the Retreat grounding ourselves and connecting to the land of Saltbush through a morning Four Directions prayer on the beach, and learning about our historical connections to the land through an Acknowledgement of Country and Walking Liturgy of the property; we heard the story of the Presentation Sisters first purchasing the property in 1989 to provide vulnerable families with a holiday, and their commitment to regenerating all the land back to its natural state. And we shared the different projects that our own school communities have voluntarily participated in to restore the houses and the land.

"One thing I found really valuable was learning how to be a lot more grounded, especially through focusing on my breathing, and to really acknowledge the world around me." Charlotte, Brigidine College Indooroopilly

"This time at Saltbush has left me with so much more hope for a positive future! I’m coming back to Kilbreda with so many ideas from all around our Kildare Ministries community." Leila, Kilbreda

We also took Nano Nagle’s message to heart and put our actions ahead of our words by getting outside and looking after the land at Saltbush (Facta non Verba – Deeds not Words!).

Throughout the Retreat, we kept returning to the Kildare Ministries’ call to “make the needs of the vulnerable paramount” both from a justice point of view, and our desire to make everyone in our school community feel like they belong.

"I was really inspired by the group of leaders here at Saltbush, who have so much compassion for ordinary people who are struggling." Bronson, Marian College Ararat

"I loved being surrounded by leaders who want to make a change in their community, their schools. I felt like we grounded our hopes into plans for action." Emily, Killester College

Student leaders also reflected on their own personal values and ethics, and what the threats to those values are in today’s world. There was great discussion and sharing about the challenges of society 'othering' people who are different, of media and political pressures to be 'with us or against us' and of who we let influence us. The Leaders identified and grappled with the apathy of today’s society when it comes to injustices around the world and revealed their wisdom when offering potential approaches to dealing with this in our local school communities and society at large.

"I learnt a lot from listening to each other as we discussed the ethics and values around some really important issues in our world. I was so inspired by the other school leaders." Jess, Brigidine College St Ives

"I made so many connections across the different Kildare Ministries schools in Australia. There is so much strength and wisdom across our group about how we can foster a sense of justice in our schools." Lilla, Kildare College

"Witnessing everybody sharing their different ideas and stories around the circle has really made me think about how sharing those really brings us together. It was so inspiring." Lana, Clonard College

"What I’ve loved is everyone has been so vulnerable and honest in sharing their opinions and their beliefs. It gives us a bit of faith in the world that there are leaders who care, and our world is going to be in safe hands, because we have such a good environment and everyone leads with their heart and uses their brain." Ruby, Clonard College

Our Retreat finished with our Student Leaders planning and holding their own Closing Liturgy to celebrate the connections they’d made, the wisdom they’d shared and the hopes they promised to support each other in. Bringing their strengths and gifts together, they created a beautiful Liturgy with music, prayer, scripture and gratitude. The Leaders agreed they want to reconnect online each term next year to continue their support of each other as they work to inspire their students to work together for Justice in 2026 and beyond.

"The opportunity to talk to other like-minded people, and get to discuss what I’m really passionate about. I also found a deeper connection with my leadership partner and my leadership group." Sienna, Clonard College

"I was so impressed by other schools who have found ways to integrate their community across year levels." Bridie, Brigidine College Indooroopilly

"From this retreat, I’ve learnt how to deepen connections with people who I wouldn’t normally. It’s pushed me out of my comfort zone and taught me how to adapt and surround myself with a more diverse community." Bronson, Marian College Ararat

Jane Collopy

Mission Leader

Kildare Ministries

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