Mission News

Prayers

We pray for those in our community who are unwell and those who have died recently. May those who mourn be comforted and all who have gone before us remain in the peace of God.

Community Mass

Community Masses begin again for Term 4, with Wednesday morning at 8:00am and Friday at 1st break. All are welcome!

Gospel and Reflection

Excerpt from Mark’s Gospel from 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

John said to Jesus, 'Master, we saw a man who is not one of us casting out devils in your name; and because he was not one of us we tried to stop him.' But Jesus said, 'You must not stop him: no one who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us.

“One of us” is a term that can express both inclusion and exclusion. Group identity and belonging really matter to John and the disciples. It matters to all of us and it can help define us and keep a community strong. We all want to belong! But it can come at a cost and often looks more like ‘fitting in’. Deciding who is ‘in’ and who is ‘out’ has an ‘othering’ effect, leaving some people to experience the alienating effects of exclusion and marginalisation. Jesus is challenging the understanding of belonging by reminding John that what the man is doing (casting out demons in Jesus’ name) is what makes him one of us. Communities of belonging are always strongest when they remain open, both to new people as well as new ideas. A community of faith – our own Marist Catholic community – cannot function in a rigid, closed-off way. It is at its best when it is a welcoming place where the Spirit of Life flows.

A true Marist sense of welcome and inclusion was strongly felt at Sony Camp over the first weekend of the holidays (for a Sony update, please see below).

We celebrate this gift of hospitality shared at Sony in our prayer:

+ Dear Lord, 

We give thanks for the blessings of the Sony camp. We reflect on the friendships formed and the ways we found strength in each other. We are grateful for the moments of joy, learning and growth that filled our days.

May our students and staff carry the lessons learned and the love shared into our lives beyond the camp. Help us to support one another and to continue fostering understanding and acceptance in our communities.

We pray for continued strength, hope and courage for all those who face challenges and may we always remember the power of compassion.

We pray as we begin Term 4 at Marist that we will be a community where all feel welcome and safe.

Mary our good mother                        pray for us

St Marcellin Champagnat                  pray for us

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop       pray for us

And may we always remember        to pray for one another

Amen. +

Sony Foundation Camp

The Marist Sony Foundation Camp was held during the first weekend of the school holidays, offering our young guests a wonderful few days of on-site entertainment and fun activities. We were very proud of our student volunteers from both Marist and Mt Alvernia who calmly and quickly adapted to take on the caring roles for our campers.

The students were tasked with making sure the children enjoyed themselves in a safe, supportive and friendly environment, and we are delighted to report that they performed their roles exceptionally!

Activities throughout the camp included:

• Build-A-Bear
• Pool activities including a giant inflatable
• Movie night on McMahon Oval with hot popcorn
• Vehicle show in the Main Yard
• Carnival Day on Hayden Oval with jumping castles, petting zoo, Dream Cricket, ice cream van, shaved ice, BBQ, biscuit decorating and face painting
• Dress-up disco in the Experimental Theatre
• Magic show

The feedback we have received from our campers’ families shows how important opportunities like Sony Camp are for young people for fun and friendship—and not only that, but families are appreciative of the respite the camp provides.

A massive thank you to all the students, their families, our Sony Committee, Richard and Annette from Mt Alvernia, our Health Centre nurses and parent/community nurse volunteers, parent and staff nighttime debrief volunteers, kitchen, cleaning and services staff. We couldn’t have done this without all your support!

Ltyentye Apurte (Santa Teresa) Immersion

During the holidays, Mr Brauer and Ms Smeed along with eight students flew to the heart of our country to be immersed in Ltyentye Apurte (Santa Teresa community). The group had a memorable time meeting and working with locals and was fortunate to have an opportunity to experience Uluru, undoubtedly a tourist attraction, but more importantly, a site of immense cultural and spiritual significance to Australia’s First Peoples. While at Ltyentye Apurte, the pilgrims attended Mass, toured the town with Br Mark Fordyce, took in sunset views from the hilltop, engaged in ministry with locals and finished most days at the skate park. The immersion was a richly rewarding experience and we look forward to hearing more about it at an upcoming assembly.

eWaste Permanent Collection and Drive

Year 10s, James Dee, Joel Dargusch and Luke Garvey are a part of the Lord Mayor's Young Environmental Leadership Network. They need to design and implement an environmental strategy for the school and have decided to focus on the issue of eWaste. eWaste is electronic products that are unwanted, not working and nearing or at the end of their “useful life.” The most common eWaste at Marist are broken computer mice, headphones, chargers and laptops etc. Instead of throwing these into general waste, students will soon have the option of properly recycling them. Come Term 4, we will have a permanent eWaste bin in the Science Foyer that they can use at their convenience.

Saturday 12 October we will also be hosting an eWaste drive in the McMahon Oval car park from 9:00am-11:00am. This will be for our local community to properly dispose of any larger items of eWaste they might have at home. So now’s the time to start collecting those broken TVs, printers and other electronic items that you may have been holding on to at home.

St Vincent de Paul

Vinnies members are reminded that our first meeting for Term 4 is on this Wednesday during Break 1 in 801.

The Vinnies group is happy to kick off Term 4 with their popular Thursday morning Bacon and Egg Burgers. Come on over (near the yard) before school and grab one for just $4.50.

Stationery Aid

Stationery Aid is back for Term 4 this Friday in Room 801 from 7:30am-8:30am. We hope to see you there!

To find out more, visit: https://stationeryaid.org.