Religious News

On Monday, June 17th, we celebrated the arrival of one of five Message Sticks that are travelling across our Diocese in honour of 150 years.  

Four of these Message Sticks are being be carried from school to school to remind us of the inter-connectedness of all our school communities - from the Murray to the Sea.

In Aboriginal culture, Message Sticks were passed between different clans and language groups to establish information and transmit messages. They were often used to invite neighbouring groups to corroborees, initiation ceremonies, right of entry to country and invitation to religious rituals. 

To mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Ballarat Diocese, five Message Sticks were gifted to carry the message from Romans Chapter 12, verse 12 is to: Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

From the Murray to the Sea the Creator Spirit spoke to the Ancestors thousands of years before Abraham and Moses. The Creator Spirit touched the sacredness of country and all that had been created, gifting the Ancestors with the Law to care for country, the water ways, care for the animals and co-exist with all that has been created. 

When a Message Stick is handed to you from another person, you are the custodian of an Aboriginal artefact and it should only be passed to another worthy custodian.

God Bless,

Jess Wilson and Ally Brennan

Religious Education Leaders