Faith, Justice and Formation 

SPC Winter Appeal Reminder

Don’t forget that our College Winter Appeal is this week. Thanks in advance for your support and efforts to make life just a little easier for those who are most in need.

Berg, Coghlan and Crichton families are to bring all their donations in tomorrow, Thursday 26 May.

Hanrahan, Hickey and Rice families are to bring their donations in on Friday 27 May.  

ALL donations will go to the Bangawarra Room during homeroom on the respective days – boys to carry items until homeroom.

We only want NEW blankets and sleeping bags from nearly everyone. A used blanket may be donated if it has been cleaned. PLUS, every boy in the school is asked to donate one or more of the items allocated to their House. [NO pumps, NO large items – they need to be carried around by people sleeping rough.]

Optional extras would also be appreciated - NEW beanies, scarves, socks, underwear (in unopened packaging), and men’s singlets. Please DO NOT bring any other clothes or items, or any food. 

All donations will go to St Vincent De Paul (SVDP), the House of Welcome and Catholic Care.

Thank you.

SPC Lenten Appeal Update

Throughout Lent last term, the SPC community raised just over $78,000 for our Lenten Appeal, with the Lenten Dances making up a big chunk of that, contributing $22,000 to the final total. Thank you to all who contributed with their time and/or their finances. This money will be shared amongst our partners, the Edmund Rice Centre for Justice, Callan Service in Papua New Guinea (PNG), flood relief in Lismore and St Joseph’s Alice Springs, all making a difference where needed.

National Reconciliation Week 2022

St Patrick’s College is committed to authentic reconciliation with all First Nations peoples, especially the Wangal clan of the Darug people on whose land we stand, as well as the Central Arrente people of Alice Springs with whom we have a relationship.

This year’s theme is Be Brave. Make Change. which really speaks to our mandate of advocacy – amplifying the voices of those who are less heard. It follows on from last year’s theme – More than a word. Reconciliation takes action. It asks us to make changes at individual, local and national level, in whatever way we can. As the website states, ‘Change begins with brave actions in your daily life – where you live, work, play and socialise.’ 

The dates for NRW are the same each year; 27 May to 3 June.T hese dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey - the successful 1967 Referendum and the High Court Mabo decision, respectively. 

• 27 May 1967: On this day, Australia’s most successful referendum saw more than 90 per cent of Australians vote to give the Australian Government power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and recognise them in the Census: 1967 Referendum 
   
• 3 June 1992: On this day, the Australian High Court delivered the Mabo decision, the culmination of Eddie Koiki Mabo’s challenge to the legal fiction of ‘terra nullius’ (land belonging to no one) and leading to the legal recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of lands. This decision paved the way for Native Title: High Court Mabo Decision 

Our community continues to work on its Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) under the guidance of our First Nations Facilitator, Mrs Felicity Warsop, and also continues to take steps wherever possible to ensure that inclusion and understanding are part of our everyday being. At the end of this term, a group of our Year 11 students will be head to Alice Springs to deepen our relationship with St Joseph’s Flexible Learning Centre and learn great wisdom from the original stewards of the land.

This weekend will be our Reconciliation Round of Co-curricular, from Debating to Tennis and everything in between. All teams will acknowledge country and our role in committing to the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Our Firsts’ teams will also wear the specially designed SPC Aboriginal strip to showcase what we stand for and to start a conversation in all circles.

To learn more about Reconciliation and how this week is simply a reminder of how we should live every day of the year, go to National Reconciliation Week – Reconciliation Australia.

You may also wish to say this prayer tomorrow (26 May) to mark National Sorry Day: 

Sorry Day / Reconciliation Prayer

National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC)

Holy Father, God of Love,

You are the Creator of this land and of all good things.

We acknowledge the pain and shame of our history

and the suffering of our peoples,

and we ask your forgiveness.

We thank you for the survival of indigenous cultures.

Our hope is in you because you gave your Son Jesus

to reconcile the world to you.

We pray for your strength and grace to forgive,

accept and love one another,

as you love us and forgive and accept us

in the sacrifice of your Son.

Give us the courage to accept the realities of our history

so that we may build a better future for our nation.

Teach us to respect all cultures.

Teach us to care for our land and waters.

Help us to share justly the resources of this land.

Help us to bring about spiritual and social change

to improve the quality of life for all groups in our communities,

especially the disadvantaged.

Help young people to find true dignity and self esteem by your Spirit.

May your power and love be the foundations

on which we build our families, our communities and our nation,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

(Wontulp Bi-Buya Indigenous Theology Working Group 13 March 1997 Brisbane, Qld).

Let’s be brave and make change together as “We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.” (from our First Nations peoples in the Uluru Statement from the Heart). To understand the statement a bit better, watch this TED Talk from Dean Parkin - The Uluru Statement From The Heart - an idea whose time has come | Dean Parkin | TEDxCanberra - YouTube

Gillian Daley

Director of Identity