www.teamsoceania.com.au

Vic-East Regional

OUR FIRST REGIONAL MEETING Newsletter Hello fellow team members of Vic-East. Welcome to the first edition of our Vic-East Regional Newsletter that will incorporate information previously obtained in each of the Sector Newsletters. The photo above was taken at the first regional team meeting 1st Edition with Ron and Angela Waanders held at their home in Traralgon. We thank each couple who made the journey to Traralgon and we thank the Traralgon / Rosedale Team who provided a delicious lunch and afternoon tea. The main agenda items for the meeting included reports from each sector, a LEADERSHIP FORMATION WEEKEND treasurer’s report, a report on Oceania matters, discussion about the recent Oceania conference held in , discussion about the 5-year plan and much more. The Oceania Team is running a Leader- Membership and the possibility of transitioning some members to ‘Associates of ship Formation weekend from August Teams’ has been a topic of discussion for some time at an Oceania and Regional level. 29 to August 31 at the Passionist Cen- There is merit in opening dialogue with couples and teams in our region on this topic, tre in Templestowe. so this is something that can be discussed with your Sector Team. There is some more 2 Couples from each region around information later in this newsletter about Associates. Australia will gather for a weekend on leadership and couple formation as part of building ongoing growth and CONFERENCE THANKS leadership in the movement. The Firstly we want to say thank you to all Vic-East members who helped at the recent weekend will allow like-minded cou- Oceania Conference. The organizing committee with Murray and Maureen Cullinan at ples to take part in discussions about spirituality / marriage as well as hear- the helm did an amazing job at putting the conference together and the helpers over ing about what is happening in the the weekend helped to make everything run smoothly. The venue at ACU was perfect. movement around the world. The keynote speakers were Judy Brewer, Fr Frank Brennan and Fr Tom McDonough. They were inspirational and thought provoking. The depth of their sharing left most of We have nominated 3 couples from Vic us in a state of wonder and awe. -East and hope that they accept the There is great hope that the Bishops around the world are listening to the thoughts invitation to attend. and views of the laity and will represent those views when the Bishops Synod gathers The Vic-East Region is being asked to in August 2014. If you would like to get a copy of Fr Frank Brennan’s address please support this weekend by way of assis- contact your Sector Team or Ron & Angela Waanders. tance with transport to and from the There were 6 Break-out sessions with a range of topics to appeal to all attendees. We airport, and for billeting if needed on had Rose Marie Prosser present ‘What Teams can teach the Church’ based on the the Thursday evening before the gath- findings of her work, in addition to other groups that looked at the Sit-Down, Medita- ering that starts on the Friday morning. tion, Crossroads, Coping with change within a Team and even ‘Managing your Super’. If you are able to help could you please The conference was represented by all regions with a large contingent of Vic-East let your Sector Couple know. members. Well done everyone. TRIBUTE TO MAX CHARLESWORTH

Vale Max

Max Charlesworth was an exceptional man. It is difficult to write about Max out of context. Max and Stephanie/Stephanie and Max; Max, Stephanie and Teams; Max, Stephanie and Family; Max the Public Intellectual; Max the Faith Companion and true Friend. With Max he was all of the above, he was an integrated person. From Team 7, here are some reflections on the life of wonderful, compassionate, loving Max.

Born in Numurkah in 1925, he went, via Assumption College Kilmore, to the and Newman College in 1943, taking out an M.A. in philosophy in 1948. Along the way he met Stephanie Armstrong, and they became engaged to marry, but four weeks before the wedding Max was found to have T.B. A momentous decision had to be made – postpone or proceed with the wedding. They were advised to wait until Max had been treated but Max and Stephanie decided to launch into the uncharted seas of Love in Marriage at Newman College Chapel in 1950.

Max spent two years in the Gresswell T.B. Sanatorium – Stephanie was allowed to see her husband at weekends and they wrote to each other daily.

BEREAVEMENT NOTICES Max recovered and he was able to take up the first Mannix Travelling Scholarship (It had been awarded. to him a few years earlier). In those days most doctoral students in philoso- Max Charlesworth from Team 7 phy went to Oxford or Cambridge, but Max followed his interest in European Philosophy, passed away on June 2, 2014. We ex- and chose a road less travelled – to the Catholic University of Louvain in 1953 - and was tend our sympathies to Stephanie and awarded his PhD with highest distinction in 1955. family and Team 7.

Frank Nihill from Team 14 Serendipitously, Stephanie and Max’s near neighbours in Louvain were members of (Maribrynong / Plenty Sector) passed Equipes Notre Dame (END) i.e. Teams. They were ever helpful to Stephanie and Max with away on April 8, 2014. We extend our the bringing up of the first two of an eventual seven children. So it was that they embarked condolences to Pauline, the rest of the Nihill family and Team 14. on their married responsibilities with an END couple as mentors in the practice of par- enting! Fr. Julian Slatterie SJ Team 18 (Southern Sector) also passed away recently. We extend our condolences A lectureship for Max followed at Auckland University. Their END Belgian neighbours soon to Team 18. enrolled Stephanie and Max in a Correspondence team with couples from many countries around the world.

On their return to Australia in 1959, Max took up a lectureship in the Philosophy Depart- ment at Melbourne University.

With the encouragement of their local parish priest, Father Bernard O’Connor, they imme- diately set about starting a Team in St Cecilia’s parish in 1960, followed soon by other Teams, in cooperation with Stephanie’s brother and sister-in law Greg and Judy Armstrong who had sought out Teams in England. Vale Max (continued)

Back at Melbourne University, Max was up against a secularist view of philosophy. As he reflected in his writings “….there was very little interest in the , as religion was deemed to be in the sphere of “that whereof one cannot speak”. Max was not to be deterred and founded and co-edited a new Journal, Sophia, whose subtitle was An International Journal for Philoso- phy of Religion, Metaphysical and Ethics. Max was pleased with this achievement observing “… I was immensely proud that my brain-child was so successful”. And so the monolith of secular philosophy at Melbourne was cracked to let in the light of religion, pluralism and liberty and all that that entailed.

Teams grew, against some resistance to and suspicion of this French movement. But the presence of chaplains from religious or- ders, often with European origins facilitated growth.

Max’s studies in the pursuit of truth, and the ethos of the Teams in searching for married spirituality, seemed to enrich each other. He was not stuck in an ivory tower; rather philosophy in the world was his orientation. His work led him to challenge undemocratic institutions and to branch out into areas such as Church, State and Conscience: questions of war and peace: new reproductive technologies: : science and religion: Aboriginal religion – all of which impacted on public debate. Together with his role in the publication of the Catholic Worker, he argued against the involvement of Church in politics through the Movement, which had led to the split in the Australian Labour Party. He engaged the question of the futility of war at a time when the Church backed the Vietnam War... He was fiercely criticised, even from the pulpit, by those who supported Church involvement.

But Max’s work for the Church was also acknowledged – for example, in 1970 he was appointed by Paul V1 as a consultant to the Vatican secretariat for Non-believers. One of his last publications, in 2008, was A Democratic Church: Reforming the Values and Institutions of the . Paul Collins observed that “Max is truly the doyen of religious scholars in Australia ….A genuine- ly ‘Catholic’ man in the deepest sense, he has contributed an enormous amount to the ministry of the Australian church”.

In the early seventies, Max and Stephanie, recently returned from a sabbatical at Louvain, found that their original Team 1 was in the process of folding up. After a period of discernment they joined Team 7 in 1974. As Max and Stephanie were such towering figures on the world and Australian scene; we were excited to welcome the couple into what had started out as a parish-based Team. We had our own experience of 10 years in Team 7 but for the next 40 years the Team was continually enriched by the breadth and depth of the Charlesworth commitment to and vision of Teams.

We were blessed to experience Max “up close”. Max had the ability to engage personally – his opening remark was often a humor- ous comment about some current topic – he had a way of making one feel comfortable. Over the years we shared our journeys, which for the Charlesworths, were many as they pursued their careers.

In 1975, Max, then Reader in Philosophy at Melbourne, was appointed Founding Dean of Humanities at the new , which led to 15 more years of University achievement. In 1991 he was awarded an AO (Officer of the Order of Australia). We followed also Stephanie’s career in Social Work and later in law and mediation.

We continued to follow the way of Teams. We shared our deep concerns, often around family (there were 35 children of the Team 7 couples at one stage); education; religious issues; jobs; retirement decisions, and death - Ron Window died suddenly in 1988 then Joan Delaney and our chaplain John Scullion SJ in 1990, Kathleen Window-Delaney in 2008, our earlier chaplain Roger McGin- ley SAC in 2009 and John McKinnon in 2012.

Max was so loyal and committed – he came to his last Team meeting three days before he died. He was short of breath but he was still able to be present to us. It was a shock to hear that he had died in his sleep on Monday morning June 2, 2014.

At the Requiem Mass for Max in Newman College Chapel (where he and Stephanie had been married 64 years ago) on June 9, 2014, the overflowing congregation experienced the overwhelming love for Max expressed by Stephanie and their family.

May he rest in peace. RC FORMATION DAY 2014

The RC Formation Day for Vic-East was run in February at St Peter and Paul’s Parish Centre. 58 members attended – the Theme was ‘The 3 R’s’ – Review, Refresh and Reinvigorate. The day started with a bit of fun with Angela (dressed up as ‘Sr. Angela’ - left) taking us ‘back to school’.

Ron conducted a ‘wall puzzle (right) / quiz’ as a way of reviewing where Teams are at locally and throughout the world. We then had some small group discussions sharing information on Teams discussion material, retreats etc. The results are listed in the following article. After Mass we had an update on the 5-year plan from Murray Cullinan and Garry Mahon. Thank you to all who attended.

FORMATION DAY 2014—RESULTS OF SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS

Q1. What discussion material have you used in the last few years?

Movies that Matter – Richard Leonard Finding God in the movies The Tablet (one page leaflet) - Brendan Byrne SJ (online UK Interviews with well-known Christians publication for small topic ideas) Is Jesus God - Fr Frank Anderson Where the Hell is God – Richard Leonard Reviewed articles relating to the ‘Soul’ Five languages of Apology – Gary Chapman and Jennifer Thom- The letters of Brother Lawrence as (good – also 5 love languages) Evangelii Gaudium – Pope Francis Jesus Our Story by Fr Frank Anderson Pilgrimages (in bible) Q2. Where have you had your retreat? This time of the Church - Frank O’Loughlin One off discussion – St Francis / St Clare St Paul’s Retreat Centre Wantirna St Mark’s Gospel / The personality of Jesus Yarra Valley Conference Centre Mark for Today – book (excellent commentary on Mark’s Gos- Casa Pallotti - Milgrove pel divided into Book chapters) Carmelite Convent - Kew Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church by Geoffrey Glenburn – Ecology and Spirituality Centre Robinson Santa Casa - Queenscliff Toward God – The Ancient Wisdom of Western Prayer – Mi- Altona Meadows chael Casey Campion - Kew Breathing Under Water – Spirituality and the 12 steps - Richard Holy Cross – Serpells Rd Templestowe Rohr (took 2 years to get through) Warburton Magazine articles (Far East Magazine, Majellan) Private Venue – Phillip Island Teams Website (including from World Conference – Brazil) Alexandria Jesuit Social Services Retreat House (now sold) The Gospels Private Home – health and age factors make it difficult to get Books by Fr Ron Rolheiser (Oblate) away for whole weekend Study book on marriage recommended by Arch Diocese Angelcrest? Parenting beyond your capacity House at Shoreham Intelligent persons guide to Catholicism Ss Peter and Pauls, East Doncastor What it means to be a Catholic Salesians of Don Bosco - Lysterfield Finding Happiness – Stephanie Dowrick Inverloch FORMATION DAY 2014—SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION RESULTS (continued)

Q3. What was the theme? Q5. What needs to change if anything?

Icons More focussed discussion God’s Love Stricter finishing times Marriage in today’s World Meals need to be less elaborate Social Justice Finding suitable Discussion material Prayer More emphasis on Endeavours Lectio Divina Some Sharing (eg highs and lows) has become more a diary of Creation events rather than focussed on spiritual or ‘God’ moments Courage to See Feel and Act – (by John Newell) Reporting on family news (the Team has decided to limit it to 5 Understanding Islam minutes each) Aboriginal Spirituality Need to recruit another couple Ignatian Spirituality Early books of the old Testament Q6. Is there something a past RC has done that has en- Refelction on the Magnificat hanced your Teams experience? Relating Scripture to own experience Married Spirituality Circulating Readings and Commentary ahead of the meeting CD presentations by Fr Richard Rohr Preparation of Retreat / Eucharist Meditation Retreat location Mindfulness Group Rituals over the year – eg Christmas gathering Our Image of God Organised Christmas in July Organising gifts for Vinnies at Christmas Q4. What is working well in your Team? Everyone contributes to the meal Introduction of a meditation process – Lawrence Freeman Sharing Retreats Liturgies and Prayer Teams is ‘Home’ Church Depths of discussions Community Spirit / Support / Remembering Special occasions for team members Ministering to Chaplin Recently decided to start meeting earlier and midweek Host couple provide dinner but the previous months host cou- ple run liturgy Changed meeting structure – have a host couple, a discussion couple and a prayer couple

5 SUBSCRIPTIONS

You will have all received your subscriptions renewal movement and encourage ongoing growth. Oceania and each Region will be notice in the last month. Subscriptions are an important part of keeping the subsidising the cost. Teams Movement alive and well. The article below explains how your • Leveraging International Expertise subscriptions are used. Please note all members regardless of whether they As one of the biggest marriage organisations in the Church, the international pay subscriptions or not are included in the calculation for the levy Teams movement has a lot to offer Oceania. Some years ago, Oceania paid (cotisation) paid to the International Movement, so any contribution you can for a visit from Georges and Mahassen Khoury to meet with the Maronite make will help offset that cost. community in Sydney. This single event opened the way for what has now Funding the Movement become significant growth in the Teams movement in Sydney, and the crea- As members of Teams, one of our commitments is to make an annual tion of the Sydney Sector. contribution towards the running costs of the Movement. Often the question • National Coordination is asked about how this money is spent. Teams gets no external financial A strength of the movement is the way we learn from each other at all levels. support, so all funding comes from the membership. Below is an explanation Together, we are so much more than if we are just a loose collective of indi- of the activities at various levels of the movement. vidual Teams. The Oceania leadership team meets just twice a year. These At a Sector/Regional Level occasions are used to build connections and coordinate our activities so we The Sector or Region is the core of the movement and this is the place where can continue to work together through the year. most personal contact with Team members occurs. Typically each Sector/ At an International Level Region funds local newsletters and events such as Formation Days and Teams is now established in 70 countries across five continents with more Crossroads throughout the year. Historically , members of the Sector Teams than 130,000 members, including 8000 priests and religious. There are cur- and past Regional Couples have not claimed all the costs associated with that rently 12 Super-Regions, of which Oceania is one of them. One of four Zone role, so that has kept Vic-East financially viable. However, subscriptions do liaison couples who are members of the International Leading Team (ERI) allow for reimbursement to them for out of pocket expenses (eg travel costs looks after the Super-Regions, isolated Regions and isolated Sectors in their to attend meetings and the like) should they wish to claim that. At some stage Zone. Helena and Paul McCloskey are now our Zone couple, taking over the next year Regional Couples from around Oceania will be invited to attend a role from Jan and Peter Ralton in 2013. Formation week in Rome, with each region funding the couples attendance. Each Super-Region makes an annual financial contribution to the running of Across Oceania, each Sector and Region varies in terms of the activities they the international movement – known as cotisation – and the amount is undertake, but a common bond is the commitment to marriage development agreed at the annual International College each July (which is attended by the and support. ERI and all Super-Regional couples). In order to be fair, the ERI has estab- At an Oceania Level lished a formula, based on the number of Teams members in each country Oceania provides regional coordination as well as links to the wider Catholic and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of that country. Hence, Super-Regions Church and the international movement. like ours pay less due to our smaller size. Countries like the Philippines also Some things are easier done at the Oceania level. This includes pay less due to their lower average earnings. Nonetheless, the cost impost is redevelopment of the Teams website, the creation of our Facebook site, and real, and something Oceania needs to budget for. the publication of documents and the annual Oceania newsletter which is How is this money spent? posted to all members. We have also moved to technologies such as Skype At an international level, Teams is very involved in driving growth in new and Dropbox to save money on coordination meetings. These activities have countries, especially in growth areas such as Africa and South America. Many freed up resources so that we can put more effort into expansion in of these countries are poor. membership and formation of our emerging leaders. Like many modern organisations, Teams does its best to make use of emails With the underlying technologies now in place, Oceania is focusing on a num- and websites, and keep its costs down eg using volunteer translators. Howev- ber of key areas: er, it is necessary for the ERI to meet a few times a year, and for the College • Marketing to meet annually, so some of the funds go on travelling expenses. The Colleg- Teams has updated its brochures and marketing material, drawing on the es are in different countries each year to even out travel costs, however trav- work already undertaken in France through a professional marketing compa- el costs for Australian couples are always high. The ERI also fund Satellite ny. Oceania clearly would not have the financial resources for such an under- Teams which take on particular projects. We currently have two couples from taking. However through our international contacts, Oceania was able to Oceania involved as correspondence members. Some topics covered in re- modernise our documentation for just the cost of the printing. cent times include Young Couples in Teams (which Angela and Ron Waanders • Contacts with the wider Church were involved in), Training in Teams, and Formation. In the past, the good works of the movement have received little recognition. Paul and Helena McCloskey, the Eurasia Zone liaison couple, were funded by People would say that they have never heard of Teams. Oceania is investing the ERI to visit Australia and New Zealand recently. This allowed them to significant effort into creating links with the wider Church. We have infor- make personal contacts and gain an understanding of the issues in Oceania. mation stalls at major Church events and marriage conferences and are rep- The ERI also plans the International Gatherings held every 6 years which aim resented on key groups and committees. Teams is making an effort to take up to break even but need working capital. At the last Gathering in Brasilia in opportunities to speak at Church conferences, and has positioned the move- 2012, the Oceania Spiritual Counsellor was sponsored by the ERI to attend. ment as a large organisation in the Church with much to say on the topic of There is also the provision of grants to support the development of Teams. marriage. This approach was underlined at the end of last year, when Teams Next year there will be a Regional Couples gathering in Rome and the ERI has delivered its submission to the Australian Bishops in preparation for the Ex- offered to fully fund a couple from the Philippines to attend. traordinary Synod on the Family. We would like to conclude by thanking Teams members for their generous support. Without these funds, we would not be able to continue this work. • Formation

All this work is not sustainable if, as a movement, we don’t develop the po- tential for future leaders. This year, Oceania is investing in leadership devel- Faye and Kevin Noonan opment through the Formation Retreat. The objective will be to bring couples Oceania Super-Regional Couple together from across Australia and New Zealand to learn more about the

6 ASSOCIATE OF TEAMS CROSSROADS MEETINGS

The key points to note for ‘Associates of Teams’ are: Maribyrnong / Plenty Sector are holding their 2014 Crossroads meeting on Sunday 10 August at St Francis Xavier Parish, 6 May-  Associate status will be available to any couple/ ona Road Montmorency. Further details will be provided by the individual who are unable, for any reason, to con- Sector Team at a later date. tinue with normal team life Yarra Sector Crossroads / Review meeting on Saturday, 25th  Teams couples can choose to become Associates October 2014, 11 am - 2:30pm. Trinity School Hall, Cnr Kent of the Teams Movement. and Davidson Sts, Richmond (same as last year) Brunch / discus-  Associate status will continue to be recorded on sion / sharing with fellow Teams people. We have decided to the sector and regional databases have only 1 function for the rest of 2014 – so this is it. Catering by the Sector Team  Associates will continue to receive Oceania and Gardiner Sector has plans to have a Crossroads meeting later in Sector e-newsletters, and invitations to Teams the year, so Teams in Gardiner can expect to be contacted in the events including crossroads, conferences and oth- coming months about this. er relevant gatherings Southern / Gippsland Sector—nothing has been arranged at this  Associates will continue to be supported by the stage but if you are able to help facilitate this we would wel- Teams movement through sector liaison, prayers come your input. and relevant information in newsletters

THIS COULD BE YOU TWO / TOO! SITUATIONS VACANT

The Southern / Gippsland Sector Team have completed 2 terms. The Sector will now go through a period of discern- ment to establish a new sector team and sector couple. The job of sector couple is not an onerous one but a job that requires some regular contact and communication with teams in your sector and the Regional Team as well as attendance at a couple of meetings a year.

At the end of this year the Yarra Sector Team is also due to finish its term of service. The Yarra Sector will be looking to recruit couples onto the Sector Team. In addition to the above comments about the role of the Sector Team, please note there will be no need for any conference organising – just a few lunch meetings annually and keeping in touch with a few teams in your sector and relaying information to and from the Regional Team as needed.

Above - THE YARRA SECTOR TEAM enjoying a We also acknowledge that the Gardiner Sector Team has served lunchtime meeting. an extended period and we thank them for their commitment to the Movement. I’m sure they would appreciate any help that could be offered.

7 RECIPE OF THE MONTH—IRENE’S MEATLOAF 50th WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES Here’s an easy recipe for the next teams meeting.

Ingredients Congratulations to William and Elaine Kininmonth and also 1-2kg of sausage mince (amount varies according to how many people) Ron and Anne Strobaus who 1 good sized carrot—grated have celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversaries earlier 1 good sized onion—chopped finely this year. Strips of bacon We understand William and Directions Elaine celebrated their anniver- sary on the same weekend as Combine mince, carrot and onion the Oceania conference while Ron and Anne celebrated their Place in 1 or 2 meat loaf tins (lined with baking paper) special occasion with family Cover with bacon strips and friends earlier in the year. Ron has been a great servant of Place in 160-180degree oven for 60—90 minutes Athletics and we hear the cele- Serve with your choice of potatoes and vegetables. bration was attended by many members of the Athletic club. Congratulations to both cou- IF YOU HAVE AN EASY RECIPE FOR A TEAMS MEETING PLEASE EMAIL TO ples from everyone in the Vic- [email protected] East Region.

If you have a special occasion coming up or you know some- OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST one who is, please let us know.  Website update just completed. We have had feedback from mem- bers about the difficulty in finding the website . There is an enor- mous amount of work being done behind the scenes, so we hope in time all the effort will translate into a website that is user friendly 9 LETTER WORD PUZZLE and easy to find. For now if you want to go on the site please type in www.teamsoceania.com.au R E E  The Website has three versions of Teams brochures and a Small Poster that can be downloaded by Team members who can then add their own contact details and place them in their Parish O D A Churches or elsewhere. They are found on the website under Pub- lications. N U V  Email addresses—we have a number of Vic-East members without email addresses on the Oceania database. Could you please update Must use letter D—4 letter your teams details through your R.C. and get the RC to forward words minimum details to the Vic-East membership couple—Bernadette and Rob 18 words—good Pell at [email protected] 22 words—very good 25+ words—excellent  If you have any other news, photos or articles you would like in- cluded in the next newsletter (November / December 2014) please forward to Ron and Angela Waanders at [email protected]