Features... • Latest Edition of the Champagnat Journal • Marist Centenary in Western Australia Lavalla | 2 Lavalla Vol
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Vol. 19 No. 02 | June 2013 The staff journal of Marist Schools Australia Features... • Latest edition of the Champagnat Journal • Marist Centenary in Western Australia Lavalla | 2 Lavalla Vol. 19 No. 02 | 3 Editorial Marist Pilgrimage 2013 Contents Pilgrimage to Israel, France and Italy Dear Brothers, Colleagues and Friends I was once deservedly chastised by a Principal on whose This year the annual Marist Pilgrimage was re-structured to begin in staff I was serving for not keeping him up to speed with 3 Marist Pilgrimage 2013 the Holy Land and finish at The Hermitage. Thirty-five Marists from what I was planning and doing. “I can’t support what I don’t 4 Mission Council takes up its reins member schools across the Province took part. know,” he pointed out. I have never forgotten his wisdom. 5 REMAR 6 Marist Centenary in Western Australia In the complexity of the modern school, communication is 8 Western Australia Marist a perennial challenge. Ironically enough, when information Centenary Mass sharing has never been technically easier, it remains one 11 Marist Centenary Celebrations of the most frequent complaints of staff members that they are not in the loop on what’s happening. Exasperated Principals or event organisers might point to the 12 Assumption College Kilmore notice that’s been up for the last three weeks, or general email that went out ten 13 Footsteps 1, 16 - 19 June 2013 days ago. “Did you see it? Are you blind?” No, the message wasn’t received. That’s 14 Gippsland Marist Celebrates the because communication is about much more than information sharing. Feast of St Marcellin 15 South Sudan and East Timor Communication, effective communication, is relational rather than functional. The word stem shared between “communication” and “community” is no accident. 16 Celebrating The Feast of Schools and other institutions can often find themselves information-rich but St Marcellin Champagnat communication-poor. 17 Melbourne Marists Celebrate 18 Marist College Ashgrove As we build the Australian Marist Community, and especially the significant segment of it that are our Marist schools, we must attend to communication. A staff journal 20 Marist Solidarity such as Lavalla is one way of doing that – among others such as the fortnightly MSA 22 From the Archives Newsletter to all staff, the Champagnat journal, the MSA website, and the range of 23 All Saints College Maitland brochures and posters that are published. But all of those attempts will count for little if there is an inadequate sense of community among the real human beings who understand themselves to be today’s Marists. Editor Br Tony Paterson, FMS At the end of this month, about two hundred Marist educators will gather in Cairns Contact Details for the biennial Marist Schools Conference. It promises to be a wonderful event, Marist Schools Australia on which a generous planning committee has been working for the last eighteen Montagne Centre months. Over recent months, there have been other events that have brought us 1 Dawson Street Brunswick VIC 3056 Marists together – jubilee celebrations, MLF programmes, Marist sports carnivals, the Telephone 03 9389 3175 Feast of St Marcellin on 6 June, funerals. We gather often, we take the time and make Facsimile 03 9452 1967 the effort to do so. It is essential that we do, because without doing so our Marist Email [email protected] way will be only a house of cards. Community – real, relational, flesh-and-blood community – is of the essence of Church. Lavalla Published by Marist Schools Australia May your reading of this latest issue of Lavalla help you to be in communication with your Marist companions in the richest sense of that word. Design & Artwork Nisi Dominus Openbook Howden (Adelaide) www.openbookhowden.com.au Lavalla, the name given to this magazine, is taken from the village in France where St Marcellin Champagnat established the world’s first Marist school in 1817. There are now Marist Brother Michael Green FMS schools in 80 countries. National Director Marist Schools Australia Cover Photo Staff and Students at Sale Catholic College who received service awards for the Feast of St Marcellin Champagnat. Lavalla | 4 Lavalla Vol. 19 No. 02 | 5 Marist Schools Australia Marist Solidarity • The Royal Commission Mission Council takes up its reins • Consideration of the reports of the • Strategic Plan 2013-2017 • The new Child Protection Policy meetings of the three MSA Regional A new model of co-responsibility for Marist Australia • Marist Volunteers Australia: • Refurbishment of Marist Centres in Councils (which meet four times dissemination of Brother Emili’s Letter Brisbane and Melbourne per year). To the Ends of the Earth. At the joint planning day on 14 May for • Specific professional and pastoral • Appointment of reference committee the members of the Provincial Council and matters associated with various schools for Marist Advocacy After two years on training wheels, where breadth and depth of those who feel called of the moment, to finances and specific the Mission Council, five areas of strategic • Approval of the suite of policies that it worked in shadow with the Provincial to live out Marist spirituality in the tradition governance matters, and also to broader • Consideration of the MSol Quarterly priority were identified: Council, the new Mission Council of of Saint Marcellin, to share in realising God’s strategic planning. At each meeting have been developed for Province- Reports the Province this year has taken up its mission in the Marist way.” The Charter goes there has been scheduled an extended governed schools • The new canonical structure Marist Youth Care responsibilities in a formal way. It is a on to describe the purpose and scope of conversation with a leader of each area. • Negotiations with a number of Dioceses • Enhancing connections among areas of concrete response to the call of the last the Council’s work: “to provide advice and During the first half of the year discussions • Scope, growth, challenges and strategic Marist ministry General Chapter for Marists to begin a “new support to the Provincial in his leadership and decisions for each area have included Marist Youth Ministry directions for MYC • Young Marists epoch” of communion and co-responsibility and animation of those aspects of Marist these topics among others: • Strategic planning for the new MYM • Options for greater integration of MYC • New models of Marist community life and mission in the Province that have Council and MYM team into the mainstream of the Province There are six members of the Mission Marist Mission and Life been delegated to it by the Provincial and • Enhancing flow-on from in-school to • Evangelisation Council (four Lay Marists and two Marist Council.” It takes forward the aspirations and • Options for new models for Marist post-school youth ministry In addition to these five areas of Province Brothers) in addition to the Provincial (who plans of the triennial Mission Assembly and mission and life can be lived and which life and ministry, other general topics that A number of concrete proposals were • Strategic growth of Remar, and sits as Chair) and the Executive Director “provides oversight of the ministries and respond both to a smaller number of have been discussed include: developed for each area to help the Mission options for new ways of delivering of Marist Ministries (who acts as executive institutions of the Province by offering the Brothers and an enhanced lay Marist Council during its mandate for the next the programme officer of the Council). They meet seven Provincial strategic advice, and attending to involvement. Central Australia has been • Outcomes of the joint strategic three years. times per year. To them has been delegated financial, personnel and policy approvals a specific focus for exploring how this • Planning for a national Marist youth directions workshop involving the MSA most matters to do with oversight of the as required.” may develop. festival in January 2015 Leadership Team, the MLF Team and the ministries, institutions and works of the AMC Pastoral Team • Progress with the proposal for a new Province, and also Lay Marist life, that would The Council has adopted a meeting canonical association to include both have in the past come under the purview of format which sees it consider a sequence Lay Marists and Marist Brothers. the Provincial and Council. of agenda at each of its meetings: Marist Mission and Life; Marist Schools Australia; • Reflection on the initial work of the From the Council’s Charter, we read that Marist Youth Ministry; Marist Solidarity; AMC Pastoral Team REMAR the raison d’être for the Mission Council Marist Youth Care; and general matters. For • Future directions for the MLF Team is “underpinned by a recognition of the each area, its attention is given to issues The dynamic young Christian leadership reconciliation, and deep reflection on program referred to as ‘Remar’ has flung their faith and images of God. Lachlan into full speed in the months of May (a Year 11 from Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, and June with camps for Year 10 and 11 Alice Springs) says of the experience; students (known as “Rowers”) from each State involved with the program. The Remar “Over the weekend I learnt about how God is in Ministry Team (or ‘RMT’) have travelled all of us, he is love, how Jesus showed is to His around the country for five weeks delivering Father and how to live as Christ’s disciples… these camps to students from the not to mention the bonding I did with my following schools: ‘caravel’ [the name a group of rowers from the His fellow rower Gaby (also from Penola same school is referred to]” Catholic College, VIC) fondly talked of the • Marcellin College discussions taken place in small-groups being Lachlan also said he really appreciated the • St.