2023 | ISSUE 10 | SJC Newsletter

Identity News

‘Finding Freedom’ Refugee Week at St Joseph’s College

This year’s Refugee Week theme is Finding Freedom. Refugee Week promotes harmony and togetherness. The theme unites individuals, communities and organisations from many different backgrounds behind a common cause. The common theme is a reminder that, regardless of our differences, we all share a common humanity. To be free means to live without the fear of war, to have your basic human rights upheld, to live in equality and without the fear of persecution are just some of the examples of what freedom can entail. Every day millions of people across the world embark on dangerous journeys for the sole purpose of finding safety and freedom. From Australia to nations across the globe, settling into a new environment after experiencing the perils of a refugee’s journey can also provide the opportunity to live in freedom, to love and to dream. The Greater Geelong region has been recognised as a 'Refugee Welcome Zone' since 2002 and welcomes hundreds of refugees every year.

“This week’s events at St Joseph’s featured wellbeing lessons across all year levels, creating further awareness of the much-needed freedom sought by refugees, especially in Australia. This week ties into our theme this year to, ‘Open our Hearts and minds to build a better world for all’. Our library has created a display of themed books celebrating the stories of refugees. We shared ‘The Little Refugee’ storybook, by Anh and Suzanne Do. ‘The Little Refugee is about one family’s survival against the odds, and the transforming power of hope. We gathered for our traditional Circle of Solidarity, held on Tuesday at lunchtime in the Quad. Students welcomed the opportunity to participate in such an important gathering, to show their support for refugees in our community and for people seeking asylum. We gathered not just on the basis of educating others, but more importantly to uphold our touchstones of Justice and Solidarity, Inclusive Community values of compassion and integrity, just as Edmund Rice would have done.”

Michael Ahearn - Year 11 Inclusive Community Touchstone Leader

Refugee Welcome Place Food Drive

Please generously support the ‘Welcome Place Food Drive’ in our homerooms as an act of advocacy to support our local refugee and asylum seeker families. You can support this advocacy action, by making donations of the items listed on SIMON messages. Students place Year Level culturally specific grocery items in the boxes or bags in their homerooms. Collection will be Tuesday 25 July. We will welcome back former St Joseph’s College History teacher and Refugee Coordinator Kelly Jenkins, a member of the Combined Refugee Action Group in Geelong, (CRAG) with news from ‘The Welcome Place’ and the difference our food drive will make in our Geelong community. We are committed to justice and peace for all and together the actions of our hands, hearts and our voices in solidarity, bring peace in our world! Your support is greatly appreciated by people who have come to Geelong to seek freedom, peace and safety.

Joey’s Community Cultural Diversity Cook Book

As we celebrate Refugee Week we are inviting our St Joseph’s families, students and staff to share a much-loved recipe from our cultural heritage to contribute to our inaugural, ‘Joey’s Community Cultural Cook Book’. We have some delicious recipes, add one of yours! Please send your recipe in to [email protected].

Format: Size 12 font Arial, Ingredients, Method Steps, Photo, Family name. We look forward to sharing these recipes with our community.

Celebrating the Archdiocese of Melbourne’s Pilgrimage to World Youth Day Lisbon 2023

As World Youth Day is fast approaching we invited our staff and student representatives, Ms Natasha Scanlan, Mr Charlie Purdy, Ethan Withers and George Cotter to join us for a special blessing prayer as they prepare to join over 500 hundred pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Melbourne for a journey to join Pope Francis in Lisbon in Portugal to deepen and celebrate their faith with other young Catholics from around the world. In what will be the largest ever contingent from the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne to attend an overseas World Youth Day event, the pilgrims will join more than 1 million young people from around the world from 2-6 August to share their faith in Jesus Christ through prayer and celebration.

“There is much excitement and anticipation for the weeks ahead,” said Archbishop Comensoli. “World Youth Day is an incredible opportunity for our young people and emerging leaders to experience being part of the universal Church.” “We pray that this will be a time of powerful spiritual encounter with the Lord for each in their own personal journey of faith.”

Melbourne pilgrims will represent some 134 parishes, schools, and movements from across the Archdiocese, including almost 100 students and 60 teachers from 57 Catholic secondary schools at this 16th World Youth Day gathering.

Mr Charlie Purdy, St Joseph’s Religious Education Curriculum Area Leader, is about to begin his journey early next week with other Geelong staff as part of the Emerging Leaders Program which begins in Rome. Archbishop Comensoli and Executive Director of Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) Dr Edward Simons will travel with a group of emerging leaders from Catholic schools, healthcare, and social service agencies, with an itinerary tailored to forming leaders for mission.

“It is important that our leaders, across all aspects of the Church’s mission and outreach, understand and hear the concerns and dreams of young faithful in today’s world,” the Archbishop said.

We will bless our St Joseph College pilgrims on their journey from 28 July – 9 August and pray for them as a community at our Inclusive Community Assembly on Monday as we light their commissioning World Youth Day Candle presented at the commissioning Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral last Sunday. Archbishop Comensoli officially commissioned and blessed the pilgrims ahead of their journey. “World Youth Day, and the shared pilgrimage, will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for all involved – and one that will bear great fruit in the years ahead.”

World Youth Day Prayer

Loving God,

Help our pilgrims as they travel to World Youth Day in Lisbon.

Be their companion and strength on their journey,

Open their hearts to the prompting of your Spirit.

We pray that they will be open to your word in their lives and be encouraged to sow the seeds of faith in others. We pray they openly share the gift of World Youth Day with us on their return, sharing the Good news in our Geelong faith community. Our St Joseph’s College community blesses them. May the Holy Spirit empower the pilgrims to be true witnesses to all they encounter. May they go in peace to love and follow the Lord on their pilgrimage to World Youth day.

Amen.

We also send our blessings on a group of three staff Meleah Zanos, Leanne Adams and Andrew Smith and twelve Mt Sion students who have been preparing to attend an Immersion experience to Daly River with the Nauiyu Community in the Northern Territory. This will include time with Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann, 2021 Senior Australian of the year, who is a renowned Aboriginal Artist and Educator along with experiencing NAIDOC week and educational activities in the St Francis Xavier Catholic School community. We look forward to them sharing their unique immersion reflections.

Mary Malone
Director of Identity