Brand a Paver
November 22, 2019Brand a paver at new St Anthony’s Family Care Village with the Sisters of Saint Joseph
In affiliation with the Sisters of Saint Joseph, St Anthony’s Family Care invite members of the public to donate a commemorative paver at the new St Anthony’s Care Village in Croydon, Sydney.
In September 2019, St Anthony’s Family Care broke ground on the re-development of a large 5,500m2 site in Croydon over the next 14 months, constructing an Inclusive Early Learning Centre, three short-term residences for young people with disabilities, and an activity centre for children and young people with disabilities.
The single-storey village on Alexandra Avenue will offer state-of-the-art facilities in a beautiful environment enabling St Anthony’s to continue to service the local community for many decades to come. Construction for this is well underway and completion of Stage 1 is expected in early 2020.
The site re-development is fully funded through many years of support from donors and has not received any government funding. On completion of the re-development in October 2020, a commemorative path of pavers will be laid through the centre of the village
St Anthony’s Family Care and the Sisters of St Joseph invite the public to buy a commemorative paver as part of a fundraising effort to assist with construction costs.
Joanna Najdzion, Chief Executive Officer for St Anthony’s Family Care, said “St Anthony’s Family Care is proud to provide a new Village for children and young people, including young people living with disabilities. Purchasing a paver is a great way to be part of St Anthony’s history and to mark your support of this important project.
“The commemorative pavers can contain printed text, a hand-sketched drawing, or a company logo – we invite the public to get as creative as they like to support children and young disabled people in our community,” she said. “The number of pavers available is limited, so be sure to get in fast!” she added.
St Anthony’s Family Care has been meeting the needs of children and families in the inner west since 1952, in affiliation with the Sisters of Saint Joseph and the Josephite Ministries.
For more information, please contact:
Kathleen Norman
Communications Manager
Sisters of Saint Joseph
Kathleen.Norman@sosj.org.au | +61 2 8912 2722 | +61 438 006 566
Please see below artists’ impressions of the new St Anthony’s Family Care Village:
A Daily Cuppa with Mary and Julian Book
November 21, 2019Sue and Leo Kane Announce the Release of A Daily Cuppa with Mary and Julian
Mary MacKillop Place Café and St Paul’s Publications are proud to offer the latest work from Sue and Leo Kane: A Daily Cuppa with Mary and Julian, which hit bookshelves on Friday 15 November 2019.
Inspired by the lives and legacies of Saint Mary MacKillop (the first Australian canonised saint) and Father Julian Tenison Woods, A Daily Cuppa with Mary and Julian invites the reader to take a moment and pause throughout the day, allowing their mind and soul to catch up with the hustle and bustle of daily life.
The book contains a series of meditations, which can be followed according to the calendar or dipped into at random as the reader pleases.
Each meditation draws an insight from the wisdom of Saint Mary and Father Julian, the co-founders of The Sisters of Saint Joseph, whose writings and teachings continue to resonate in the hearts of people today.
After extensive careers in Catholic education, Sue and Leo Kane have long been inspired by the spiritual legacy of Mary and Julian, and more recently by the experience of helping raise their four grandchildren. A Daily Cuppa with Mary and Julian reminds the reader to remain grounded in the everyday, and that there is always room in our lives for a cup of tea and a moment of reflection.
“It has taken us almost three years to be able to launch this book, gathering insights to help our readers take a moment to pause, reflect and re-energise throughout the day,” said Sue Kane. “Everything within it is very close to my heart, inspired by two extraordinary spiritual leaders, and I wanted share it with others.”
This publication follows the very successful The Little Brown Book and The Little Brown Book Too from Sue and Leo Kane, which had numerous reprints to keep up with demand.
A Daily Cuppa with Mary and Julian book was launched in the Tenison Room at Mary MacKillop Place in North Sydney at 2pm on Friday 15 November hosted and entertained by young students from Mount St Joseph College at Milperra.
Complete with a foreword by Sister Monica Cavanagh, Leader of the Congregational Leadership Team for the Sisters of Saint Joseph, beautiful sketches by Judy Mitchell, and vibrant cover art by Brother John Mahon FMS, the book makes an ideal Christmas gift.
For more information, please contact:
Kathleen Norman
Communications Manager
Sisters of Saint Joseph
Kathleen.Norman@sosj.org.au | +61 2 8912 2722 | +61 438 006 566
Purchase ‘A Daily Cuppa with Mary and Julian’ from St Pauls Publications
Medevac Rallies
November 19, 2019Last weekend, refugee supporters held rallies around Australia to urge the Government not to overturn the Medevac legislation, which enables refugees in Papua New Guinea (PNG) or Nauru to be brought to Australia for urgent medical treatment.
The rallies culminated in an all-night vigil outside Parliament House in Canberra on Sunday night (10 November). I was privileged to be part of this vigil, organised by Rural Australians for Refugees (RaR), together with rural Australians, other religious, and representatives from a number of faith traditions.
Bishop Vincent Long opened the vigil, speaking of his visit to PNG last week and the terrible conditions under which the refugees are suffering. He contrasted this situation with the welcome that was accorded him and many thousands of Vietnamese refugees who came to Australia as boat people. His concern with the change of culture in this country, and the apathy towards some of the most vulnerable people in our world, was echoed by the Catholic Bishops Conference in PNG, where their spokesman, Fr Licini, said bluntly:
RaR president, Louise Redmond, Senator Kristina Keneally, and former independent Cathy McGowan all spoke passionately of the cruelty being suffered by these refugees, calling on the Government, and indeed all Australians, to return to a culture of a fair go, justice and compassion. “To sleep out here in the cold and damp is our small way of saying we as Australians do not accept this,” Ms Redmond said .
The goodness and concern of those participating was palpable. It is clear they are part of a growing movement of concern around the country. It was a privilege to be part of the experience. We continue to hope and pray that their passion and commitment will touch the hearts and minds of Senate members as they meet this week.
Jan Barnett rsj
Our Volunteers Celebrate in Gratitude
It has been a big year for JAG volunteers!
There have been pool parties for our Sudanese friends, picnics with our Iraqi families and a weekend away with the newly arrived refugee families to cultivate relationships and grow long-lasting friendships. Amidst all this activity some of our volunteers have had the Higher School Certificate (HSC) to contend with… and now that chapter is complete.
As a congratulations and in thanksgiving for all the goodness our volunteers share, we came together to pay tribute to our volunteer Year 12 students in prayer and party.
We gathered around Saint Mary MacKillop’s tomb to recall those times in the year where we felt we had made a difference. Then we prayed for the courage, wisdom and tenacity to continue to work with those in need. In the link provided below, you are invited to pray the prayer of gratitude that we used.
One hard-working young woman volunteer was acknowledged with a special justice award. Maddie Mactal has been an active member in her school justice cohort at Mount St Joseph, Milperra for many years and was an instigator in bringing new volunteers to JAG. Maddie’s humility, kindness, genuine love for her friends and her proactive drive to get the job done have been an inspiration to us all. It was an honour well deserved.
Afternoon tea was shared and we reflected on our work for 2019. In true Josephite fashion we looked to the future and planned for 2020 with great enthusiasm and optimism.
A huge thank you must go out to Sr Maria Sullivan and Sr Jan Barnett for their support, encouragement and creativity; to Mary MacKillop Today for their financial assistance and to our volunteers. If these young people are an indication of what we have to look forward to in future leaders and policy makers – we will all be just fine with them in charge.
God bless all.
Karen Oxley
Volunteers Co-ordinator
Josephite Justice Network
Prayer of Gratitude by Sr Joyce Rupp O.S.M.
Bridgeteers Build Prizewinning Bridge for the Aurecon Competition
November 18, 2019
Mount St. Joseph Girls’ College, Altona (MSJ) was lucky to be chosen to host the Victorian state finals of the Aurecon Bridge Building Competition this year.
Aurecon Bridge Building Competition offers secondary school students a ‘real-world’ experience of what they can look forward to as future engineering students and professionals. Students are given a set of specifications and they use them to build the strongest bridge possible. The College team that builds the strongest bridge that can sustain the greatest weight is named the winner.
Congratulations to the MSJ student team, Augustina Baw Baw, Tam Maryoe and Sarvleen Kaur who won first prize for the strongest bridge and $500 prize money for the College. This was an outstanding achievement considering the competition from 42 other Colleges from across the State. Thank you to their teacher, Thy Nguyen, who has supported the students throughout the competition and organised MSJ to be the host College.
We look forward to seeing what these three very talented potential engineers achieve in the future and life beyond MSJ.
In the students’ own words:
“On September 18, MSJ hosted the State Final of the Aurecon Bridge Building Competition, an engineering challenge for secondary schools across Australia and New Zealand. This year we were up against 42 other schools in Victoria. Augustina, Tam and I worked together to design a bridge using the materials provided, including balsa wood, string and glue. We named our team The Three Bridgeteers. After many practice runs, we designed a bridge which was made up of a lot of triangle trusses, which are very strong structures.
We named our construction the Royal Trust Bridge. It weighed less than 200 grams and held 85.6kg. Our team won first place for the strength award and collected $500 prize money for our College. We were very happy with our achievement which was a great improvement from last year when our bridge only held 44kg.
It was amazing how many different and unique designs schools came up with for their bridges. We are very inspired by this competition to follow a career in engineering. We enjoyed this experience and wish we could do it again. It was very rewarding and something that we will carry in our hearts for the rest of our lives.”
Augustina Baw Baw, Tam Maryoe and Sarvleen Kaur
Nicole McGee
Marketing & Communications Officer
Mount St Joseph’s Girls College
Altona, Victoria
30th Anniversary of the El Salvador Martyrs
November 16, 2019On 16 November marks the 30th anniversary of the deaths of the six Jesuits, their housekeeper and her daughter in El Savador.
These two links will take you to prayerful reflection on the call to nonviolence:
‘El Salvador Reality Pends Justice Romance’ by Fr Andrew Hamilton (Eureka Street)
Thumbnail image: El Salvador Flag International obtained from Max Pixel. Used with permission.
International Day for Tolerance
Celebrating Diversity: International Tolerance Day 2019.
The International Day for Tolerance (16 November) is an annual observance day declared by UNESCO in 1995 to generate public awareness of the dangers of intolerance. Observed on 16 November, the international community celebrates the day with activities that target both educational institutions and the general public.
The United Nations’ call is to strengthen tolerance by fostering mutual understanding among cultures and peoples. This imperative lies at the core of the United Nations Charter, as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and is more important than ever in this era of rising and violent extremism and widening conflicts that are characterized by a fundamental disregard for human life.
In her recent address to the women religious of the United States, Sr Pat Murray the executive director of UISG reflected:
We are living in extraordinary times. This is not just “an era of change but a change of eras.” We live in a globalized interconnected world where millions of people are on the move within and across continents, fleeing poverty, war and famine, seeking new opportunities in distant places, struggling to build new lives in unfamiliar cultures and contexts. Our world is marked by pluralism, growing differentiation and complexity.
This global trend with daily media features of heart-wrenching stories of refugees in distress and intense suffering are so confronting and often reminding us of the growing diversity and conflict in our own society. From the US-Mexican borders where thousands of people are reported to be dying due to draconian border policy, to Australia, where the indefinite detention of asylum seekers in Nauru and Manus Island has been cruel and inhumane.
Earlier this year in New Zealand, the March 15 Christchurch Mosques shootings are evidence of intolerance and extreme hatred towards Muslims who are seen as different. Beneath the surface, the victims at the Mosques are fathers, mothers, grandparents, daughters and sons. They are refugees, immigrants and New-Zealand born.
Refugees and asylum seekers need the “freedom to live their lives normally, just like you and me.” But they face many barriers, violence and human rights abuses while trying to find safety, and then face discrimination and hostility when they finally begin to rebuild their lives in another country.
During the Emmaus journey over the past two and a half years, Sr Lee Tan, the author of this article, has been fortunate to immerse in several ministries where she witnessed Josephite leadership working across differences to create space that is inclusive and welcoming to all.
Continue reading the article here (PDF)
Collage image obtained from the International Day for Tolerance website. Photo of people by Jens Johnsson obtained from Unsplash. Image of shaking hands by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay. All used with permission.
Birth of Fr Julian Edmund Tenison Woods 1832
November 15, 2019A child is born!
Autumn with its myriad colours of gold and red, could be seen in the countryside. And as the Woods family prepared for the cold of winter, another child was born into their family. Little did they realise that this child would leave England’s shores at the age of twenty-three, go to a far-off country where his scientific ability, his way with words, his artistry with the paint brush, his musical talent, and his deep faith would have a profound influence on his new country of adoption, Australia.
This son, Julian Edmund Tenison Woods, was the fifth surviving child born to James Dominik Woods and Henrietta Marie St Eloy Tenison on 15 November 1832, at West Square, Southwark, England. James was working away from England, for The Times, when Julian was born. This must have been an anxious time for Henrietta without her husband’s support, as they had already suffered the deaths of two children.
Those readers of The Times the day following Julian’s birth, would have seen the announcement of his birth.
Nearly three months later, on 1 February 1833, Julian was baptised by Fr John White, a missionary priest. The baptism may, or may not, have taken place in the family home, but the record of it can be seen in St George’s Cathedral, Southwark.
Julian’s older living siblings were Edward, James, Nicholas and Henrietta. Three more children would complete the family: Terence, John and Charles. (Three brothers died when young.)
Click here to continue reading
