On behalf of our College Ministry Team – Mr Declan Tanham, Fr Elias Kilzi, Sr Janina Pascoe, Mrs Sue Russell and myself – welcome to our new academic year! Welcome to our new Administration Assistant for Ministry, Ms Chris Templin, who graduated from our College last year and will be assisting with much of the behind-the-scenes work for this year. We have many Ministry events scheduled for 2022, and are hoping and praying that these can all go ahead as planned, in a COVID-safe way. In the coming weeks – all going well – we will have our Whole School Commencement Mass, Project Compassion Launch, Ash Wednesday Liturgy (which officially marks the beginning of Lent), and our Year 8 Retreat and Activity Days.
We have resumed our Friday morning House Masses in our newly refurbished College Chapel (located upstairs in the Convent Building, via the stairs near Student Services and outside verandah near CO23), beginning with Pascoe House on Friday, February 4 at 8am. We are also hoping to join St Mary’s Parish Leederville for Wednesday morning year-level Masses, beginning with Years 9 and 12 on Wednesday, February 16 at 9am (Period 1). Years 7, 10 and IEC students are due to attend on March 9, and Years 8 and 11 students on March 16.
We welcome students from all year levels and faith traditions to offer their assistance with our Ministry events, especially our Masses and liturgies. New and returning students can assist with setting up / packing up, reading, carrying symbols or the offertory (bread and wine), operating the PowerPoint, altar serving (if Catholic and already trained in a parish, or training can be provided), distributing Communion (if Catholic, 16+ years old and a trained Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist, or training can be provided), and music (e.g. as a member of our College Choir). Interested students are invited to contact Sr Emma, in person or via SEQTA Direqt Message.
This year we are also looking for student volunteers (current Year 11 students) to assist staff with running our College Breakfast Club from 7.30am - 8.30am in the CASS Kitchen, Monday-Friday. Students may like to offer their time on one or more mornings before school. This act of service can count towards the hours required for the Senior Christian Service Learning (CSL) Program / Community Service, which our current Year 11 students should be completing by the end of this year. Interested students are invited to contact Mrs Sue Russell or Ms Sascha Gwynne, in person or via SEQTA Direqt Message.
A CEWA colleague recently shared the following reflection with staff, which offers a nice link to the gospel for this current time:
“In April 2020 I referenced Pope Francis who in his Friday prayer read from a passage in the Gospel of Matthew which tells of how Jesus and his disciples were struck by a sudden storm while sailing on the Sea of Galilee. He said, ‘We have realised that we are on the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented, but at the same time important and needed, all of us called to row together, each of us in need of comforting the other.’ As we enter a period of great uncertainty it is important we strive to be people of hope and to row together.”
May we continue to support and comfort one another, especially the young people in our care, in times of “sudden storm”. May we “be people of hope” for ourselves and those around us. “We should be shining lamps, giving light to all around us.” (Venerable Catherine McAuley)
Every blessing for this new academic year,
Sr Emma Llewellyn
Head of Ministry
