FROM THE DIRECTOR OF FAITH AND MISSION
Lachlan - Super Dad - joined the team on Night Patrol on Saturday night. He had taken a bit of a risk earlier in the day. He had some warm coats left over from a Soccer strip from a previous coaching gig, took them down to Bayside, and left them in strategic places. He just had a feeling someone who needed a new fleecy jacket might find one. Can you believe it? Two of our friends who came for a chat and a sandwich at Night Patrol were wearing the jackets. It was really thrilling to know that the right people got them. We were a very happy team, and we really enjoyed our conversations with friends at each stop. I think Alice’s story affected us all. She has lived in the social housing highrise for 39 years and has never come downstairs to the Night Patrol Van until now. She has suffered some tragedy and now has a debilitating tumour on her neck. She’s worried. She talks about her daughter and her grandson, and how she doesn’t know what the future will bring for them. She stayed with us the whole time, talking, sharing her story. I think she felt she could trust us with her story. All we could do was listen and give her the leftover long life milk. We will see her next week, I hope. Steve, Ellie, Stephen, Lucinda, Lachlan, Grace, Amina, Gemma and I can’t wait to do Night Patrol again. It’s not the usual way people spend Saturday night, but it will do me.
10 students, Ms McDonnell and I are off to Table Talk this evening. It’s an initiative of the Jesuit Refugee Service and St Mary’s Parish. We will share a table with students from other schools and a refugee or asylum seeker. The plan is to hear their story and share a conversation about policy, plans, hopes and dreams. I’m a little worried that this encounter could be quite upsetting for the refugee guest, but I am confident our Vinnie’s girls will be compassionate and gentle, understanding and deeply respectful. While we are doing that, I know we will learn a lot too. We will have pizza afterwards and network as much as possible. I’ll let you know how it goes next week.
Update: The Nan and Pop Project is still without a firm starting date. I’ll encourage St Luke's next week to take up the baton again.
We had some amazing Music at our Mass this morning for St Vincent’s Festival Day. Aylyza Damian sang her composition, “Justice Song”. She really helped us contemplate and pray this morning, as did Molly Barwick and the choir. They were in great voice. They sang a very special piece, “Who Did You See” by Christopher Wilcock SJ. The lyrics by Andy Hamilton SJ tell two stories at once. Each verse gives a vignette of Jesus’ life from Matthew’s Gospel, while at the same time speaking to us of the experiences of refugees from around the world - Sudan, Latin America and Palestine. It’s beautiful writing and helps make the Gospel real, here and now. More on St Vincent’s Festival Day next time. We have had a great day!
Dads and Daughters, make sure Friday, 18 August, is in your calendar: Father Daughter Winter Sleepout. This is a must event for all brave daughters and slightly wacky dads. It involves a simple meal, a guest speaker or two and a movie, then we settle in for the night to sleep out in the Atrium. A simple breakfast in the morning and a coffee, and we are set to head out to Saturday sport. It’s a great experience - cold… really cold - but great. We have a team of dads who do the organising, a group of Years 11 and 12 who will do the catering for us, and it is great fun. We learn a lot about what it’s like to sleep rough and cold not just one night, but every night, and something of the fears and circumstances that make homelessness a reality for so many people every night in this great city. Tickets will go on sale in the next week or two, and I’m pretty sure there will be a fantastic raffle to be won. Here’s a photo of last year’s brave souls.
Our Mission Captains’ Period Poverty initiative is going great guns. The collection point is in Student Services. We hope to bring some much needed dignity to women living rough in our local community.
Year 11 parents and students should have received an email about the Cairns Eco-Immersion in September/October. If you missed it, check out the Student Life Classroom. The information is there, and the sun is shining in Queensland.