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Take off your shoes, you are on holy ground
This year I have asked our community to “Step Up to the Potential of One;” be as good as we can be so that our community is as good as it can be. With that understanding and appreciating my own limited understandings, I had the pleasure of attending a Principal Retreat with colleague principals titled ‘Take off your shoes, you are on holy ground; Feel 40,000 years of humanity.’ It was an opportunity to reflect on Aboriginal Spirituality and how this spirituality can complement our faith journey.

The retreat, lead by Roma Aloisi, Jonathan Lindsay-Tjapaltarri Hermawan, Pastor Ray Minniecon and Cathy Whewell, asked us to move to a space that our indigenous sisters and brothers call Dadirri, a space of deep listening and quiet still awareness. In that space of ‘deep listening to deep’ as Uncle Ray called it, we were invited to reflect on our own life journey, what we call home, who is our mob, and what is, to us, our own holy ground. Given that the retreat was located at Victor Harbour, Alan Sumner welcomed us to the Ngarrindjeri land and invited us to the rich Ngarrindjeri dreaming and story.

A retreat, full of tradition and story, encouraged us as our indigenous sisters and brothers, to ‘walk backwards into the future, to see where we have been, and to assist us to find a path for the future.’  And as our first nation ancestors, we were encouraged to see that wherever we are is holy ground. Furthermore, our aboriginal cultures acknowledge that if we, as people, are not in the right relationship, the land is not in the right relationship with us.

With that understanding we were invited to consider the plight of our indigenous sisters and brothers with Dadirri; listening in a way that moves us into a space that wants connection and listening to the hard truth as well as the comfortable truth. And with that emphasis on deep listening we were invited to reflect on the conversation about walking together on holy ground. How do we walk on this sacred ground together? How do we address deep seated issues with truth and righteousness? How do all peoples of Australia live in harmony together?

We reflected on Jesus’ appearance to the disciples (John 21:1-07) and were invited to consider this story in terms of our ministry or precious task of reconciliation; creating safe communities that recover the rich memory of the past with a culture of walking together, hospitality, connectedness and deliberateness, and move forward reconciling all that is in that challenging space, just as Jesus did for his disciples and us, with deep hope.  

I thank my principal colleagues and retreat facilitators for bringing me to the space of dadirri last week so that I could step up in my understandings and appreciation of Aboriginal spirituality.  I also look forward to our school community working next year with Roma, Jonathan and Uncle Ray to take off our shoes and appreciate this holy ground we share together. 

Below you will see a selection of photos from retreat.

Bon voyage – Timor-Leste Immersion Program
The Tenison Woods College 2017 Immersion Program to Timor-Leste will depart from Mount Gambier on Monday 3 July and return Wednesday on 12 July. Under the guidance of Bernadette Fisher, the delegation includes:

• Becky Higgins
• Courtney De Barro
• Sarah Caldow
• Sarah Cavanagh
• Charlie Fisher
• Jacob Lang
• Darcey Passauer-Jones
• Tyler Michielan
• Raquel Sneath
• Gabby Van Rijn
• Will Wittwer

This special opportunity, under the auspices of Catholic Mission and its Getting Involved Globally (GIG) program, will offer our students an immersion experience and the chance to see the world through the eyes of mission and justice.

I trust these students will gain insights into the realities of life for our poorest neighbors of Timor-Leste in both village and urban contexts as well as to witness the work of the Church as it meets the material, pastoral and spiritual needs of the communities served by its presence. This journey will include opportunities to visit orphanages, schools, health clinics and training centres as well as briefings with key church personnel involved in delivering a range of services and programs.  Funds raised will support the range of needs encountered on the delegation’s journey.

I also look forward to hearing the stories of the delegation and their insights into how the $12,000 raised by our community this year will be donated and put to good use to support our neighbour sisters and brothers.

China Trip 2018
I invite members of our community to express interest in a trip to China from 14-29 April 2018. The trip is being organised by Snowie Aarts in collaboration with Annie Clifford and will be a great chance to reconnect with some of our Chinese sister schools. What a wonderful way to experience China as part of a delegation that is being greeted by our warm and enthusiastic Chinese friends who are keen to repay our hospitality during their recent visits. Please send expressions of interest to Annie Clifford, clifa@tenison.catholic.edu.au.

2017 Shining Light Awards – Save the Date
Friends of Tenison Woods College; past scholars since the inception of Marist Agricultural College or the Convent of Mercy, parents of former scholars, past staff members, past volunteers, in fact anyone who is proud to be or have been associated with Catholic education in Mount Gambier; are invited to our Shining Light Awards on Saturday 14 October, 2017. More details to follow, including information on how to purchase tickets, but for now lock this date in your diary, let your old school friends know and get along – you won’t be disappointed!
 

God Bless,

David Mezinec | Principal

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