The above You Tube video is a
short tour of the new Oceania Province Centre at
Nudgee.
If it does not play smoothly because of your
broadband/dial up speed, then let the entire clip
download and then replay it.
NEWS
World Youth Day - Last
Chance
Last
Month for Edmund Rice WYD Applications to be in!!!If you are 18 – 35 years old and had involvement
with any EdmundRice Group or
school and are seeking to develop spiritually in a
context of social justice - then this unique in a
life-time programme
could be for you!
In July 2008, 115 young adults from the Edmund Rice
Network all around the world will be coming together in
Sydney Australia tosearch out
our personal faith identity in the midst of themainstream Catholic Church. This is a chance to
ask difficultquestions of
faith and religious expression, in an open, inclusive
context; with a commitment to practical life
application.
For an information and application booklet contact Sam
Drumm at the National ERN Office today.
sam@erjustice.org.nz or phone: 09 524 8108 ext. 7370
St Thomas of
Canterbury College - New
Principal
The Board of Trustees have
announced that Mrs Christine O’Brien, Acting Principal,
has been appointed Principal of St Thomas of Canterbury
College.
St Thomas of Canterbury of
College was established in 1961 by the Christian
Brothers.
This is the first permanent
appointment of a female Principal in any Christian
Brother School within New Zealand.
Formerly Head of Arts and
Languages at Villa Maria College, former New Zealand
Teacher of the Year (2001), Christine was appointed to
the staff of St Thomas of Canterbury College in 2002 as
Assistant Principal, and then progressed to Deputy
Principal in 2003.
The decision made by the Board of
Trustees reflects a progressive single sex boys’ school
that is comfortable with its identity and looking to the
future.
Christine is “delighted and
privileged – it is a pleasure to work with young men who
will be husbands, partners, fathers and colleagues of
the future and leaders of tomorrow. I am fortunate to
work in the environment of St Thomas’ with a very
supportive Board, a visionary founding order and
committed and professional colleagues”.
Report of
the Edmund Rice Camp at Murupara
Waka
spent 5 days prior to the arrival of the Group Leaders
at the Marae, cleaning and doing all the odd jobs and
purchasing the required extra resources needed for the
weekend, the Marae was very nice and tidy, warm and
welcoming.
The
arrival of the Edmund Rice Camp Group Leaders on Friday
were greeted with a Powhiri
all our Edmund Rice whanau was there to welcome them,
Radio staff, Anishia & Colleen, Bro Vin, our
Kaumatua Boy and Tira Anderson, Lynette
Teddy.
Dinner
was provided at 6 pm, and leaders discussed the
programme for the weekend before the
Saturday, when all the children arrived There was 19 in
total including the exchange teacher from Kaingaroa
Aiko, who took part in all the events and assisted the
Leaders.
Waka
and I prepared breakfast for the 3 days and all other
meals were prepared in between times to coincide with
the Leaders programme for lunch and dinner. My thanks to
all the helpers in meal preparation with the baking,
cooking and cleaning. This support made my job much
easier and everything co-ordinated very well, special
thanks to Te
Akauroa, Evelyn and Keegan, who also played a part in
evening programs with the Leaders, as well as helping
with the catering.
Overall
the weekend was a big success, the Movie crew were blown
away with our beautiful clean green image and the
benefit’s the children gained with the Edmund Rice Camp
experience based in such a beautiful area, and of course
the talent and skills of the children were commented on
by the Chris, Matt and Lionel at the farewell. The
pleasure and enjoyment of the Marae Noho experience is
always a huge gain for all involved, the children and
ourselves make it the success these Camps provide, for
the Auckland Leaders, Brother John and Bro Vin, a truly
magnificent occasion that we can look back on, and that
we can all remember with pleasure. Lastly our very
grateful thanks to the Auckland Leaders, in taking the
time to come to Murupara to help our children giving
them the love, sharing and caring, mentoring, guiding
and leading them towards a better future.We look forward
to the January 2008 Camp with great
anticipation.
All
is well, we are so blessed in our lives, where God and
Love is the band aid to keep us together as whanau, hapu
and iwi sharing across all borders, there is no boundary
to hold us back except through the choices and decisions
we make ourselves.
Ma
Te Atua e manaaki atu tatou katoa. Nga kaimahi mo te
kaupapa o Edmund Rice
Te
Aroha Taki
Manager
Murupara Youth Centre and Edmund Rice
Programmes
New Zealand
Export Award
It
was recently announced by ENZT that the former YES team
Unity Biscuits has won the New Zealand Export Award for
2007. This is a one off award to celebrate the New
Zealand Year of the Export.
Two
student directors from this team will travel to
Wellington for the National Awards Dinner in the
presence of the Governor General.
This
company has been operating for two years and has sold
and continues to sell considerable volumes of salaam
biscuits at a number of retail outlets.
Canterbury Cell Group Forms
Twenty show that Canterbury social
justice is alive and kicking!
October the 15th was a big day for St Thomas of
Canterbury College, not only was Christine O'Brien
announced as principal amidst many cheers of
appreciation by students and staff alike but St Thomas
also played host to the first regional ER cell group
meeting for Canterbury and the West. Twenty Edmund Rice
group leaders and project initiators
gatherered and identified their common passion to
make a difference in their part of the world.
Restorative justice, ethical trade and environmental
issues featured with impact during discussion. The
Canterbury spirit is working it's magic so watch this
space! The different ER groups represented were:
Christchurch Reflection Group, Christchurch India
Immersion Trip, Christchurch Brothers Community, St
Thomas of Canterbury staff and old boys. Sam Drumm from
the developing NZ ER Justice Centre (located in
Auckland) was also present and Damaris Kingdon from the
National Office served as the meeting facilitator. The
establishment of regional cell groups
which gather represnetatives of the various local Edmund
Rice groups is part of a vision to inspire
and empower one another with the common spiritual ethos
of Edmund Rice. Presence, Compassion and Liberation.
Delegates to
the Congregation Chapter -
Munnar
March 2008 sees the Christian Brothers Congregational
Chapter. This is held every six years. It is a time to
review the previous six years, look strategically to the
next and elect a world leadership team. The delegates
are:
Congregation
Leadership Team (6)
Brothers
Philip Pinto, Michael Godfrey, Dominic Sassi, Mark
McDonnell, Jack Mostyn, Edmund Garvey.
Pan
African Province (8)
Brothers
Richard Walsh, Victor Deen Kamara, Michael de Klerk,
Gerard Ellul,
Charles
Majaliwa, Seamus O'Reilly, Clement Sindazi, Christopher
The.
Brothers
Kevin Mullan, John Burke, Edward Coupe, Jim
Donovan, Francis Hall, Paul Hendrick, Kevin
Kelleher, Martin O'Flaherty, Declan Power,
Michael Reynolds.
North
American Province (9)
Brothers
Hugh O'Neill, Dan Casey, Charles Gattone, Kevin
Griffith, Barry Lynch, Sean Moffett, Mark
Murphy, Ray Vercruysse, Brian
Walsh.
Oceania
Province (12)
Brothers
Vincent Duggan, Gerard Brady, Peter
Dowling, Peter Hancock, Peter Harney,
Tony Hempenstall, Julian McDonald, Chris
Meehl, Luke Quinn, Paul
Robertson, Kevin Ryan, Alfred Tivinarlik.
South
American Region (2)
Brothers
John Casey Pablo Keohane
In this
issue
@ You Tube - Province
Centre
@
ER World Youth Day
@
New Principal
Appointed
@
ER Camp
Murupara
@
Saalim
Biscuits
@
Canterbury Cell Group form
@
Congregation Chapter
@
From the ERN Desk
@
Brother Norm Gillies
@
Google Earth
@
Announcing the Conference
Reflection
Over the school holidays I got to do some reading
- a luxurious experience for me as my life at work
is swiftly dropped at 3 o’clock in the afternoon
to pick up my 6 year old son and 8 year old
daughter from school. By the time homework and
dinner are done, dishes washed, clothes mended and
stories from the day are told - books about other
people’s lives take a backseat in my life. - Those
last moments before sleep are kept for precious
stillness. No more information required.
So on this beautiful sunny day
of our family holiday, my husband had taken the
kids to the beach, I stretched, put my feet up and
my hand didn’t fall on the ‘Women’s Weekly or even
some fabulous novel, no, I read Elie Wiesel’s
testimony of survival through WWII concentration
camps. Did I know what I was about to do to
myself?
I couldn’t put it down, despite
the perverse sense of voyeurism I felt. I devoured
his dry factual account of horrendous human
cruelty and despair. I gulped it down like the
precious food he was starved of. His words drove
me through my own terrible night. It was time to
once again confront my own God with own suffering;
and let that awful crucible burn away all the
pretences of what I might think God must do, to
still be classified as good and not some sick
narcissist that sits idly by as we destroy one
another.
God’s silence – the boundary of
reality. Where God ends and I begin. Or is it
where God becomes me? Is God’s silence my silence?
My own refusal to respond? To be content with
victim-hood? To decide that suffering is the end
of reality - the nullification of all that is good
and all that I might do to express love again.
I wrote the first song I’ve
ever written in my life in response to that night.
And these are the words:
I
Can’t
Sleep
It’s been hours and days too
many to remember
All these thoughts and scenes
that pass behind these eyes
There’s a cold sweat shivering
‘round my body
I remember Elie Wiesel’s story…
I’ve spent the last 6 hours in
denial
Why did you endure?
Watching babies thrown into the
flames?-
Watching that small child be
hanged?
Why did you survive?
Why are you alive?
I
Can’t
Sleep
It’s been hours and days too
many too remember
All these thoughts and scenes
that pass behind these eyes
There’s a cold sweat shivering
‘round my body
I remember someone else’s story
I’ve been years and years in
denial
Why did I endure?
Watching you survive?
Watching this child
Turn to ash in your eyes.
Why am I alive?
Why am I alive?
Damaris Kingdon
ERN National Support Office
Auckland NZ
ernnz@st-peters.school.nz
.
Br Norm
Gillies
Most will be aware
that Br Norm Gillies has been in very poor health for some
months now. Last week, after a series of tests, Norm was
diagnosed with cancer of the bladder. Naturally, this
came as a shock to Norm and unhappy news for his
Brothers and his sister, Joan, in Dunedin. Similarly,
the many members of the Edmund Rice Network will be
saddened by this turn of events.
Norm's request is that we keep him in our prayers
including the intercession of Blessed Edmund Rice on his
behalf.
Br John O'Shea
NZ
Cluster Leader
Latest update 2 Nov 07
7am
Norm Gillies was
admitted to Ward 24 at Waikato Hospital at midnight.
