Star of Peace

This week is National Child Protection Week. As a Diocese and a School we are committed to listening to the voices of children and young people and we remain vigilant to their safety and wellbeing. 

We all play a part in keeping children and young people safe and ensuring they can live and learn in a safe environment, we pledge commitment to listening to the voices of children and young people and remaining vigilant to their safety and wellbeing.

In support of the National Child Protection Week theme, “Putting Children First”, and in line with the National Catholic Safeguarding Standards, Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta (CEDP) is committed to the establishment and implementation of child safe systems, policies and procedures. 

The aim is to have in place practices that are proactive and preventative in nature, providing children and young people with school environments where they are safe, informed, participate, and where the adult community, working together with children and young people, work towards making this happen. 

Recently, CEDP have moved from what was primarily Child Protection to Safeguarding, which requires us to do things differently, enabling a greater level of proactivity, children's voice and building all-round knowledge for what is safe behaviour when working with students and children. The CEDP Safeguarding team's role is to support the implementation of the Standards, to manage concerns raised about employees, Working With Children Checks (WWCC), and to provide training, education and support to the CEDP community. 

By providing the community with the knowledge, support and procedures to keep children and young people safe we are equipping everyone with the tools and skills needed to be ambassadors of child safety! Throughout 2020, CEDP's Safeguarding Team have been working on many projects to align with the National Catholic Safeguarding Standards. 

Check out www.parra.catholic.edu.au/About-Us/Building-Child-Safe-Communities​ - after all, what's more important than the knowledge to help keep children and young people safe!

If you have any concerns at any time about a young person’s wellbeing, or the actions of an individual, please contact the College immediately. You can also find our complaints procedures and safeguarding policy on our College website.

On Thursday we celebrated RUOK Day - Ask, Listen, Encourage, Check-in!

The staff donned their RUOK Caps during the week to remind students and each other that every day is the day to ask, “Are you OK?”. It was great to hear from our Year 12 Wellbeing Leaders Eliza Arathoon, Claudia Ball and Abbie Moriarty and our Year 9 Leaders, Sara-Maree Wakim and Eva Galati. If someone in your world is struggling with life's ups and downs, it is important to remember, you don’t have to be an expert to keep the conversation going when someone says they’re not OK. By knowing what to say you can help someone feel supported and access appropriate help long before they’re in crisis, which can make a really positive difference to their life. As parents and friends we don’t always know what to do or say. The RUOK website has some great resources. If your child lets you know that one of their friends is not travelling well, please take a moment to let us know, so that we can support both the young person who may be struggling and your child. Similarly if you have any concerns about your child, not behaving as they normally would? Perhaps they seem out of sorts? More agitated or withdrawn? Or they’re just not themselves. Trust that gut instinct and act on it and give us a call. Our RUOK story can be found later in this newsletter, a very big thank you to Ms Basha for her leadership of the day.

On Wednesday we had our Handover Ceremony for our incoming Student Leaders for 2021. While this is a wonderful celebration, I felt a great deal of sadness for our current Year 12 leadership group and all of Year 12, who have missed out so many opportunities that would normally shape the final year of schooling. On behalf of the College community I thank our outgoing Year 12 Leadership group for their wonderful service over the last 12 months. As a team they have proved themselves as effective stewards of St Patrick’s Marist College. Even though I know it may not feel like it, they have successfully built on the legacy of those that have gone before them. During their time they have shown initiative and responded in every instance to the call in supporting the College in new and different ways. It has been wonderful to see what outstanding role models and mentors Jaymelee and Sam, our School Captains, have been. We have been so proud to have them as our School Captains, with the great support of Gabby and Joseph our College Vice Captains. Your love and pride for St Patrick’s Marist has been evident every single day. We thank our College Prefects and Colour House Captains for their commitment and presence through this challenging year. Our leaders have not been able to achieve all that they wanted and we feel deeply for them, but that is what life is. It doesn't always go the way we planned. It is how we respond, get back up and move forward, with pride on a job well done.

We congratulate our incoming leaders on their appointment for the coming year. They have many wonderful models of christian leadership,  in particular Mary our Good Mother, the first disciple, with her strong mind and gentle heart. I encourage our leaders to draw on her examples of courage and willingness to serve.

St Anthony: My mother always said when I lost something or we were running around trying to find the car keys, pray to St Anthony. My children would tell the same story about their mother. How often we would say, it worked, St Anthony heard our prayers.  Recently Mr Malkoun recounted a story about a group of Year 8 students about the loss of headphones and a prayer to St Anthony, with a happy ending.

"Returning from our team walk to Curtis Oval, Dundas, and almost back at the school, Jonas Pellegriti of Year 8 noticed he had dropped his airpod carrier along the way.  As the time was 1:50pm, Mr Malkoun, Anthony Al-Yammouni and Patrick Bayeh joined Jonas in the search, which would eventually be about 2km of the walking track, in mostly high grass. After scouring the land, we relied on the only thing we knew, a prayer to St. Anthony, The Miracle Worker. Walking back to the school, silently praying, continually hoping, we hear a loud cry of joy from Jonas, "I found them!", as they sat beside a tree on a Holland Avenue, with Mr Malkoun, Anthony and Patrick all jumping in unison, thanking St Anthony in a joy that can only be experienced from above. 

Another reminder of how faith can provide comfort and support during our daily life.

I hope that you are keeping safe and well. If you have any concerns at all please do not hesitate to contact us here at the College.

God Bless

Yours in Jesus, Mary and Saint Marcellin

Mrs Angela Hay

Principal

Reflection: Child Protection Sunday Prayer

Gracious God,
you love and care for all of your children,
especially the smallest and most vulnerable.
We entrust to you the lives of children
and adults at risk who have been sexually abused,
and whose trust and innocence have been destroyed.

Help us to hear their cries of pain
and to take responsibility for those whose lives have been broken.
Help us to recognise the hurt felt by those wounded by abuse,
and the failure to be heard.

We pray that with the help of your grace
communities and families will find
understanding and support,
so that now and in the future
their wounds may be healed
and they may find lasting peace.

Let your grace and love fall gently now
upon our children,
giving them the inner strength, peace and resilience
to seek out assistance when required.

We ask this prayer through our Lord
Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God forever and ever.

Amen.

Source: Australian Catholic Bishops Conference

Year 11 Examinations 

Our prayers and best wishes go out to our Year 11 students as they commence their examinations on Friday 11 September.

Examinations will be held in LaValla.

If a student is sick and cannot attend an examination, a medical certificate and a misadventure form is required. Madame Dunston must also be called in the morning of the missed exam. Miss Hagarty will then email the student and notify them of their rescheduled exam date. A reminder that in this COVID environment, seeing a doctor via Telehealth is always a viable option.

If you have a question regarding the Year 11 Examinations please email Miss Hagarty on shagarty@parra.catholic.edu.au

HSC Written Examinations

We are so very proud of each and every student in the HSC Class of 2020!

After speaking to many students … some are satisfied with all of their results … some are satisfied with some of their results … but all know they still have lots of work to do!

The great news that is demonstrated year after year is, no matter where you are in terms of your learning, put the time in now, and you will reap the rewards in your HSC Examinations! It’s simply astonishing how much students can improve between their Trial HSC Exams and their HSC Exams. Keep positive, ask for help, and put in the time! Remember, the best way to improve is to receive detailed, specific and relevant feedback.

A reminder that there are a number of Holiday Classes that will be conducted during the break and the schedule has been sent to all Year 12 students (and Year 11 students who are completing the HSC).

Below are some useful links for students and parents/carers. If you have any questions, please email them to pfinnerty@parra.catholic.edu.au

HSC Study Guide 2020

Covid-19 HSC Advice

HSC 2020 Written Examination Timetable

Some Very Important Reminders…

It is very important for parents/carers to be involved with their child’s learning. You may have a question or a query regarding homework, attendance, motivation, or study techniques just to name a few areas. If you would like any information regarding your child’s education you could email or call during school hours.

If you have a question/concern it is very important that you contact the Subject Teacher (if it relates to a particular course) or the Pastoral Leader of Learning.

If a student cannot complete an assessment task by the due date (for any reason), there are clear requirements that must be met in order to prevent a mark of zero being awarded. These requirements are clearly outlined in their Assessment Booklets. 

Thank you for your continued support

Mr P. Finnerty

Assistant Principal

Innovation, Teaching and Learning

Adjustments to 2020 School fees

Statements for Term 3 include the adjustment for excursions and incursions that were cancelled, up to the end of Term 2. Any further excursions and incursions that are cancelled will be either:

• reflected as a change to Term 3 fees and shown in statements posted in Term 4.
• be held in 2021 and will NOT be charged in 2021.

Payments at the Office

In Term 4, we will be moving to cash-free transactions, as similarly reflected in the current retail world due to COVID. We already have EFTPOS facilities at reception and can take credit card payments over the phone.

If you want to pay school fees in cash, please go to the local post office to pay by billpay.

The majority of items are already included in school fees, so there are minimal additional costs to pay. Items NOT included in school fees eg: Representative Sport Uniforms, bags/hats/ties, replacement items, formals, etc. We will be introducing an alternative cash-less app.

We will only accept cash for Lenten appeals, mufti days, etc.

Canteen:  The canteen has introduced weekly specials and healthier options. We have asked them to encourage students to pre-order their lunch (ie: before homeroom). This gives students the opportunity to order something from the whole menu. Lunch orders are handed out first, so students who have ordered, do not have to line up.

We are also working with the canteen operators for an online pre-ordering system.

Lowes Uniform Shop, Carlingford:  I recently met with our Lowes representative again and we reviewed all uniform lines held in-store, in their warehouses and on order. Most lines are already sufficient in most sizes, so they should be well stocked for upcoming summer uniforms in Term 4 (including the lightweight boys trousers). Supplies coming in from their Melbourne warehouse are not impacted by the border closures and additional stock orders from overseas are due in Oct & Nov.

Online orders are preferred and home delivery is available for convenience of families. Their next sale will be sometime in Nov 2020 (date TBC).

Lowes customer feedback/complaints email address is customercare@lowes.com.au for customers who want to know information, or have a problem that cannot be solved at the store level.

Building Works:  The building project is looking fantastic and is scheduled for completion and handover at the end of next week.  Some staff have been for a walk-through to visualise the new spaces and to start planning ahead. We will slowly transition classes into this space in the later part of this term.

Demountables:  The new demountables built last year will be relocated to another school. The new furniture from these will be moved into our existing demountables, after these are painted in the next few weeks.

Library Renovations (disability access):  The grass areas in front of Art rooms have been temporarily blocked off so that a disability access ramp can be built to go into the library. The design of the ramp will eventually provide shade for students sitting in front of the art rooms.

Senior COLA Artificial Grass: The artificial grass has been replaced as it was badly damaged during construction.

Landscaping: We are still waiting on design options from the landscape architect who designed the landscaping for A block building. We want to landscape the rest of the front of the school, so that it flows from where the building works end to the bus bay.

Just a reminder to families that the third School Fee Instalment Statement was recently issued by the Catholic Education Diocese Parramatta (CEDP) to provide an update to parents of what fees are owing.  

If any family is experiencing financial difficulty please do not hesitate to contact me confidentially to discuss options available to you. 

If you are not experiencing any financial difficulties, there is the option of paying your fees in weekly, fortnightly or monthly instalments. Please contact me at PATS-DNDSFees@parra.catholic.edu.au or 8841 7955 to work out a suitable payment arrangement.

 Ms Rolla Wadih

School Fee Administrator

R U OK 2020 - There is more to say after R U OK 

On Thursday 10th September, the St Patrick’s Marist school community participated in R U OK Day. This is an important National day of action where we remind Australians that everyday is the day to ask someone if they are ok. The purpose of the day is to inspire and empower everyone to meaningfully connect with people around them and support anyone struggling with life. At St Patrick’s Marist, Year 12 and Year 9 Leaders have promoted the day in different ways to encourage unity, connectedness and care among students. They ran an informative assembly about the significance of R U OK Day and handed out cards and lollipops to students as they entered the school today.  They have also created Conversation Corners around the school and planned mindful activities for students in break time. Through these initiatives, they are promoting the 2020 R U OK Day theme which is ‘There is more to say after R U OK.’ The main message that students want to share is that no one is ever alone, and there is always support available. 

Miss C. Basha
Year 9 Pastoral Leader of Learning 

Year 12 and Year 9 Student Address: 

2020 has not been the easiest year. In fact, it may have been one of the hardest years many of us would have lived through in our lives. However, this year has emphasised the importance of staying connected with those around us, which has also become the foundation for this year's theme for ‘R U OK’ day, where there is always more to say after ‘R U OK?’.

You don’t have to be an expert to keep the conversation going when someone says they’re not OK. By knowing what to say you can help someone feel supported and access appropriate help long before they’re in crisis, which can make a really positive difference to their life. Questions to ask yourself like ‘Am I ready?’, ‘Am I prepared?’ and ‘Have I picked my moment?’ can all help you to prepare to speak to someone who you know is in need.

Making conservation can be quite difficult, especially when you want to make sure your friend or family member is ok. The official ‘R U OK?’ website offers lots of detailed information that everyone should have a look at sometime today. They have also included a simplified breakdown on how to have a conversation with someone else who may be struggling. First, you can start by asking the question, ‘Are you ok?”, then you listen, offering your support to that person, then you encourage them to take action, like where to go from here or even to start something that they would enjoy, and then continue to check in from time to time. After getting this conversation started, you’ll know what the next action to take is that is best for both yourself and the other person.

Today may be a national reminder for Australians, however, the ‘R U OK?’ initiative hopes to clarify for everyone that everyday is the best day to ask. Waiting for a day or two or pass may make all of the difference in someone’s life. Being able to step up and have this conversation with someone is the crucial step that the ‘R U OK’ initiative hopes to teach everyone. So please, if you know anyone that may be struggling with the hardships of life, don’t be afraid to be there for them and ask them, ‘Are you ok?’

There have been two conversation corners set up today for ‘R U OK’ day, you can find these corners here in the courtyard, and in the Senior COLA. The purpose of these corners is to provide a safe space for connecting with others. Seniors will be there to listen and promote support amongst one another. If you need someone to talk to, please do not hesitate to visit the conversation corners because we will make sure that your voice is heard.

It is important to remember that if you are feeling down or upset, there are always people you can go to who can help you. It may not seem like it, but you are not alone. Talking to a trusted friend who you are comfortable with is a good start; alternatively, talking to a teacher or staff member who you have a good relationship with. If you feel like you need extra support, the school counsellor is open to anyone who feels like they need to speak to somebody. You can even fill in a confidential Google Form if you would like to see the counsellor...access to this form is on the school well being page. It is not a weakness to acknowledge that you aren’t feeling 100% because more often than not, most people aren’t. Take this day as an opportunity to begin a trend of kindness and acceptance surrounding mental health. 

Eliza Arathoon (12), Claudia Ball (12), Abbie Moriarty (12),
Sara-Maree Wakim (9), Eva Galati (9)

R3:  “Learning to read is like learning to ride a bike: it becomes easier with experience” 

Mrs Wahbe our R3 teacher has been working with our Year 7 students

This month in the world. Information resources available below:

National Asthma Week https://asthma.org.au/

Adult Learners Week https://adultlearnersweek.org/

International Literacy Day Tuesday 8th September https://en.unesco.org/themes/literacy-all

NOFASARD Awareness day  Wednesday 9th September http://fasday.com/

World Suicide Prevention Day https://www.iasp.info/wspd2019/

Introducing The New Generation. A group of Year 9 English students who have a passion for writing and using the medium as a form of self expression. Our purpose as innovative writers is to create an avante-garde form of writing and media which will be expressed to the wider school community of St Patrick’s Marist College.

It all started with a young, passionate writer named Caitlin Brand, now known as our leader and founder of the New Generation, who expressed her desire for a student based newsletter that encompasses and focuses on student voice and input here at our school. 

After catching the attention of Eva, Peta, Arli, Elle, Chelsea & Elizabeth, the Writer’s Society had gained its founding members and were excited to begin the process of collaborative writing. The first task of the Writer’s Society was to compete in ‘The News of the Future - Schools Competition’, this was the first step to establishing a name for our concept in the community. This was a great opportunity to reveal each other’s creativity and topics which captivated our minds. 

Weekly meet-ups were part of our school routine and we were given the opportunity to touch base with each other. During these meetings we shared possible topics to write about, the aesthetic and look of our newspaper, as well as the sections of our newspaper. 

Our 8-week journey led to an amazing selection of topics with an achieved interest gathered from a fabulous grouping of words, sentences and paragraphs. 

We would like to thank the founders of this competition for this exceptional opportunity to promote student voice and to the backbone of our newspaper, Ms Duffy for always supporting and encouraging us as young writers. 

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF AN 

ENGLISH  EXTENSION 2 STUDENT

It is with great pleasure that I introduce two Year 12 Students who have shared their English Extension 2 journey with you in this week’s Newsletter.  Joseph and Janika have  pursued areas of interest independently, experimenting with form, style and media. The students have expressed complex concepts and values in innovative, insightful and powerful ways. They have crafted a substantial and original Major Work, mastering their skills in ‘Composition’. The English Extension 2 course connects individuals to wider visions and perspectives, and enhances a student’s enjoyment of literature and the aesthetics of language. Also, this course provides students with the opportunity to apply and extend research skills. It is designed for Year 12 Extension 1 students who are independent learners with an interest in literature and a desire to pursue specialised study of English.

It has been an absolute delight facilitating the Year 12 course for Joseph and Janika.  Enjoy the feature article.

Ms Shannon Graham,

Acting Leader of Learning,

English Faculty

A SHORT STORY BY JANIKA FERNANDO

My major work, Where I Belong, was an opportunity for me to not only explore more about my Sinhalese Sri Lankan background but to marvel in the imagination of the courage and determination of an immigrant, namely, my mother, whom I could not have written this story without. My short story focuses on the impact of the Sri Lankan Dream --- to search for an opportune future in Australia, on the experience of my protagonist, Kiyoma, a Sri Lankan mother.  Embarking on this Major Work allowed me to metaphorically as Harper Lee would say ‘climb into the skin’ of my mother. To walk around in it and see her life: waking up, going to work and returning home with fragments of memories about her immigrant journey.

My passion is my Sri Lankan culture. With that, my purpose slowly developed to become more than just different recounts of Sri Lankan immigrant perspectives, which my first drafts consisted of. I realised from my studies of The Great Gatsby in Year 11 that the narrative of the illusionary Dream was a vessel to communicate the Sri Lankan Dream about the perfect life in Australia. The immigrant experience is complex because the childhood home that they once knew – the comfort of family, is lost. What they know now is the progression found in education and work opportunities, but a lingering sense of pain. Having grown up in Australia, my purpose was to use short fiction as a tool to empathise with the experiences of my mother. Imagining her experiences in fiction created this understanding and eventually, a love song for immigrant women, who seek consolation because of isolation from their home. My story ends with my protagonist waking up to another morning reminiscent of the beginning. The ending is an open door for immigrant women to continue their resilience in life and for contemporary readers to admire the struggles they overcame to achieve the Sri Lankan Dream.

The tension associated with the brevity of the short story captured this purpose in an authentic yet provocative manner. I achieved my protagonist, Kiyoma’s longing for home through culturally fused memories in Sri Lanka heavily contrasted with the independence found in Sydney, Australia. My inclusion of fragmented poetry in my short story spoke to the interior uncertainty of immigrants following the Dream, and devastation upon their realisation that they cannot return home permanently. The formative research of Sri Lanka found me in awe of Sri Lankan beach and forest landscapes photographs, and immersing myself in Sri Lankan writers such as Michael Ondaatje, his fragmented, poetic style inspiring my own. Such research proved valuable in helping me to play with form, and inspiring the motif of water to explore the impacts of belonging and displacement. Kiyoma’s experience is flawed for her progression with the current of life, and for her struggles when caught in the rip of the current away from her true home. My HSC Advanced English studies of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway, made it easier for me to translate this tension of a woman's one-day events through adopting a stream of consciousness writing style. The laborious process of editing and revising my drafts, took more patience and consciousness to every placement of word on a page, that I didn’t truly understand before. Shaping my words to become more than just long descriptions, but structured snippets contributed to the resonance of home as a normal part of an immigrant woman’s life.

Ultimately, the yearlong process enabled me to gain a newfound appreciation of the short story’s power to imagine the heart of my mother’s lived experience that shaped her identity. From having to dig deep within me to find the motivation to spend endless afternoons and nights lost in poetry and how to ‘kill the darlings’ of my prose fiction, the Extension 2 English Course proved challenging. However, it was rewarding, when I saw my imagination of the heart come to life through words and be appreciated by my mentor readers. I would like to thank Ms Graham for nit-picking the flaws out of my major work, so that it is now a true piece of art. I also thank my English Extension 1 teacher, Ms Duffy for her insights into expansion on the voice of characters and for Mrs Pett, in guiding my studies of Advanced English.  The course has instilled a new confidence in my capacity as a writer and has motivated me to pursue creative writing at University. I hope to transfer my skills of refining language insightfully at University level, and in the lead-up to achieving my dream of publishing my own novel in the future. Overall, I cannot help but be proud of my major work: a testament to the complexity of immigrants' fragmented minds, their awakening to Where I Belong and above all, a representation of the selfless mother who I aspire to become one day.

A DRAMATIC PODCAST BY JOSEPH ARABIT

For anyone who knows me personally, it wouldn’t come as a surprise that my major work deals with scandal, politics and the Church. My Major Work is a hybrid between a drama podcast and fictitious non-fiction texts, exploring the tensions between Newman Delacroix, a State MP who recently defected from the Liberals to form his own party and the devout, ethnic parishioners of St Augustine’s in the Western Suburbs who think he’s the Antichrist. My whole work was, naturally, sourced from our current collective experience of the world. I drew a connection between the hysterical and angry public forum of Australian society and the increasingly insular attitude which many practising Catholics, I feel, hold in response to a far more intolerant social landscape. The triple whammy of secularisation, historical abuse and ideological polarisation have distinctly shaped public conceptions of the Church. Recent attacks on Holy Statues at my Parish, as well as the terribly callous remarks I’ve heard online and in person vindicated my decision to create Cross, voicing the frustrations and fears that I and many of my fellow parishioners feel are too often ignored.

I can count at least five or six all-nighters where I was far too invested in editing on Audacity, but to be honest, I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world. In the purgatorial cesspool that has been this year, my Major Work has been so much fun to make. I’ve rediscovered how powerful and subversive literature can actually be. One piece of research that continues to resonate with me is the idea of heteroglossia first conceived by Russian literary theorist Mikhail Bakhtin, awakening me to the political dimensions of language – how our vocabulary and speech can subconsciously reflect our own values. I really tried to incorporate his theories into my characters, whose distinct speech patterns and vernacular were indicative of class, religious affiliation and ethnic identity. Perpetua, for example, is a fifty-something year old Lebanese wife of a union chairman; she uses rhetorical questions to undermine her opponents’ confidence and certainty. Delacroix, meanwhile, goes all mate-y, invoking “Australianness” to appeal to his predominantly white, generally secularised and middle class voter base.

And true, I could’ve written a fairly straightforward short story, but it’s not really something made by Joseph Arabit unless the most convoluted, unnecessarily extra, and over-the-top path is taken, right? The intimacy of the podcast medium helps audiences focus on sound, and that in turn helps build a distinct world. As you could probably guess, one big component of sound design was the voice acting. I couldn’t have made Cross without Jaymelee Boufrancis and Mr Moussa, who took time out of their Wednesday afternoons to play two of my main characters with their amazing acting. Jaymelee nailed it (like always) but Mr Moussa was perhaps the biggest surprise, effortlessly nailing the part of a man whose hubris and frequent swearing ends in his downfall. I’m sure he was method acting there. A massive thank you to all of my friends and classmates who played various supporting characters. A massive shoutout to Sophie, Ray and Emilia for managing to get bogan heckling so accurately. My greatest appreciation for everyone who reviewed my work. And a big thank you to the College Library which lent me a MacBook for recording and editing purposes.

To finish off, I’d like to divulge the insight I made in Cross. The legacy of sectarianism continues to define our lives; our society is built on Protestant foundations, and even if it doesn’t increasingly identify with it anymore, the prejudices built into that foundation quietly seeps into our media and public attitudes. Catholicism and anything with the air of tradition is viewed with suspicion, as an Other. The shock of the abuse scandal and the Church’s outspokenness on so many issues has produced some varied responses. Some abandon traditional belief and try to bend to the modern world’s expectations. Others dive into more extreme beliefs than before and adopt some sort of persecution mindset. I fear that is what’s happening in Australian society and is infecting the Church – a stand-off between liberal and conservative which is nothing short of self-destructive. But this world is not all we have. We do not follow an easy or popular faith. We were warned of pushback and betrayal and denial all the way back two millennia ago. Rather than aimless social pandering, revenge plots and empty spite, we are called to confront the arrogant world with firmness and hope. It is in staying true to this scorching, challenging faith – and practicing it – that we gain our souls, and see the truth of our lives. And hey, that’s a pretty good lesson learnt from a passion project, yeah? 

Every second Thursday we, in partnership with Anglicare, run the Mobile Community Pantry (MCP) at Dundas /Ermington Uniting Church, on the corner of Park Road and Kissing Point Road, Dundas, from 10-11am. The MCP provides low cost, long life grocery items for people on low incomes or in financial crisis for families in the local area. Usually, shoppers pay $10 to fill a bag with long life pantry items of their choosing from the selection available (some individual item limits apply). However, due to Covid-19 we have modified the process, and for $5 shoppers can purchase a prepacked bag that contains various pantry items, such as long life milk, cereal, rice, pasta, pasta sauce, muesli bars, etc. The remaining dates for 2020 are:

• Thursday 10 September
• Thursday 24 September
• Thursday 8 October
• Thursday 22 October
• Thursday 5 November
• Thursday 19 November
• Thursday 3 December