Come to the living waters, you who are thirsty
‘Living Waters’ is a meditation program which has now been in existence in Newcastle for twenty years. What a wonderful, limitlessly evocative name! It’s a reminder that this program’s first home was in premises by the sea in Merewether. ‘Living Waters’: a source, a beginning, an endless flowing…
It’s ‘Mission in 360’ as innovation adds colour to World Mission Month
Catholic schools in Maitland-Newcastle are a little more colourful this month, with students donning their wackiest socks to raise funds and awareness for Catholic Mission’s Socktober celebration. This year, the focus is on Uganda, and walking in the shoes − or socks − of another has a whole new meaning.
It all seems new. And it is.
“I love your new boss” was said to me numerous times after Pope Francis’ election to the papacy in March 2013. Often the remark was made by someone who did not share my Catholic faith; often, too, by someone under thirty. To this day, there’s a freshness and vibrancy in Francis’ leadership of the church.
John Jacob Smith, our dedicated WWI soldier
This year marks the centenary of the Battle of Passchendaele, Belgium. On Saturday 14 October at 10.30am for 11am a march and memorial service will be held at the Cenotaph at Maitland Park, to remember the 34th Battalion, “Maitland’s Own”, along with 35th and 36th Battalions from “Newcastle” and all soldiers and nurses who fought in World War I.
Law and social change
If you’re excited by legal changes that have social and moral significance, these are exciting times. There has not been so much on the political agenda, I’d say, since the ‘seventies. Then, having got past the Vietnam War, we seemed quite suddenly to have a raft of social change legislation.
Developing an inclusive and sustainable economy
The Australian Catholic Church celebrates Social Justice Sunday on 24 September. This year’s Australian Bishops’ Social Justice Statement is titled “Everyone’s Business: Developing an inclusive and sustainable economy”.
St Joseph’s students have bags of attitude!
Teacher Jo Williams felt strongly that she could give children a variety of practical tools to empower them to self-regulate and understand their feelings when they were experiencing anxiety or anger − so she wrote a Well Being Program.
What is The Atonement: Lina’s Project and why should you be there?
You often find, as a resident of the Newcastle, Hunter and Manning regions, that when you meet somebody new, you have someone in common. Their best friend used to date your friend’s brother or their aunty is related to your second cousin. If it’s six degrees of separation in big cities then it’s more like two degrees of separation for us. Our community is connected. We know each other.
