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From the
President
Dear friends of YTU,
We are coming to a close of the 2008 Academic
Year. I think it has been a good year for both the lecturers
and the students. At least I have not heard anything but
compliments about both groups. We had an exciting and
enthusiastic group of students and a professional and committed
group of lecturers again this year. Everyone now deserves a
good break.
This is my last letter to you as "Interim
President". The new President, Chris Monaghan, CP, has
kindly agreed to take over a couple of weeks early since I have to
leave for the States on December 13th. He will bring youth,
energy, and creativity to this office, and I am sure that YTU will
have a very successful year in 2009. I will be returning
from the States in early February in order to continue lecturing
at YTU.
I am deeply grateful to the staff, lecturers and
students for their marvellous support during this Academic
Year. Whatever success we had this year was due to their
hard work.
I hope that all of you will have a Christmas in
which you will experience the deep love of God for us and a 2009
that will be filled with God's blessings.
In the Divine Word,
Larry Nemer,
SVD |
From the
Dean
As one year comes to a close we
look back with thanks for many things, not least of which are the
relationships and learnings of this year. A number of
students (more than fifty) will complete their study, at least for
the time being, at the end of the year. We will celebrate
this achievement during the End of Year Eucharist which will be
celebrated at 6 pm on Friday 21st November in St Paschal
Chapel. Fr Brian Gleeson CP will be the principal
celebrant. All students, their communities and families, and
friends of YTU are welcome to join us at that celebration.
After the Eucharist we will gather in the Common Room for supper
hosted by the SRC.
A small group of these students
(eight) are located in Mildura. They are completing the
Graduate Certificate for Teachers of Religious Education with
sponsorship from the Ballarat Catholic Education Office.
Faculty members of YTU have travelled to Ballarat twice each
semester to teach the various units. We hope that, together
with the Ballarat CEO, we can continue this commitment to teachers
in rural communities.
At the same time we look
forward with anticipation to what lies ahead. A large number
of new faculty have been approved for 2009: Stephen Bevans SVD
from Chicago (Systematic Theology), Richard Blandford (Church
History), James D'Orsa (RE and Missiology), Therese D'Orsa (RE and
Missiology), Leo Kleden SVD from Indonesia (Philosophy), and
Graeme Pender (Church History). We have some faculty
returning: Deirdre Browne IBVM (Liturgy), John Hill CSsR (Biblical
Studies), Rosemary Joyce CSB (Canon Law), and Mark O'Brien OP
(Biblical Studies). This means we will be offering some new
and stimulating units:
* Basic Problems in Philosophy
* Modern
and Contemporary Hermeneutic Philosophy
* Joseph and Aseneth
(Old Testament)
* Re-Visioning Biblical Interpretation: Bible
and Art
* The Changing Shape of Christian Ministry c.50-400
ce
* The Shaping of the Australian Catholic Church
*
Introduction to Catholic Theology: A Global Perspective
*
Respecting the Integrity of Creation
* New Religious
Movements
* Catholic Schools on the Frontier of Mission
*
Faith Leadership Graduate Seminar
It was with some sadness that
we recently farewelled the Discalced Carmelites who have had to
leave the monastery in Albion Road. Many of their friends
and former students gathered for the celebratory liturgy and
supper. We have all been enriched by their prayerful
presence and the contribution of their academics and students to
the life of YTU over the past twenty years. As is so often
the case, the closing of one door leads to the opening of another,
so we were delighted to learn that Heart of Life will move into
the empty monastery later in November. We hope that this
will enable on-going fruitful collaboration. In some ways
this has already begun. In late 2007 their Spiritual Leaders
program was accredited within the BTheol program of the Melbourne
College of Divinity. This year the Siloam Program (Spiritual
Directors' program) was accredited at graduate level. This
means that future graduates of this program may apply for a
Graduate Certificate in Spiritual Direction or be accredited three
units in the Graduate Diploma in Theology. This course will
be facilitated by Sue Richardson PBVM, Patricia Foley PBVM, Brian
Gallagher MSC, and Kathleen Spokes SGS. We look forward to
broadening these new initiatives.
So it is with gratitude for
many blessings that we farewell 2008 and eagerly await the dawning
of 2009.
Catherine McCahill
sgs
Feature
Article
Why Church social thought matters
so much today.
Reflections
on the Social Justice Statement 2008: A
rich young nation: the challenge of affluence and poverty in
Australia
by
Bruce
Duncan
How
amazing that just as the Australian Catholic bishops were
releasing their annual social justice statement the
international economy was imploding, with hundreds of billions
of dollars of wealth simply vanishing. Panic seized not just the
finance world but the share markets as well.
The
threat of a global recession was bearing down on us, and some
feared even worse, in the shape of something like the Great
Depression of the 1930s.
Though the
finance crash appeared to hit suddenly, many
informed voices had been warning for years about the corruption
of the credit markets, including rating agencies and major
banks, and the profligate lending made by conniving individuals
and organisations. At the political and governance levels, there
was a massive failure of regulatory diligence, often wrapped in
the cloak of neoliberal ideology about the genius of market
mechanisms to produce the optimum outcome.
One
would like at least to have the satisfaction of saying on behalf
of Catholic social thinkers that 'we told you so'. Indeed, the
resources within the Catholic social tradition are rich and
deep, and they imply a stringent critique of the neoliberal
economic paradigm, as summarised in the so-called 'Washington
consensus', for instance.
Have Catholics failed in their social
impact?
Yet
realistically I think we would have to concede that Catholics
have largely failed to develop convincingly how Christian social
traditions might help reshape our economic world and values. Why
is this?
I
would offer several suggestions in answer to this question.
First, key Church leaders in various countries are doing
regrettably little to explore Catholic social teaching and the
wider thinking of Catholic social scholars. I understand of
course that most bishops in particular are very busy people, and
few have expertise in this area. No one expects or wants them to
claim competence in an area if they do not have it. They would
only make fools of themselves, as they undoubtedly are very
aware.
But
what is curious is that there seem few efforts to engage the
abundant lay expertise more productively, and particularly to
encourage younger lay man and women to acquire the appropriate
skills and scholarship to engage in the public conversation on
these vital matters. Indeed, many lay people feel
disenfranchised, and lack forums for debates about how Christian
social thinking might bear on issues of social policy.
The neo-conservative 'spin' to
Catholic
social thinking
Secondly,
powerful groups in the United States and
elsewhere were very alarmed from the 1970s about the policy
stances of the US Catholic bishops, especially in their landmark
documents, Economic Justice for All (1986) and The
Challenge of Peace (1983) in relation to US policy in Latin
America, the arms race and the nuclear stand-off. Anti-communism
had firmly bound many Catholics to right-wing political groups
in the United States, but others were increasingly judging their
government's action in terms of human rights and social justice.
Some US bishops emerged as significant national figures and
moral leaders on social issues.
To
counter the influence of the socially minded bishops imbued with
the spirit of Vatican II, the nascent neo-conservative groups
formed influential lobbies and organisations to contest the
legitimacy of the new social justice orientation. Michael Novak
at the American Enterprise Institute and a key founding member
of the neo-conservative networks was especially important in
authoring a plethora of publications re-interpreting Catholic
social teaching so as to bolster support for US foreign policy
and the neoliberal free-market ideology.
With strong
financial contributions from Republican
supporters and organisations, the writings of Novak and his
followers had the intended effect of clouding and contesting the
social messages of the US Catholic bishops. Hence the social
engagements of Cardinal Bernardin and other Church leaders were
often discounted by the new 'court' theologians of the Reagan
Administration and later. Other Catholic writers were co-opted
into the neo-conservative enterprise, even at times John Richard
Neuhaus and George Weigel.
The
influence of the neo-conservative Church groups has also been
felt in Australia. Novak, Neuhaus and Weigel have all visited
Australia, with their talks well publicised at certain Church
events, and met prominent political and business leaders.
Many people
in the Catholic social justice movements have
been puzzled about the promotion of such neo-conservative views
in Catholic forums in Australia. This is especially curious when
various mainstream Church social justice agencies are critically
under-funded or struggle to survive.
Fortunately, most of the religious orders of men
and
women have embraced the social justice dimensions of the Gospel
as critical to their core mission, and have continued to promote
education in the Church's social teaching along with practical
action to develop it. Without their work in the schools,
parishes and social agencies, the Church's social mission would
be greatly diminished.
Renewed
urgency
The
financial collapse on Wall Street should be jolting us all into
a renewed sense of urgency about wrestling with the pressing
social and economic issues of our day. Why are so few Catholic
scholars researching and writing at some depth and with insight
into these matters? Where are our philosophers rebutting the
assumptions behind neoliberalism and the free-marketeers?
Why have we left all this so late in the day?
After all
the stupendous effort the Catholic and other
churches have put into education, why do we seem to have such a
dearth of public intellectuals, able to articulate our social
values convincingly and contribute strongly to find better ways
of managing our economies? We do have some outstanding figures
in various fields, of course, but not in proportion to our
numbers, it seems to me.
Yarra
Theological Union has long encouraged people to
explore the resources of the Catholic and other religious social
traditions more vigorously, and to bring them to bear on social
debates in Australia and beyond. YTU has the widest range of
such social courses of any institute in Australia. We intend to
continue providing resources and scholarship as our contribution
to debate and advocacy about these urgent social issues. Social
Policy Connections is also working to help fill this void and
provide platforms for informed opinion and advocacy.
Bruce Duncan
CSsR
Ed: It is with great joy that we
celebrate the
'transformative' possibilities Barack Obama's election
brings. Perhaps the winds of change will bring hope to the
church too?
....................................................................................................................
Bonus
Feature
After the Intervention
Hilary Martin op
Here Hilary
Martin has given us just a taste of the presentation he will be
offering at the Social Policy Connections gathering on Tuesday
11th Nov. You are warmly invited to come along,
listen and join in the conversation...
"
With one
year and four months into the Intervention we are asking and the
government itself is asking, What has worked? What has
not worked? While these questions should be asked, the very
form of the asking can skew the reply. They are looking for
results, results that can be measured. Is food reaching aboriginal
children, is their housing better than it was before, are they
being enabled to go to school? Do the children feel
safer at night? For the average Australian positive answers
to these questions go to the heart of the matter because it is
children who come first. Wasn't this, after all, the main
excuse the previous government used to take the action that it
did? The second reason offered for declaring the emergency was to
stabilize a rampant countryside.
The Review
instituted by the present government has been engaged in sorting
out these issues and has found that it is too early to give
statistical answers to these questions. It has received much
conflicting advice. (Its own board is split.) Service
delivery issues, - providing good food, education, housing,
and employment have gained a great deal of attention, perhaps too
much, so that we have been distracted from more fundamental
issues.
From the beginning
the Intervention of the previous government clearly also had a
legal-cultural agenda which involved the compulsory
acquisition of 73 communities. The roll out from that action
required the suspension of the Racial Discrimination Act of
1975. In taking over 73 communities the government
took over the good with the bad ones and injustices
occurred. Aboriginal communities, for example, where no
reports of sexual abuse of children had occurred, which were dry
and were financially independent also lost their independent
authority & destabilising a community which with good reason had
thought itself as a model of stability.
How has the
Intervention proceeded on the legal-cultural front and where are
we going after the Review? We have more of a work in
progress here. In the Media Release from the Minister's
Office (Oct. 23) there is a promise of more legislation in the
Spring Session of Parliament in 2009. But in the meantime
the compulsory five year lease of land will continue and the
appointments of Government Business Managers, (GBM's) will also
continue & until, as is said, "greater stability is shown in
aboriginal communities". Rather than communities, the terminology
now used is of "prescribed areas." (The 73 really only
referred, we now find, to the larger centres). The
"prescribed areas" under supervision include all the territory
held under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act (N.T.)1976, all
Aboriginal communal living areas and all Aboriginal town
camps. For these prescribed areas the Review talks of
place-based agreements & whether regional or local {to} provide a
framework for more effective community development and
coordination of government services. On the leases, there
will now be a "full range of appeal, tribunal mechanisms such as
are afforded to other Australians." Leasing of
Communal land by individual aboriginals for home or small business
or by a community over its lands for development purposes will
continue. Leasing by individuals which was an important
prospect offered by the original Intervention, raises major issues
about the integrity of Aboriginal properties and the maintenance
of Aboriginal identity. These are issues which will not go away.
The Aboriginals
who will live in these prescribed areas will be attended to in
various ways. There will be money and programs for them along with
a great deal of structure to insure that nothing goes amiss. If
the decisions of the Minister in these matter is simply to confirm
and to support initiatives generated by Aboriginal people
themselves, all may still be well, but if too much imposed from
above, the people living in prescribed areas will be
prescribed indeed.
What of those
larger Cultural Imponderables? The matters of prior
consultation, of showing respect,of promoting initiative, of not
ruining reputations, of not destroying a community's sense of
self-worth? The Review panel admits that there remains
among Aboriginal people a deep belief that the original
Intervention and the measures introduced by the Australian
Government were a collective imposition based on race
that there
was a strong sense of injustice [among Aboriginal people] that
they and their culture had been seen as exclusively responsible
for problems within their communities. The initial reaction
to a proclaimed national emergency and to the army units entering
their towns was welcome, mixed with uncertainty, fear and
remembrance of the history of the bad old days. Their
feelings of anger over the injustice of attributing to them all
the problems and failings in the bush was, again, well
founded. A great deal of instability in Aboriginal
communities has been perpetuated by continual shifting of
government (local and Federal) programs and of initiatives taken
without much knowledge or reference to local conditions and
dropped when the money ran out.[1]
The Review panel
recognized that without genuine engagement and active
participation of the local community deep seated change will not
be achieved. It must be nurtured with the community. This is the
lesson of the intervention, - and perhaps this is how Canberra now
sees it..."
[1]
Beyond Humbug by Dillon and Westbury goes into this is
some detail.
Hilary Martin
In
Brief
Sue Richardson pbvm,
Director of
Heart of Life, writes
..
It's said that
every cloud & maybe even every Dark Night & has a silver lining
! And so, the departure of the Discalced Carmelites
from the YTU scene has given opportunity for a new and different
presence. We're delighted to announce that in 2009 the
Heart of Life Centre will be continuing its ministry in the former
priory of St. John of the Cross, 96 Albion Road, Box
Hill. All at Heart of Life are grateful for such a
lovely building in such a wonderful location, neighbouring
YTU. Moreover, we feel privileged to be following in
the great Carmelite tradition of contemplative prayer and
ministry.
Many would know
Heart of Life already. We actually celebrated 25 years
earlier this year. We continue to offer personal
spiritual direction, meditation groups, a range of seminars and
workshops in spirituality, and our several ministry formation
programs. The longest established of these & the
Siloam program for the formation of spiritual directors and the
Spiritual Leaders program for formation of chaplains and pastoral
workers & are both recognised by YTU / MCD and are included in
YTU's Handbook.
Heart of Life's
brochure for 2009 will be available towards the end of the
year. Our present phone number (Wantirna) is 98001299
& the new number will be publicised after we move in
December. Let's all meet next year: we're looking
forward to developing relationships with YTU staff and
students.
Sue
Richardson pbvm
Ed: we are
delighted to welcome you on to the campus, sure you will be a
life-giving presence!
.......................................................................................
Mary
Reaburn nds writes
I am sure you are
all aware of the recent Synod on the Word of God. The correct
title was: XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of
Bishops: The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the
Church. 5-26 October 2008.
This synod has
raised some interesting questions and comments. Benedict XVI
himself has commented that he would like to see a closer
relationship between exegesis and theology. Few would argue with
this desire and indeed taking the time to forge a better
understanding by theologians of the critical approach to the
Scriptures would enrich our theological endeavour. It would also
require exegetes and all Scripture scholars to engage more with
Dogmatic and Pastoral concerns.
Cardinal Kasper
has stated that 'the Bible is the principal instrument of
ecumenical dialogue.' Thus putting the bible into a central place
within the ecumenical life of the church! The Bible is also
central in the relationship between Catholics and Jews; this was
given prominence when for the first time in history a Rabbi
addressed the Synod.
Ewa Kusz,
President of the World Conference of Secular Institutes, issued a
call for more confidence in the laity. "I ask that those
responsible [in the church] give the laity more trust," she said,
"because we truly practice in our daily lives the hidden 'service
of the Word.'"
Women's voices
were heard in this Synod. An eloquent statement focused
specifically on the contribution of women came from Dominican Sr.
M. Viviana Ballarin, Superior General of the Dominican Sisters of
St. Catherine of Siena, and President of the Union of Superiors
Major of Italy.
"Many consecrated
and religious women [are] tireless witnesses, dispensers of the
Word of God, which is father and mother," she said. "They live
amidst school desks and prisons, hospital beds and on the streets,
near the drug addicts, those suffering AIDS, women exploited by
prostitution, by the side of the elderly and of abused children,
close to destroyed families, or the homeless or the unemployed,
close to all the sick of any sort, the tender presence in every
corner of the world.""This multitude of untiring women, dispensers
of the Word, is the face of the Mother
Church. With their mother's hands and heart, they are her fruitful
womb, they are the place where God can meet man*, and man can meet
his God,".
A recommendation
has gone forward suggesting that women be named lectors. I was
puzzled by this and learned that we currently read during
Eucharistic celebrations because of a general dispensation. If
this recommendation is accepted we women will be able to become
lectors in our own right. A small change indeed but maybe it is a
hint of other changes to come.
A recommendation
has gone from the Synod to the Pope for his consideration
concerning the lectionary. It comes from a concern that currently
some of the Readings chosen for the Lectionary need a great deal
of contextualizing before they loose their anti-Jewish
connotations. This development could help in the process of
ensuring that homilies do not continue to 'incidently' promote
anti-Jewish sentiment by the way the Gospels portray the Jews, the
Pharisees, the Scribes are presented.
During the Synod
two young observers spoke of the importance of the Word in
spirituality. One specifically asked for the promotion of Lectio
Divina amongst young people.
The unfortunate comment
by Cardinal Pell that this was the least interesting Synod he has
attended was a joke suggesting that there was a lot of agreement
and less disagreement than is often the case at a Synod. Maybe
this was the work of the Holy Spirit?
We await the final
document which will be the fruit of the Synod. It has brought the
focus of attention on to the Word of God and this in itself is a
blessing.
Mary
Reaburn (who is heading back to Jerusalem for
next semester, and who has promised us a long letter next
year)
* unfortunate,
isn't it? Ed.
..............................................................................
A Week in Water
Buffalo Country
John Prior
reflects on his trip to Indonesia.
I had never been
to a water-buffalo market before. Yes, we have a few surviving
buffalos on Flores, and many more wallowing in the mud on
neighbouring Sumba isle, but nothing to compare to Tana Toraja in
southern Sulawesi on market day. I counted over two hundred of the
beasts. They were selling at astronomical prices too & from a mere
seven million rupiahs (AUD 929) for a baby to 150 million (AUD
19,905) for a prize beast with 70 million (AUD 9,286) as average.
Beside the buffalos were the pigs & also in their hundreds, tied
onto bamboo mats or singly onto bamboo poles as they raced down
the road as pavilion passengers on the back of motor cycles. No
wonder Tana Toraja is tied to Bali as one of the "must see"
tourist spots of Indonesia. And I haven't mentioned the photogenic
ancestors' graves hanging precariously off cliff sides.
I wasn't quite the
tourist, though. Some 131 pastors of the Toraja Protestant Church
were at a two-week ongoing formation workshop (15-29 September
2008) for those ordained during the past five years. Over 50% of
the ordained pastors are women. I was invited to accompany them
for much of the first week.
Protestant pastors
live more simple lives than their Catholic colleagues. Married
with children and 100% dependent on their small congregations for
their livelihood, unsurprisingly some were not given permission to
attend by the local congregation who had to find the cost of
travel and accommodation from their slender resources.
We began each
morning at 5:30 with lectio divina in contemplative mode.
While the pastors were professional students of the bible and able
preachers, very few had prayed the scriptures meditatively. Some
were very struck by the morning exercises, mostly the women.
(Overuse of the bible to instruct and advise, I expect.)
I took the pastors
through the "pastoral circle". First they identified key
experiences that give rise to fundamental questions; then they
undertook a social-cultural analysis of the issues raised. This
analysis was then correlated with their faith tradition and
theology; social analysis sharpens our biblical insights while our
biblical faith gives meaning to the social issues. This process
then challenges them to take a stand, a clear option, which in
turn should lead to our identifying further key issues and so the
pastoral cycle or spiral continues. In a congregation the pastor
positions her/himself as facilitator of the process. In the
workshop most of this work was done in ten groups as we engaged in
"doing theology" contextually.
How many of the
pastors will be willing to give up full-time "routine" pastoral
work to engage the elders and people in the "pastoral circle"
remains to be seen. Many of them honestly stated that when they
are 100% financially dependent upon the congregation, they are
inclined to please the "sponsors" rather than lead them to
question, probe and critique which process might well put one's
livelihood on the line. What freedom we Catholic clergy have, if
only
The singing was
fantastic; all in local Torajan melodies, many in the
local tongue. In Tiku Rari the church has a first rate musician
and composer. The workshop was run by the "Institut
Teologi" & a centre for ongoing formation run by Pastor Ery
Hutabarat-Lebang. She is the daughter of one of the first locally
ordained pastors. Her father had just primary schooling and was
ordained at the age of 16 after a crash course in theology during
the Japanese occupation (1942-45) when the Dutch missioners were
interned. (The Catholic Church was run by village catechists
during the occupation; when the Dutch priests returned they
reverted to their previous subservient role.) His daughter has a
doctorate in theology from the USA and spent ten years in Hong
Kong coordinating theological education for the Asian Churches.
Such is the leap made by the church, as also by the country,
within a short generation.
In Indonesia old
labels are confusing. This is meant to be a "Calvinist" Church and
yet they invite a Catholic priest to update their pastors. On
Sunday I joined in one congregation who were celebrating a harvest
festival (they celebrate harvests three times a year!); I have
never returned from a Catholic Sunday liturgy, even in
alcohol-drenched Flores, with my belly full of potent palm wine
(tuak putih). However much Rome is reaffirming "Catholic"
identity and attempting to "re-Hellenise" our theology,
Protestant-Catholic distinctiveness is dissipating at the
grassroots. Deo gratias.
John
Prior svd
....................................................................................
The Imam and the
Pastor in person
Heather
Weedon writes:
The other day I had the wonderful
opportunity to hear two extraordinary Nigerians share their story.
They were originally mortal enemies of each other, and spoke of
how they came to be the best of friends: Muhammad Ashafa, and
Pastor James Wiye.
In the 1990s these two men led opposing
armed groups in Northern Nigeria - Christian versus Muslim.
Hundreds of thousands had been killed and families broken up, many
more destroyed, and hatred and fear reigned in the villages.
One day, James, who used to frequent the
Christian church "to wink at the young girls," stayed longer than
usual, and started listening to the sermon. He felt as though the
sermon was specifically addressed to him. He even at one stage hid
under the seat because he thought the preacher was pointing to
him. This experience changed his life. He realized God was
speaking to him, and he turned his life around. After months of
struggle trying to forgive his 'enemies', he accepted God's
guidance in his life.
Ashafa had a similar experience. One day
during a sermon in a mosque, the Imam was speaking about the
Prophet Muhammad's total forgiveness of the people who had stoned
him, leaving him badly injured and bloodied. The Imam
continued: "we therefore must forgive those who are fighting
against us." Ashafa felt that this sermon was directed to him, and
he realized he had to forgive the Christians. He started visiting
Christians who had suffered, offering assistance, and even visited
James' mother who was ill. James was very suspicious at first,
thinking that the Muslims were just looking for him to kill him.
Eventually James came to realize that
Ashafa was genuinely seeking peace and reconciliation, and they
began to work together. They prayed together at the mass graves,
together visited families from both faiths. You can imagine the
confusion this would have caused in their community! They had a
lot of explaining to do. Together they began a
centre for interfaith dialogue, the Muslim-Christian Interfaith
Mediation Centre. They also travel to various towns and
countries sharing their story and showing the real possibility of
true dialogue between religions and ethnic groups. They also speak
on conflict resolution and development at world gatherings.
Now a DVD has been made of these two men's
experiences and their work, and it is well worth viewing, or even
buying for parish groups, schools, etc. It is only 40 minutes
long, and shows some of the results of their efforts. There have
been gatherings for apologies, reconciliation, and then
celebrations.
Their lives are a witness to the great
love of God & a power for love and peace; for the ability to live
together fruitfully. They have been working together now for ten
years, spreading their message: "we need peace to worship;
let us embrace it."
DVD available from
Grosvenor Books, 226 Kooyong Road, Toorak 3142; Tel 9822
1218; email: grosvenor.books@optusnet.com.au
Heather Weedon
fmm
|
|
Open Day @
YTU
This year, Open Day was given a 'new look' with
Formal Presentations being given by our
Faculty. Heartfelt thanks go to Mary Reaburn,
Brian
Gleeson and Peter Price for providing a snap shot of the treasures
to be explored in their disciplines. Visitors to YTU
enjoyed these
presentations which provided an insight into the
challenging world of theology.
A big thank
you to the members of the Planning Group who assisted in making
our 2008 Open Day so successful and special thanks to
the
students who were YTU ambassadors for the
day.
2009 Enrolments
Are you interested in
life's big questions? Have you considered studying
theology?
Enrolments for 2009 are
being taken on the following dates:
17 November & 28 November, 2008
3 February - 13
February, 2009
Ring 9890 3771 for an
interview with our Academic Dean, Catherine McCahill, or Post
Graduate Coordinator, Michael Kelly. |
|
Happenings
The Ashburton Asylum Seeker Support
Group presents Evening the Odds,
a concert featuring Raphael Wong
(soloist for Battle of the Choirs Finalist, Vox /Synergy) &
the extended music community of Xavier College (music staff, past
students, community choir, friends)
Friday 7th November 2008 @ 7.30pm, in the Xavier
College Memorial Chapel, Barkers Road, Kew Suggested Donation
$20 adult $10 student/concession. Tickets available at the
door Enquiries Jane Wood 9885 3371 or j.wood@xavier.vic.edu.au
GAAYIP Walk and Picnic
- Sunday 9 November - 12.00 noon to 4.00 pm.
Whitehorse Friends for Reconciliation and Blackburn Lake
Sanctuary Advisory Committee invite people to gaayip
(come together) to show support for
Reconciliation.
12.00 noon - Welcome to Country & Opening;
12.30pm - Start walk around the lake; 1.00pm - Indigenous BBQ and
drinks for sale or BYO picnic
1.30pm - Listen to live music,
yarn with people from the Stolen Generations
etc
Social Policy Connections
presents:
After the Intervention in the NT: A
high water mark: A low water in our mutual
relations
Fr Hilary
Martin op has visited
the Northern Territory for about 25 years. His regular visits to
the Aboriginal community have enabled him to write and teach about
land in sacred traditions and to offer courses in myth, ritual and
sacrament. He now spends half of his time teaching in the
theological schools in Melbourne and the other at the Graduate
Theological Union in California.
The intervention took up two large bundles of
issues. One bundle deals with the feeding, health, education, and
safety of Aboriginal children. The other deals with control and
ownership of land by Aboriginal communities.
Tuesday 11 November, 7.30pm, in the new
Study Centre, Yarra Theological Union, 98
Albion Rd, Box Hill, VIC 3128
Off street parking. Conference room also
accessible via 34 Bedford St. Any donation
towards the cost of this event would be much
appreciated
Walk Against Warming
Saturday 15 November @ 1pm
Federation Square
Demand real action on climate change.
Walk for a safe climate future! Further info: see www.environmentvictoria.org.au
The
Walk Against Warming is organised by Environment Victoria, in
partnership with Victoria's Climate Action Groups,
Greenpeace and Make Poverty History
The Challenge of the Gospel of Mark For
2009
Presented by Fr Frank
Moloney. John Garratt Bookroom is pleased to invite
you to our free annual Advent Luncheon.
This Advent Luncheon presentation by one
of Australia's leading New Testament scholars, who has written
extensively on Mark, will discuss the Gospel as a carefully
designed literary presentation of the life of Jesus, and uncover
its fundamental message.
Thursday 20th November 2008. Lunch
provided from 12pm with presentation to start at 12.30pm
John
Garratt Bookroom, 32 Glenvale Cres Mulgrave 3170
Places are limited, so please book early to
avoid disappointment
End of Year Eucharist
Friday, 21 November 2008 at
6:00pm St Paschal Chapel & YTU. Presider: Fr
Brian Gleeson CP
Invitation: It has been another interesting year,
and the end of year eucharist is an opportunity to look back, to
reflect, to learn and to celebrate. We encourage you to attend
with friends and family, and to use the opportunity to say
farewell to those whose mission and ministry with take them away
from Box Hill and YTU in 2009. At the same time, we rejoice in
those who will continue their studies at YTU or take up various
appointments in Melbourne.
Star of the Sea: celebrating 125
years
Sat
22nd November, 6.30 pm, Dinner in Sebastian Hall. RSVP: 7th
Nov. Tickets $100, Tel Susan: 9592 4974. All
welcome!
Resting in God: Contemplative Prayer
according to The Cloud of Unknowing.
Fr William Meninger OCSO, one of the founders of
Centering Prayer and an American Trappist monk, has led the Church
in a return to contemplative meditation and contemplative living.
He will outline how this form of prayer leads
to resting in the Unknown God who we come to know deeply in
prayer.
Thursday 27 November, 2008
7:30pm
Cardinal Knox Lecture Theatre, 383
Albert Street, East Melbourne [Entrance off Lansdowne
Street] Cost: No charge, A donation at the door would be
appreciated to help with costs.
Fr Meninger leaves his silent monastic
life only four times each year so please book early. Seating is
limited. Telephone: 9412 3325
Sheb Arus - Whirling Dervishes
Sema Ceremony
Each year, on the 17th of
December, the Australian Intercultural Society organizes
a special Sema ceremony offered by the Mevlevi Order of Australia
to celebrate Hazreti Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi's 'Sheb-i
Arus' or 'Wedding Night'. It is the traditional night in the
modern era when the Mevlevi Order of Sufis, the whirling
dervishes, and the many lovers of Mevlana celebrate and remember
his union with his Beloved, 'Wedding with Eternity'.
Australian Intercultural Society in
association with the Mevlevi order and the Australian Sufi Music
Group invites Australians to a Sema ceremony performed by the
Whirling Dervishes of Rumi. All welcome...
Further
info from: http://www.intercultural.org.au/
"The Hospitality of God -
Food for Thought" 36th Ecumenical Summer
School
January 30, to February
1, 2009. Queen's College, Melbourne
University,
Ecumenical Summer School is an
annual, residential and non-residential summer school for people
of ecumenical outlook, where challenging issues can be confronted,
and where the horizons of faith journeys can be explored and
expanded.
Presenters: Guest Expert: Rev. Dr.
Simon Holt; Story teller: Julie Perrin; Moderator: Rev'd Dr.
Colleen O'Reilly; Chaplain: Rev. Rodney Horsfield; Bible Study
Leader: Fr. Brendan Byrne S.J.
Workshop Leaders and their programs:
'Cooking up Community': Kerrie Handasyde; 'What's Fair about
Trade?': Kristen Hobby; 'Fare Share': Julien Jane
Seeking Former
Students of YTU
If you have ever studied at Yarra Theological Union and would
like to be on the YTU alumni/alumnae list please send us your
contact details. Email us at: admin@ytu.edu.au &
writing "YTU contacts update" in the subject line & or write to
us at P.O. Box 79, Box Hill, Vic. 3128. Please pass this on to
any other ex-students you may know. We also invite you to visit
our website www.ytu.edu.au
Social Policy
Connections Newsletter, October 2008
This edition includes:
* consequences of financial crisis for
MDG campaign to overcome hunger * Mr
Rudd at the UN * need for fresh vision
* close of PolMin
*SPC forum to hear head of Micah
Challenge International This newsletter can be found on
the SPC
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a
little yeast