The
Catholic Weekly
Online
Sydney
12 October 2003
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Mission Week program
The pietà is repeated daily
By Chris Lindsay
Five examples from different areas of the world of people who found their own
path to peace will form the basis of the stories told in the World Mission Week
school labyrinth set up by Catholic Mission.
Catholic schoolchildren will be taken through a labyrinth in a large tent on a ‘journey to the centre of themselves to encounter God’, as part of activities for Catholic Mission Week.
Actors inside the tent will tell students the stories of:
Letlana Mphahlele and Ginn Fourie. Letlana was a black activist and member of the Pan African Congress who as part of the campaign against apartheid exploded a bomb which killed
the daughter of Ginn, a lecturer at the University of Cape Town. They have since become friends and collaborators against oppression.
Fr Ben Alforque, MSC, a Filipino priest who wrote an open letter to the people of the US pointing out the consequences of US foreign policy and the need for international solidarity for justice, peace and the integrity of creation.
Three US nuns in jail and on trial for protest action against a nuclear weapons silo.
Zeinab Abbas, a 12-year-old Iraqi girl who lost her entire family when a refugee boat sank on its way to Australia.
Greg, an Aboriginal boy forcibly removed from his family in the Cape Barren islands in 1959 and fostered out. He did not meet all his brothers and sisters again until 36 years later.
Jenny Collins-White, NSW Catholic Mission development officer for schools, says the children inside the tent will form the labyrinth and will be encouraged to participate as the five stories are told.
“It will be like a theatrical event,” she said. “The characters will walk through the labyrinth wearing masks and different children will get questions to ask.
“There will be two youngpeople from the Ashfield Youth Theatre and Kinetic Energy, a community theatre group, is helping with the scripts, the music, dance and movement.
“But a lot of the important stuff will take place at the debriefing. Teachers will be provided with notes about the elements of each story and the students will be encouraged to explore them for what they tell us about building peace in the world.”
Sessions will be designated as either for primary or secondary students. The primary audience will be focused on Years 5 and 6.
It is expected the students will:
• Feel empathy with the characters, have a desire to stand in solidarity with those they’ve heard and a desire to take action;
• Have a better understanding of what it takes to bring peace to the world;
• Realise that peace is not just the absence of war but starts on the personal level and ripples out through the family, religious and cultural groups, local communities, national and international levels and impacts on the ecological domain.
The event will be held on the following dates. State school students and
parish groups are encouraged to attend the Sunday session at Forestville on October
26.
Parramatta Diocese
St Michael’s Primary School, Chapel Lane,
Baulkham Hills.
Wednesday October 15. Secondary session: 10am to 12 noon.
Primary session: 12.30-2.30pm.
Thursday October 16. Primary session: 10am
to 12 noon. Secondary session: 12.30-2.30pm
Sydney Archdiocese
Sacred Heart Monastery, 1 Roma Ave, Kensington.
Wednesday October 22. Secondary
session: 10am to 12 noon
Primary session: 12.30-2.30pm.
Thursday October
23. Primary session: 10am to 12noon. Secondary session: 12.30pm-2.30pm
Broken
Bay Diocese
Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Primary School, 11 Currie
Rd, Forestville.
Sunday October 26; Open to State School students and parishes.
Morning session: 10am to 12noon. Afternoon session: 12.30pm to 2.30pm.
Monday October 27. Primary session: 10am to 12 noon. Secondary session: 12.30-2.30pm.
For more information contact the schools’ team at Catholic Mission on 9390 5430.