Kete korero august 2017

ketekorero August - October 2017

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The official publication of the Catholic Diocese of Hamilton August - October 2017

Living Laudato Si’ Mangakino more than a parish Aquinas’s Ray Scott retires; JPC turns 30 The Reformation 500 years on

What is holiness?

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ketekorero August - October 2017

bishop’s message Life - Our sacred taonga

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arly one morning, last year, I was listening to Parliament debate Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide. As I did, my thoughts turned to our college students who wanted to be doctors and the thought occurred me to do something for our college students going to Medical School. So I purchased, for each of them, a copy of Pope John Paul II’s encyclical, Evangelium Vitae, on the Gospel of Life. It is my hope, that these fine young people, that have discerned this vocation to become doctors, will become great Apostles of Life.

This call, to be Apostles of Life, does not just belong to doctors, nurses or other health professionals. It belongs to all of us who call ourselves Christians, for Christ himself embraced life from the womb to the tomb and by doing so sanctified life in all its aspects.

At times this life we live can overwhelm us. Sadly we know in our country the despair of many who have suicided. Life became a burden, too much to bear, yet often the struggles being faced were temporary but in the darkness it became impossible to deal with these and death is seen as the only option. This is the same in the two great life issues of abortion and euthanasia we are going to debate again in New Zealand. For some, unwanted pregnancy and unwanted suffering at the end of life are seen to be burdens too great, too much to bear. Yet there is always another way, the way of life, not death.

So often the struggles of life seem to overwhelm us and in these moments we are called to be courageous. Moses said to the people of Israel, “I set before you life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life then, so that you and your descendants may live in the love of the Lord your God, obeying his voice, clinging to him” (Deut 30:19-20). And in the Gospel Jesus invites us, “Come to me, all who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.” The yoke of burden may still be with us but he will be there sharing the yoke of burden.

As a community of faith it is our responsibility to be Christ figures, Apostles of Life who support those who struggle with life in all its complexities. This means being prophetic, speaking out for Life. This means being servants to those in need, wrapping support around the mother who chooses not to have an abortion, by caring for those mothers who have had an abortion. It means surrounding those who are dying with our love, so that love is their last experience of this life. We have all had the experience of doing something good for others and we have all noticed how doing this, no matter how small our action, warms our hearts.

Last century we saw the rise of the totalitarian regimes of Communism, National Socialism and the Khmer Rouge. Life in these atheistic states was cheap and death was the solution to so many so-called problem people. The more our country loses a sense of the spiritual and the divine, the more it loses its sense of the sanctity of life. For example, in terms of abortion the selection in the womb means fewer and fewer Down Syndrome children are born. One New Zealand mother with a Down Syndrome child wrote, “The unspoken but obvious message is that Down syndrome is something so unworthy that we would not want to wish it for our children or society.” A recent example in terms of euthanasia in the USA was when one Nevada-based specialist prescribed life-saving treatment for two of his patients. In both cases, the specialist had to ask for a hospital transfer to their home states of California and Oregon, which both have legalised assisted suicide. Both patients’ insurance companies denied the requested transfer and asked the specialist if he had offered his patients assisted suicide! These are the issues that are once again up for debate as Parliament considers liberalising abortion laws and introducing euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Every human life is sacred, every life is a taonga, a gift. Once we lose sight of these basic tenants of life and our faith, we ride the slippery slope into a deeper culture of death. Bad things happen in our world when good people remain silent. More than ever, you and I are called to be Apostles of Life.

In this issue...

Read it online!

www.proudtobecatholic.org.nz

Bishop’s Message Life - Our sacred taonga

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Features In the footsteps of Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home 3 Sacred Heart College students develop environmental justice project 3 River stewardship project leads to success 4 Faith communities and ecology 5 What is holiness? An extract from the Walk by Faith programme 6 Mangakino farewells nun with the community in her heart 8 Sister Marie caring for parishioners and the community 9 Reformation 500 a time of communion 15 School News 30 years of change for John Paul College Aquinas College remains on growth path as principal Ray Scott retires Parish News Catholic Care Foundation’s new head Exploring life-long relationships End of an era as Morrinsville Convent closes A time for celebration: First Holy Communion and Confirmation Masses

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The Religious Life Tyburn Monastery historical beginnings

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The Kete Korero is an official publication of the Catholic Diocese of Hamilton.

Deadline for contributions to the next issue is 9 October 2017 Kete Korero Magazine C-/ 51 Grey St, P.O. Box 4353, Hamilton East 3247 Editor: Michael R. Smith, 5 High Street, Rotorua 3010; P.O. Box 6215, Whakarewarewa, Rotorua 3010 At: 07 349 4107, 0272096861, kete@cdh.org.nz Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/KeteFb Videos: http://tinyurl.com/ketekorero Sponsorship and advertising: David Barrowclough, C-/ Chanel Centre 0800 843 233 Fax 07 8567035 or email: cdf@cdh.org.nz Layout: Business Media Services Ltd, 5 High Street, Rotorua 3010 Design: Sandy Thompson, Advocate Print Ltd, 248 Fenton Street, Rotorua 3010.

Printing: Beacon Print Ltd, 207 Wilson Road, Hastings 4153 ISSN: (print) 2357-2221 & (online) 2357-223X Cover Photos Front page: Left, Sacred Heart College students Cate Elliott (left) and Maggie Lowe; Mangakino farewells Sister Marie Williams; and Ray Scott, the retiring principal of Aquinas College.

Bottom right: Holiness in the ordinariness of everyday life.

ketekorero August - October 2017

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feature In the footsteps of Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common document has heightened global awareness of issues around ecology, climate change and environmental management. Issued in 2015, the encyclical takes scientific arguments around our relationship with the Earth to a new level that challenges us all to act. In this series of articles, Kete Korero offers examples of how young people have taken up the challenge and reports on a book outlining the work being done at a community level.

Sacred Heart College students develop environmental justice project

By Michael Smith wo students at Sacred Heart Girls’ College in Hamilton have responded to Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home with an environmental justice project of their own.

The project grew out of work Maggie Lowe and Cate Elliott did as part of their Social Religious Studies class, which is about social concepts and Catholic ethical principles. These are linked to the wider world and how students can make a difference.

Maggie and Cate drew inspiration from Laudato Si’, the 184-page encyclical letter by Pope Francis published by Vatican Press, regarded by many as a game changer among world leaders in its approach to climate change. The document makes the ecological challenges facing the world today central to the Pope’s argument in favour of the environment over growth.

Based around the assessment task entitled “Care of Our Common Home”, the two Year 10 students were drawn into the aspects of land contamination and its impact on the Earth. They decided to take their work further in an endeavour to implement changes on a wider basis.

Their classwork involved the development of an action plan explaining what was required, what actions could be taken and what the likely consquences might be of their actions.

“We were trying to find everyday problems and how we can resolve them through our faith and how we protect our common home, the Earth,” says Cate.

Maggie says that they started out working on the project required for the class but “as we progressed further and further into the project, we realised just how it meant to us and we wanted to get involved.”

They also realised how much they wanted to inform people to change them for the benefit of the environment.

A survey of class mates showed only 37 per cent knew about land contamination and its impact on the earth, including rivers.

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As well as wanting to take action, Cate and Maggie wanted to inform people in order to minimise land contamination. This led them to find ways to gather as much data as possible so they could correctly educate people.

The two developed a pamphlet about the issue and handed it out.

However, they printed only a few and asked each person to pass it on to another in order to reduce the impact on the environment.

They created a web site detailing what they knew about and the ways in which the impact of land contamination could be reduced.

Although they realised it was important to do something themselves, Cate and Maggie understood they had to start in small ways. This included Maggie’s family utilising a compost bin.

“I realised just how much my family was producing in food scraps and how it is great that we can at least tackle this one problem,” Maggie says.

“The scary thing is that at the start of the project, we weren’t aware of what was going on.”

Cate and Maggie say they agree with Pope Francis’s point of view as expressed in Laudato Si’, and see it as being in line with what is actually happening rather than what people think is going on.

While it is a long way from Rome to Hamilton, Cate says they feel the Pope is spreading his knowledge towards them, so that they can inform others.

“A part of being a Catholic and going to Sacred Heart is listening to what the Pope says, because often it’s inspirational and can inspire us to start projects like this one,” says Maggie.

Cate adds: “He’s spreading his knowledge so that we can spread our knowledge about what we need to do to protect our common life.”

With the passion they now have, Cate and Maggie are looking at other projects around climate change and its impact on the environment.

They cite the impact of climate change on rivers, for example.

More extreme weather events are occurring which means a rise or fall in the level of pH (the measure of acidity or alkalinity of a solution).

Sacred Heart College Year 10 students Cate Elliott (left) and Maggie Lowe. Their school project helped make them realise Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’ was in line with what was actually happening in the world.

Extreme weather events can also cause excessive rain water runoff, worsened when combined with deforestation, because plants act as natural filters for rivers.

It could be expected, for example, that the pH level in the Edgecumbe River would have jumped massively following the rain that led to the April floods.

Having gained the knowledge, Cate and Maggie wish to have companies and influential people involved.

From a Hamilton Diocese viewpoint, including parishes and

schools, they would like to see more paper, plastic and food scraps being recycled.

They found their own school produces 80 kilograms a day of rubbish, including 30 per cent of paper and 4 kg of food scraps.

Extended through schools across the diocese, Cate and Maggie see enormous potential for reducing contamination.

For more details go to: https://sites.google. com/shgcham.school. nzpreventlandcontamination/

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ketekorero August - October 2017

feature River stewardship project leads to success in NZ Environmental Entrepreneurship Competition

Turbine design effective river rubbish cleaner

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he importance of stewardship of the environment was a fundamental aspect to a John Paul College student’s awardwinning project.

Year 13 student Eamon Walsh took first place in the 2017 New Zealand Environmental Entrepreneurship Competition held in May, receiving $2500 start-up capital to aid in establishing his social enterprise.

He will also receive mentorship from members of Gyropad, an Auckland University-based social enterprise aimed at encouraging initiatives around recycling.

Eamon said that during education classes, students talked about Pope Francis’s climatechange encyclical Laudato Si' and how stewardship of the planet was necessary.

Summer work inspires entry Part of the inspiration for his prize-winning project also came from the stream running around the back of John Paul College’s property.

Utuhina Stream is valued its public walks and its trout fishing.

However, rubbish has been a problem in the waterway, as it has in many areas of the city.

Although pollution from household rubbish is a big problem, a new challenge in cleaning the waterways is coming from tiny pollutants, such as “microplastics, micro-fibres and microbeads”.

These are, for example, small fibres from clothes. They are very hard to collect by hand and easily missed groups carry out steam clean-ups.

Eamon studied turbines and how they worked. He learned how water was pushed under turbines as they moved it from the top of a river

The “Turgo turbine” device Eamon Walsh has invented is simple but potentially farreaching in its concept.

Eamon Walsh downstream. He thought about how he could devise a machine to harness that water current to collect small pieces of plastic.

The result was a machine Eamon devised that has a rubbish catcher below the turbine which is capable of capturing micro-fibres and similar small materials and take them out of the stream.

The process of winning the award saw Eamon pitching his idea to a panel of judges, then making it through to the final round. As a result of the award and the $2500 seed funding, he is now working with engineers to develop the turbine and have it placed into streams.

Small solutions, big impacts Eamon says a small solution can sometimes bigger impacts than something much greater in critical areas.

“To be able to combine those two elements – science and the environment – has always been

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As well as being able to collect mico-fibres from water forced through the turbine, the device is also able to generate power for the local council’s telemetry units measuring water quality in real time.

Previously, a rubbish catch net in the Utahina Stream had not only captured waste material but also trapped many trout.

However, the turbine has wicket gates preventing fish from entering the turbine.

The buckets or fins of the turbine will catch the flow of the current causing the turbine to spin clockwise.

Through this rotation of the turbine kinetic energy is created which is later turned into the electrical energy once it is in the generator.

As the Turbine spins two major activities occur, the first is that turbine will create a current a huge passion for me because obviously, everything around us has come from God. Whatever I do in science and learn it is a driving force in men” Eamon says.

In addition to the environmental entrepreneurship prize, Eamn was selected by the Royal Society Te Aparangi to attend the Dr Bessie

which will suck objects that are immediately around it into its path or circular motion.

Because these turbines are in motion, it means that they will create a current as the water around them will shift as it continually displaces the water around it.

Objects in the water body surrounding the turbine also experience a pulling force, so the small objects are also pulled in and caught by the netting at the end of the pipe.

At the same time as pulling in objects, the turbine blades provide an opportunity to generate power as they can be opened and closed to either increase or decrease turbine speed as required.

A prototype installed in the river in 2015 saw rubbish levels drop in one year by almost 6 tonnes.

As well as reducing rubbish levels, the device provides cost savings for the council as it provides a direct power source for telemetry units previously using costly batteries.

F. Lawrence 49th International Summer Science Institute Camp in Israel. He left at the start of July to join with a camp including 80 other secondary school students from throughout the world who are interested in pursuing a career in science research.

ketekorero August - October 2017

Faith communities and ecology

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aith communities in New Zealand have increasingly moved towards recognising the importance of ecological issues.

The book Living in the Planet Earth – Faith Communities and Ecology edited by Neil Darragh examines how faith communities throughout New Zealand have addressed ecological issues. Twenty-nine writers from various faith communities – including Catholic – tell the stories of communities who have called on their spiritual and religious traditions to take action at the same time as recognising their limitations.

Papal Documents Ann Nolan (pictured) writes about recent papal documents on ecology and the changes in the way popes have viewed human’s role in the world. This shift has seen a move from “viewing the environment as a place over which human beings have dominion and exclusive use to an awakening that we need to safeguard all the resources of our common home”.

Nolan, a former lay missionary in Papua New Guinea who worked for 30 years as a social worker at the Auckland District Health Board, now lives near the Southern Alps in North Canterbury.

She notes that while the documents emerging from the Second Vatican Council helped move the Catholic Church into the modern world, none contained any reference to being stewards of the environment. Pope Paul VI established a Pontifical Justice and Peace Commission in 1967, but the focus remained on the rights and dignity of the human person, as if unconnected to the environment and made no mention of any

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mandate of stewardship for the planet. Although this pope did later recognise the changing environment, he did not see it as being caused by human intervention.

Pope John Paul II (1978-2005) made constant references to threats of pollution of the natural environment. In his World Day of Peace message on 1 January 1990, he discussed the first document dedicated specifically and exclusively to ecology. By 1991, stewardship had been presented as a model, and a moral obligation.

Pope Benedict XVI (2005-2013) maintained the momentum of reinforcing and reminding people of the necessity of being faithful and responsible stewards.

Nolan notes that Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home did not come from nowhere. “However it is unique in that it is the first time that a pope has formally decided an entire encyclical to the environment and all life on the planet.”

She says that at the heart of the encyclical is Pope Francis’s idea of “integral ecology” which strongly accepts the fundamental interconnectedness of society, the economy and the environment. As such, it insists that environmental and economic problems are inseparable.

Community experiences A further three of the 29 chapters are about Catholics whose communities have effectively been implementing actions around righting the ecological balance.

Martin de Johng (pictured) tells the story of St Mary’s School in the Auckland suburb of Avondale. Initially started in 2011 as a tool to develop the language skills of learners of English as a second language, a garden project led to the whole school becoming involved in growing things.

The school also developed a Garden to Table programme integrading gardening with cooking skills for all Years 5 and 6 students. The school’s work has also involved the local community, with a recycling plan and planning trees to improve local waterways. The children also take skills home, helping families develop gardens in often cramped city spaces.

As teacher Craig Satherly notes, the garden is an expression of social justice – “the idea of everybody being able to eat healthy food…and caring for the environment, caring for creation”.

Margaret Butler (pictured) writes about the Korimako Dominican Ecology Centre in Southland.

The centre was set up by Dominiican Sisters in 2000 as a result of a dream towards the end of the 1990s to developing a place for exploring ways to care for the Earth.

The centre provides a blend of ecology and spirituality, offering people with a reflective haven. Although run by the Dominican Sisters, Korimako is an ecumenical

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feature centre.

“The centre’s community aims to bring people and the rest of the natural world into harmony by encouraging local participation in caring for the Earth.

They strive to be in touch with the marginalised of the area and active participants in eco-justice group networks.”

One of the questions raised by Korimako has been about the future of an ethic of care. Yet it is located in Southland, an area that is constantly looking for ways to develop its very fertile soils.

Butler writes that working with other groups has been a strength of the cente but connecting with local parishes has not always been easy.

“Parishes seem to be cautious or uninterested when it comes to exploring what happens in Korimako.

She adds: “The messages of Pope Francis through his encyclical Laudato Si’ may alert the parishes to what is happening in their midst.”

Parish raises awareness Mary Thorn (pictured), a parishioner at St Mary’s Catholic parish in Papakura for 36 years and former prison chaplain, writes of the experience the parish had after forming a group to learn more about ecological crises.

They were convinced this issue was inseparable from a Christian concern with justice and wanted to raise the awareness of their faith community about its importance. She writes how they went out to learn more, invited guests to speak, accumulated a resource of information and spent time together in nature’s beauty.

Parts of the parish did not welcome the group’s early, enthusiastic efforts to integrate “earthy” matters in church activity, “firmly believing our energy would be more appropriately spent on ‘Catholic’ issues like Right to Life. We could have engaged more sensitively with our critics because there is no contradiction between care for life in the womb and care for all life, and the Earth into which it is to be born.”

Attempts of ecumenical projects did also run into problems and Thorn writes they were grateful for tolerance shown and friendships that endure.

However, concern for the earth is regularly expressed in the Sunday liturgies of St Mary’s Parish.

“Living in the Planet Earth – Faith Communities and Ecology” edited by Neil Darragh www.accentpublications.co.nz

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ketekorero August - October 2017

feature What is Holiness? An Extract from the Walk By Faith Programme

By Cythia Piper ave you ever watched a grandparent tend lovingly to a toddler, or a young person helping someone older with the groceries? How often do we take for granted the people who collect our rubbish, caregivers in rest homes, or the child who assists a hurt friend?

Would it surprise you to know that these are acts of holiness? Yes, the rubbish collector and caregiver get paid for their work, but it is work that is not always pleasant; requires extra dedication, and serves the community. They are people upon whom we depend.

Every day we witness holiness in what Pope Francis calls the ordinariness of life. Some people call them random acts of kindness, but they are also acts of holiness. Holiness has its foundation in humanity.

For many years, there was a perception that holy people were priests, monks, nuns, and brothers. If you asked somebody to name someone they considered holy, the answer would likely be “Oh Father so and so; Sister Mary Agnes,” or maybe they would name a saint.

Being holy seemed to be related to someone who was ordained, or a religious, who took part in pious practices, wore religious paraphernalia, such as a scapula, or who spent many hours in church.

There was a sense that only they could attain perfection as they had devoted their lives to God in service of the Church. The rest of us it seemed could never hope to attain such perfection.

Holiness was thought to be beyond the grasp of the ordinary person.

Many of us, if asked, might cite daily Mass attendance as evidence of a person’s sanctity.

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Holiness in the ordinariness of everyday life.

Holy people often seem remote, people apart from us, not “present” with us. However, our call to holiness, our relationship with God, is in how we relate to other people and with creation.

(Nicholl, 2004) As Pope Francis says “Holiness doesn’t mean doing extraordinary things, but doing ordinary things with love and faith.” (Pope Francis @ Pontifex 5 Dec 2013). Men and women in religious life and those in the ordained ministries may well be holy, but the call to personal holiness applies to everyone no matter their state in life.

(Lumen Gentium 40) We are called to the “simple holiness of all Christians” every day. It is the kind of holiness that means to “walk in the presence of God without reproach”.

Holiness is a journey; holiness cannot be bought. It can’t be sold. It cannot be given away.

Holiness is a journey to God’s presence. Pope Francis reminds us that the journey to holiness is a path marked by courage and the hope that

we will encounter Jesus. (Francis, 2016) We encounter Jesus in our everyday activities.

To quote Pope Francis: ‘“Holiness is found in the ordinariness of everyday life.” The people we meet at work, our families, our friends, indeed all those with whom we have a relationship provide us with an opportunity to grow in holiness.

(Image By Gaijin Biker(Big Ben) http://www.flickr.com/photos/gaijinbiker/144528062/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https:// commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=926094) Walk By Faith is an invitation to enhance your spiritual life and learn more about the riches of the Catholic Faith. If you would like to know more about the Walk By Faith programme contact Cynthia Piper 0800 217411. Enrolments for Year One are now being accepted.

Catholic Care Foundation’s new CE

The new Chief Executive of the Catholic Care Foundation (CCF), Suzanne Oliver has an extremely varied background across a wide range of industries.

Suzanne has previously worked in SME, local body government, the financial sector, recruitment, the arts, not for profit and education.

Her experience has involved her in a range of work from public relations and communications, to human relations, marketing, quality consulting, events and project management.

CCF was established in 1982 and raises funds to distribute to organisations that care for people who cannot care for themselves.

There is an increasing need for assistance in society.

By resourcing the organisations that are active in the community, CCF propels change and development for all, Suzanne says.

An article on Suzanne will feature in the next edition of Kete Korero.

fredr@cdh.org.nz

ketekorero August - October 2017

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parish news

Parishes starting new health and safety processes for buildings

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arishes throughout the Hamilton Catholic Diocese are making moves to meet new legal requirements around the health and safety of buildings.

The diocesan Projects Manager Peter Richardson has been working with authorities and advisers to develop generic documents able to be used by parishes throughout the diocese.

The initial focus has been on meeting fire safety standards for churches as they are the buildings where people most regularly meet. The Fire Service’s main focus is on the evacuation of people should a fire occur, rather than first trying to put out the fire.

The first document developed was around evacuation and, given the diocese has 35 parishes with many having multiple churches, one church was used as a template. With the help of Father Richard Laurenson, a fire safety evacuation template was prepared for St Joseph’s Church in Fairfield, Hamilton.

With assistance from Kathy Atkins of Building Compliance NZ Ltd this template was then electronically filed with the Fire Department, with sign off now received.

Peter is now assisting each parish to fill out the template and will sign off on the plans as the designated person in the diocese before lodging them with the Fire Service.

To find out more, contact Deacon Peter for a link to enable online access and downloading of

the documents.

Churches are different to many other buildings in that they are regularly used at specific times by people who are more familiar with safety aspects than are the casual users of public facilities. However, the attachment parishioners have to their churches may also draw them into attempting to save the building.

“The first priority is to evacuate the building and make sure all occupants are safe,” says Peter.

Only those trained in the use of extinguishers should use them.

Parish halls will have to utilise a separate template, again developed by the diocese. In this case, each regular user of a hall will need to sign-off that they will take responsibility and care for the building.

A separate “Procedures” document, again developed with assistance from Fr Laurenson, outlines what is required for churches regarding fire safety measures, and will also need to be signed off under the name of each parish. This document contains the largely common sense measures that need to be taken, such as locking the church doors after use.

A “Fire Action Notice” sent to every parish to put up by all exit doors in churches highlights what must be done in the event of a fire. The notice says “Do not attempt to extinguish the fire, until it is safe to do so and you have been trained to use an extinguisher” – highlighting

the message of keeping people safe is the first priority.

The burning down of churches with parishioners in them is rare, if not unknown, in New Zealand but the diocese has a legal responsibility to ensure people are informed of their requirements.

The need for greater awareness around fire safety in churches was highlighted when a blaze gutted Rotorua’s St John Presbyterian Church in February. Investigators found the fire was caused by faulty fluorescent light tubes above the church’s altar.

The lights were old and, although the building had fire detectors fitted to the burglar alarm, it did not have sprinklers.

Peter says a notice has been sent to all churches in the diocese alerting them to the danger involving fluorescent lighting systems.

Peter has also developed a Health and Safety Audit Document for the diocese based on a number of sources, including information that came out of meetings of the Inter-Church Bureau held throughout New Zealand in 2016 and attended by representatives of most parishes.

The document has been checked by the work health and safety regulator, WorkSafe New Zealand, and the consultant.

The one-page document includes a range of queries around health and safety able to be easily filled out.

The human person; an end and never a means Alex Bailey Social Justice Animator

The pursuit of social justice brings together people from all walks of life and belief backgrounds. Recently, I was privileged to share a Catholic perspective on social justice at an ecumenical gathering of Abrahamic faiths.

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Partly organised by the Waikato Interfaith Council, the aim of this event was dialogue and the possibility of joint action.

The outcome of the half-day event presented some clear opportunities to work together. This is particularly true in the area of climate change, for example, by joining together to participate in City Council tree planting days.

For climate change is not a myth. What is more, Pope Francis emphasises that it “is a global problem with grave implications”.

The presentation I made centred around the reality that “everything is connected”, which Pope Francis maintains in Laudato Si’.

Perhaps the problem of climate change and the social issues we face in New Zealand are not disconnected from the challenges that face the society of the family.

Catholic Social Teaching upholds the family as the vital cell of society and first natural society.

Vital in the sense that without families there is no new life, no children, no future generation. First

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in the sense that the family is the place where an individual is born and grows, the “cradle of life and love”, as St Pope John Paul II would put it.

Amoris Laetitia presents some of the challenges to family life: Exhausted parents who no longer share a family meal, the distraction of technology and television, drug use, family violence.

Consideration needs to be given to individualism which weakens family bonds and ends up considering each member of the family as an isolated unit, leading in some cases to the idea that one’s personality is shaped by his or her desires, which are considered absolute.

The individualistic culture we are part of upholds an endless pursuit of possessions and pleasure that leads to intolerance and hostility in families.

Catholic Social Teaching asserts that to avoid individualism, we must build a society on a family scale.

Because “within the family the person is always at the centre of attention as an end and never as a means”. That is, within a family, a person is considered good for their own sake.

In one of the presentations on social justice, Elder C. Michael Zundel gave an excellent overview of the charitable work the Church of Latter Day Saints does throughout the world.

As an aside, I often pass through Temple View on the drive home from work. The Church of Latter Day Saints emphasizes the importance of proximity of families to one another.

Today’s culture promotes the individual, Catholic Social Teaching suggests we must nurture the family.

8

ketekorero August - October 2017

feature Mangakino farewells nun with the community in her heart

P

arishioners gathered at St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Mangakino in June for a Mass to mark the retirement of Sister Marie Williams, rsj. Not only were they saying farewell to a nun who has been an important part of the parish for the past 12 years but they were also losing a valued member of the community.

Sr Maree’s role in the community saw the recently retired Anglican Minister Wayne Bunny among those speaking.

Retired Anglican Minister Wayne Bunny told how he delighted in the truly ecumenical sense Sr Marie Williams brought to the community of Mangakino.

Referring to those gathered, Wayne said the fact they were there was a reflection of the way Sr Maree had worked in the community.

“I have never experienced in my life an ecumenical sense that she has brought to this town,” he said. “It has been a delight to be with her.”

He said it was also a shock, as he recalled when he conducted his first service in Mangakino on an Ash Wednesday and three nuns arrived and sat in the pew in front of him.

“I thought ‘have we got a problem here?’ but when it came to communion, the first three who came up were the three sisters and its been that way ever sense.”

Addressing Sr Marie, Wayne said she had worked hard for the community and he wanted to thank her for the cups of tea and support.

Fr David Moore, who officiated at the Mass, recalled how the Sisters of St Joseph were initially founded to serve in The Outback of Australia and, in New Zealand, had also worked in more isolated areas.

“We thank God for the sisters who have been in Mangakino and other places in New Zealand, and we are grateful to sister who has very much been part of Mary of the Cross congregation and here and Tokoroa.”

The Mass was held in the small church, which had at one time been a three-room convent school before being converted to be used as a church. Although a plain, white building when seen from the road, St Joseph’s possesses some spectacular red tukutuku panels created by the Mill Hill priest Father Wim Tuerlings and women of the town.

Speaking at lunch following Mass, long-time resident and parishioner Len Mitchell said it had been 12 years – to which Sister interjected it had been 12 good years. Len recalled how he remembered when Sr Maree arrived with the other two sisters.

Parishioners and community members gather after the Mass in St Joseph’s Catholic Church Mangakino to farewell Sister Marie Williams, rsj, with Father David Moore.

Len Mitchell speaks on behalf of the church community during the lunch for Sr Marie.

“It was really great having them to organise everything like the music and visits to help people and take them to the hospital or to Tokoroa when the Mass hasn’t been held here.”

Sr Marie had, for example, organised Christmas Masses, and Len said it was great to see the children dress up to attend.

An unexpected visitor at the function was Rachel Patrick, whose brother Rawiri (David) Hepi had gone to church at St Joseph’s.

“What held him here (in Mangakino) was the Catholic church. It is great to see you all here and to see this place is vibrant, and that it is for all people as well.”

Helen Thomas has been in Mangakino for 22 years and she says Sr Marie’s presence had ensured the Catholic community continued rather than disbanding as a result of moving regular Masses to Tokoroa.

“She has brought us all up to where we feel like we can cope by bringing in ceremonies and writing them up so that we can cope, because

there is no resident priest.”

Mass is held on the third Sunday of the month but Helen (who is a eucharistic minister) and others enabled by Sr Marie will in the meantime also set up the church once a month to do readings and pray.

Asked how the community felt about Sr Marie leaving, Helen said: “Totally devastated and sad.

That’s how we feel but she says ‘you are grown ups with the courage to carry on’. That’s what Jesus Christ wants - for us to carry on together.”

Helen’s daughter Karen said Sr Marie had been very important to her family, working with them through the Baptism, First Holy Communion and Confirmation of Billie-Jean (16) and Carmen (12), who were at the farewell, and Le0n (18) now at Victoria University, Wellington.

“She has been a constant presence in our lives and support for the children in helping them get to know themselves,” said Karen, adding she felt sad Sr Marie was leaving; she would miss her.

Thanks to the community for hosting this event.

ketekorero August - October 2017

9

feature Sister Marie caring for parishioners and the community

S

r Marie Williams rsj says working in the community of Mangakino has been about all the townspeople and not only the parishioners of St Joseph’s Catholic Church.

After a farewell Mass and lunch at St Joseph’s Church on 18 June, Sr Marie talked about her life of service – in Mangakino and the wider area and other communities – and the background to her life with the Sisters of St Joseph.

Sr Marie had contributed an article to a feature on the religious life of nuns in the Hamilton Catholic Diocese published in the August 2016 edition of Kete Korero. In it, she wrote that Mangakino was a town filled with the most amazing people: “This town is not about buildings and great resources – it is about people” Her work as a Sister of St Joseph saw her undertake a number of roles in the community, including: Taking residents to Waikato, Taupo, Rotorua and Tokoroa hospitals for appointments; visiting the elderly and lonely; doing the odd bit of shopping in Tokoroa for the housebound; and taking others to do shopping or for an unscheduled day out.

All this was possible only with the backing of the Sisters of St Joseph, who provided rental accommodation, a car and means of support.

Meeting the spiritual needs of those wanting it meant weekly prayer meetings in Tokoroa and a fortnightly Liturgy of the Word in Mangakino, the preparation of children for Baptism, Confirmation and First Holy Communion.

Sr Marie noted how, for Mangakino, Pope Francis’s Year of Mercy began some years back when the era of hydroelectric dam building ended and most workers left the area. The remaining townsfolk pulled together and established a strong community where people were known and cared for when in need.

After 12 years in Mangakino, Sr Marie said at the time of the farewell that her future was as yet unknown.

Born in Tauranga, Sr Marie grew up in Whakatane where her father was a baker and she went to St Joseph’s Catholic School. In Gisborne, she did her secondary education, again with the Josephite Sisters. This influence led her to join the Josephites, initially going to Sydney for training in religious life and preparation for the

Sister Marie Williams, rsj life of a teacher.

She made life-long friends, before returning to New Zealand. Here, she served throughout the country as a teacher.

“Children are the same everywhere in what they want to know or ask about,” she says.

Sr Marie finished teaching in 1987, then managed the Liston Retirement Village in Auckland for 18 years. Although it may seem a step from teaching to managing a retirement village, Sr Marie said she just liked old people – “they’ve got to the stage where they look at life as it is.”

She had been in Mangakino between 1969 and 1971, when she taught at the Catholic school. She decided to return to the town when she left the retirement village because she felt it was in a transition stage and the nuns had been premature in moving out in 1971.

“So I’ve always said it was unfinished business and we needed to come back.”

As a result, Sr Marie returned to Mangakino

with Sr Colleen Dempsey rsj in 2005.

The main impression she had on returning was that when she talked to people on the street, they wanted to say more than simply a hello.

“What really convinced me was the first Christmas, when the Senior Citizens had a Christmas party and invited us along. The president, who wasn’t a Catholic as most of them weren’t, stood up on the stage and said ‘The good news is our Sisters are back’. That just proved to me that the feeling had been right. We needed to come back.”

Bishop Denis Browne at that time asked when they were going to Mangakino “You will work in the community, won’t you?”

This led to the range of community services the nuns became involved with, including Victim Support, Accredited Visitors for Age Concern, Red Cross driving for hospital appointments and visiting people. As well as assisting with services at St Joseph’s Church, Sr Marie has been working in the Bishop Edward Gaines Catholic School in Tokoroa.

Asked how she saw faith in the work she did in the community, Sr Marie said: “Faith is in works, in what you believe. If you put that into practice, it catches on much more easily than just having a service in the church.”

Her favourite prayer is based on a saying from Stephen Grellett (1773-1855) as follows: “I expect to pass through this world but once, therefore any good that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature let me do it now; let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not come this way again.”

Shades of Saint Mary MacKillop’s “Never see a need without doing something about it.”

The images are from tukutuku panels created and crafted by Father Wim Teurling and women from the town. The Catholic Community Group of Mangakino has reproduced the pictures in cards. All profits go to the upkeep of St Joseph’s Catholic Church. Contact: hthomas@farmside.co.nz

10

ketekorero August - October 2017

school news

30 years of change for John Paul College

T

hirty years on after the opening of John Paul College, principal Patrick Walsh reflects on the hard work and effort of all those who have made it the largest Catholic co-educational school in New Zealand.

JPC, as it is known, emerged from the merging of the all-boys Edmund Rice College and all-girls MacKillop College. Each of those schools had traditions and former pupils – Edmund Rice opened in 1963 and MacKillop College (1966).

Patrick Walsh says the 30-year celebration JPC held in May was a recognition of the hard work of all the people who had gone beforehand.

“I think of the struggles of the people who established MacKillop College and Edmund Rice, particularly the religious orders and parent teachers associations, without any funding from the government. So, in many ways, it was a celebration and recognition that we wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t been for those foundations.”

As such, JPC was built on the backs of the Sisters of St Joseph and the Christian Brothers orders along with the dedicated lay people in the early years. It was also important to recognise the three charisms now at JPC – Edmund Rice/Christian Brothers; Mary MacKillop/Sisters of St Joseph and the De La Salle Brothers.

Patrick says he understood that it was not an “easy merge” as people had strong loyalties to the two schools.

“But people have come to recognise JPC, with its own history and unique character.”

Patrick has been at JPC for the past 14 years – nearly half of its existence – and before that he taught at all boys schools – De La Salle College in Mangere East,

Patrick Walsh: A strong emphasis on character and social justice.

Auckland, and Rosmini College on the North Shore.

“I find working in a coeducational school a much more natural way of working with young people.”

When he started, JPC had a role of 635 students, and faced issues needed to turnaround. Today, it is regarded as the school of choice in Rotorua.

“However, even though we’ve excellent academic results and outcomes in co-curricular areas, we are a Catholic school. We emphasise to parents that the main reason you want your children to come here is that you want them to receive a high-quality education.”

Initially it was thought possible to turn JPC around in a couple of years, but it took five years of solid work by the board, the staff and the Hamilton Catholic Diocese to reinvent the school. JPC had always had a good staff and had marketed itself well as the only Catholic integrated high school in Rotorua. People wanted a school with solid Christian foundations.

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have been the appointment of both a Director of Religious Studies and a Campus Minister. JPC is believed to be the only Catholic high school in the country that gives so much resource to people in Catholic character positions.

The board is committed to the Catholic character of the school, so a generous budget is provided for those holding management positions in Catholic character, professional development for staff, and on high quality retreats. The school’s top four leaders are sent yearly to Sydney to mix with other Lasallian school leaders. Staff are also sent to Buttimer, a De La Salle programme run annually in New York.

The school has also been reoriented to be student-focused rather than teacher-focused, so all the activities in or out of classrooms come with the question “How does it benefit the students?” Based on the rationale that students do their best learning before lunch, the timetable was changed so that only one lesson was allotted after the 1-2pm lunchtime. As well as promoting international education, there is a strong emphasis on social justice activities. JPC, for example, sponsors the St Vincent de Paul Fulfill Van, which takes food to deprived areas of Rotorua.

The growth of technology in schools is being catered for at JPC, but Patrick says this is not the main emphasis.

“The important thing for me is developing the character of young people. We want people to be 21st Century learners and technology savvy but it’s more important to develop young people with a strong social conscience who can make a positive difference in the world.”

Regarding the JPC legacy, Patrick says students have caught the

ideals of the founders, particularly those around faith and making a difference when you see it.

“Although students have embraced the Catholic concept of social justice, we do sometimes struggle with the link to the institutional church.”

Having the students go once a year to the parish church was one way of promoting a closer link.

However, Patrick says some blue skies thinking may be necessary in this regard, including looking at ways in which to bring the parish more into the school.

“It would be great to have the school and the parish on the one site, so the principal and the priest share the same area and see a blending of the school and the parish.

While this may be an option some people might be keen on, Patrick says the drawbacks would be offset by the huge benefits of parishioners being more involved in the school and the priest and principal working together.

“We all share the same mission of the Church,” says Patrick.

Campion learning centre

Campion College is set to open its new learning centre on 9 September. Work is being completed on the first learning centre (Marcellin Centre) and construction on the second, the MacKillop Centre, will start during the term two break.

Thames school 150 years celebration

The parish and school of St Francis is celebrating 150 years of the Catholic Faith in Thames with events over the weekend of 3-5 November 2017. All former parishioners, pupils, teachers and clergy are invited to join in the commemoratation of this significant milestone. For more information, please contact: 150stfrancisthames@gmail.com.

St Mary’s Tauranga’s 75th jubilee 2017 marks the 75th anniversary of the commencement of St Mary’s Catholic School in Tauranga. The school began in September 1942, managed and staff entirely by the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny, many of whom came to New Zealand from Ireland. To celebrate this significant event in the life of the school, a jubilee weekend is planned to take place on 22-24 September 2017. To register, go to: www.stmarystga.school.nz

ketekorero August - October 2017

11

school news Aquinas College remains on growth path as principal Ray Scott retires

‘Catholic education has always been about the whole person.’

R

etiring Aquinas College principal Ray Scott says it is important the special Catholic character remains at the heart of the school during this time of potentially rapid growth for the Tauranga school. Ray is due to retire on 10 December, at the end of the 2017 school year.

When he started at Aquinas as principal in 2010, the school had already been in existence for about seven years.

Born in Whakatane, Ray grew up in the rural environment around Upper Atiamuri, about 30 kilometres south-west of Rotorua. He attended Rotorua’s Edmund Rice College before it combined with Mary MacKillop College to become John Paul College.

A physics degree at Canterbury University led to him taking up teaching as a career. Before coming to Aquinas, Ray was the principal of St John’s College in Hamilton. He had been there about 12 years and had accomplished what he wanted to do at St John’s – rebuilding and growing the school to a reasonable size.

Aquinas provided not only a new opportunity and challenge but also suited his family, as wife Kristeen’s parents and other family members lived in the Tauranga area.

Aquinas had almost reached its 750-pupil roll limit during the previous seven years but Ray said opportunities existed to develop the culture of the college further and help students to get the best from themselves.

The culture of Aquinas had been well established from the beginning, with students wanting to do well and contribute when they attended the college.

“If you have that culture, that’s a huge step in the right direction. It was a matter of building on that (culture of wanting to do well) and giving staff and students the opportunities and confidence to try different things.”

Ray said an important part of the principal’s role was to build strong teams in a school – including staff, students and parents and this takes time.

“We are very fortunate with the staff here who have high expectations and a willingness to be involved with the kids as well.”

Teaching was currently in the middle of what Ray described as an almost revolutionary change in some areas. The growth and development of technology required people to be familiar with it and make good use of it for teaching and learning.

“At the core of it, though, I don’t believe

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Time for a change - Ray Scott things have changed a great deal. That core is strong relationships between the staff and the students.”

These strong relationships impact on the teaching and learning.

“For me, Catholic education has always been about the whole person. The special Catholic character provides the umbrella that sits over the teaching and learning along with cultural and sporting activities.”

The growth of technology and increased interconnectedness with everybody had its pluses but also had drawbacks and dangers.

“It requires all of us to make good decisions about how we make use of the technology.”

Schools had always needed to have care and concern for the wider elements in children’s lives but this had been expanded to the additional influences new technology advances brought about.

This was where it was important the relationships were strong between the teachers and students, and also with the community.

The 2013 Census showed the population of Tauranga City grew to nearly 115,00 up by about 24,000 between 2001 and 2013. More recent estimates have indicated the the population grew to 124,600 by the end of 2016.

Ray said this was a good time for a new principal to take the opportunities offered by the challenge of Tauranga’s growth now and in the future. The end result of that planning would inevitably be the growth of the college and a

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resulting increase in what the school was able to offer.

“I hope that the heart of the place remains the same – the special Catholic character has to be the reason for the school and the special relationships with each other is a key part of that.”

Ray said Aquinas students were known for being “open, communicative, speaking well and being well-grounded. I would like to think that what we do through RE (religious education) and through the special Catholic character of the school contribute to the whole person, and that they have a good sense of social justice that comes through from the Catholic faith.”

The original plan allowed for the school to potentially have a role of 1200 students. The current site was big enough to support the growth, with the next step possibly being to 900-950 students. This would allow for an extra class at each level. It may be that, in the future, some buildings would be two-storeys to ensure that land remains free for school activities.

Although retiring, it is likely Ray will continue to work in some aspect of education. Ray and Kris have three children – one each in Tauranga, Te Puke and Melbourne.

“I’ve enjoyed the opportunity and the privilege to be here. It is a very special place and that is due to the people in it,” Ray said.

Catholic Integrated Schools Tournament

St John’s College hosted the annual Catholic Integrated School Winter Sports Tournament.

More than 300 Year 7 and 8 students from its contributing schools competed in hockey, football and rugby, while Sacred Heart College hosted netball.

Competitors were blessed with great weather and the competition was played in great spirit.

Winning honours were shared across the schools.

Hockey Final - St Columba’s 2 beat Marion 1 Football - St Joseph’s Fairfield 1, after a nail biting penalty shootout in the semi-finals, played St Joseph’s Fairfield 2 who went on to win the final in the Football.

Rugby - Marion 1 were comprehensive winners, beating St Joseph’s Morrinsville in the final.

Sue Moore retirement Sue Moore has retired from her teaching position with St Patrick’s Catholic School in Taumarunui. Theona Turner, who has been sharing the teaching in St Lawrence Room with Sue, has assumed the role of classroom teacher.

Meanwhile, former St Patrick’s Taumarunui teacher Ange Edhouse has been appointed as principal at St Patrick’s in Taupo.

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12

ketekorero August - October 2017

parish news Exploring life-long relationships

Y

oung people of Aquinas College have responded well to a new programme promoting marriage, says Joe Hogan, the Marriage and Family Animator for the Catholic Diocese of Hamilton.

Joe came to his role earlier this year as part of a change in focus at the diocese. After working his way into the newly created position, Joe has been introducing a range of faith-based programmes emphasising the importance of family love and marriage.

The first major project involved “Explore”, a programme which had been running for 20 years at Westminster Cathedral Parish in England.

Under Explore, volunteer Catholic married couples meet with small groups of young people to answer their questions about their own relationship and how they make it work.

Aimed at giving Year 12 or 13 students an opportunity to learn about what it takes to make life-long relationships work, Joe piloted the first “Explore” event at Tauranga’s Aquinas College on 18 May. School principal Ray Scott with DRS Vince Shaw were welcoming of the programme and parish priests Father Mark Field and Fr Darren Macfarlane helped find the married couples and supply the venue. A number of Catholic couples were selected, all having been married for 30-plus years.

Feedback forms provided an indication that the event was extremely successful, Joe said. A report is being drafted to give to Bishop Steve Lowe, who will consider the programme’s further availability for use in the diocese. In the meantime, Explore will be packaged based on the Aquinas College experience and, when the final form gets the green light from Bishop Steve, will be available to be offered to Year 12 and 13 students in the diocese.

On the day before the Explore meetings took place, Joe helped the students develop their own questions for the couples to answer so they did not go into it cold.

“I asked them ‘what question would you ask when you met a couple who had been married for 30-plus years?’.”

All teachers of the Year 12 classes were at the pre-meeting session, along with 120 students.

Joe says the students found it particularly useful to have their own questions answered by the couples involved during the meeting the next day. Joe watched from outside as he wanted to respect the holy ground of the couples answering personal questions from the students.

“To me, it was a place where a lot of aroha, love, and meaningful discussion took place. The girls

were particularly engaged in the process; the boys did ask questions but were more reserved.”

Having respect for those involved meant that, for instance, the boys were not pushed to ask questions.

“Part of its [Explore’s] success is that it is driven by mutual respect for the couples and for the students. The couples answer the questions that the students ask. The students’ own family situations are never part of the focus, they can ask their own questions of the couples with no need of their own self-disclosure.”

Bishop’s vision for Catholic marriage Joe’s role is a response to Bishop Steve’s vision of the importance of the Catholic marriage and family. He says he felt quite humbled and feels an unworthy exponent of the vision as he looked on, and was inspired by the Explore couples who made themselves available to listen to and answer the students’ questions.

Joe is presently developing two further programmes that promote Christian based family love that are for all ages. The Cube of Love is been piloted at the Gisborne parish primary school of St. Mary’s. This is being supported there by the DRS, Sharon Tilley. The Gisborne parish secondary Campion College DRS, Karyn Sadler, sees promise for the programme in the Year 7 and 8 RE programme.

“I have also asked Karyn to consider using it with the young parish family group that she is involved with. I am supporting Sharon and Karyn in accessing the Cube of Love programme and developing other supporting resources.”

“Called to be Community” is the second programme Joe is looking to develop in Hamilton for use in parishes and parish schools. While gathering information from the Palmerston North Diocese’s Melissa Gairdner (Young Adult and Family Coordinator), she indicated that “Called to be Community” could be ideal for a follow on programme for the RCIA candidates who were received into the Catholic Church last Easter.

The Cube of Love can be used within the Called to be Community programme. Both programmes are Catholic-initiated and scripturally-based, they deepen the participants’ experience of how God works in their lives, in the practical day-today events in their family lives - Love in Action.

Lovers for Life for engaged couples The engaged couple’s course “Lovers for Life” also comes into Joe’s role. The numbers going through this course in the year to June 2017

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Please contact Joe Hogan at joeh@cdh.org. nz or 027 7424 466, to register for the course now.

Lovers 4 Life, engaged couples weekend course in Hamilton. Weekend of 30 September to 1 October 2017, at Marian School Staff room, Grey Street, Hamilton East, behind the Cathedral. 9.00 am - 5.00 pm on both days.

Please contact Joe Hogan at joeh@cdh.org. nz or 027 7424 466, to register for the course now. have already surpassed the total number of all those in the year 2016.

“There could be something in the air,” he says. “Perhaps the couples coming through are looking at the relationship of marriage as worth striving and preparing for. Time will tell if this upward trend continues. I find all the engaged couples facilitators dedicated and passionate in their leading the participants into enriching their relationships before marriage.”

Darren and Rose from Rotorua have given 10 years of dedicated service to the preparing of couples for marriage. Two new “facilitating couples” have been added for Gisborne and for Rotorua.

The Seasons for Growth programme aimed at assisting youngsters in schools and adults throughout the diocese who may be suffering from grief or other trauma has been further developed. Gabrielle Daly, of Compassio Services, has taken the role of companion trainer. She will soon be training “companions” in Hamilton and Rotorua.

“We want Seasons for Growth to be available throughout the diocese, particularly in primary and secondary schools,” Joe says. “It’s part of caring for young people and adults who have suffered grief or loss.”

The programme gives young people the tools to move towards being able to live with the situations and move on with their lives. The programme is open to those aged 6-to-18 years old, and now includes an adult programme.

Seasons for Growth has rolled out another programme called “Stormbirds” that Dunedin trainer Adele Smith has facilitated in Hamilton.

The programme is aimed at people who have suffered grief or loss as part of a natural disaster such as floods, earthquake or fire. Some of the attendees at this course will be available to train Companions to work with people effected by the Edgecumbe flood disaster For more information, contact Gabrielle Daly “Compassio Services” Companion Trainer Seasons for Growth 021-112 6804 Joe Hogan Seasons for Growth Co-ordinator Tel: 027-7422266 joeh@cdh.org.nz

ketekorero August - October 2017

13

parish news End of an era as Morrinsville Convent closes

A time for celebration: First Holy Communion and Confirmation Masses

By Sister Barbara Cameron rndm fter 87 years of the presence of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions in Morrinsville in the convent in Victoria Ave, Morrinsville, the last two Sisters, living there, Sheila and Philippa, have moved to other communities, Sheila to Opotiki, and Philippa to Hamilton, and the convent closed April 10 2017.

A

The convent in the 1940-1950s period.

The first sisters were invited to the parish to open St Joseph’s Convent school in 1930 to provide a Catholic education for the Catholic children in and around Morrinsville. Since then, 178 sisters have lived in community over that time. The school opened in February 1930 with 70 pupils and by the end of that year there were 90. The present day roll is just under 200, and current principal Andrea Colbourn is a past pupil of the school.

Over the years the community of Sisters varied in size from five to nine, most teaching in the school, and usually two sisters who taught music at the convent to both Catholics and nonCatholics alike. Those music teachers were the bread winners for the community since at a time when Catholic schools received no government funding.

The 1970s before subdivision.

Once Catholic schools were integrated into the State system in the 1970s, more lay teachers could be employed in Catholic schools which freed the sisters for other work such as chaplaincies in hospitals and prisons, pastoral work in parishes, and overseas missionary work.

The parish recently marked the closing of the Convent with a farewell Mass and luncheon for the sisters. About 20 Mission Sisters returned for the occasion, including some of the sisters who had taught at St Joseph’s, and some of the seven sisters who had grown up in this parish and left as young women from Morrinsville to become Mission Sisters. Among the latter were Sister Patricia Mary Ford, who was a pupil at St Joseph’s in the 1930s, and now lives in New Plymouth, Sister Leone McIndoe and Sister Elizabeth Beeler, now living in Auckland and Sister Barbara Cameron, Kiwitahi.

Four of the sisters are buried in the old Morrinsville cemetery in Thames St; three buried there in the 1930s, one of whom had known the Mission Sisters’ foundress, Euphrasie Barbier, and the last one buried there in 2010, Sr Lucia, who’d gone to school in Kereone where her father, Mr Nobbs, was the head teacher in the 1930s.

Sister Barbara Cameron who lives at her Peace Sanctuary, 24A Waterworks Rd Kiwitahi, where she has a ministry of peace , will continue to be the presence of the Mission Sisters in Morrinsville .

The Spirit at work

Parishioners in Tauranga have celebrated the eightieth birthday of Lino Ah Honi. Lino is the sacristan at St Mary Immaculate, and has been setting up for Sunday Mass – every Sunday Mass– since Father Foy’s time in the parish. The newsletter noted: “Remarkable service – truly the Spirit at work.”

Bishop Steve Lowe with children at the 10 June First Holy Communion and Confirmation Mass held at St Michael’s Church, Rotorua.

Sixteen young people received the sacraments of confirmation and reconciliation at Immaculate Conception Church, Taumarunui with Bishop Steve and parish priest Rev Lawrie Bishop. The children were prepared for this part of the journey largely by Sister Win Fouhy.

Confirmation at Tauranga-Moana on 21 May. Bishop Steve used sports balls to remind the young people that, in confirmation, we are called to pass on the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit for the life of the Church and the world.

Many thanks to those who contributed photos and details from these ceremonies.

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ketekorero August - October 2017

feature Tyburn Monastery historical beginnings

T

he Benedictine Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Montmartre OSB was founded on 4 March 1898 by Mother Foundress Marie Adele Garnier, at Montmartre, Paris. In 1901, the order of contemplative Benedictine nuns moved to London, England because of the anti-clerical law of Associations in France. London became the Mother House of the Congregation of the Tyburn nuns.

As a contemplative Benedictine Congregation, the Benedictine Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Montmartre is dedicated to divine worship in the liturgy and in adoration of the holy Sacrament; “To prefer nothing to the love of Christ”. Better known as Tyburn nuns, the nuns’ devotion and work flows on into spiritual hospitality, offering a place of retreat for those wishing to have quiet, reflective time, in a monastic setting.

At this time, there are eleven monasteries around the world; England, Ireland, Australia, Scotland, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Italy, France and Aotearoa New Zealand. Aotearoa New Zealand is the only country in the world to have two Tyburn Monasteries.

The Bombay Tyburn Monastery is situated in the quiet rural area of the Bombay Hills, south of Auckland. The Tyburn monastery was established in 1996 by six sisters of the English Congregation of the Benedictine Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Montmartre OSB. The church was dedicated in 1997 and other buildings, including the monastery building and a guest wing for devotees having been completed since then.

In 2008, Bishop Browne, then Bishop of the Hamilton Catholic Diocese, contacted Mother General Xavier, a New Zealander, inviting the sisters to establish a monastery in the Hamilton Diocese, as a centre

Pictures left and above: Left, Prioress Mother Angela at Bombay; Prioress Mother Rachel at Ngākuru, above; and L to R M Philippa Mary and M Joanna at Ngākuru, above right. The photos were taken last year during the Year of Mercy. The nuns are standing in front of the door of Mercy at their respective chapels. of prayer and contemplation.

From this invitation, the Tyburn Monastery at Ngākuru, situated 27 kilometres south of Rotorua, was established, in May 2009, through the hard work of the sisters and generous donations from supporters and benefactors.

Many of the Tyburn nuns in various congregations throughout the world have been assigned to either Bombay or Ngākuru Monasteries or both; including the Tyburn Congregation’s new Superior General M Marilla. M Marilla was a founding member of both Bombay and Ngākuru Monasteries.

M Angela’s journey in the Benedictine order began in the United Kingdom. Her first connection with the Convent in Bombay was when she accompanied M General, who at that time was M Xavier, to New Zealand to assist with the Tyburn promotional DVD on religious life being filmed in

Bombay in 2007-2008. It was also during this time that a contract to purchase land for a new Tyburn foundation at Ngākuru had been signed.

Not long after their return to London, M General informed M Angela that she had been chosen to “build” a new monastery at Ngākuru. M Angela and M Joanna were two of six Tyburn nuns who were the founding members of the Congregation of Ngākuru. M Rachel and M Joanna also have a special link to both monasteries.

M Rachel came from the Tyburn Priory in Riverstone, Australia with three other sisters to Bombay in 1996. She was a founding member of Bombay and remained there for 19 years.

M Rachel was Prioress for three years in Bombay before being moved. Eventually the sisters she had arrived in Bombay with were all reassigned to other convents. M Rachel was assigned to Ngākuru on 14 September 2014 and became M Prioress of the convent.

M Joanna also hailed from the Tyburn Priory. In 1998 M Joanna spent four years in Bombay until

2002 when she went to Peru, Colombia and other monasteries before returning to Bombay early 2009 for a few months. Eventually M Joanna assigned to Ngākuru later in the same year.

In August 2011, she returned to Bombay after the completion of the Ngākuru monastery building and the opening of the Novitiate. M Joanna was reassigned to Ngākuru in 2014.

M Philippa Mary from Ngākuru also has a history of being stationed at both Bombay and Ngākuru. M Philippa Mary also came from the Tyburn Priory at Riverstone. She was sent to Bombay 6 August 2001 as a junior sister.

Then spending some time with the General Chapter in London M Philippa Mary returned to Bombay and later became M Prioress.

Eventually she was assigned to Ngākuru 2011-2014 returned to Bombay briefly, then reassigned to Ngākuru early 2015.

Karen Moeau Sister Maria Teresa of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Oblate of the Ngākuru Tyburn Monastery.

Collins Automotive Technicians - wide ranges of services Kete Korero is pleased to welcome Collins Automotive Technicians as a new sponsor. The company has come on-board following the demise of another sponsor, AH Franks Tyre and Auto in October last year.

A fire on Labour Weekend 2016 destroyed the AH Franks building and also meant the neighbouring Collins Auto Electrical building could not be occupied, and were faced with the necessity to relocate.

AH Franks had been in operation for 96 years, and owner Jim Nolen decided against rebuilding.

That led to Collins Auto incorporating

the Nolen family business into its operation along with acquisition of Automotive Technicians. The new entity in Quentin Drive, Hamilton has a much wider range of services to offer a larger range of clients. AH Franks was a long-time supporter of the Hamilton Catholic Diocese and Kete Korero, and the new Collins Automotive Technicians Jason Land has committed to continue that support.

"The uniqueness of having three different automotive services clustered into one business provides us with a point of different,” Jason says.

ketekorero August - October 2017

15

feature Reformation 500 a time of communion

By Michael Smith Say the word “Reformation” today and many people’s eyes are likely to cloud over with a kind of puzzled memory from history.

“Reforming” is seen more in the context of political life today – as in a “reforming government”. However, the Reformation – the religious one, that is – and its impacts on what happened on the world’s religious, political and population remains a part of our living history. The Reformation and its consequences are being commemorated this year, 500 years after Martin Luther led what became a cataclysmic event for the Roman Catholic Church.

Most Catholics of a certain age will probably have a memory of the “them and us” divide that existed in their time between them and the Protestant faiths. For those of colonial European descent, they will have received memories from homelands where the division was real and carried with it consequences, both religious and economic.

If you were Maori, whatever church you were brought up in would depend on the dominant religious order in your rohe. A colloquial story from Rotorua, for example, is that Anglican and Catholic priests agreed at an early stage to divide the area up based on the Utuhina Stream – one church given rights to one side and the other to the other side.

Alister Matheson in Catholic Missionaries at Maketu records a Father Borjon as writing following a visit to the area that “At Rotorua, where there is a fervent and large tribe, I was followed about by about thirty young people and grown men for four days, to neighbouring tribes, so that they might receive instruction and be edified. I have seen them more than once arguing vigorously with Maori Protestants.”

Today, it would be exceptional to see any shade of anything other than a gentle disagreement over aspects of the Christian teachings – and few would disagree over the importance of the Reformation itself in shaping world history. The examples cited above are given only to illustrate the reach of the impacts from the 16th Century when the Protestant Reformation splintered Catholic Europe.

Bishop Steve Lowe is joining with Pastor John Davison of the St Matthew Lutheran Church, Hamilton, in a series of “Reformation 500” events. Pastor John, who is the prime organiser, says Reformation 500 stems from

Pastor John Davison 31 October 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his “95 Theses” to a Wittenberg church door in Germany. Excommunicated after the 1521 Diet of Worms (Imperial Council meeting at Worms in Germany), Luther spent some time in the Wartburg Castle and set about translating the Bible into German and writing a series of pamphlets.

His support from many of Germany’s princes led to Lutheranism becoming the state religion throughout Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltics.

The breakaway Calvinism saw variations on these beliefs spread further, through France and The Netherlands and on to England and, eventually, to North America.

Lutheran and Catholic dialogue Pr John says that the dialogue between Lutherans and Catholics has grown strongly over the past 50 years, particularly since Vatican II. In Australia, a lot of documents have been produced from conversations being held between the two.

A service called “From Conflict to Communion” was held in Wellington in the Sacred Heart Cathedral on Queen’s Birthday Weekend in June. The service was attended by Catholics and Lutherans as well as other denominations. The Catholic and Lutheran Churches of New Zealand have also established a formal dialogue process.

“The dialogue process is more around looking at where we agree than where we disagree,” says Pr John. Further impetus was given when Pope Francis attended a service also attended by officials of the Lutheran World Federation in Lund, Sweden last year, where he urged Catholic-Lutheran reconciliation.

The prayer service in Lund, entitled “From Conflict to Communion”, will be the model for

what is planned on 27 October at the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Hamilton. The service will be led by Bishop Steve and Pastor John, and it aims to “bring people of diverse Christian groups together to celebrate the Reformation and the Grace of God”.

A number of events are running in Hamilton over the period of the Reformation 500 commemoration.

The movie “Luther” was screened at the Tivoli Theatre, Cambridge on 19 July. A “Friends of Hospital Chaplaincy Concert” will be held on 2 September at St Paul’s Collegiate, at which Pr John has been granted five minutes to present on the Reformation 500 theme.

For history buffs, “Sharing Our Stories: From Conflict to Communion” on 26 October at St Matthew Lutheran Church will see Sister Carmel Walsh and Pr Jim Pietsch, Assistant Bishop of the Lutheran Church of New Zealand, discuss the Catholic and Lutheran churches history and the background in New Zealand terms.

On 29-31 October a “Reformation 500 Conference” being organised by local academics and artists will be held at the Meteor Theatre and St Peter’s Cathedral.

Pr John says is seen as the primary confession of faith of the church.

Although set 500 years ago, history does have a way of impacting the present as Pr John notes that the Augsburg Confession was presented to Charles 5 – the Holy Roman Emperor of Europe at the time. Seeing the increasing strength and expansion of the Muslim world at the time, Charles attempted to restore political and religious unity by calling on the princes of the German Free Territories to explain their religious convictions.

The liturgy for the 27 October service at the Hamilton cathedral is an adaptation for local use of the service produced by the Liturgical Task Force of Lutheran-Roman Catholic Task Force on Unity used at Lund.

“What we are hoping is that there will be a greater understanding between Lutherans and Catholics along with the wider community to see that churches do have things in common and that we are not just sects doing our own thing.

“We have a common understanding of who Jesus is and what He has done for us and the world.

“This is important in the modern world where truth has become relative and you can believe what you like, and it doesn’t matter whether you are a Christian or a Buddhist or a Hindu or whatever.

We have a common link even though we might worship in our own communities, we are still worshipping Jesus Christ, who is our Lord and Saviour,” says Pr John.

For more details of the events, go to: http://www.hamiltonlutheran. co.nz/index.php/resources/news

Commemoration The commemoration period will be topped off by a Reformation 500 Celebration on 4 November at the Chapel of Christ the King, St Pauls Collegiate in Hamilton.

Pr John says the Lutheran Church in New Zealand has always been small, largely because of the First and Second World Wars and the roots many church members had in Germany.

“It wasn’t the done thing during the world wars to be seen to be German and a lot of people left the Lutheran Church to join the Anglican, Beautifully Hand Made Presbyterian strongly made and finished in a wide choice of materials and Methodist acrylic • wood • glass churches.” fresh water pearl • paua • jade Although small my rosaries are available on TradeMe, rosary beads, region Wairarapa, Masterton in numbers, the email faith_rosaries@yahoo.co.nz ph 06 377 7216 or 021 159 6831 Lutheran Church draws its teachings directly from the Scriptures as expounded during the Reformation through The Book of Concord (1580) containing the three ecumenical creeds and which includes the 1530 Augsburg Confession, which

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ketekorero August - October 2017

ADVERTORIAL

Collins Automotive Technicians– a one-stop shop for auto-electrical, mechanical and tyre services is operating from a bright, spacious new premises at 2 Quentin Drive, off Kahikatea Drive, Hamilton.

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Collins Automotive Technicians’ owner, Jason Land has owned Collins’ Auto Electrical since 2011 and has now joined forces with Jim Nolen (formerly AH Franks Tyre + Auto) and Todd Bresnell (formerly Automotive Technicians) to create a ‘One-Stop Shop’. The business now offers a complete automotive solution undertaking all mechanical servicing and repair work, auto-electrical and air conditioning as well as providing comprehensive tyre and wheel alignment services.

‘The whole idea is to make life easier for customers,’ Jason says. ‘Time is precious and convenience is important. With us, there’s only one place to go. Customers can drop their car off on the way to work and they don't have to take it to three different places. With the attractive building and new high-end equipment and the fact that it is a “cool workplace” seem to encourage the staff to go that little bit further’.

‘No’ is not an answer for us. Our staff here jokingly call me a ‘yes man’ because I always say ‘yes’. But that’s what I believe especially when it comes to customers. There’s always a way to make it happen.

Also with the high traffic count on State Highway One, the Bunnings Warehouse opposite and the growth of the area, (Jason) is rapt with the results.

The bold approach sums up Collins Automotive Technicians' approach to what they do and how they treat their customers.

Acknowledgement: Copy (extract) courtesy Waikato Business News, April 2017

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