Your Family, Your Faith by Fernando Fullam

Issue Five

Your Family, Your Faith Making it Meaningful

eDitOr’s nOte

Recently my husband Paul asked our threeyear-old son to remove his elbows from the table. I was a bit surprised but then thought, he’ll learn the right way or the wrong way, so he may as well learn the right way. In this issue, our columnists have written about manners. Sometimes I wonder whether we still value them. I may be accused of being stuffy, but is it really so bad to want children (not just mine) to say please and thank you and to consider others? For me, manners are basic life skills that define a person. Forget money or clothes, I want people – children included – to not interrupt when others are talking, dress appropriately, not swear, say ‘excuse me’ when walking in front of someone and not put their feet on furniture.

A PrinciPAl’s PersPective

by Angus Tulley

As parents, how are we faring in modelling behavior? We’ve all been guilty of yelling abuse at the person who has stolen our carpark, but in our daily lives, what do our kids see? Fred Astaire once said, “The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any”. What do you think? PS: Did you see our new ‘faith’ column last month? A non-Catholic friend with a daughter at a Catholic school recently told me she was struggling with Lucy’s growing faith awareness and questions. “Lucy said to us the other night ‘I have been praying for a little brother or sister but God’s not listening’. My husband and I had no idea what to say”. “The ABC of Faith” is not just for non-Catholic parents; it’s designed to help all parents understand the basic teachings of the Church, so they feel confident chatting to their children about what they are learning.

in tHis eDitiOn Chaotic Family Mealtimes ..........2 When being kind is important ...3 Seeing the beauty in Caoimhe...4 Raising thrifty children ................5 Love’s the only rule .......................6 Learning to be more tender and gentle................................................7 The ABC of Faith ............................8

FeAture Article

Best wishes from my family to yours, Felicity de Fombelle Seeing the beauty in Caoimhe...4

As a principal I’ve often had to make judgements in terms of respect and in some instances ‘lack of respect’. These situations often involve children but in many cases adults are involved too. Vandalism is a good example of an instance where lack of respect has been shown. One of the lessons I have learned is not to quickly jump to conclusions. At one stage the toilet seats were being damaged around the school. It happened in both boys and girls bathrooms but was a particular

problem in the girls. Once we did some investigation it turned out it wasn’t so much about vandalism but ‘convenience’. The girls would stand on the toilet seats to check their attire in the mirrors. Dare I say it but some students would hitch up their skirts and then ensure that the result was OK. The mirrors were at waist height so for the girls to use them effectively they would need the extra height gained by standing on the toilet seat. When we installed full length mirrors the problem disappeared. Continued over...

A DAD’s PersPective

“cHAOtic FAMilY MeAltiMes ” By Shawn van der Linden

In my last two columns I have shared some reflections about being intentional about the family heritage that we want to leave our children. I suggested it can be helpful to think about family heritage as a package with three dimensions: the spiritual, emotional and social legacy that is being passed on from parent to child. Having considered spiritual and emotional family heritage already, in this issue where the focus is on the theme of manners, I would like to focus on the important question: What is the social legacy that I am seeking to build for my family? The social legacy in family life can be described as the vision and strong social skills we provide our children that help them to cultivate healthy, stable relationships. As a family we have a commitment to family mealtime, where we all sit down together at table, say grace, and try to connect with each other. While this daily family ritual is usually a rather chaotic experience, often with good doses of outrageous and inappropriate behavior, I am still deeply aware of the learning that

is taking place in the lives of my children during these mealtimes, and also other mealtimes such as Sunday lunch with extended family members. It is one of the most ordinary yet powerful ways that we are teaching our children to relate to others, deal with conflict and disappointment (“there is no dessert tonight kids…” etc), celebrate achievements, be assertive and express themselves. While their bodies are being nourished with food, so too are they gaining insight and learning skills that will enable them to cultivate healthy, stable relationships. One of the key underlying dynamics happening at family mealtimes is the process of providing boundaries for our children. The family mealtime is a very concrete example of a social boundary that provides an ideal space for learning how to relate to and deal with people. My wife and I probably find boundary setting the most difficult thing to do in our parenting. Why is it that our five-year-old son requires at least five reminders (with threats of punishment in the final two), to finally stop playing the Wii? While we probably don’t like to admit it, we are aware that this is most likely because

he has worked out, through regular learned experience, that this is the boundary. That is to say, he knows that nothing will really happen until after the fifth reminder. So the challenge is to set appropriate boundaries in the lives of our children which will enable them to learn the attitudes and skills to relate effectively with other people and thus have every chance at being successful in life. Of course it would be wrong to understand this task of building the social legacy of your family as only being about “rules”. The focus on “manners” and “boundary setting” can easily sound like a recipe for stifling the creativity, assertiveness and freedom of your child. Such an outcome is entirely possible if all of this is administered separate from the context of a genuine loving relationship. The purpose of the boundaries and rules in family life is precisely to create the possibility for genuine relationships that include respect, responsibility, love and acceptance. Such relationships are the bedrock foundation for children to discover their full potential of creativity, assertiveness and freedom later in life.

A PrinciPAl’s PersPective ...continued from cover

In 2004 we had 46 windows smashed at the school on one day. I immediately thought someone was having a go at the school or catholic schools in general. It turned out that five lads from other schools were at a party in a nearby suburb. They called a taxi for a lift but the driver turned them away because he could only take four passengers. The boys were angry as they were forced to walk home. They took their anger out on the school – if they had been near another school or the local shop they would have done their damage there. They still showed a total lack of respect for property but at least it wasn’t ‘personal’. It was personal for our students who came into classrooms strewn with broken glass on the Monday morning. Respect starts with the individual. It starts in the womb and relates to how one is raised. It is about a disposition and a world view. One lesson I have learned is that even when there appears to be a ‘lack of respect’ it is important to go beyond the superficial reactions and take the time to ask ‘why?’ If the reason for the lack of respect is ignorance and lack of empathy then in schools we are presented with a wonderful opportunity for education. Students will sometimes say ‘I was just mucking around’ or ‘I didn’t think’. Sometimes it is as simple as giving them a different perspective and asking them to stand in another’s shoes. Respect is also about giving people the opportunity to redeem themselves and to grow.

A MuM’s PersPective

“WHen being kinD is iMPOrtAnt.” by Annabelle O’Connell

Using manners is showing respect for others. It’s a simple way to convey to someone else that they matter. I expect my children to answer when they’re asked a question, and say please and thank you when they ask for and are given something – from a milkshake in a café to a lift home from a friend to a piece of toast from me. And they know now, at the ages of 11 and 9, that if I can’t hear them say please and thank you to people they are reminded, which is highly embarrassing, so they do it really, really well. My way of a public reminder is that I look pointedly at them and say so others can hear, ‘Pardon?’ I haven’t had to do that in a while. Anthony and I receive lovely comments about our children, and we parents love that don’t we, especially when they’ve been somewhere without us. When I listen for my children’s delivery of manners, they’re delivered sincerely. Part of teaching kids about anything is getting them to understand why it’s important. I remember Pat asking once, a while ago, why I cared so

much. So I asked him to imagine serving a piece of beautiful cake to someone in a café and the person didn’t say thank you. Yes, it is your job to give people cake and no, technically, the customer isn’t being rude if they don’t say anything. I asked them to think about how they would feel if they were the server and the servee said a very sincere ‘thank you’, then, if it was REALLY delicious, when they were finished made an effort to find you and said ‘thank you!’ again. He and Gracie got it. A Mum from Manly who has started etiquette courses for teenagers has said that, ‘in today’s society, I think children really need some help because it’s slipping past parents’– gobsmacked! Poor little rude pets. It is up to us parents to model and teach – they watch and take in everything we do. I like to be kind to people I meet, whether I know them or not, and where did I learn this was a good idea? Mum. There were times we’d be waiting for her or whatever it was she was buying; finally she’d come outside saying, ‘Sorry, just got talking to that nice lady in there.’

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I also have to say that most of the teenagers I know are beautiful and their behaviour in public without their parents is what I hope Paddy and Grace’s will be. They would be as stunned as their parents and I am to hear of ‘manners lessons’ and probably annoyed that these mannerless peers are adding fuel to the ‘rude teenagers’ fire. I hope my kids will always be kind people. I think manners and courteousness come naturally when being kind is important to you, when you’re genuinely considerate of others, and when you genuinely appreciate things people do for you, whether they are huge life-saving favours or small acts of duty. Something to ponder from Mother Teresa: ‘We can do no great things – only little things with great love… Together we can do something beautiful for God.’ Manners can be little things we all do with great love, and something beautiful not just for God but each other.

At ime t o chuckle Lesson in Lying A minister told his congregation, “Next week I plan to preach about the sin of lying. To help you understand my sermon, I want you all to read Mark 17.” The following Sunday, as he prepared to deliver his sermon, the minister asked for a show of hands. He wanted to know how many had read Mark 17. Every hand went up. The minister smiled and said, “Mark has only sixteen chapters. I will now proceed with my sermon on the sin of lying.”

“SEEING THE BEAUTY IN CAOIMHE” by Moira Garton

Moira Byrne Garton knows people who have had a child with a disability and decided against more children, for fear of having another. “I find that sad,” she says. “There is a saying that a life lived in fear is a life half lived. I heard a priest once say that, in life, there are two possible responses to everything, which boil down to love and fear.

It was when Caoimhe was eleven months old that exhaustive tests revealed her disability, which stems from her under-developed brain.

“For so long people with disabilities were shut away, never to be seen. It is confronting, and I think that is why people still stare and ask questions.

Initially, Moira and Matthew, who married just 14 months before Caoimhe was born, wondered what they had done wrong and why this was happening to them.

“Caoimhe is perfect in her own way and a real gift to us.”

And it did test their faith.

“But in some ways the other kids are more demanding because Caoimhe doesn’t say ‘look at me’ and want attention,” Moira explains.

“My husband Matthew and I wanted to give our children siblings and did not want to avoid having children out of fear.

“It was not so bad when Caoimhe was little, but now she is older, other children ask my kids ‘why is she still in a nappy when she’s your older sister?’ ‘why does she dribble’ and ‘why does she need a smock’?”

“Our three other kids are great with Caoimhe (pronounced Keeve). Even when they get cranky they will say ‘I don’t like anybody in this family except Caoimhe’. She becomes a unifying figure.” Life is busy for the Garton family, who live in Latham. Moira is a part-time public servant and completing a PhD at ANU. Matthew is assistant principal at St Benedict’s in Narrabundah and the children are 13-year-old Caoimhe, Eoin, who is almost 12, Roisin, aged eight and a half and Saraid, six and a half. School mornings can be particularly hectic, as Caoimhe, who has an intellectual and physical disability and cannot walk or talk, has to be fed, washed and dressed. “Caoimhe finger feeds herself but in some ways is like a toddler – she’s a very messy eater,” Moira says. “It means we hardly ever go out for meals. Caoimhe attends Cranleigh School in Holt and next year will start at Black Mountain School in Turner, where she will stay for about six years. One day, her parents hope she will move out of home like her siblings, into a share house with a ‘support circle’ of family and friends visiting and taking her out.

Having a sister with a disability has been hard at times for the other children, particularly when Caoimhe has been in hospital.

What Caoimhe has taught her siblings is acceptance of others.

Matthew and Moira with children “It was a slightly childlike thing but I still had a carry over of God being like a parent and telling me off when I did wrong, through the things that happened,” Moira explains. “One of the evolutions in our faith has been moving from a notion that God is like a puppet master pulling the strings and controlling everything, to God just being love and loving you through every experience you go through. “Some people still see it as some kind of punishment, and talk of healing Caoimhe of her disability. I believe in miracles but I don’t think God sees my daughter as someone to be healed. “Sometimes people don’t see the beauty and blessings in Caoimhe and others with disabilities. There is a line from a popular song that says ‘Lend me your eyes and you’ll see what I see’.

“They are amazingly accepting of everybody,” Moira says. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard them say ‘what’s wrong with that person’ we might see at the mall. They just see people for who they are, which is lovely. “They are generous to her and giving to her. I love that they nurture her and do think they have a sense of justice about it all as well.” Referring to some “well-meaning people” who tell Moira how lucky she is to have a child with a disability because they are “so special and have so much love to give”, Moira’s voice starts to break. As much as she loves and cherishes her daughter, Moira is a mother and there are some things she mourns. “To be honest, the most heartbreaking thing is that she’s never said ‘Mum’, she says. “She’s never given me a kiss. Of course she’s a gift in her own unique way, but that’s why I’m really glad I had other kids.”

“rAising tHriFtY cHilDren” by Mary Cooney

This is the second part of an article on thrifty tips for pressured parents. Remember that less is more. It is far better to give your kids a few high-quality educational toys than to clutter their rooms with cheap toys that easily break and lose their interest. The fewer toys your child has, the more she will appreciate them. The fewer toys in a room, the more space to play in. The fewer times you take her to the shop, the more excited she will be when you actually take her. Resist peer and parent pressure. One of the most persuasive arguments a child can use in getting you to buy ludicrous amounts of collectibles or exorbitantly expensive items is ‘Everyone at school has them. I’ll be the only one without any’. Here you have an excellent opportunity to build your child’s resistance to peer pressure. But first, you must flex your own muscles against parent pressure. Be ready to face criticism from other parents, friends and even family. Share with your kids your reasons for not buying that wildly popular item and tell them that you are raising them according to your standards and beliefs, not everybody else’s.

By standing strong against the tide, you are modelling for your children how to live by principles, not pressure. In their teenage years, when peers try to pressure them into drinking and drugs, you have a greater hope that they will be accustomed to not having and doing what everyone else has and does, and to standing by their convictions. It is also a way of teaching them that their value as a person does not come from what they have, but rather, who they are. Develop an attitude of gratitude. Compared to most children in the world, our kids are extremely privileged. Our kids enjoy more toys, food, comfort and conveniences than even the children of kings and queens of olden days. Moreover, while our children bicker over what flavour of icecream they want, other children are dying of starvation. While our children complain that their toys are boring, children in other parts of the world work 12 hour days in polluted factories. Our children need to know this. Draw them out of their ego-centric little worlds and let them see the poverty and suffering of children in their city and around the world. Encourage them to donate some of their toys and money to children less fortunate. Teach them

to be thankful for what they have and constantly remind them of how blessed they are. Model restraint and responsibility in your own spending. Make a budget and stick to it. Spend less than you make. Avoid unnecessary purchases. Find ways to live more simply and frugally. Your example speaks louder than words. Saying “no” to your children’s unnecessary wants on a regular basis is not easy, or fun, either. But these “No’s” are really big “Yeses”. They are Yes, to the voices of reason and conscience. Yes to standing up against peer pressure. Yes to growing in patience and mastery over one’s desires. Yes to financial responsibility and freedom. And, yes to a happiness that lasts much longer than the fleeting pleasure of material goods. * This article, by Mary Cooney, appeared on www.mercatornet.com

uMbert tHe unbOrn

Meet Umbert the Unborn, the feisty comic strip character who demands respect. His mother’s womb is his private universe, playground and think-tank.

FAMilY MAtters

“lOve’s tHe OnlY rule” by Cathy Drumore

When I went to my first rock concert last year to see Bon Jovi live, it finished with the song “Love’s the only rule”. Jon Bon Jovi introduced it as the most important rule for life. Listening to the song, I reflected on the ‘rules’ that show respect to others within the marriage relationship. We will not put the other person down, especially not in public or in front of the children. We will consult with them about issues affecting them, the marriage and the family unit. We will accept them as special and unique individuals who are not perfect (dirty socks on the bathroom floor!). We will not do something we know will hurt them. These are all good manners in general. Beer Ads may be funny but they can highlight some serious “no-nos” in relationships. The current Carlton mid strength Ads, for example, with

the “Woman Whisperer” and “I speak woman” are funny but they also undermine the marriage relationship. Everyone needs time to chill with friends but there also needs to be time for the relationship; consultation about how family money is spent and about roles with respect to childrearing and housework. Serious communication about these issues can be seen as ‘nagging’, especially if it is initiated by the woman. Julian and I will have been married for 17 years in November and during that time we have had to make plenty of adjustments - not always in the spirit of love, unfortunately! But in the long run, love is the glue that holds your tongue when you could say something cutting. Love means that you forgive she who left the lights on in the car for the umpteenth time or he whose hour at the pub accidentally turned into four and a half! Love means getting up to a

child in the middle of the night to let your spouse sleep. The song reminded me that when Jesus was asked which of the commandments was most important, he spoke of loving God with all your heart and mind and strength, and loving your neighbor as yourself. At weddings we often hear in the reading by St Paul of the definition of love as “patient and kind …” and vital for both our existence and our relationship with God. Love and respect are where good manners flow from. If we love someone, we will be nice to them. We will look out for them and be careful of their well-being. We will forgive their foibles and accept their idiosyncrasies. Jesus wanted us to do this for our enemies, too. But sometimes it is the people we love most that we have most difficulty showing good manners to.

FAMilY & FAitH

“tHe sMAll Acts OF selF-DeniAl” by Archbishop Mark Coleridge

The recent riots in England raised questions about the breakdown of parenting in contemporary Western society. One report referred to young single mothers bringing up, say, two boys fathered by different men, neither of whom is now on the scene. She struggles to cope when the boys are babies, and loses control increasingly as they grow older. By the time they are teenagers, she is intimidated by them, even physically. At that point, parenting has broken down completely and you have fertile ground for the kind of violence we have seen in the UK. Combine this with poor education, unemployment and a general lack of opportunity and you have a time-bomb. Given such a scenario, it seems

almost absurd to speak of manners. It can seem to appeal to the gentility of a bygone era which in no way relates to the urgencies we face. But there is more to good manners than meets the eye. Good manners always were and still are about respect for others, and that matters at least as much now, as it did in the past. At school, we had a book called “The Christian Gentleman” which sought to teach often barbarous boys the rudiments of good manners. I have no regrets that I was forced to imbibe its wisdom, although perhaps I should have read it more attentively, given my occasional ungentlemanly lapses. A gentleman was once described as one who never knowingly causes offence to another. That’s what I mean by respect.

Human respect obviously involves more than good manners. But these small gestures are the foundation upon which the great gestures of respect - even self-sacrifice - are built. It’s like the small acts of self-denial which prepare for and make possible the great acts of self-denial which every human life requires if it is to be genuinely human. In that sense, the recent riots in the UK were a breakdown in manners because they were an appalling breakdown of human respect. If good manners and true respect are to be taught and learnt, it must first be in the family; not to make children more genteel or present well in public, but to make them truly human after the pattern of Jesus Christ.

“leArning tO be MOre tenDer AnD gentle”

If you’ve read ‘Silence of the Lambs’ or seen the film, you will recall that the protagonist, Hannibal Lector, could not abide incivility – albeit that he was, himself a cannibal! At times I think Harris was quite prescient: incivility has become commonplace in public and private situations.

Living in a multi-cultural and pluralist society in a time of rapid social change it is natural that the accepted code of good manners should be reviewed and questioned. Adages such as ‘children should be seen and not heard’ may have encouraged a respect for elders, but it also relegated children to a secondary status and, it is argued, gave rise to a culture of servile obedience to authority. Not using a knife in the left hand was fine for the majority but made the left-handed feel sinister. Referring to people by their titles, honorifics, or marital status regardless of the level of familiarity reinforced power structures and relational divides that separated people according to economic, power and social status. Easing the restrictions on our previously rigid imposition of ‘British imperial’ manners has brought a greater sense of egalitarianism and helped to break down some questionable authority structures; however, at times it seems we have been left without basic rules for civil conduct. Perhaps it is time to rethink how we approach the question of manners. Firstly, it is clear that respect for people, regardless of age, social class, ethnicity, economic status or professional qualification, is an absolute requirement. The human person is worthy of respect as a

consequence of their innate dignity. The form respect can take is not determined by the giver but by the recipient – it means listening rather than always talking; being open to new ideas rather than assuming I am always right; being willing to share myself rather than demanding of the other. It also means being prepared not to take offence too readily.

“ ”

It seems we have been left without basic rules for civil conduct

Secondly, it is clear that kindness as a virtue needs to characterise our interactions with others publicly, professionally, socially and personally. This is not a soft or ‘wishy-washy’ option. Our children can teach adults a great deal about this virtue. We need to be more tender and gentle with each other; more considerate and willing to help; ready to see the good in others. Imagine the quality of our public and personal conversations if they were all held to a ‘test’ of respect and kindness. It is hard to imagine that hateful things would be said about or by our political leaders; that family conflict would descend into abuse or violence; that the Australian community would be deaf to the needs of refugees, the disabled or others in need. Manners are too often culture bound and time specific – but they are also part of the cement that binds communities. While returning to a codified set of manners from a past era is not an option, learning to make respect and kindness the keystones to our human interactions may be the bridge to happier and more effective relationships.

“PrOtecting YOung PeOPle”

Do you need to talk to your children about pornography and, if so, how? And at what age?

Social commentator Melinda Tankard Reist believes the answer is Yes, and points to disturbing figures. Seventy per cent of boys have seen pornography by age 12 and 100 per cent by age 15. Girls are also viewing pornography at increasing rates: 53.5 per cent of girls 12 and under have seen pornography and 97 per cent by the age of 16. “Pornography is playing an increasing role in the lives of young people, a hand book of sex education for many”, the mother-of-four says. “Boys are conditioned and socialised by pornography to see girls primarily in terms of being providers of sexual services. Their expectations are distorted by pornography. “Anecdotally, many girls report sexual encounters as being mainly about their ability to perform various sexual acts. Girls are encouraged to share sexual images of themselves through ‘sexting’ and the law can barely keep up.” The question for parents is how can we help young people navigate a world which is becoming increasingly pornographic? The co-editor of a new book about the pornography industry, Ms Tankard Reist will speak at a special forum for parents about “Pornography and Young People” at the Rheinberger Centre in Yarralumla from 7.45pm to 9.15pm on Monday November 14, 2011. Cost $5 per family. For inquiries, phone 6163 4300.

* Prof Patrick McArdle is Dean of the Australian Catholic University (Canberra campus) and lectures on ethics.

www.cdf.cg.catholic.org.au

tHe Abc OF FAitH by Shane Dwyer

Last edition we began to address the question of your school’s mission. There are possibly all sorts of reasons why you have chosen to send your child to a Catholic school. The reasons I’m used to hearing are ‘the school has a good reputation’, ‘I want my kids to be educated in a Christian environment’, ‘their friends were going and we wanted to keep them together’, ‘the school has good facilities and teachers’… and the list goes on. Very few people ever say “I’m a committed Catholic and I want my child educated in an environment where she or he will come to understand and live Catholic values,” or “Every person has intellectual, psychological, social and spiritual needs and the Catholic school is the best environment I can find to begin to have these needs met.” While I wouldn’t want to be critical of the reasons for sending your child to your school (many of them are fine in themselves) I encourage you to have a look at your school’s mission statement one day. I (almost) guarantee you’ll find a description of what they believe they’re on about that might surprise you. Reflecting on it and understanding it will be the first step to understanding what your child is experiencing every time you drop them off for another school day. You might also find that, without really realising it, you had a sense that there was an underlying ethos to the school you chose that on some level impressed you. You might not have been able to articulate it, but something about the school drew your attention. Understanding the school’s mission might be the first step to understanding what drew you there in the first place. An important thing to understand when reflecting on your school’s mission is that your school does not come up with that mission by itself. While there was probably a significant consultation process when it was drafted, there would also have been an expectation that the school belongs to something bigger than itself. In a very real sense your local Catholic school exists as an expression of the mission of the Catholic Church. If it did not it would no longer have the right to describe itself as ‘Catholic’. Therefore, central to your school’s mission will be the living and teaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as understood and taught by the Catholic Church. We’ll pick up on this point next time! *Shane Dwyer is Archdiocesan Coordinator, Faith Formation & Spirituality Your Family, Your Faith is proudly supported by the Australian Catholic University

still gOing tO MAss? Did you know that a thumping 90 per cent of Catholics are no longer regular Mass-goers? Are you among them? (yes, it is still Catholic teaching that weekly attendance is the minimum☺) And if you’re not attending, why? We want to hear from you! For many families a significant issue is lack of time. Lives are busy. We may be wealthier than previous generations but we are ‘time poor’. Of course there are many other reasons, some painful, why people give up regular Mass attendance. They are not to be taken lightly and you are not being asked to defend your reasons – unless you want to. If you’re reading this newsletter, some part of you may still identify with the Catholic faith. The fact is, if you don’t speak, you won’t be heard, and we want to hear everyone’s voices. On Saturday November 12, Catholics from the Archdiocese of Canberra & Goulburn will gather in Yarralumla for an Archdiocesan Assembly to discuss issues relating to Sunday Mass. If you have any thoughts on what could be done to help you more fully live out your faith, come to the assembly (9.30am start) to express your views and/or email us at sharon.brewer@catholiclife.org.au To register for the assembly (it’s free!) go to www.cgassembly.org.au

INVITATION TO SUPPORT FAMILIES Would you like to support the newsletter and help us reach as many families as possible? Please consider making a tax deductible donation. Contact us at 6163 4300 or at director@catholiclife.org.au

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