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NEWS FROM THE BROTHERS
BROTHER GERARD RUMMERY HONORED WITH JOHNSTON AWARD
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Author: Elizabeth Jodice, District of RELAN
Lasallians from across the world gathered virtually to honor and celebrate Brother Gerard Rummery, FSC, who was recognized with the Brother John Johnston, FSC Award for his lifetime of service to the Lasallian mission. The Johnston Award is the highest honor given in the Lasallian Region of North America (RELAN). The virtual celebration took place Tuesday, April 6, 2021.
Established by the former Regional Education Board in 2009, the Johnston Award is now presented by the Lasallian Education Council (LEC). It was named in honor of Brother John, the 25th Superior General of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, for his uniquely significant lifetime contribution to the Lasallian mission. “We are so pleased to have had this opportunity to honor our teacher and mentor, Brother Gerard,” said Dr. Kurt Schackmuth, Lasallian Education Council (LEC) chair and vice president for mission at Lewis University, who hosted the virtual event. “His contributions to the Institute’s work are so very worthy of our recognition and gratitude. I also wish to thank all those who contributed so creatively and energetically to the success of this special ceremony.”
The ceremony included an opening prayer by Brother Timothy Coldwell, FSC, RELAN General Councilor, a congratulatory message from Brother Superior General Robert Schieler, FSC, and a closing prayer by Brother Ricky Laguda, FSC, General Councilor for the Pacific-Asia Regional Conference.
With Brother Robert presenting the award virtually, Brother David Hawke, FSC, Visitor of the District of Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Papua New Guinea (ANZPPNG), Brother Gerard’s home District, assisted with the physical presentation of the award and sat down with Brother Gerard to reflect on his Lasallian journey.
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“I often refer to Brother Gerard as a Lasallian icon,” said Brother David. “His reception of the Johnston Award attests to this. The District of ANZPPNG is proud that one of our own has made such an exemplary contribution to the international Institute, and appreciate that he has been honoured by RELAN.”
Among his many contributions specifically in RELAN, Brother Gerard was a founding presenter of the Buttimer Institute of Lasallian Studies, and of the former Lasallian Leadership Institute.
“The invitation to teach the second year of the Buttimer Institute in USA from 1988-2006 became a joy, not a burden,” shared Brother Gerard. “From my first year with only Brothers as students, I taught increasing numbers of Lasallian women and men from whom my faith and commitment has been strengthened by their faith and dedication. Because of (the languages which I learned), I have absorbed so much Lasallian research myself that I always feel privileged to share it.”
Brother Timothy shared, “Brother Gerard’s loving retelling of the Lasallian story is a source of inspiration, and a call to do the same in our own communities.”
The ceremony also included a compilation video of messages that Lasallians from around the world submitted to express their congratulations and share with Brother Gerard the impact he has had on their lives.
Watch the event recording >
WATCH ME
NEWS FROM THE BROTHERS
A Brother since 1947, Brother Gerard’s contributions to the Lasallian mission stretch far beyond his home District of ANZPPNG. He served two periods on the staff of the International Lasallian Center in Rome (1973, 1977-1982), which he directed from 1983-1986. He was twice elected to the General Council (1986-1993, 1993-2000), which were the same years Brother John served as Superior General. Brother Gerard is the author of the Institute’s official life of Brother John Johnston, many Lasallian articles in various journals and a number of other books, including the 2003 title “Brothers to One Another”, which shares stories of displaced Brothers in Czech, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania prior to 1989. Since his return to Australia after 2000, he has worked mainly with educators as a presenter for Lasallian Education Services, an adjunct professor at the Australian Catholic University, and a presenter at the Broken Bay Theological Institute. Adapting to current COVID-19 restrictions, Brother Gerard has hosted multiple online sessions for Lasallians throughout PARC, as well as around the world.
In RELAN, in addition to his significant contribution to Regional formation programs, Brother Gerard has generously given countless hours leading retreats, sharing presentations, participating in discussions and more, to advance the mission. Brother Gerard attended the 2019 Huether Lasallian Conference to personally address the inaugural cohort of the Regional Formation Institute as well as to present the Johnston Award, as a posthumous honor of his longtime friend and colleague Brother Jeffrey Calligan, FSC.
The Johnston Award recognizes Brothers and Lasallian Partners who, like Brother John, have endeavored on the international or Regional levels over the course of many years to advance the Institute’s mission to provide a human and Christian education to the young, especially the poor. It is presented to those whose leadership, teaching, evangelization or scholarly research and writing have borne witness to an abiding faith and zeal, and whose efforts have had a transformative impact upon the founding story as lived today. Previous distinguished recipients of the Johnston Award include: Brother Miguel Campos, FSC; Brother Luke Salm, FSC; Father Kenan Osborne, OFM; Brother Frederick Mueller, FSC; Brother William Mann, FSC; Brother Lawrence Goyette, FSC; Brother James Gaffney, FSC; Gerry Short, AFSC; and Brother Jeffrey Calligan, FSC.
NEWS FROM THE BROTHERS
BACK TO SCHOOL! - A PRINCIPAL ALWAYS LEARNING
Br Garry grew up in an inconspicuous village out of Orange, N.S.W., but left his mark as a popular school leader at De La Salle Orange in the early 1960’s. Now, after being a Principal at five De La Salle Colleges and an educational consultant- he has in his more mature years returned to school!
Garry’s return to school life has been as ‘Staff mentor and Coach’, at Oakhill College Castle Hill. His role focuses on promoting growth in leadership for middle managers. He works, as well, with new staff pushing quality learning and teaching; this involves classroom teacher observation and analysis. Complementing this ministry is developing resilient and better leadership in Lasallian schools in Papua New Guinea and Pakistan, via Zoom. For him, the impact of COVID-19 is the challenge to make just another adjustment to daily life, but it has also been a blessing- in providing more time for reading and prayer.
School as a Christian ministry became central in his life, but without great forethought and planning. Garry explains that failure at secondary school led to the journey of being a De La Salle Brother in the Church. “Somehow God was using failure for me to lead me on this journey”, challenging him to grow as a spiritual person. “Schools”, he says, “have a life, an energy, which I am at home with; they sustain me...” The daily life of school gives me energy, and the youth keep me positive and happy. I still love to work with youth(with) the diversity of youthful ways. Education is a place where daily small miracles can occur. I want to be an instrument to allow such miracles to happen”.
The opportunities in being a Brother has also amply provided a road for professional development. After several years training as a Brother and teacher, he served a happy apprenticeship, like the biblical Jacob, at O’Connor High School, Armidale over 7 years, five as Principal. As Principal of the senior Benilde High, at Bankstown, he completed a top Masters in Educational Administration. Garry’s leadership talents were further tapped with principalships at De La Salle Colleges in Malvern, VIC., Mangere, Auckland, N.Z. and Mentone, back in Melbourne, there for 12 successful years. Never one to let grass grow underfoot, he also juggled other post-graduate courses in educational and business leadership, as well as a Harvard University-Leadership: Evolving Vision Course, in 2013.
Today, his commitment is fired, he says, by “a love of Christ through scripture reflection, and through the Christian Meditation movement”.
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BR. RAFFY REYES: apostolate from fishing village to Mt. Hagen Highlands
One Filippino De La Salle Brother has a fascinating history in serving poorer, or disadvantaged people. , in the 1980’s, was a member of a De La Salle community that was established for the face-to-face service of poorer people. “We lived in a small fishing village and the work of the Brothers involved providing a non-formal education to farmers and fishermen which was based on the Paulo Freire model. Basically, we taught them how to read and write”. Today, he is establishing a professional counselling service for teacher trainees at Mt. Hagen Teachers College.
Arriving this year in the Highland province, in his second stint as a Brother partnering in the PNG Sector Mission, he noticed a difference. The bigger crowds, and also somewhat alarmingly- that people did not seem to follow strictly the COVID-19 protocols of face masks and social distancing. Br. Raffy had worked previously in PNG for 13 years ten at Rosary Secondary School in Kondiu in Simbu, and three more years at Mt. Hagen. He was one of several Filippino Brothers who have served in PNG. In 2004, he was recalled to needful work back home in various schools, but always harboured a desire to return to the Land of the Unexpected.
“First, when I first arrived in PNG in 1991 as a missionary, I told myself that this is what I would like do for the rest of my life. I used to spend time to talk to the old SVD missionaries in Kondiu, about their experiences in the mission, and their stories inspired me a lot.”
Br. Raffy lives in the small community on-site, with Indian Brother Britto, who also works in the College. Brothers ran the Teachers College in Hagen for many years: it is seen today as an associated ministry, with a Lasallian Facilitator, Mr. Lambert Lapkit, with some teachers and the lay Principal keen on the Lasallian ethos. Although not having some of the conveniences of life back home, Raffy knows the lifestyle in PNG, and, as he says, “I have always wanted to come back”. His postings in the Philippines, like Kondiu and Mt. Hagen, had been in smaller provincial towns and cities Iligan, Ozamiz, Bacolod and Lipa, and so he was accustomed to his 2021 volunteering post.
The returning Brother is quite open about his deeper motivations: “God continues to call me to serve Him and his people to go (as the Lasallian Brothers’ vow says) wherever I may be sent, and to do what I will be asked to do by the Body of this Institute or by its Superiors”. Seeing clarity in life-direction, and a heart for God and his people’s welfare, speaks volumes in today’s razzle-dazzle world of options. Mt. Hagen Teachers College is a lush campus for a mission!
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CELESTINE GAVIN, A BROTHER FOR OTHERS
Br Celestine Gavin was born into a Catholic family of seven children in 1931, in Dulwich Hill. His father knew horses well, and with the Australian Depression in full bore worked selling vegetables to the markets. He attended De La Salle College Marrickville and was dux of Third Year, before deciding to try out the Brothers’ way of life, as a religious teacher. At ninety years of age this February 22, living in the Cronulla Brothers’ community, he still focusses on the well-being of others.
Brother Celestine, as he became in 1947, was appointed after his religious training to Malvern De La Salle in 1951. After his eight years in Victoria, teaching and also gaining his B.A. at Melbourne University, he was asked to become the second-in-charge of the Brothers’ Novitiate (spiritual training years) in 1959-60. Br. Maurice who has lived with him over 20-odd years says: Br. Celestine, “is a deeply spiritual and prayerful person ever ready to serve the needs of others”. Several others remember him then as having a fine concise mind, that homed in on the essentials of a topic.
Teaching at various Lasallian colleges, he was seen to be skilled to the extent of being appointed Principal of the small senior De La Salle Cronulla from 1966 till 1973. A leader at 35 years of age of a senior boys’ school, entering a new educational era with the Wyndham Scheme, spoke of his calibre. In 1968, he, with three other younger Brothers, were sent to the Brothers’ central formation course (C.I.L.) in Rome, as the De La Salle Institute learnt about the renewal and change that came with the Vatican II Council. His talents were confirmed with two further years as Novice Master. His strong sense of human dignity and freedom was important in inducting new young men in the Order. “He lives his faith by example” is a further comment by a Brother; he could relate, and regularly see, the positive in people- never disparaging others.
With his ready acceptance to do whatever he was asked, over his 20 middle years in religious life, Celestine took on stints of a few years at six different Lasallian schools, some jobs that others preferred not to. As he himself says: you would “take things as they came(doing) whatever was asked of you”. Benilde Senior High School Bankstown and Cronulla (again) were very enjoyable teaching years. Not flamboyant as a teacher, he taught over the years many subjects, with a special love for language courses. His status among the Brothers was such that he was elected to District chapters and chosen to be on the Visitor’s Council.
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In his teaching, Br. Celestine could challenge older students intellectually, while being very concerned for the lesser-gifted. One instance of Celestine’s concern for the disadvantaged was the project, initiated by some women in the Cronulla parish to provide help to the Sisters of Charity who had just established a ministry in far-western New South Wales, at Bourke. Four or five times he drove out there with clothing and other goods to assist their work for the very poor. At one stage of his career, he expanded his mastery of Italian in order to teach a solo enrolled student at Benilde High.
Cronulla De La Salle became his base of ministry in 1994 until the present. Teaching, especially three languages-Latin, French and Italian, as well as administration absorbed him well into his seventies. His delight in Italian led him in more recent years to pursue a diploma and then a B.A. (Hons.), studying the religious poetry of a medieval Franciscan priest. He was encouraged to work towards a Ph.D. This activity was supplemented with the role of Director of the Brothers’ community for many years.
Celestine led a peaceful and harmonious community; he was non-intrusive, and treated his Brothers as mature religious, as related by two of the Brothers. He quietly committed to solid manual work, scrubbing out the kitchen weekly, and buying groceries etc. for 6-7 others. This suited his personality quietly and simply living the Christian life in a striking way - “getting to the heart of things” quotes Br. Quentin, who lived with him. As Celestine himself says; “you try to oblige and not make people stress”. This, perhaps, is the secret to his benign, unpretentious and fruitful influence over so many people, in his 74 years of living as a De La Salle Brother for others.
NEWS FROM THE BROTHERS
EULOGY FOR BR. CHRIS GORRINGE, RIP
Author: John Gorringe, Chris’ eldest brother (edited)
Recently, a Mass of Remembrance and Thanksgiving was held at Oakhill College, Castle Hill, to honor Br Chris Gorringe, who passed away on 13 April 2020.
“Good Morning. On behalf of the Gorringe Family, I would like to thank you all for attending this Mass…(and also)… Br David for giving me the opportunity to say a few words about Chris on behalf of his family.
Christopher Francis Gorringe was born on 10 September 1945 at Dunedoo, being the fourth of six children to our parents, Alan William Gorringe and Mary Margaret Gorringe (nee Womersley). Chris had a happy and normal upbringing, and as you could imagine, growing up with three older and two younger siblings, life was rather hectic. Chris (attended)…St Michael’s Catholic School, Dunedoo , (until Third Year), and in 1960 he became a boarder here at Oakhill (College), following me and preceding his younger brothers Joe and Gerard. Chris was a very diligent student (with)… a great flair for languages, doing honours in Latin and French, and involved in Senior Debating, Rugby and Athletics teams , as a Senior Prefect … (He) went onto study Italian, German and Spanish. He joined the De La Salle Brothers in January 1963 as a Postulant. I believe that Chris was the first Oakhill Old Boy to join the De La Salle Brothers. In 1968, on completing his Religious and University studies, Chris began teaching - at De La Salle College Armidale…and St Michael’s’ College Adelaide (1974-78) and in 1979 he was on the staff (part time) at Boys Town, Beaudesert, Queensland… (while) studying for his PhD at the University of Queensland. It was during this period that my family saw a great deal of Chris. He was a regular visitor on a Saturday evening for a baked dinner, or a BBQ or his favourite, would you believe, pizza, with of course the obligatory bottle or two of Red. It was on one of these evenings in December 1984 that Chris arrived with a bottle of Red wrapped in photocopy paper. I was about to bin the paper when Chris stopped me and asked me to look at the piece of paper. In typical Chris fashion, it was a photocopy of his PhD which had been presented to him at a graduation ceremony, that no one knew had taken place.
He taught back at St Michael’s Henley Beach, …from 1985 …before being appointed Principal at Frawley College, in 1991. Scarborough, Brisbane. In 1995, Chris spent two and a half years working for the Brisbane Catholic Education Office.
In September 1998, Chris was appointed Principal of Oakhill College, being the first former student to become Principal of the College. Chris enjoyed his time at Oakhill even though it was an entirely different place to the one that he had spent here as a boarder. Not only had the boarding part of the College closed and Oakhill no longer had a Primary Department, Oakhill now had female students in Years Eleven and Twelve, and of course the student numbers had increased significantly. … He was fully immersed in College life - teaching, building programs, extracurricular activities and supporting the College sporting teams. … (This included taking the returning netball girls team to MacDonald’s on the way home). Chris also had a unique way of getting to know the new Year Seven students… (They had lunch with the principal) ...
In 2007, Chris returned to Scarborough as Acting Principal and to manage the amalgamation of a number of Catholic Schools to form Southern Cross Catholic College. It was a daunting task, however Chris managed to achieve the end result, after much heartache.
In 2008, Chris joined the Staff at the Provincial Office, Bankstown. His roles included District Bursar, Auxiliary Visitor, Acting Brother Visitor and being a member of the District Council. Chris was also a Board Member of De La Salle Schools in Melbourne and Adelaide and also here at Oakhill, including being Board Chairman. (He)…made frequent trips to Pakistan, the Philippines, Italy, Papua New Guinea and Countries throughout Asia…(all done) in a no fuss manner, right up until the time he died.
Chris loved his sport. He enjoyed running, something that he did for most of his life…. He endeavoured to run or walk most days during his life… Chris followed the Parramatta Eels in Rugby League and the Sydney Swans in the AFL. He regularly attended Swans games at the SCG.
Chris was a highly intelligent individual with a great capacity for work and dealing with complex issues in a calm and considered manner…A reserved person, and knowing that he did not have too long to live (at the end), he chose the hymns and readings for his funeral Mass, and due to Covid restrictions, he left a list of people whom he would like to attend his funeral. Chris being Chris, didn’t want his illness known, except to a very select few …It deeply saddens our family that none of us were able to be with Chris during the final weeks of his life due to the restrictions placed upon the community by the Covid-19 pandemic…
I would like to publicly express the family’s gratitude and thanks to the Doctors and Medical Staff at St Vincent’s Hospital, to Brother David Hawke for his compassion and kindness…and Sister Antoinette Baldwin for her friendship and care…Peter and Thao Cartwright’s great friendship with Chris (was a blessing)… during the last weeks of his life…Peter’s (very close relationship with Chris will leave us)… forever in our debt.
I had numerous conversations with Brother David during Chris’ illness and also after he died and a couple of things about Chris came to light. Our family was unaware of Chris’ reputation with the RED biro, coming perhaps from our father’s corrections of my letters home!)…His love of PEPPERJACK red wine was also well known to those who knew him.
Chris was a loving son to our parents, Alan and May (as Mother was known), a loving brother to his brothers and sister and a loving uncle to his nephews and nieces. He was a loyal friend and colleague to many and was a loving and respected member of the De La Salle Brothers. I would like to thank all the De La Salle Brothers who have been friends of Chris over the fifty-seven years he was a Brother, for supporting him and for all the kindness and respect shown to him. It was quite extraordinary the number of condolence messages that were received from within Australia and Overseas when Chris died. He was well respected and held in high regard by many people….
…A couple of quotations that meant a lot to Chris:
(To the Brothers, he said): “I have tried to be “a good Brother” rather than a professional religious”. That was something he certainly achieved.
(And from the Brothers’ Founder): “Be satisfied with what you can do because God is satisfied but be assured that with the help of God’s grace you can accomplish more than you can possibly imagine”. I think these quotations sum Chris up perfectly.
Rest in Peace our Dear and Loving Brother. We all miss you.”
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BR. PATRICK MCINERNEY, RIP
Br Patrick McInerney (Paddy) of the St Joseph’s Brothers’ Community Queensland passed away peacefully on the 26 April. A Mass of Christian Burial was held on Thursday 6 May. The Reflection of Br Tim Peter and the Eulogy of Paul McInerney (Nephew) is below, in this edited form.
“Humour and love within a clear mind”
Br Tim, Auxiliary Visitor and Community Leader reflected:
“God has been very good to us allowing Br Patrick to be with us these many years. We can no longer think about our own lives without thinking about him. Paddy belongs to us all especially to the many generations of Papuan New Guineans, he served so faithfully for over 30 years.
And God has been good to him to the very end of his life. After a short conversation with him last week, he asked the nurse if he could have some water; we both held the glass, Paddy took a couple of sips, closed his eyes and passed to the Lord, waking up to the dawn of a new day.
With great clarity, humour and love until the very end, Paddy participated in community life and did those small things that we took so much for granted. There were always clean tea-towels and place mats ready for use in the linen cupboard…His maintenance of the front garden received passer- byers’ compliments, …with the bruises and scratches of the bougainvilleas.
God also enabled him to see clearly his own circumstances, and gave him the courage to accept them as part of his journey through life. Paddy throughout his long life continued to grow in wisdom and grace, so quietly nurturing his hidden life in Christ (and) allowing the light of the children of God to shine brightly in the simple and ordinary events of daily living. Paddy was truly faithfully kind... a wonderful person!
In his letter to the Galatians St Paul outlines a cluster of qualities that are signs of the actions of the Holy Spirit. What the Spirit brings is very different; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22). On their own, these qualities would not be life-giving but living with a little bit of each, and perhaps emphasizing one of these fruits we have a recipe for living a deeply human life. Brother Patrick, from his years of meditating and reflecting on his “first and principal rule”, the New Testament, leaves a final witness of kindness and gentleness. …His life hidden with God (grew) his conviction to be kind faithfully.
Paddy has left us both heritage and wisdom…His humility and steadfastness… loved, lived, learnt and taught to others by example…(was) his legacy. Brother Patrick’s work in the inner-city, as well as country classrooms, and those he helped in the towns and countryside in Papua New Guinea (was)…the barest minimum in learning space, and would attract the adjective “poor”, as the best description. in terms of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, Paddy’s work with young people was rich, making all he came in contact with “aware of their dignity and to live and to be recognised as human beings and children of God.”
Farewell Paddy, Brother Patrick, God’s good and gracious servant, minister and ambassador of Jesus Christ, deep listener to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Enter joyfully into the kingdom prepared for you, rejoicing in a job well done!”
Paul McInerney, Patrick’s nephew, spoke about his Uncle Syd
“Born on the 13th November 1927 to James and Ines McInerney in Orange, NSW, (our uncle) was the younger brother of Don, and older brother to Jim. (Uncle Syd and)…Don shared many experiences in early life and this contributed to the closeness of their relationship… In Orange, he attended school with the Mercy Sisters and the De La Salle Brothers
James, father of the family, returned from WW 1 invalided. No one, neither Syd, my father Don, nor my grandmother would say anything about their life at home during this time, I think the demands of caring for James as his health deteriorated is what prompted the decision to send Syd and Don to board at the new school the De La Salle Brothers were opening at Cronulla in Sydney. (They were among) … the. first students, starting there in 1936
An eager participant in all sports, including football and sailing, (Syd also) developed his great love for swimming and surfing. He used to attend the pool at Coogee (Wylie’s Baths), run by returned Olympian Mina Wiley, and listen to coaching advice which he would later practise. He also became friends with fellow Cronulla student and Champion lifesaver Bob Johnson. All of us have memories of Uncle Syd and the beach. At the end of school, just 17 years old, Uncle Syd began his life’s work as Brother Patrick, when he joined the De La Salle Brothers. Nanna told me once that the Brothers were now Syd’s family and she had accepted this. (I heard that) when he first learnt of his posting to PNG, he was reluctant to go. Once there however, he fully embraced the country, the people and the mission. For all of us Uncle Syd and PNG are forever linked. Chinook helicopter on school oval. “Oh, and while you are here would you please lift this pre-fabricated roof onto our new building”. A favourite observation was that in PNG they have 2 seasons, the wet season and the wetter season. Apparently, he never got to master speaking “pigeon English” but could understand it.
As Syd’s relatives, our contact was sporadic, occurring about every 5 years when he was at home visiting his mother, either in Orange or later on the Gold Coast. All the nieces and nephews remember Uncle Syd at Nanna’s house, showing great patience with us, playing games, telling jokes and stories and especially his laugh. There were always good treats at Nanna’s place, but some extra ones when Uncle Syd was home. Ginger beer was always present.
Speaking with our relatives, there were several common themes that defined our interactions with Uncle Syd: Papua New Guinea. His love of and commitment to his work there was apparent to all of us. Therese (who worked with him at Bomana) … told me that it was Syd’s inspiration for her to apply for a teaching job at St Joseph’s International School in Port Moresby. For the rest of us it was the stories, exotic presents, and wonderful stamps that we remember.
Education. He was a passionate educator. and was always interested in those of us who have gone into education.
Surfing and swimming I have already mentioned. Jim told me that Syd’s lessons in the surf probably saved his life once or twice.
Duncan summarised for me that our Uncle Syd, Br Patrick or just Paddy was a happy, jovial, loving and caring man…His life was a prayer; …his acceptance of a life of service to the Brothers and others gave him a rich, varied and fulfilling life, filled with challenges, but also joy and fun. He will be missed.
May he rest in peace”.
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Author: Mr Allan Drummond, Volunteer
Shortly after I joined the De La Salle Brothers, I was chatting with the provincial, Brother Baptist, and he said to me: “You will be a good teacher, because you have had good teachers.” At De La Salle College in Malvern, I did indeed have some very fine teachers, though there were a few of lesser quality. When I was in the novitiate and the scholasticate, I was taught by Brother Christian, with whom I am pictured yesterday. Chris has celebrated his 99th birthday, but you wouldn’t pick it.
In the last few years, I often asked my South Sudanese students to think of the best teacher they had, to identify the qualities that they admired, and to wonder how they can incorporate those qualities themselves. Chris was a wonderful teacher, and a great storyteller. A highlight of my training college days was Sunday nights, when Chris wheeled out the epidiascope and fascinated us with his collection of postcards and pictorial history books, together with his encyclopedic insights into it all. I’ve never risen to Chris’s standards, but I think I’ve done a fair job carrying the storytelling and teaching baton that he passed to me. That’s another of my themes with student teachers. You are in a kind of relay race, with the baton of education passed to you to run with, and to pass it on to future generations.
The students at Yambio Teacher Training College will return on 1 February, to resume their studies which have been disrupted since March of last year. I am proud to have played a small part in their education, but I want to acknowledge that Brother Christian, one of the very finest of teachers, has therefore had some small influence on South Sudan.
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Author: Mr Allan Drummond, Volunteer
Here’s one of my former principals - Brother Quentin, aka BQ. As a teacher, sometime last century, his students were known to comment on his quiet manner. He spoke so softly that the students in the back row were leaning forward, straining to hear what he had to say. Of course, they wouldn’t have bothered if he weren’t saying something useful. Classes usually reflect the personality of their teacher. A quiet teacher will have a quiet classroom. A loud teacher will have a loud classroom. A walk along the corridors of a big school will verify this.
I have been blessed with a versatile voice that can be quiet. or VERY LOUD!!! I like to use the whole range to keep the students guessing. More than once, I’ve gone into a lesson and not said a word, but have had the students working their little tails off. A bit of drama and the unexpected never hurt any class.
BQ had a routine of calling students into his office on or near their birthday, to get to know them and to wish them well. Quite a task in a school of 1200 or so. Pre computerised report cards, he spent many hours checking the spelling and grammar of a key point of communication between school and parents.
In an earlier life, he had been one of New South Wales leading junior tennis players.
I’ve been fortunate to teach with many talented and admirable people, and BQ is one of them.
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A REQUEST FOR BROTHERS’ PRESENCE
Author: Sr Antoinette Baldwin SSJ, Health Care Coordinator at the De La Salle Provincial Office
Recently Brother David Hawke, Brother Visitor met with the Consul - General of Timor Leste at the latter’s request.
Mr Luciano Valentim Da Conceicao was accompanied by the Consul Mrs Maria Lydia Soares Henrique and Mr Pereira Aquino. Brother David requested that Sr Antoinette Baldwin join the meeting as she has worked in Timor Leste with the Sisters of St Joseph.
It was a courtesy visit as the Consul General established connections with significant people in the Church and State in his jurisdiction. After introductions and general conversation about the Church in Timor Leste, the work of the Brothers and mutual acquaintances, Mr Conceicao extended an invitation for the Lasallian Mission to extend to Timor Leste. He was particularly keen to have the presence of the Brothers in that country. Regretfully, this is not possible at this time.
Br David and Sr Antoinette were gifted with a copy of “Raising a Nation”, the speeches of Xanana Gusmao. Mr Da Conceicao also presented Brother David with a Tais, a local scarf which is a mark of welcome and respect.
