Campus Ministry

Campus Ministry

THE MISSION OF CAMPUS MINISTRY

We, Campus Ministry at Trinity College, as part of the Body of Christ, are called to glorify God in all aspects of our lives. We are called to create and foster an environment where all can develop an understanding and awareness of and a personal relationship with God, who dwells in and around our neighbour and us. In this environment we strive to provide opportunities for spiritual growth and the building of community. Through our worship, prayer, service, study and reflection and even our leisure activities, we reach out to our campus community, the greater Perth community and the world. Within the Trinity community, we hope to engender a commitment to life-long spiritual growth, to realize the deepening of a love relationship with God and to instil an understanding of the interconnectedness of our human family, a family characterized by mercy and divine justice, by peace, love and joy.

Campus Ministry at Trinity College is quite unique! Since its introduction and the implementation of its many programs Campus Ministry has transformed the culture of the whole school, especially the Senior School.

Students are eager to be involved in all of the faith development initiatives offered at Trinity. They are proud to profess their faith. In the last four years students have gone from a quiet apathy towards faith and Religious education, to boys from all Year levels volunteering to lead in all areas of faith within the College. In 2005 we had thirty-four Year 12 boys volunteer for training to serve as Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist; eighty-four seniors volunteer for the three fully subscribed four day Kairos Retreats; many Year 12 boys applying for Cadré to train the sixty plus volunteer Year 11 Peer Ministers for the Year 8 Quest Retreat. There was no shortage of boys offering to join Music Ministry, Altar Serving, and to train as Lectors for each of our Masses.

Again, teachers will attest, as will the students and their parents, that the Retreats offered from Year 8 to Year 12: Quest, Galilee, Emmaus, Encounter and Tabgha; have all been very successful and enjoyed by the boys. So what has happened at Trinity that has brought this about? Why do we hear so much bad news about students in Catholic schools shunning their faith, not attending Mass and teachers wary of using the “J” word or the “G” word?

When Mr Tony Curtis invited me to introduce Campus Ministry to Trinity College in 2001, he was not sure what he was taking on, but as he readily admits, he knew it was time to introduce something new and something quite ‘radical’ as far as Faith Education was concerned. The current model was in drift.

I had the opportunity to visit the U.S.A. and spend a week in each of eight different Jesuit and Christian Brothers High Schools which had been recommended to me as having ‘best practice’ campus ministry programs. My visits took me from Seattle, Tacoma, San Jose, Portland in the West, to Chicago, Fairfield, Boston and New York in the East. The key insights that I gained from my time spent in these schools were: 1.That Faith Development was unashamedly and unapologetically the top priority of the school; 2.That Religious Education (Theology) was taught by highly competent teachers and that the subject was given at least equal status to all other academic disciplines; 3.That Campus Ministry (Spirituality) was a deliberate and systematic program of Retreats, prayer and liturgies which pervaded the whole school; 4.That Christian Service (Faith in Action) was also a comprehensive and very obvious program throughout the whole school community. 5.That students were offered and encouraged to take up leadership opportunities in every aspect of Faith development programs – a very big emphasis on peer ministry. In each of these High Schools there was a very different “feel” as far as faith education was concerned. I spent a lot of time mixing and talking

Br Robert Callen Director of Campus Ministry

with senior students and it was very obvious that they were happy and proud to talk about their faith and their involvement in the many initiatives offered by the school whether it was the weekly voluntary Mass, leading Retreats, Peer Ministry or the Christian Service initiatives like the “Urban Plunge”, after school hours mentoring and tutoring poor kids, foodbanks and housing projects in Mexico. In my discussions with Principals, Presidents and Campus Ministers in each of these very successful Catholic High Schools they stressed that they were very conscious of the need to promote and sustain the very “raison d’etre”of their schools. In the U.S. where there is no government assistance and families have to pay top dollar for a private Catholic education then there can be no compromise; no watering down of their primary purpose – education in faith! The question for us in 2001 was how could we translate this model to Trinity College. Mr Curtis asked me to spend the first year “articulating the vision” and to explain to him and the key members of the Executive just what I had witnessed in the USA. It soon became obvious that Trinity needed to make a paradigm shift in the way it went about Faith Development. It was just as obvious that this would come at a cost. It was no longer adequate to run R.E. classes and purchase a few new reference books each year. We decided to adopt the new model for Faith Development and to appoint a Director for each area. At its heart this model was based on the premise that we would provide opportunities so that every boy would come “to know, love and serve God”. The three areas would be:

Religious Education (Head) the Academic component; Campus Ministry (Heart) the spiritual dimension: prayer, retreats,& liturgy; Christian Service (Hands) faith in action & doing justice. But it was very obvious that just like anything else we wished to do well, it would not come cheaply. Whether it be cricket with turf wickets, rowing and the best boats; technology and design with the best computers and equipment, so too, the best faith development programs would not be cheap. Trinity made, and continues to make, a significant investment in faith development. From bringing a team of leaders from San Jose, California to introduce the first Kairos Retreat, to paying the fares and the wages of relief teachers to enable teachers to be sent to the US to learn more about Christian Service programs and Freshman/Quest Retreats, and the on-going expenses of running the four day Kairos Retreats and the Quest retreats to the vast assortment of materials that enhance each program. The emphasis is on “investment” not cost!

Whether it be the bright banner on the wall at the Retreat, the glossy brochure for parents, the first class Christian Service Journals, the many badges to signify leadership roles, the logos for Retreats, the Manuals for teachers, or the personal “Treasure Troves”, all of these expenses play a very significant part in lifting the profile of faith development at Trinity. In an age when young people are immersed in a culture of brands, logos and smart advertising, it was not appropriate that Faith development should be the meek and poor relation. If we are proud of our faith and want our students to embrace it, then we needed to give it a much higher profile within the school community, and to give parents the confidence that we know what we are doing. After four very busy and productive years, thanks to the very positive and direct support of Mr Tony Curtis, Mr Peter Bothe and Mr Robert Henderson, and the College Board, the new model of Faith Education at Trinity is now at the very heart of all that we do. Without the very conscious, deliberate and active promotion of faith development by the Principal, his Leadership Team and the College Board, the faith formation team and their efforts will be marginalised in a school which has so many other competing demands. At Trinity in 2005 we can hold our heads high and claim that we are being faithful to the vision of the co-founders of the College, Bishop Matthew Gibney and Brother Ambrose Treacy, who in 1894 founded the College primarily for the evangelization of young Catholic boys in Perth. We continue to offer our boys many opportunities to come to know God through our comprehensive Religious education courses; we provide opportunities for our students to take time off the mad hurdy-gurdy of their hectic lifestyles to spend some time to ponder and enrich their relationship with God; and we encourage all of our students to live out their faith through serving their neighbour, especially the most needy and vulnerable in our society. What is most pleasing is not that Trinity offers such great opportunities, but that so many of our young men are eager to participate.

Brother Robert Callen, cfc

Director of Campus Ministry

Campus Ministry

Campus Ministry

December 2004 – January 2005

Recently a friend said to me: “Rob, don’t tell me you’re still taking groups of kids to India!” I was a little taken aback, because initially I wasn’t too sure what was behind the question! I wasn’t sure whether it was an implied criticism – a reference to being in a rut by still being involved in an old activity begun back in 1986. On the other hand, was he amazed that I could still raise the enthusiasm for wanting to spend five and a half weeks of a Christmas vacation, supervising teens, and traveling in a less than easy country! On reflection, I decided that his question came from a complete misunderstanding of what the Indian pilgrimages are! I think he saw these “trips” as school tours! But it was a good question, because it made me look again at why it is that I feel so passionate about these pilgrimages. I’m sure there’s no one reason for wanting to take students to India. And certainly during each pilgrimage at about the three week mark, when ill health, tiredness and homesickness become evident, and the novelty has worn thin, I inevitably ask myself why I let myself in for all this yet again! Well, the answer is simple for me. In all honesty I consider it to be a great honour and privilege to be able to accompany a group of young Australians through India, not as a tour operator, but as a friend, brother, mentor and sometimes even as a spiritual guide. And as our vision statement says, each pilgrimage becomes a special journey – a journey as much about self-discovery, as discovering a new land and her people. Yes, it is a real privilege to be along side a young person who is struggling to come to terms with the challenges that India presents on so many levels. Yet it is never from a position of superiority that I share my previous experiences, but rather, to kneel in awe and thanksgiving as I witness the generosity displayed and the insights gained by these young men. It’s at these times that I feel most authentically a Christian Brother! And this latest group of pilgrims did not disappoint! More specifically, Trinity’s seventh Pilgrimage group, consisting of: Matthew Cain, Nathan Colli, Caleb Davenport, Bohdan Dowsing, Garth Jeffery, Daniel O’Connell, Joe Ryan, Matt Slack-Smith and Shaun Wyn-Jones, as well as teachers, Mark Duffy and John Geekie was unique. This group prepared together for more than twelve months, meeting faithfully every Friday lunch-time, to ensure that everyone was thoroughly prepared; practically, emotionally and spiritually. Each pilgrim was determined to give it his best shot. It was humbling to hear one boy tell us that he had had his heart set on going on an Indian Pilgrimage ever since he had heard stories from Brother Pat O’Doherty in Year 4. This is not the definitive account of the Pilgrimage, that can be found elsewhere, but it is a tribute to those young men who did some extraordinary things. Although these words by an Irish Brother in Calcutta were applied to another group, they are most apt for the boys from Pilgrimage #7:

Truly these nine kids are a credit to you and your institution. I find them ever so manly without being “masculine”, dignified without being patronizing, social and gracious and capable of entering into the life of the Bow Bazar community without interrupting in any way. In this day and age, it is difficult to see such a sensitivity carried with such confidence. Of course the project itself speaks volumes both for the tone of the College as well as giving an indication of the values being inculcated in such an experiential way. They have had an evangelizing effect on us all here in Calcutta where, because of our callous attitude, we have ceased to wonder. Truly it is the poor who will convert the rich as it was the poor man of Nazareth who redeemed the world. The group has had a hectic program and yet they are none the worse for the experience. Perhaps I should explain myself. It could easily happen that the idealism of youth be numbed if not totally disillusioned by the conditions obtaining in this “City of Joy” – what a paradox! But evidently such has not occurred. I would like to think that their belief in the power of the Risen Christ is such as to make them hope beyond all hope. Only the Resurrection could empower them to believe that God so loved this world – this world of Calcutta – “as to give his only begotten Son”. These boys do give us hope. Yes, we have been evangelised by their presence. Lastly, although they are a happy bunch, yet I discern a certain sobriety – a sobriety that belies their tender age - that could have its source in the fact that, unknownst to themselves, they have touched the very core of the mystery of life itself. Before mystery we wonder and these boys show a maturity that avoids the facile solutions of the average tourist. Instead they remind me of the reaction of Moses who takes off his shoes because the place where he stands is holy ground. Truly they have experienced the sacred; and are better for it.

As I read the boys’ Group Journal I thought it was deficient – not because the boys didn’t do a remarkable job, but because in their typically self-effacing style, they failed to tell the story of their own super-human efforts, and their own conversion experiences. If the whole story was told it would recount their personal struggles with illness, weariness and homesickness. It would talk about the friction and trying nature of group-living, and demanding teachers. It would have talked about shocking sights and difficult food. And it would have told how each boy pushed himself to his limits. Perhaps in his personal journal each boy may have recalled his own struggles and his more intimate reflections and feelings. The Group Journal does record some of the thousands of new experiences encountered throughout the five and half weeks in India from December 2004 to January 2005. I was privileged to see these things. Each night before going to bed, we would gather together around a candle for our nightly Examen – prayer and reflection. Each member of the group would recall where he felt

Campus Ministry

Campus Ministry

the presence of God during the day. If ever anyone doubted the depth and faith of teens today, then these evening reflections were a telling testament to the boys’ deep spirituality. Is it any wonder that I keep on putting my hand up to offer new groups such opportunities! We spent time at MITHRA – Sr Theodore’s Home for the poorest of the poor from the slums of Chennai. We spent time in the villages around Mandal in Gujarat where the Christian Brothers run a school for tribal children. We spent Christmas in the Himalayas and visited Varanasi before spending ten days in Calcutta where we went out each day from St. Mary’s Orphanage to our placements with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity at Prem Dan, Kalighat and Daya Dan. We visited the Home for people with leprosy at Titigarth and helped Mr Jim McGinniss with his work on Howrah and Sealdah Railway Stations. Each of these special projects are supported by Trinity’s generous fundraising: the Fun Run for India and Un-Fair Day. Our boys were able to come home to tell the school community what a difference their money makes. Whilst our stories are about many happenings and many memories, it’s really the people, especially the poorest of the poor, who touched our hearts and even our souls, and they will have a lasting impact. I have no doubt whatsoever that each pilgrim encountered his God during his time in India. Never again will any of us be able to ignore the cries of the poor. Like Mother Teresa, when we see and hear those little ones cry out: “I thirst!” then we know it is the crucified Jesus on his cross crying out to us. We are challenged to be His hands in this world. We are challenged to be His voice – to speak up on behalf of the poor and powerless of our world.

Brother Robert Callen, cfc Director of Campus Ministry

SPECIAL MINISTERS OF THE EUCHARIST

Back Row: Thomas Cox, Brendan Longman, Matthew Slack-Smith, Shaun Dee, David Dooley, Thomas Filipek, Jason Geldenhuys, Matthew Cain Fourth Row: Gerald Lillywhite, Brian Nimbalker, Justin Naidu, Tim Pass, Joseph Ryan, Lee Ferguson, Michael Maynard, Daniel Tan Third Row: Daniel Scivolo, Joshua Morey, Rohan Bose, Shane Gonsalves, David Parkinson, Heran Perera, Stephen Morphett Second Row: Josh Bauer, Cahal Di Gregorio, Douglas Bowen, Bohdan Dowsing, Nathan Colli, Joshua D’Souza, Justin Leong, Eugene Marshall Front Row: Andrew Hislop, Mr Peter Bothe (Principal), Archbishop Barry Hickey,Brother Robert Callen (Director of Campus Ministry), Long Pham, Matthew Chidlow

Campus Ministry

Campus Ministry

Campus Minsitry

Campus Minsitry

“If we bring to Christ our meagre gifts and talents, Christ is faithful to multiply them to meet any need we face.”

Each of the Year 12 Pastoral Care Groups has now participated in the Tabgha Retreat. The theme of the Tabgha Retreat is transformation. As our young men stand on the threshold of young adult life, they are encouraged to formulate a personal answer to Jesus’s question: But who do you say I am? Where does the name TABGHA come from?

Tabgha is the traditional site of the Multiplication of the Loaves and the Fishes and is situated near the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, 2.5 kms south of Capernaum, and some 12 kms north of Tiberius. The name ‘Tabgha’ is an Arabic contraction of the Greek Heptapegon (the place of the seven springs). Several springs still flow in this area, which is also associated with the teaching of the Beatitudes and the confirmation of the primacy of Peter. During the retreat students had an opportunity to identify their own unique gifts given to them by God. They were able to express themselves in a variety of creative ways, using balloons, pipe cleaners and beads. Apart from the fun, these exercises enabled the students to take some time to think about themselves, their lives and their faith. They then had an opportunity to share their stories with their peers. The fish symbol was used extensively during the retreat because the story of the multiplication of the loaves and fish is at the heart of Tabgha. Fish play a major role in the gospels and it became the symbol for Christianity in the early church, ‘itchthus’. This Retreat, the last retreat for many, challenged each boy to think about the road ahead and encouraged them to become a modern day disciple; to put their trust in Gods promise to be with them each day.

My heart has said of you, Seek his face’. Yahweh, I do seek your face; Do not hide your face from me. Psalm 27:8

In every age and within every system of belief, human beings have reached out in search of the Other. This quest for encounter with God is something more than the primitive desire of cave dwellers for some warmth and light to keep the shadows at bay. It has occupied the greatest minds and hearts of human history. It is driven by a need for meaning, a thirst for understanding and a longing for intimacy. Our human condition compels us to search for answers to our sense of isolation and the experience of suffering. But our hopes and dreams also draw us to God, as does our capacity to aspire to something greater than the here and now.

The Encounter Retreat is an essential component of the Year 11 Christian Service programme. It is the reflection element of the programme when the students are given the opportunity to spend an extended period of quality time reflecting on their four full days of Christian Service. It enables them to finish their written responses to the reflection questions in their Journals and to share their experiences in a variety of settings, with one peer, in small groups and in a larger group. This reflection process is then extended to a theologizing process whereby the students are encouraged to connect their experience with the Christian story. Just like the Cardijn Y.C.S. method of see, judge, act: students, having shared their own stories and experiences, then look at their experience in the light of the gospel. This is the ‘judge’ part, when they look at a situation and ask, What would Jesus do?

The final phase of this retreat calls on students to take further action – the praxis. Having served others, and having looked closely at the gospel; having prayed and having made a commitment to on-going discipleship and to doing justice, students leave the retreat with a determination to commence their Senior Project and to become ‘Men for Others’.

Theology

The Encounter Retreat is based on incarnational theology. Our God has always tried to make his love visible and enfleshed, as He did His Son and our Brother and Lord, Jesus, who came in the flesh (Incarnation) and remains with us in the Eucharist (Sacrament). Encounter consequently is very Christcentred.

The specific goals of the Encounter Retreat are: 1.To provide some quality time for the student to reflect on his experience of Christian Service. 2.To recall many of the minor and major incidents that happened during the experience of serving others. 3.To bring each student to an honest appraisal of himself, (especially in the way he responded to people in need), with both strengths and weaknesses, in a supportive atmosphere that will allow him to deal with both in a positive way. 4.To awaken and deepen their personal love for

Jesus Christ, and to provide a meaningful encounter with Him in prayer. 5.To introduce the students to the Scriptures and to both personal and communal prayer in an experiential community setting. 6.To develop their understanding that true Christian discipleship requires a commitment to doing justice. 7.To provide an opportunity for students to make the connection between local issues and global injustices. 8.To call youths to live their faith as active, vital members of the Church, a believing community.

Campus Minsitry

Campus Minsitry

Year Nine Galilee Retreat

Second QUEST Retreat a wonderful success

Over the Labor Day long weekend we conducted Trinity’s second QUEST Retreat. It was a wonderful success, thanks to the many generous and dedicated people involved. It has been estimated that more than nine hundred people were directly or indirectly involved with some aspect of the Retreat. We are indebted to all of those who gave of their time, provided transport, hosted groups in their homes and served morning tea. In particular a huge debt of gratitude must be paid to Mr Andrew Osnain and

Mr Leo Murrray for their tireless leadership, both over the weekend, but also during all the training sessions in the lead up to Quest. Our senior students, too, were outstanding in their leadership and service roles as Cadre, Peer Ministers and Roadies. The IMAGINETHE POSSIBILITIES ‘Class of 2009’ has made many new and valuable friends both with their peers and with senior boys. They have been immersed into the faith and culture of Trinity, and most of all, they have had the opportunity to ponder what lies ahead in these valuable and formative years. They have been challenged and encouraged to search within and to ‘Imagine the Possibilities!’

Campus Minsitry

Campus Minsitry

PEER MINISTERS

Back row: Bernard Sneeuwjagt, Marcus Carter, Scott Wilson, Wayd Blakiston, Benjamin O’Dea, David Ker, Hugh Shedden, Drew Tennant, James Embley, Jarrhan Jacky, Luke Armitage Fourth row: Danny Coyne, Jarred Elliot, Elliott Cook, Robert Thomas, Matthew Crabtree, Matthew Stockton, David Vulin, Trian Iliadis, Jourdan Kestel, Christopher Pavy, James Lewis, Timothy Hunt Third row: Brian Robinson, Christian Dannnolfo, Scott Ward, Justin Mabarrack, Jack Rocchi, Michael Wright, Jamie Gotti, Troy Janisson, Ricciardo Faraone, Joseph Giorgio, Brent McIntyre Second row: Thomas Giles, James Debowski, Cameron Mitchell, Daniel Oswald, Matthew Ferrinda, Stefan Quaresimin, Desmond Yeo, Tom Antoniazzi, Perry Joyce, Nathan Pollin, James McPherson, Luke Mort, Mr Robert Armitage Front row: Leonard Ong, Christopher Dawson, Michael Schmitz, Mr Leo Murray (Assistant Director), Stephen Morphett, Mr Andrew Osnain (Quest Director), Jay Colton, Justin Soon, Riccardo Carbone Absent: Sean Comiskey, Jeremy Cope, Daniel Griffin, Jesse Lucas, Isaac Meegan, Justin Russell, Ryan Taylor, Leigh Thorburn

QUEST CADRE

Back row: David Parkinson, Matthew Slack-Smith, Gerald Lillywhite, Lee Ferguson

Second row: Mr Leo Murray (Assistant Director),

Cahal Di Gregorio, Brian Nimbalker, Andrew Hislop,

Mr Andrew Osnain (Quest Director)

Front row: Matthew Chidlow, Michael Maynard, Stephen Morphett (Cadre Leader), Bohdan Dowsing, Long Pham

QUEST ROADIES

Back row: Gregory Stockton, Kristian Ostle, Stephen Dale, Thomas Rose, Nicholas Barbas, Binuk Kodituwakku, Vincenzo Nici

Second row: Mr Leo Murray

(Assistant Director), Patrick Giles, Samuel Metcalf, Dylan Misso, Andre Di Filippo, Taylor Matthews, James McKenna, Mr Andrew

Osnain (Quest Director)

Front row: Luke Conca, Benjamin Hennessy, Stephen Morphett (Cadre Leader), Mark McKenna, Brendan Morphett