Campus Ministry

Mr Leo Murray Director of Campus Ministry

“This is what the Lord requires of you: To act justly, To love tenderly, And to walk humbly with God.”

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. At the end of last year I spent a month with nine students and two other teachers, Mr Adam Gage and Mr John Overton on the Trinity College pilgrimage through India. It was my fourth India Pilgrimage. Each time I have been very moved by the experiences we shared and the people we met. Our students and staff were received with very generous hospitality in all the places where we stayed. When I look at photos from the pilgrimage, I hear the laughter of the children at Mithra and the happiness in their faces as we played with them outside and spent time with them, helping in the classrooms and feeding them in the dining room. We experienced the sounds and smells and intensive scents of India. We saw the harsh living conditions of many people and witnessed the courage of people caring for the poor, bringing hope. Arriving home in Perth, I appreciate even more the blessings that I have received – a loving family, caring friends, a safe home and a happy workplace.

In Campus Ministry our motto is ‘This is what the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with God.’ (Micah 6.8b). Walking through India has helped me to walk humbly, with a spirit of gratitude to God because all the blessings we receive are gifts to be cherished.

In our retreats, the students and staff have opportunities to reflect on what it means to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with God. An inspiring element of our retreats is the leadership role which senior students generously assume.

Beginning with the Becoming Brothers retreat, Year 12 students cared for small groups of Year 7 students and continued to look out for them during the year. Another group of Year 12s, trained Year 11 students to guide Year 8s through the Quest retreat. An essential part of the Quest retreat was the food collection which helped the students see how working together can make a difference. The Year 12s took time out from their busy schedule to reflect during the Tabgha retreat on the gifts that they have received in their lives and the gift that they are for others. After a week on Christian Service, the Year 11s had an opportunity to meditate on how they met Jesus in reaching out to others. The Year 10s reflected on how God is present in their lives on their Emmaus retreat. On the Galilee retreat, the Year 9s experienced a walking meditation, reflecting on different ways that God calls us. On this retreat, as well as having staff members with them, most of the groups were accompanied by former students who graduated in 2013, who shared some of their life story so far. Three Kairos retreats were organized for the Class of 2014 – a four day event led by students who are accompanied by staff.

Trinity College Pilgrimage through India

Mr Leo Murray Director of Campus Ministry

We celebrated God being present with us in a very special way at our Eucharistic celebrations for the whole school, marking four key occasions – at the Mass of the Holy Spirit for the opening of the school year, Ash Wednesday, and the feast days for Blessed Edmund Rice and The Assumption. We also gathered for year Masses each term. Eighteen Year 12 students also displayed faith leadership by volunteering to be extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist and at each Eucharistic celebration students were very keen to volunteer as altar servers and readers and to help with music and slide presentations.

All these experiences can only happen because of the generosity of staff members who sacrifice their own time and time with their families to accompany our students on their faith journey. I thank them for their continuing generosity.