News from the REC
“To love someone is to show to them their beauty, their worth and their importance”
Jean Vanier
ST VINCENT DE PAUL WINTER APPEAL FUNDRAISER 2019
The theme of this year’s Winter Appeal is ‘The Pain of Poverty’, with a focus on the impact of poverty on older Australians. Poverty often comes with the added burden of loneliness and social isolation when you can’t afford to go out. Social isolation can have health impacts.
Our own fundraising efforts - The Hand Me ups Appeal and Jersey Day- have highlighted the support that Vinnies provides, especially during these colder months, and how the work conducted by dedicated volunteers and members is vital in assisting those people who turn to Vinnies for help in times of desperate need.
Vinnies is committed to giving people choices that provide the sanctuary, security and safety each person deserves, and helps end the pain of poverty. They work to alleviate immediate need, to empower those people they serve to regain control of their lives and to challenge the structures and public policies that create or exacerbate inequalities. They advocate for change at a structural level with the aim of eliminating the root causes of impossible choices.
The Hand Me Up appeal was a tremendous success with a bin load of pre-loved items making their way to the warehouse for distribution. And the Jersey Day was fun, as well as, heightening the awareness of the needs in our own community and raising funds to assist our local Vinnies in their work.
POPE VIDEO: Welcome the needy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBU4kj51rxQ
And so we pray:
Lord our God,
fill our hearts with compassion
for those who lack the warmth of a home.
We commend to you in prayer this day
all men, women and children
who suffer because they have no shelter;
those who sleep in our streets and public spaces,
who have nowhere safe to lay their heads,
and who wander from place to place as a way of life.
God of Compassion, your love for us is revealed
in your beloved son Jesus,
who was born into homelessness,
lived with nowhere to lay his head,
and died for us in agony on the cross.
Inspire us to act in justice,
to right the wrongs
of peoples who are suffering
the deprivations of homelessness,
and to see in them the dignity of a brother and sister
redeemed by Jesus Christ.
Let us have the commitment,
as people of the Gospel, to be ever mindful
of our obligations we have
to the poor and marginalised,
to work in your name
and to bring all those who live in darkness
into your own wonderful light. Amen.
NAIDOC Week 2019 will be held nationally from Sunday 7 July 2019 and continue through to Sunday 14 July 2019. This year's NAIDOC 2019 theme is Voice - Treaty - Truth.
The reforms set out in the Uluru Statement from the Heart can be expressed in three
key goals: Voice – Treaty - Truth. NAIDOC Week 2019 takes inspiration from these three aims which represent the hopes and dreams of First Nations Australians.
During NAIDOC, we remember in our thoughts and prayers the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of our country and celebrate their rich cultures and inspiring contributions to Australia.
GOOD NEWS STORY from The Office of the Bishop
It started off as a short 20 second background video for the homepage of the Diocese of Wollongong’s new website. Six months and 23 separate film shoots later, the diocese has today released its new “It’s Who We Are” video on their website at www.dow.org.au/about-us/.
The short sub-three-minute video clip narrated by Bishop Brian Mascord and shot by master filmmaker, Hugh Clark, showcases the wonderful people and works of the diocese that happen every day and often go unnoticed.
The diocese’s director of media and communications, Daniel Hopper, said, “Unlike a number of diocesan websites that we saw from around the world, the primary focus for our new website was to be outward focused in terms of appealing to those who are not Catholic but may be interested in what the Church has to offer. So, we wanted to include a background video at the top of the homepage as an initial introduction that demonstrated ‘who we are’ as a diocese.
“When discussing the various shots that we wanted to capture, we quickly came to the conclusion that the video was not just relevant to non-Catholic seekers on the website. Everyone in our diocese—especially our unwavering Catholics—need to be reminded, more than ever, of who they are and to be proud of the good things that are happening in our Church.
“The video project became a work of passion as we combined our efforts as a diocese—Office of the Bishop, parishes, schools and CatholicCare—to produce a beautiful and concise visual story of who we are.
“We engaged Sydney-based filmmaker, Hugh Clark, to assist with the project. Hugh conducted over 35 interviews with various laity, clergy and religious in the diocese before beginning to shoot on Christmas Eve 2018 in our Varroville parish. Hugh undertook a further 22 shoots wrapping on Pentecost Sunday 2019 with Bishop Brian during Confirmation at Fairy Meadow.”
Daniel said, “It is our hope that the new video and website will be a great resource for all seeking the love of God in the Illawarra, Macarthur, Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands regions of our diocese.
SAVE THE DATE
| DATE | EVENT | CLASS |
| 25 July 2019 | Parish Mass 9:30am | Year 5G |
| 31 July 2019 |
Launch of Acknowledgement Wall 11.30am |
Year 6 |
| 1 August 2019 | Parish Mass 9.30am |
Year 5W |
| 6 August 2019 | Mass with the Bishop at St John Vianney |
Year 6 |
| 8 August 2019 | Feast of Mary MacKillop |
 |
| 15 August 2019 |
Holy Day of Obligation- Mass at 9.30am |
Whole School |