Love and Forgiveness

Rejoice with me...

This Sunday, we will hear again the Gospel reading from Luke 15: 1-32 about the lost sheep, the woman’s lost coin, and the prodigal son. Each time I hear these parables, I wonder about the emotional energy and effort that goes into the search for these things. It is with reflection and reading that it becomes clearer that Jesus uses the stories that he tells us, over and over, to remind us of God’s great love for each of us, no matter how small, insignificant or imperfect we might be.

Jesus is teaching us again that each of us is precious and worthy in God’s eyes, even when we are lost or go astray. Just as there is rejoicing in each parable over the finding of the small lost sheep, the one lost coin of many, or the son who rejects his good upbringing and the love of his father, so we can expect the same love and joy from our God when we are ‘found’.

In turn, we are challenged, with Jesus and his parables as our guide, to respond to those ‘little ones’ who are lost. Daily in our lives we are made aware of those in our communities who are lost or who have gone astray, often not of their choice. Our response, through our awareness of the principles that underpin Catholic Social Justice, is surely to open our hearts and eyes to see the small and insignificant, and to rejoice in their finding: to selflessly break through our set and easy ways, demonstrating and rejoicing in our privileged capacity to forgive, love and care for others.

To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable,

Because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.

Yours in Faith, Justice and Learning

ICAS ASSESSMENTS
A number of Stage 3 students have nominated to sit the 2019 International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS).

The dates for the 2019 assessments are:

• Science - 5 September 2019 (completed last week)
• English - 17 September 2019
• Maths - 19 September 2019

VINCENTIAN YOUTH GATHERING

A group of excited and dedicated students from Year 5, accompanied me to the Vincentian Youth Gathering held at the Xavier Centre in Wollongong. The theme of the gathering was Migrants and Asylum Seekers. Two guest speakers shared their experiences with us. 

Fr Nguyen, a refugee himself, shared his real life experience of being a refugee from the age of 16. He retold the story, sad and true, of having his mother’s gold wedding ring stolen and losing his 14 year old sister to pirates while floating in the vast sea. The students empathised and discussed their sadness with me. 

Mr Ray Thrift, our local Gwynneville Conference President, shared stories of people that St Vincent de Paul have assisted and sponsored, through the generosity of our community. He told us that his work was the work of the Gospels, following in the footsteps of Jesus. He is always grateful for the contributions we make as a school community. 

The simulation game, pretending to be refugees, was a fun, but also eye opening, in that we could see that refugees leave their homes with very little and then end up with even less. 

We came away with some great ideas for next year’s fundraising. It was an enjoyable and informative day for all of us!

Alina, Jasper, Leila, Kip and Ryder.

FUNDRAISING DRIVE FOR VINNIES VAN

Again, a huge thank you for the generosity you have shown in giving to the fundraising efforts for the Vinnies Van. I know that the Vinnies fundraiser competed with the fete last week, but we kept our support in focus and delivered for the Vinnies Van. Kelly was so appreciative and congratulated us on our efforts.

 

SEASON OF CREATION

From September to October each year, the Christian community celebrates the Season of Creation by praying and acting together to protect our common home. During this time, Catholics unite with others in the global family to pray and protect every creature in God’s beautifully complex web of creation. The theme of this year’s Season of Creation celebration is “The Web of Life.” Pope Francis in calling us to an ecological conversion says that, “The annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation offers to individual believers and to the community a precious opportunity to renew our personal participation in this vocation to be custodians of creation.”

And so we pray:
 

Creator of Life,
 

The Earth is full of Your creatures, and by Your wisdom you made them all.
  At Your word, the Earth brought forth plants yielding seed of every kind and trees of every kind bearing fruit, the waters teemed with swarms of living creatures of every kind, and the world was filled with every kind of winged bird, walking animal, and creatures that creep upon the ground. Mountains, plains, rocks, and rivers shelter diverse communities, and through the changing seasons Your Spirit renews cycles of life.
 During this Season of Creation, open our eyes to see the precious diversity that is all around us. Enlighten our minds to appreciate the delicate balance maintained by each creature. Inspire us to conserve the precious habitats that nurture this web of life.
 In the name of the One who came to proclaim good news to all creation, Jesus Christ.


Amen.

SAVE THE DATE

Congratulations to the following students on receiving their awards during the last fortnight.

CLASS	LEARNING AWARD	LEADER OF THE WEEK
Kindergarten	Kip M	Alice M
Year 1	Rhiley A	Enzo H
Year 2	Eliza P	Emerson E
Year 3	Adelaide H	Abby H
Year 4	Luca D	Paige H
Year 5G	Oscar M	Hudson S
Year 5W	Meki T	Atticus C
Year 6	Jorydn D	Madi M

Week 8 - Term 3

CLASS	VALUES AWARD	LEADER OF THE WEEK
Kindergarten	Rafael S	Hunter M
Year 1	Molly S	Isabella S
Year 2	Willow M	Eve A
Year 3	Isobel F	Ash A
Year 4	Dalton Y	Matthieu C
Year 5G	Robbie L	Piper L
Year 5W	Mondre G	Harrison M
Year 6	Nathan A	Noelia St A

Congratulations to the students who have received their Assistant Principal Award. Well done!

CLASS	STUDENT
Year 1	Rhiley A
Year 1	Simon C
Year 3	Cameron B
Year 3	Xavier C
Year 5	Mia A
Year 5	Zita H

Year 6 had a wonderful opportunity afforded to them when they were invited to be apart of a special day run by the Catholic Youth Ministry Wollongong at St Therese Catholic Primary School on Monday. St Brigid's shared many varied and interesting activities, games and the singing of songs with other Year 6 students from Good Samaritan, St Pius X and St Therese.

Discussion centred around the Sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist and particular focus on Confirmation. We discussed that our relationship with God means that he is always there for us and we can strengthen this through prayer. God knows us well and we need to make time to have a conversation with him - the more we talk the easier it becomes. We also spoke about the importance of using our gifts and sharing them with others.

On our walk back to school, there was a lot of talk about the day. Here are some thoughts about the Activate Fire experience from a few of our Year 6 students:

Harper said: "I learnt that everyone has a relationship with God and it's how you nuture that relationship that's important."

Brianna said: "I had lots of favourite parts of the day. I thought the worship part was good. I liked the songs that we sang together."

Henry said: "It was a great spiritual immersion."

Lucas said: "It was a good opportunity to spend time with other Year 6 students from other schools so that we could build friendships with different people that we could meet up with in high school."

Congratulations Year 6 on the way you participated in the day making the most of your experience and thank you to Mrs Clarke who joined us for the day.

Below are details:

• Thursday 19 September 2019 - Juniors (Years 3 and 4) 
• Friday 20 September 2019 - Seniors (Years 5 and 6) 
• Both days are held at the same venue - Berkeley Stadium on Hooka Creek Road.

Happy Birthday to the following students.

We hope you have a great birthday!

FETE NEWS

WANT TO BECOME MORE INVOLVED IN THE LIFE OF THE SCHOOL?

Are you interested in volunteering for P&F events? Would you like to help out the wonderful St. Brigid’s community but don’t know where to start? We’d love to have you on board.

Drop the P&F a line and we’d be very happy to get you involved in events or as a coordinator. We can also team you up with an existing volunteer to help share the work and learn the ropes. Email us at pandf@sbgdow.catholic.edu.au
 

CAN YOU VOLUNTEER AN HOUR OR TWO?

If you can volunteer for an hour or two for any upcoming events, please add your name to our google document below.

• 29 September 2019 - Illawarra Hawks pre-season game 3.00pm tip off
• 3 October 2019 - Jimmy Barnes Concert
• 6 October 2019 - Illawarra Hawks v Brisbane 3.00pm tip off
• 14 October 2019 - Illawarra Hawks v Cairns 7.30pm tip off
• 21 October 2019 - Illawarra Hawks v Adelaide 36ers 7.30pm tip off

St Brigid’s Gwynneville

Saturday	5.30pm Vigil
Sunday	9.00am
Thursday	9.30am

For the most current Mass times and Parish information, please visit the Parish website

PARISH WEBSITE https://www.lumenchristi.org.au/

Position Vacant - Administration Assistant

Casual 1 day per week on Thursdays, at Lumen Christi Catholic Parishes Wollongong.

As casual administration assistant, you provide a range of clerical and administrative duties to ensure the smooth and effective operation of the parish office for the parishes of St Francis Xavier Cathedral Wollongong, St John Vianney Fairy Meadow/Mater Dolorosa Balgownie and St Brigid’s Gwynneville.

Closing date is 4pm Friday  20^th September 2019.

For further details and a full position description, please contact Frances. This position is also advertised at www.dow.org.au

Your application should include a cover letter and resume. Completed applications should be emailed to Frances Van Leerdam at frances.vanleerdam@dow.org.au

CODE CAMP

Code Camp is coming to Coniston Public School this Spring. 

See the attached flyer for more information. There is a $20 off code on the flyer which parents can use when they enrol. In addition, parents have the benefit of the Creative Kids Rebate of $100 which is a great way to make this camp more affordable. 

CORRIMAL SURF LIFE SAVING - WANT TO BECOME A NIPPER?

FLARE FOOTBALL SCHOOL HOLIDAY CLINICS