CATHOLIC Education has chosen to focus this year’s annual week of celebrations from July 22-28 on the family, parish, and school community.
Queensland Catholic Education Commission executive director Mike Byrne said the theme celebrating community invited Catholic schools and education agencies to highlight and celebrate the value of “community” and affirm its presence as a central aspect of the life and strength of the Catholic Christian tradition.
“Our Catholic school philosophy embraces this sense of community, evidenced by the positive relationships which exist between families, parishes and schools,” he said.
Those positives relationships are more than evident in the inner-Brisbane parish of Clayfield and the small rural community of Longreach.
Fr Matthew Moloney grew up in Longreach and is now parish priest.
He said it was the little interactions within the family, school and parish that made big impacts.
“We’ve just had our sacramental program and that is one way of gathering the kids and families together with the parish,” he said.
Fr Moloney said school students also joined the parish community on Friday’s for Mass, attended children’s liturgy at the weekend Mass and helped out with ministries such as reading, Eucharistic processions and music.
“It is really important for them to be involved and it gives them a sense of belonging, there is no distinction, everyone is doing it together,” he said.
Fr Moloney said each interaction between the school, families and parish reinforced it as a place of meeting and a place of celebration.
“Once a month we also moved the Saturday night Mass to Sunday morning and followed it with a cuppa and a barbecue for families with little ones,” he said.
“There are lots of little ways the school, family and parish come together but they make a big impact.”
Our Lady’s School, Longreach principal David Paul and his young family are heavily involved within the parish community.
Mr Paul said being a rural community with a small population the school had a particularly close connection to the parish.
“Our children make up the future of the parish so there is that close link,” he said.
He said along with various classes participating in the Friday Masses, the school also held a Mass in its bush chapel once a term.
“It’s not just Mass the children are involved in they also do community service,” he said.
“Once a term two classes are involved in tidying up the grounds and gardens around the church and cleaning it inside,” he said.
“Kids also do Meals on Wheels and visit a nursing home.”
In Clayfield, St Agatha’s school principal Carol Sayers is also a local and said Clayfield was a welcoming community.
“I am a past pupil of St Agatha’s school. As a child my parents and other parishioners were certainly committed to being involved in the life of the school and parish,” she said.
“My Dad attended Sunday Mass for over 60 years at St Agatha’s, was actively involved in parish activities until his very last years, and held continued affection for the school and parish.”
Ms Sayers said while today’s parents participated in other ways and in other contexts of learners and learning, she continued to witness the great sense of the desire for community in Clayfield.
“Our school community seems to be like a village, where families have strong inter-generational links, enjoy social connections and show loyalty to their school and parish,” he said.
Clayfield parish administrator Fr Adrian Farrelly said he liked to be a visible presence in and around the school community.
“As someone who is not full-time in the parish, but is shared with the life of the Tribunal and the Chancery, I make time to spend with the school leadership, with weekly meetings just to talk over what’s going on in the school and in the parish,” he said.
Fr Farrelly said he tried to move around the staff room just talking to teachers and attend some before school assemblies “just to be there” and interact with children and also with the parents.
“My thinking behind it, is that I want to see the parish and the school as one community,” he said.
“The school is the outreach part of the parish that enables me to fulfil the responsibilities to me as the appointed pastor in the faith education of the children.”
Fr Farrelly said faith education was vital to energising all Catholic communities.
“It all flows out of and is nurtured by your relationship with Christ and celebrating your faith in him,” he said.
“Our communities are non existent without Jesus.”
Mr Byrne agrees.
He said for two thousand years people have come together in community to share the story of Jesus, share the sacraments, to nurture and strengthen each other, and to commit themselves to continuing his mission.
