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 AUGUSTINIAN VOLUNTEERS AUSTRALIA

News Bulletin: March 2008 (& updated May 2008)

Augustinian Volunteer Project Commences

Nine participants commenced the initial Augustinian Volunteer Course at the Order’s Centre for Augustinian Spirituality, Greystanes (Sydney, NSW), on Saturday, 9th February 2008. Most in this first year are University students making time in their busy schedule for service work in a poorer area to assist in commencing Mt Druitt Augustinian Volunteer Project.

Course

Elements of the course included a three day immersion in Mt Druitt (a suburb with social problems in western metropolitan Sydney), some days on An Augustinian Spirituality for Justice and two days of Social and Cultural Analysis and Theological Reflection. There was also time in the fortnight to do some preliminary advertising for 2009 Volunteers at the Notre Dame University Expo in central Sydney.

Highlights of the First Augustinian Volunteers Course

This was the first immersion held by the Order of St Augustine in Mt Druitt. Assisting with the immersion were local ministers and workers: Sr Mary Louise at Mamre House, Fr. Pat Mullins S.J of Holy Family Parish, and Eddies Out West, which is a crisis accommodation outreach of the Christian Brothers.

A significant response to our group was that of an Aboriginal woman, Bev, at Eddies who said that, if we were coming to research the area some more and produce a report that would be shelved, we shouldn’t come but, if we intended to come and live and work alongside those already in Mt Druitt, we were very welcome because the needs of the area are still huge.

Participant Profile

All participants were from St Clair Parish, with one from the Castle Hill Parish also attending the orientation. They included nine in part time mode with five or six of these being very committed and intending to continue with service work at Mt Druitt after the completion of the course. Two were men and the rest women and only three of the group were outside the Volunteers interest group of young adults.

Young people in the St Clair youth group already have a strong Justice and Peace focus and can see the difficulties for the Mt Druitt area alongside them. There is already a parish outreach to those in need in the local area. It is easy to see why they have been the first to respond to this invitation from the Augustinians.

Future Changes

An application for accreditation of two units of the Augustinian Justice and Peace Course (Volunteer Course) towards the Graduate Certificate in Theology at Broken Bay Institute (BBI), Sydney was submitted on Tuesday, 6th May 2008. A further two units of BBI material, possibly Theology and Scripture, would be needed before a candidate could complete the Certificate.

One of the units offered in the Volunteer Course would need to correspond roughly to a unit from BBI, possibly their Contextual Theology unit and be accepted as such. The other unit would be a stand-alone unit on Augustinian Spirituality for Justice, provided by the staff of the Augustinian Spirituality Centre at Greystanes. This unit is likely to attract other BBI students.

The units submitted on 8th May were “first draft” only, allowing both parties to make further comment. Staff of the Augustinian Justice & Peace Office will continue preparation to ensure a successful 2009 Volunteer Course.

New Project

Concluding the fortnight, a core group of four young adults elected to commence a pilot project in Mt Druitt aimed at attracting the first intake of full-time Augustinian Volunteers in 2009.  This group will meet each week and will work in service organisations in the Mt Druitt area in order to develop a Ministry for in-coming Volunteers next year under the title Mt Druitt Augustinian Volunteer Project.

It is for this project that the Augustinians are seeking full-time Volunteers in 2009 to live in community based on the Augustinian way of life and to minister with those in need.

Getting the message out for 2009

The advertising of the Course and of Augustinian Volunteer Communities in 2009 has begun. If you have an interest for next year, an application form is attached to this web site. Just enter your details and return to be considered for the first full-time Augustinian Volunteer Community at Mr Druitt in 2009. Otherwise you might pass on the information contained here to someone else who’s interested. Help us get the word out about Augustinian Volunteers 2009.

Information on Augustinian ministry in the Asia and Pacific

To learn more, click here.

Contact:

Paul Wilson, c/- St Augustine’s Priory, P.O. Box 679 Brookvale NSW,  2100

Email: paul.wilson@augustinians.org.au Website: www.augustinians.org.au

Paul Wilson, Justice and Peace Project Officer  (mobile ph. 0438 646 294).

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Augustinian Ministry Websites 2008

FOR SOME CURRENT NEWS ABOUT THE ORDER OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA Click here

The Augustinian international web site is: http://www.osanet.org/en/default.htm

AUGUSTINIAN CENTRE FOR SPIRITUALITY PROGRAM 2007
2 Hewitt Avenue
Greystanes 2145
Enquiries 9896 6794
www.augustinians.org.au/communities/greystanes.html

 

 

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