LISTEN LEARN LOVE
Students Gather to Listen, Learn and Love
Each year the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference releases a Social Justice Statement on Social Justice Sunday that explores important justice issues with the hope of provoking thought and action throughout the following year. This year’s theme is LISTEN LEARN LOVE - A New Engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
Recently secondary students and their teachers from across the Diocese of Wollongong gathered to explore and unpack this Social Justice statement at the annual See, Judge, Act Workshop.
The day began with a Smoking Ceremony where all were invited to walk through the cleansing smoke acknowledging our connection to country and the First Peoples of our land. This acknowledgement was then deepened by the Aboriginal Cultural Dance students from John Therry Catholic College, Rosemeadow who proudly shared their talents, experiences and deep pride for their culture with the gathering.
We then moved into a yarning time with prayer and ritual inviting all into a spirit of listening, learning and loving. The keynote speaker was Maddy Forde Senior Advisor – Ministry
Catholic Education South Australia who shared her wisdom and experience in a most engaging and inspiring way. There was then an opportunity to read through the Social Justice Statement, reflect on and discuss it and then consider how they might listen, learn and love back in their own school communities and in their own lives.
The day culminated in an artistic activity that represented the students’ responses to the call to action of the statement. In the final ritual, each secondary school was gifted a special message stick with the words Listen Learn Love to take back to their communities as a reminder of the challenge we all have to journey together in a spirit of recognition and reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and all Australians.
