Archbishop of Vancouver challenges Catholic schools to be Church

Priests, Principals and RECs Forum 16 August 2015

Clergy, Principals and Religious Education Coordinators (RECs) from the Diocese of Parramatta gathered for the annual Priests, Principals and RECs Forum on Thursday 6 August at Rosehill Gardens.

The Archbishop of Vancouver, Most Rev J. Michael Miller CSB, was the keynote speaker for the forum focusing on “Educating for today and tomorrow: A renewing passion”. In his address, Archbishop Miller said Catholic schools play a vital role in the evangelising mission of the Church asking the question, ‘is personal witness to the gospel evident in the life of a school?’.

‘It is more necessary now than ever to make people aware of the responsibility to give witness to Christ and the Gospel,’ Archbishop Miller said. ‘In addition to all the other things Catholic teachers do they have the proclamation of the Gospel at the centre of everything they do.’

‘The best way anyone supports it is by personal witness of life, being a joyful Christian around students and on occasion to share explicitly what makes their own heart sing,’ he said. ‘Teaching is one of the noblest vocations because you touch the minds, the heart, the souls of the next generation.’

The Executive Director of Schools, Greg Whitby, said the visiting Archbishop challenged leaders in their work of Catholic schooling.

‘Archbishop Miller brings an understanding of the universal Church and affirmed our direction of “renewing and adapting”,’ Greg said. ‘In a simple, yet powerful, way he asked the hard questions and laid before our leaders four challenges if they are to truly lead schools that live up to the evangelising mission of the Church.

‘At the heart of his challenge, is the call to act and be Church, not just talk about being Church,’ he said.

Following the forum, clergy from the Dioceses of Parramatta and Broken Bay and the Archdiocese of Sydney, celebrated the Feast of St John Vianney, the patron saint of priests, at a special lunch attended by Archbishop Miller.

Educating for Today and Tomorrow: A Renewing Passion - Archbishop Miller Address.

Read the full keynote

Written By

Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
www.parra.catholic.edu.au

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Stage 1 presented their learning about the Great Barrier reef to the school today. Each class came down with their teachers to hear all the amazing facts about the Great Barrier Reef and why it is so important that we look after the largest living structure in the world! Everyone was so impressed with their hard work and Stage 1 were so proud to show off their efforts! Great job stage 1! The work will be on display in the library before school on Friday morning and parents are invited to come in and look at the work and then take the reef boxes home.

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🥁 Thank you, Emily, for an incredible day of drumming! 🥁 On Monday, our Kindy to Year 6 students had the absolute pleasure of drumming with Emily, and what a wonderful experience it was! ❤️ Emily shared such beautiful words about our school community, describing our students as diverse, incredibly creative and an absolute delight, and highlighting the musicality, inclusiveness and warmth that make St Canice’s so special. Our students (and staff!) had so much fun joining in, learning new skills, making music together and sharing plenty of smiles along the way. 🥁🎶 A huge THANK YOU, Emily, for bringing your energy, enthusiasm and joy to St Canice’s. We loved every minute of it! 🥰🫶 What a fantastic day of music, connection and fun! 💙💛