(Week beginning Monday 27th February)

We begin our annual Lenten Project Compassion journey by learning about Laxmi, a 16-year-old girl living in Jajarkot, a remote district in Nepal where almost half of the population live below the poverty line.  Tragedy struck when Laxmi was 10 years old and her father passed away. Her father worked hard to pay for his children's education and, after losing him, Laxmi was at risk of falling further into extreme poverty.

With the support of our partner Caritas Nepal, Laxmi joined a child's club at her school where she was encouraged to resume her education. Through the child’s club, Laxmi developed the skills and confidence to become a leader, advocating for clean water taps at her school. 

Laxmi is now excelling in her studies and working towards her dream of becoming a civil engineer. She continues to be involved in the child's club, serving as an advisor and mentoring the next generation of young leaders at her old school.   

Watch a short film about Laxmi’s story here.

Please support Project Compassion: www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion.

Donation boxes have been distributed to each classroom. The winning classroom will have the Mission Cup in their classroom for a week.

Many thanks to our parent community for your support for Pancake Tuesday. It was a great success and MacKillop House were the winners of the Mission Cup. All proceeds will be forwarded onto Caritas Australia. The students thoroughly enjoyed themselves and the year 6 students were very responsible helpers, showing great leadership skills.

Last Tuesday, Edward, Mrs Sillis and I went to a liturgy for the Caritas Launch at St Columbkilles. All the school captains from around the Wollongong Catholic Diocese attended the liturgy. High schools came too. 

In the liturgy we heard four stories from all over the world. Laxmi was from Nepal and she found her voice can change others’ perspectives. 

Thu was from Vietnam and had a disability but he didn’t let that stop him from making an income to help his family. 

Priscilla was from Zimbabwe and found it hard to produce crops and make food during drought times. Caritas taught her what and how to grow crops during drought. 

Lastly Tereesa is a Gamilaroi woman from Sydney who struggled with homelessness while raising her four children. 

The liturgy was based on ‘Who Will Speak If We Don't'. If you live in a poor country like Africa with lots of droughts and even kidnapping of children, people don’t speak out. We have a voice, so who will speak if we don't? 

Our Holy Week Liturgy will be at 12.00pm in SJV on Wednesday 5 April. Parents and friends are very welcome to celebrate with us the most important time in the church’s calendar. This year we will be focusing on Holy Thursday. 

Parent volunteers are required to reenact/ read the Last Supper and the Washing Of The Feet with students and staff. Please email Natalie Shelley via the school office. (No acting experience required). Students may leave with a parent or carer after the liturgy once signed out of the office.

Father Bernard and Father James have invited Year 5 and 6 students to join as Altar Servers. Students will receive full training and will assist at school mass, liturgies and may be asked to commit to weekend serving when required. Please contact Natalie Shelley via the school office should you be interested in your child learning an important skill and being a part of the school and parish community.

St Patricks day is Friday 17 March. Children are to wear something green.

PARISH CONTACT DETAILS:

General enquires

Lumen Christi Catholic Parish, Wollongong

Diocese of Wollonong - PO Box 874 Wollongong - 36 Harbour St Wollongong NSW 2500

Phone - 02 42211 0500

Email - wollongong@dow.org.au 

Web: www.lumenchristi.org.au

Office Hours : Monday to Friday (9:00am - 1:00 pm)