Acting Assistant Principal - Mission

Last week, we commenced Lent with our Ash Wednesday Liturgy. Ash Wednesday is a solemn reminder of our human mortality and the need for reconciliation with God, and marks the beginning penitential Lenten season. Even though COVID restrictions were lifted, we had already planned to present the Liturgy online. Mr West and Macquarie 9 Pastoral Care Group led the online Liturgy from our College Chapel.

The Ashes were distributed to our Pastoral Care Groups in their rooms by 27 staff members and they concluded the Liturgy by viewing a presentation on Project Compassion.

I would like to thank Mr Gobius, Mr West and PC M9 for developing and presenting a meaningful and respectful Ash Wednesday Liturgy.

Community Service

“We are the hands and feet of Jesus”

What is community service?

Simple, community service is doing something for others or the community. There are many examples of this in our community such as the SES, Rural Fire Brigade, St Vincent de Paul, coaching, doing jobs for the neighbours or elderly, just to name a few.

The more important question is why we should devote our time to helping and serving others?

Is it because we get something out of it? That we feel good and it helps our self- esteem? Or that we want to receive a reward such as praise, recognition or a material gain such as a certificate?

We believe that there is more to the question of reason of why?

Jesus, the Son of God, never placed himself in a position above others. He led by serving, and He loved by serving. He washed feet. He fed thousands. He walked to visit and heal the sick and dead. He stopped to touch and heal a sick woman. He spent time with those no one else cared to spend time with. Jesus lived a life of humility and service to others.

Jesus was not stressed and feted by time, what others thought of Him, or a list of tasks to accomplish each day. Jesus was led by the Spirit of God and followed His promptings to serve, love, and help others. No task was ever beneath Jesus, and no person was ever unworthy.Serving others is more than keeping up with your to-do list. To be a servant means we genuinely need to care about people. It’s keeping our eyes, hearts and schedules open for serving others.

As Christians are compelled to use their gifts and talents to build the kingdom of God, Jesus the Christ’s central message. We are called to be a part of the solution, not the problem. The purpose of service is so God can reach others through our hands.

In John 13:15, Jesus sets an example for us to follow. After washing His disciples' feet — an act of love, humility, and service — He encourages us to follow His lead and serve one another.

Also, we will be hearing from people from within our College, as well as the wider community, talking about opportunities for community service that you are invited to become involved in. We will also be inviting guests to share their experience of serving others through community service.

You may know of people who are already doing wonderful things when it comes to community service and we would love to hear from you so that we can recognise them and hear about what they are doing.

‘Out of Uniform Day’ for recent Flood Victims

Today, we had the great opportunity to reach out to others by participating in an ‘Out of Uniform’ day. We have all seen the devastating floods that have occurred around the country, and in particular in our Diocese of Lismore. This was a way that we could support those directly impacted by the floods by wearing casual clothes and donating a gold coin.

We raised $2,000 which was a fantastic effort!! Congratulations to the SJRC community on their generosity.  This amount includes $170 raised by our Year 12 Hospitality students who sold mini nachos at recess.