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Building Bridges Together
ST MONICA’S COLLEGE THEME 2012
Our world and our lives are most enriched when in unity and community with others. No person is an island yet in our world and in our College are those who isolate themselves from others: equally, there are people who may be isolated because no one cares or considers them. There is an urgent need for outreach to others. Accordingly, our 2012 theme is ‘Building Bridges Together’. In 2012 Monicans will be called to reach out to others as Christians, as Monicans, and as citizens of the world.
We shall embrace as our supreme builder of bridges, Jesus Christ. Jesus, we know, reached out to the children, the most vulnerable; sought out those whom others despised or shunned; embraced the ill; cured those with mental and physical afflictions – and he did this in the Name of God. In 2012 we shall build bridges together as a sure way of building God’s Kingdom on earth.
Monicans are blest to live in Australia, a nation of peace and prosperity. As Australians, we have the opportunity and obligation to make the world fairer for many less privileged countries; more stable for those nations threatened by wars and conflict; and socially and economically more secure for those places where natural disasters bring ruin, where corruption is rife, where abuse of power by the few makes life miserable for the majority. Monicans will be urged to build bridges of understanding through practical actions and compassion for those folk who are downtrodden, desperate and overburdened.
To be a Monican is an honor and a blessing. As a school community we shall build bridges together so that this College is safe and welcoming to all its members. We shall ensure that words we utter, opinions we form, actions we adopt, and decisions we freely make create a Monican community which draws its inspiration from our patron, Saint Monica; is faithful to our loving God; driven by Gospel values; and reflects our respect and genuine affection for all who wear our College pin. Our bridges we build will span the year levels, connect our varied cultures, and link what we proclaim as Monicans to how we act towards each other.
The bridges we shall build together will lead to stronger relationships, empathy for the poorest and those most in need globally and locally. Their foundations will be based on the power of prayer and perseverance. Our bridges will be small when a hand is outstretched to a fellow Monican in need: our bridges will be immense when from the shores of Australia we reach out to the continents of the globe.
‘Building Bridges Together’ will take us from familiar places and people to what and who we do not know until the bridges are built, completed and crossed. This theme will challenge a whole school community to look ahead in the same direction and allow the Holy Spirit to shape, motivate and energize us. When we are ‘building bridges together’ there will be no room for mere observers, those who look on at the efforts of others from a distance. This theme is about a united workforce of every Monican doing their share, carrying their load, contributing their skills and talents to building a better world than how it is now, building a College community in which each member is valued, nurtured and loved for the person they are.
B.E. Hanley
College Principal |