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Obituary
Farewell to a quiet achiever — Br Kevin A Ryan
Br
Kevin Alan Ryan R.I.P.
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EVEN THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS have been surprised to
learn of the unheralded achievement of the late Br Kevin A
Ryan who passed away a few weeks ago. He had been a Christian
Brother for 60 years. The Brothers' Newsletter paid tribute
with these words: "In death as in life Kevin continues
to surprise his Brothers and his Family. We all knew that
he was a very private person but to have concealed from virtually
everyone his considerable poetic achievements was no mean
feat. Kevin was a card-carrying member of the International
Society of Poets, headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland,
USA." It then publishes a letter written in 2000 by the
President of that Society when Kevin had been awarded the
International Poet of Merit Medallion. You can read the Br
Trevor Dean's obituary for Br Kevin HERE
and the following is the letter in the web edition of ERNN.
The following excerpt is taken from a letter sent
to Kevin by Elizabeth Barnes, President of the International
Society of Poets in 2000.
"Dear Kevin,
As President of the I.S.P. I am pleased to inform you of your
nomination as Poet of the Year for 2000, and I would like
to invite you to read your poetry at the single largest gathering
of poets in the world-where you will be formally inducted
as an International Poet of Merit and Honored Member of our
Society for 2000.
Your induction will take place Friday evenig, August 18th
at 8:30pm in the United States capital, Washington, D.D.m,
during the Tenth Anniversary International Society of Poets
Convention and Symposium. You will also be honoured with two
separate and very special awards for your poetic achivement
at special ceremonies throughout the weekend. First, to honor
and commemorate your poetic accomplishments, after you present
your poetry in front of fellow poets from around the world,
amidst the applause from the audience, you will be presented
with your "International Poet of Merit" Award Medallion.
The Award Medallion is a work of art in itself, cast in fine
bronze, uniquely engraved and hung from a colourful and distinctive
ribbon."
One of Kevin's poems
entered in perhaps his last competition.
Port Pirie
Diocese :
Brothers farewelled at Whyalla
Saturday, 30th July was a day of celebration and farewell
in Whyalla as the last Christian Brother left St John's College.
The College went to considerable trouble with a series of
events to acknowledge the contribution made by the Brothers.
These culminated in an address by Bishop the Bishop of Port
Pirie, Eugene Hurley, a presentation to the last Brother,
Pat Guidera, and a farewell Mass at St Theresa's Church in
the evening. The photo shows Br Pat being presented with the
certificate of appreciation.
Justice and
Peace
Pat Mohen on Justice and Peace
One of our stalwarts on Justice and Peace
in Holy Spirit Province is Br Pat Mohen. Here are some of
his thoughts after attending the recent public rally in Perth
protesting at the proposed industrial relations changes proposed
by the Federal Government.
THURDSAY 30th JUNE is a date that will remain in my
memory for a very long time. That is the day I went into the
city to take part in the assembly planned to take place in
the city centre at midday in protest at the industrial relations
reform (so called) as proposed by our Prime Minister upon
gaining control of the Senate.
I don't know what I was expecting by way of a crowd but at
a quarter to the hour I decided to make my way from the Perth
Railway Station to the Cultural Centre when I found myself
engulfed in a vast number going in the same direction. Within
minutes I was looking down on a sea of humanity stretching
across from the Art Gallery to the Alexander Library and down
as far as William Street. Certainly it was the biggest crowd
I have ever seen in the city. The Western Australian Newspaper
estimated it at 15,000 while the Australian Newspaper gave
it at over 20,000. It was certainly an imposing number and
a well ordered group as well.
All sorts of people were present. Union members of all shades
and number, family groups, Asians, a troupe of African girls
in highly coloured attire, university students, teenagers
who had never seen anything like it before and mature men
in suits who had obviously taken an hour off from the city
office. All and sundry were there to express their anger and
fears at the threats of their Prime Minister.
Also present were representatives of the major Churches. The
Catholic Church was represented by Terry Quinn from the Justice
and Peace Office. It was good to see the Churches joining
in. The Catholic Church has been to the front in Justice matters
for many years since the writings of Pope Leo 13th pointed
the way at the end of the 19th Century. When our freedoms
are threatened that is the time for all peoples to stand up
and be counted and this was that time.
 Social Justice
Broome Social Justice stalwart, Shane Wood, in the news
again
 That
indefatigable Social Justice crusader from Broome, Br Shane
Wood (picture), was making news again recently welcoming
Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister, Amanda Vanstone, to
the Kimberley and urging her to stick around "long
enough to be made aware of the shocking day-to-day conditions"
that the people in some of the remote Aboriginal communities
have to live with.
IN FACT Shane has been scoring quite a bit of attention
recently as he is now the host of a Diocesan Radio Show on
Goolarri Radio 99.7 FM in Broome. The program aims to disseminate
parish news, general Catholic news and views, featuring interviews
with people connected with the parish, including those from
local Catholic schools and the Broome Campus of Notre Dame
University. Listeners are invited to call the program during
its live broadcast time of Thursday evenings between 8:00
and 9:00. Br Shane, who lectures at the Broome Campus of Notre
Dame University, coordinates the Justice, Ecology and Peace
Office of the Diocese. You can find out more about his radio
show at this
LINK. The CathNews report on his meeting with the
Minister can be found at this LINK.
Trinity
College
Trinity student chosen to attend The Hague
YEAR 11 TRINITY STUDENT, MICHAEL WRIGHT, was one of
ten students chosen to represent Western Australia at the
44th United Nations Youth Association’s National Conference
in Adelaide from 10-17 July 2005. The Conference brought together
83 secondary students from Australia and New Zealand. Each
delegate represented a UN member state. Delegates participated
in formal debates representing their country in the format
of the United Nations General Assembly, Security Council and
other committees, meeting with their caucusing blocs to lobby
prior to debating sessions. At the conclusion of the Conference,
Michael was chosen as one of 17 students who will form the
Australian Delegation to The Hague Model United Nations (THIMUN)
from 22-27 January 2006. The students will write the resolutions
that will be debated during the weeklong simulation. All of
those that are passed will be presented to the Secretary-General
of the United Nations as a gauge of world youth opinion. After
this event the students will continue their research from
their home bases and return to Canberra in October to participate
in videophone interviews with possible interviewees such as
John Bolton and Hilary Clinton. Congratulations to Michael
on his outstanding achievement!
Olly's Wheelchair
Workshop
Olly Picket to be guest speaker at Spirituality in
the Pub
Br Olly Pickett will be the speaker at the
next Spirituality in the Pub meeting at the Elephant and Wheelbarrow
pub in Northbridge on 23rd August. His subject will be "The
Contempoary Mission Experience". The meeting begins at
7.30pm and concludes just after 9.00pm and you're welcome
to have a meal at the pub beforehand. This is the write-up
provided in the SIP flier to promote the event.
"Christian Brother Olly Pickett taught for 30 years
in schools in Western Australia. After teaching manual arts
for 20 of those years, Olly opened a welding workshop in Wangara
in 1992 for young people who had dropped out of mainstream
education. In August 1998 Olly was approached by the Rotary
Club in Scarborough to see if it was possible to manufacture
wheelchairs for children affected by landmines, polio and
other crippling diseases. So the project Wheelchairs for Kids
was started. The organisation began in 1998 and combined the
existing work of Brother Olly Pickett in his welding workshop
with the Rotary Club of Scarborough who were looking for a
partner to produce low cost wheelchairs for disabled children.
With the assistance of over 70 volunteers, and with donations
of money and services, the organisation has provided 5600
wheelchairs in 49 countries around the world. Come along and
hear the story of this remarkable partnership from Brother
Olly."
Contact
person for SIP is Deborah on 9390 1167
CBC Fremantle
CBC Freo boys at World Vision Leadership Conference
 MARK
WALAWSKI has a note in the CBC Fremantle newsletter praising
the efforts of a group of students getting involved in the
World Vision Global Leadership Conference. He wrote: "It
was fantastic to have the College represented by six of our
future leaders at Challenge Stadium on Friday 24 June to attend
the World Vision Global Leadership Conference. (LR) Tom Paten,
James O'Neill, Zachary Wong, Aaron Ang, Brendan Sardelic and
Josh Mott participated in various workshops which highlighted
their passion about the state of our world, or global community.
Amongst others, these boys were given the chance to be the
sails and rubber of the boat. As a leader their vision and
passion will give direction - a goal to work towards and make
sure all others are aware of their responsibilities to the
marginalized of this world. The boys attended workshops relating
to life in a marginalized country such as Mozambique; the
war on poverty; global leadership, fair trade and the up and
coming 40 Hour Famine, where we as a College will work together
to raise enough money to support 460 children. MAKE POVERTY
HISTORY!"
And guess what? If you managed to get this far you've reached
the last page of this newsletter. Best wishes 'til next time.
Brian Coyne.
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Edition
20: August 2005 Holy Spirit Province
