austraLasia #2726 Fun, Friends, Faith and Festivity - Ozbosco draws 'em in
SYDNEY: 5 October 2010 -- Sydney probably hasn't seen anything
quite like it since World Youth day. In something of a
re-creation of the Salesian spirit that was evident in that city then,
young people came in from around the nation from most of the Salesian
works, and Fr Mosese Vitolio Tui even flew in from Samoa for the
much-awaited OzBosco, billed as a weekend of Fun, Friends, Faith and
Festivity.
By all accounts it was all of that, but "Sir, we
want to see Jesus", was what it was really all about, a theme that
threaded through presentations and workshops, and even a touch of magic
as professional magician Fr Michael Court kept the crowd enthralled
with, well, he prefers not to call them 'tricks', obviously!
An active Pastoral Animation Team, in a
model that has taken root strongly in the Australian-Pacific Province
over many years involving Salesians SDB, FMA and
lay, and now young adult leaders in the wings, honed to preventive
system precision, led the event.
Sr Rochelle Lamb FMA was the coordinator. The chief
location was the Don Bosco Youth Centre in Sydney's West, a Centre that
grew out of the 1988 Salesian Centennial response to an area identified
as Australia's poorest and most prolific, demographically speaking. The
Centre is well-equipped to handle large numbers and offer them a
variety of spaces.
Participants were kept focused with workshops
covering a range of themes, from prayer and meditation to building
bridges. Sydney itself, multicultural and vibrant, just a little wet at
times, formed the right kind of backdrop, including a Harbour Tour.
There was another kind of backdrop that emerged over the Saturday
afternoon workshop sessions - a large portrait of Don Bosco, melded
together from individual groups
The final Mass was a triumph of colour and
participation. Fr Bernie Graham, the full-time Youth Ministry Delegate
for the Province, saw to that with much assistance from many helpers.
The Mass was followed by a spit-roast and then the crowd danced into
the night with the Bushrangers (the name of a well-known 'country
music' style band). 'Bushrangers' is a term that evokes somewhat
romantic notions à la Robin Hood, but with a particular
Australian touch. The historical reality was probably a lot nastier,
but that didn't stop even some of the older Salesian Sisters from
getting into the swing of things! _________________ AustraLasia is an
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