Brett+Jones+-+IPC


 * //Task 1//**
 * //After attending the three days of the Light for the Journey Gathering, you are to read://**
 * // a) //****//Brien, S. and Hack, J. (2005) Charism in the Catholic School: A workable twenty-first century model;//**
 * // b) //****//Green, M. (2000) Charisms: what possibilities and challenges do they offer principals for developing culture and spirituality in Catholic schools; and//**
 * // c) //****//Putney, M. E. (2005) The Catholic school of the future.//**


 * //Then, using various commentary from the readings, complete a 1000 word situational analysis of the current presence of the founding charism in your school. Your analysis is to describe the charism; compare or contrast the presence of your school’s charism with a key comment informed by each of the above articles and two (2) of the keynote addresses selected by you. //**

My draft is outlined below. At present it includes a number of references loosely linked together. I hope participants are able to follow my thought processes to date. I apologise again for my absence.

Personal experiences have allowed my involvement in Catholic Education to include my schooling at Ignatius Park College, a Christian Brothers College, and my employment at Ignatius Park College, a Catholic School in the Edmund Rice tradition. This statement serves to reflect the changing face of Christian Brothers Education from the 1990’s to the present. The College is now overtly aware of the importance of acknowledging, living and reflecting on the meaning of the blessed Edmund Rice Charism. In 2004, Edmund Rice Australia published ‘The Charter’, a document with the specific intent of distinguishing Edmund Rice Schools within the educational community.

While the document establishes that there is no single distinction with other Catholic Schools, it highlights a combination of factors the make Edmund Rice schools unique:

“The vision and mission have their heart in the mission and ministry of Jesus, the Catholic Church and the charism of Edmund. In this context there is a need to look at the sum total of the Gospel message, the Tradition of the Church and the unique response made by blessed Edmund to the movement of God’s Spirit” (Edmund Rice Education Australia, 2004, p. 6)

The existence of the Edmund Rice charism, is seen through the cultural characteristics contained in the Charter. “They are proclaimed as an authentic expression of the charism of Blessed Edmund Rice, expressed in dynamic and adaptive learning communities”. (Edmund Rice Education Australia, 2004, p. 6) These characteristics include; holistic education, spirituality, faith in action, community, pastoral care, service of others, being just, at the margins, compassion, stewardship and reflective practice.

Bishop Michael Putney discusses a key reason why the charism of Edmund Rice needed to be formulated in the published ‘Charter’. This involves the decline of young Christian Brothers with ambitions to work in the Australian educational sector. It also highlights the changing times that I referred to in the introduction. “There are some new characteristics of contemporary schools that could not have been present many decades ago …… a new committed body of lay men and women have taken responsibility for leadership in Catholic schools and for the administration of Catholic school systems” (Putney, M. 2008, p. 3)

The charism of Blessed Edmund Rice is used as a myth for the creation of the Ignatius Park College culture. It is an account that easily transfers gospel values and the boys can hinge their understandings on many of the examples provided. Additionally it provides a framework for strategic planning, school renewals and the application of many policies within the school community.

“Charism, in its broadest sense, provides us with a lens through which to view the Gospel, in the hope that we will be inspired and compelled to live this call to discipleship” (Brien & Hack, 2005, p. 70)

“It allows us to find a framework to link the administrative, religious, curriculum and pastoral dimensions of a school community into a cohesive whole” (Brien & Hack, 2005, p. 74)

The charism is also unique in its application to a variety of contexts. Ranging from a school in East Timor, to the Flexible Learning Centres in Queensland and finally to the popular schools in major metropolitan areas. “John Paul II, while pointing out that the essence of all Christian spirituality leads us to and from Jesus, also importantly observes that each one of us will engage this discipleship in a different way, a way that suits who we are, where we are, how we are living and working, and connects with our personal abilities and preferences” (Green, M. 2009, p. 6)