St John’s relaying the message

ST JOHN’S Regional College in Dandenong is part of the Pass It On Message Stick Relay being held to celebrate the 20th anniversary of a historic speech from Pope John Paul II in Alice Springs.
In his 1986 speech, Pope John Paul II issued a challenge to the nation to ‘rekindle the flames of reconciliation and heal past hurts’.
He also challenged the Catholic Church to permit indigenous members “to become, through and through, Aboriginal Christians” by allowing them to express their Christianity in terms and symbols of their cultures.
The message stick has been used in Aboriginal culture since ancient times to call people from different tribes together.
The Message Stick Relay was launched on 1 May from St Mary’s Cathedral Sydney and will be relayed among parishes and schools around the country in the next 12 months.
The message stick recently visited St John’s Regional College.
Students Phillip Pellegrin (year seven) and Santo Richardson (year nine), who are of Aboriginal descent, received the message stick and passed it on to the first class.
Students then discussed what reconciliation steps have been taken in the past 20 years and made a commitment to do more to realise the Pope’s request.
The results of the discussions at schools and churches will be brought together in October 2006 when the relay ends in Alice Springs.