Society of Mary Provincial Fr Tim Duckworth then opened the Centre.

The ceremony was attended by friends, family, students, alumni from various Catholic secondary schools, and local church communities.

Whanau Maria will serve as the new home for Logos, a Marist youth development project with a 24-year history in the Diocese of Auckland.

The centre will also house other Marist Laity projects.

On Friday, Duckworth announced Mrs Hannah van Schie as the new Director of Marist Laity.

"Everyone in the Church is called to minister to others and take the Gospel into the world.

"The Society of Mary's hope is that Whanau Maria will be a creative place where people can learn to do that in a community of people like them," Duckworth told CathNews.

As people gathered for the opening, the Marist College Kapa Haka group set a festive atmosphere with their songs.

There were other musical performances, a liturgical dance, further songs by the Kapa Haka group, and people of different ages shared personal stories about how Logos had affected their lives.

Cedric Charles, the special character prefect at St Peter's College, said his encounters with Logos have helped him to connect his daily life with "theology".

"This year's special character retreat assisted me in my role as the special character prefect", he said.

After the formal proceedings, attendees explored the facility's various amenities, including offices, youth spaces, a family room, a dining area, a commercial kitchen, a chapel, laundry, bathrooms and a main meeting hall.

Owned by the Society of Mary, Whanau Maria is situated on Ponsonby Road on the former site of Good Shepherd College, New Zealand's former Catholic Theological College.

Bishop Lowe blessed a mural located in the car park, a gift from local artist Haser.

Good Shepherd College was a joint venture between the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference and the Society of Mary. Its primary purpose was to teach theology to seminarians.

When it was proposed to merge all the Catholic Tertiary providers into a Catholic leadership institute, Te Kupenga, the Society of Mary decided the focus of the new body was beyond its scope of responsibility.

In 2020, it acquired the remaining share of the Ponsonby Road property, repurposing it for lay ministry.

• Supplied

The Delargey Awards are named in honour of Cardinal Reginald Delargey (1914-79) who was noted for his work for young Catholics.

They are presented by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference every two years to recognise outstanding involvement in Catholic Youth Ministry.

The 2020 winners are:

• Antje Duda of Christchurch, in the Justice and Service category of the awards, for her "remarkable impact" on the Catholic Cathedral College community, particularly in supporting students in valuing service, justice and their faith.
• Susana Fiu-Fetalai, of Auckland, in the Pastoral Care category, for her work with the Mother of Divine Mercy Refuge and Project Hope and her "remarkable commitment to supporting families and helping young people discover their God-gifted talents and create change in their lives."
• Jennifer Martinez and Sam Mano of Auckland, (pictured above) jointly, in the Pastoral Care and Leadership Development categories, for dedicating many years of service to Catholic youth in New Zealand through the Marist youth development project Logos, inspiring and encouraging youth through retreats and other programmes.
• Dave Mullin of Palmerston North, in the Advocacy category, for his many years of involvement in diocesan youth and young adult ministry, including chairing the bishops' Council for Young People from 2017 to 2019 and organising and attending World Youth Days.

As part of the award, the winners will we be recognised at Takirua 2020, the youth and marriage ministry conference, which is yet to be rescheduled because of the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bishop of Auckland Patrick Dunn, President of the NZCBC, congratulated the winners for their dedicated work with young people throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.

"The awards are an opportunity to acknowledge the work of the many wonderful people in our parishes and dioceses who tirelessly support young people in many different ways," said Bishop Dunn.

Source:

Supplied: Communications Adviser, NZ Catholic Bishops
Te Huinga o nga Pihopa Katorika o Aotearoa

NZ Catholic Bishops Te Huinga o nga Pihopa Katorika o Aotearoa

Tayla will be helping people from Myanmar who have come to Thailand either as refugees escaping conflict and living in refugee camps or as migrants seeking work.

The farewell was a shared meal with Tayla and her family. Tayla is in the centre of the above photo with a gold logo on her top.

Having not long completed her bachelor of education to become a primary school teacher, Tayla will work at the Marist Asia Foundation for three months.

She will join another member of the Logos community, Laura McLellan, who is on an eight-month assignment in Ranong.

Both Tayla and Laura are former students of Marist College.

Tayla was the college's Head Girl in 2014.

Since leaving high school, Tayla has volunteered her service and gifts as a Connector in the Logos community, being a part of school retreats, community events and other programmes.

The Marist Asia Foundation began in 2006, responding to the education, health and migrant worker needs of the Burmese community.

Latest estimates suggest Ranong has up to 120,000 Burmese migrants, most of whom work in the fishing industry. Often they find the conditions in Ranong difficult.

The Marist Asia Foundation welcomes volunteers who may come for 6, 12 or 24 months and visitors who stay for a short time to help in many ways.

Because of the immigration and legal documentation required to be a volunteer in Thailand, preference now is given to volunteers who can come for a period of at least 6 months.

Each year, Marist Mission Ranong requires 2-3 volunteers who can help in English and Social Studies classes.

Qualified Teachers are also able to help with teacher mentoring and training.

For more information, download the Marist Asia Foundation Volunteer Application.

Source

• Supplied
• maristasiafoundation.org
• Image: Supplied

They are part of a group of seven heading to Lyon to take part in Dare to Dream, the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Marist Family.

Jen Martinez, Sam Mao and Matt Grevatt will be making a presentation.

They belong to Logos, an Auckland based Marist youth development project. So they are familiar with making presentations in a New Zealand context. But this is the first time they will present in an international setting.

"We're told that our English will be translated by an App!" Jen said by phone the evening before departing.

She is uncertain how many of the 400 attendees understand English but expects there will be a number who won't. "I hope the App understands Kiwi".

The Logos team will be leading the workshop on chapters three and four of Pope Francis' Amoris Laetitia "The Joy of Love".

The presentation seeks to explore the "vocation of the family", and "love in marriage". Their starting point is 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

Dare to Dream marks the 200th anniversary of the time when young Marists signed a pledge at Fourvière to found the Society of Mary.

The gathering, a joint initiative of the four religious branches of the Marist Family, takes place in the Marist School of Sainte Marie Lyon - La Solitude.

Fr Alejandro Muñoz SM of the ‘Dare to Dream' organising committee said the meeting is to encourage young people to dare to dream, like the group of young Marists did 200 years ago when they signed a pledge at Fourvière to found the Society of Mary.

Muñoz says the Dare to Dream programme aims to:

• Promote the coordination and integration of young Marists
• Celebrate of the bicentenary of the Pledge of Fourvière
• Prepare for the bicentenary of the founding of the Institute of the Marist Brothers on 2 January 2017.

The Marist Family consists of five branches: of the Marist Brothers (FMS), The Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary (SMSM), The Marist Fathers and Brothers (SM), the Marist Sisters (SM) the Marist Lay Movement. It played an important part in the first evangelisation of the Pacific Islands, including New Zealand.

Source

• sm.org.nz
• Image: sm.org.nz

Martinez has worked at The Logos project for more than ten years.

"The experiences and opportunities I received in my younger years have had a profound impact on me, and are why I am so passionate about faith and personal formation," says Martinez.

"Many years ago I lived in a Catholic young adult community run by the Christian Brothers and I was very involved in different ministries within the Edmund Rice Network."

"I also trained and worked as a chef after I left school at Marist College."

"I love the fact that each day I have the opportunity to support young people to grow in their faith and in who they are called to be," she said.

Founded in 1999 by the Society of Mary, The Logos Project works with young people in the Auckland region.

It runs a range of programmes designed to develop young people, helping them to know who they are what they stand for.

It is hoped that, by doing this, these young people will become women and men who make a positive contribution to their communities and to wider society.

Last year Logos ran:

• 37 one-day or overnight retreats in six schools
• 5 regular Special Character activities in two schools, involving 107 students
• 2 week-long OSCAR holiday programmes with about 18 participants
• 1 three-day retreat for 18 special character leaders from 7 schools
• 1 overnight retreat and many training and formation sessions of the Connectors, (Logos volunteers)
• A family violence programme, "Jade Speaks Up" in two schools involving over 140 students
• Eucharistic traning in three schools for more than 30 participants
• Sacrament programmes in three schools with 40 participants receiving the Sacraments of Initiation
• Weekly class Masses in 4 schools, fortnightly masses in two schools, and 16 other school masses
• Logos also assisted Caritas and the Marist Brothers to deliver programmes

As with most youth projects, Logos always struggles to find enough resources, human and material.

Much was put in place throughout 2015 to help strengthen Logos for the future.

The most significant of these is moving premises to a more suitable building.

The Logos Project has been based at the historic Josephite convent on St Benedict's St since 2007.

In January they moved to its new location in Eden Terrace.

It is a more modern building and more suited to the smaller team.

Source

• Supplied

In today's faster paced world, are those un-ordained people living their faith and ministering to others as an integral part of who they are, their work, and their daily interactions with others becoming the new ‘priests'?

Andrea O'Hagan and Elaine Dyer, reflect on their encounter with the Logos Project.

Recently they trained the Logos team to present Jade Speaks up, a resource for helping to put strong safety strategies in place to support children, should violence occur in their lives.

Last year our paths crossed the path of a group of Catholic youth workers known as Logos.

One morning I (Andrea) received a phone call from Anna, the Finance and Funding member of the team.

She had heard of a programme we developed through Violence Free Waitakere to address the issue of domestic violence with children.

Anna was interested because the programme, Jade Speaks Up, seemed to fit with the work of the Logos team in schools.

The Logos team are guided by the Marist principles of quiet service to the poor and those on the fringes of society.

In schools and communities they work with children and teens who listen and connect with these ‘ministers' who are of the same cultures as the students and are not much older than them.

These youth workers model how to make life-choices based on a personal relationship with God.

Logos do their work on a shoestring budget.

While they work for the good of others rather than for financial reward, I understand they are considered too ‘churchy' to qualify for government funding and too secular to qualify for church funding.

What will it take to change that view?

What needs to happen to keep the Logos team, and others like it ministering to younger communities who need these spiritually inspired, service orientated young people bringing Christ into the midst of the vulnerable?

Last September we met the Logos team in Auckland's suburb of Newton and ran the two day training for them.

In a chapel room, under the steady gaze of Mary Mackillop's picture on the wall, the team welcomed us, arranged the chairs, and dressed an altar table with fabric.

The Logos team began each day of the Jade Speaks Up training with a bible reading, linking it to their work ‘in the market place'.

Standing in a close circle they sang hymns/waiatas in harmonies that reached deep into our body, touched our souls and connected us with generations of faithful who had stood in that building and sung to God.

Through their questions and conversations regarding domestic violence and the contents of the programme, it was clear that each team member was holding the children they would interact with love, respect, compassion.

If they queried their own delivery abilities, they never doubted the difference the programme could make for children needing a safe space with trusted adults to talk about domestic violence.

The training consisted of two days of looking at what domestic violence is, and guiding the Logos team in interacting with the contents of the Jade Speaks Up programme.

They worked in small teaching teams, getting to know the sessions and processes and presenting mini teaching seminars to the rest of us.

Each team received constructive feedback on what was working in the teaching presentations and what they could consider changing from their colleagues.

Elaine and I gave feedback and guidance from our place of knowing the outcomes the team could achieve through paying attention to their language patterns and using the pedagogical strategies we had incorporated throughout the programme.

You may wonder why bother having Youth Workers available to schools. I have been asked, ‘isn't this the work of the teachers? Don't the teacher's get paid to include this kind of learning into their Health programmes?'

Certainly teachers are expected to include programmes such as Jade Speaks Up to enhance key competencies such as managing self and relating to others.

They also seek such programmes that provide them with activities and plans to explore personal and interpersonal development.

The Logos team acknowledged that the class teachers ‘supported the delivery of the programme within their classrooms and were in the position to be able to reinforce the learning over the long term'.

However the value of having another group of young men and women from outside the school interacting respectfully with young people can be underestimated.

Some of our students in New Zealand do not have enough role models of adults showing respect, compassion and care for people - whether they know those people well or not not.

Feedback to the team from the teachers included the following comment:

• The team was always really well prepared and established an excellent relationship with both classes.
• They gave our boys opportunities to talk about their feelings and share common fears and experiences.
• This … has helped our boys greatly by letting them share their feelings and emotions with each other and letting them know they are not alone, and that they are not the only ones who are feeling certain ways.

One Year 8 students commented:
‘I learned that everyone has a place and that we all have feelings [and are in situations] which can trigger anger… [but] there are people out there trying to help us and that we just need to ask.'

The boys who experienced the compassion of the Logos team learned from them that to break cycles of violence ‘we just need to ask' [for help]. Isn't that one of the significant messages of Christ?

Driving away I found myself reflecting on the spirituality and service of this group of youth workers.

Are they the face of the future Catholic Ministry? What will it take to ensure Logos and other teams like them can continue doing their work?

Like any enterprise the team has needs such as a building with affordable rent to work from, and funding to cover costs and wages.

How can lay people, priests and bishops support and develop such people within our Church?

"Christ has no body now
on earth
but yours.
No feet but yours, no hands but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which God pours out
compassion
to the world."
Circle dance lyrics based on quote from St. Teresa of Avila

Co-written by Andrea O'Hagan, Positive Changes Coaching Services and Elaine Dyer, CEO Violence Free Waitakere

For more information:
www.logos.org.nz/
www.violencefreewaitakere.org
www.positivechanges.net.nz

A Place to Stand is a leadership development programme for 18-25s who wish to take a more active role in their parish or group community.

The programme was led by The Logos Project on behalf of the Auckland Catholic Diocese.

The programme began in April. There were five weekly sessions, followed by one a fortnight later, then monthly meetings. It included a weekend retreat.

Almost 900 people attended the mass which was prepared and led by the Logos.

One of the people who was there said, "Mass was terrific tonight! Amazing musical group. Will be a regular on the last Sunday of the month!"

Click here to view photo-gallery

Source

• Auckland Diocesan Youth
• Image: Facebook

In Auckland the Logos Project (the Marist Youth Ministry Trust) team runs programmes based in one of three core areas of church, schools and community. All have youth and faith at their centre.

This school term, the Logos Project is running a community-based programme called ICE (I can excel) at St Paul's College, a Marist brothers school in Ponsonby, Auckland. Lome Brown, a youth worker at the Logos Project, says that team members receive instant feedback from the young people on the programme. He says, "We have received an excellent response to the programme. St Paul's staff members choose these students, believing they will benefit from the support such a programme provides. This programme helps them to understand that not only can they achieve, they can excel."

"With most of the Logos Project team involved in the preparation and delivery of the 10-week programme, including group mentoring and a weekend retreat for the 21 boys involved, it takes smart planning and skilled execution to deliver what the boys need. To assist the team, funds donated specifically for this programme have come from the Sky City Trust."

The Logos Project's schools work includes programmes at five Catholic schools in the Auckland Diocese. Initiatives include sacramental programmes, supporting Mass, liturgy groups, special character groups and retreats for different year levels for these schools. Jen Martinez, Schools' programme leader says, "We also run a volunteer (connectors) programme, where we train, mentor, and upskill young people to support us and this proves invaluable in programmes like ICE. It's very much a win-win situation."

Lome Brown adds, "The ICE programme provides the young people with opportunities for new experiences; for building positive relationships; for support where it is needed. It seems a daunting task but it gives us the chance to facilitate some positive outcomes."

Source

• Bruce Craig

The retreat provides an opportunity for student leaders who are seeking a transformative experience that links faith and life in a way that is relevant to young people.

Over the 4 days that they are together the students will engage in a variety of activities designed to challenge and motivate them in their roles with a renewed sense of purpose.

This year the retreat begins on 17-20 April, held at Te Unga Waka Marae, a Marae founded by Dame Whina Cooper.

There are 22 students representing Marist, St Dominic's, St Peter's, St Paul's, Liston, Pompallier and Campion Colleges. Although Campion is not within the Auckland Diocese, the Logos Project never deny young people the access to their programmes.

This year theme is "Our own backyard"; it explores the concept of Turangawaewae. Literally turanga (standing place), waewae (feet) is translated as "a place to stand".

Turangawaewae are places we feel especially empowered and connected. They are our foundation, our place in the world and our home. Throughout the retreat the students will go on a journey to discover the Turangawaewae of their own lives as well as both the Christian story and the New Zealand Catholic story.

This process allows them to recognise the gift of our faith tradition that connects us all as one people. The students will also have the privilege to hear the story of 2 Josephite Sisters who lived and worked alongside Dame Whina Cooper in Panguru.

The Logos team are deeply excited about delivering this retreat and say it is definitely one of highlights of the year for them. They say young people are looking ever more for a sense of meaning, healing and belief in something bigger. This retreat is sure to nourish and incite this hunger.

The Logos Project is a Marist Youth Development organisation that has been operating for over 10 years in Auckland. They offer a range of programmes and services in 3 key areas: School, Church and Community. Each year they work with over 10,000 young people.

Source

• The Logos Project
• Image: The Logos Project