In this edition:
23rd January, 2018.

Should we celebrate Australia Day?

Welcome to this fortnight's edition of LITed: Liturgical Education News. 
Many parishes will be celebrating Australia Day this Friday with a Mass or Liturgy of the Word. It is time that we asked ourselves whether it is appropriate to keep celebrating this date? There must be some discomfort on day that celebrates the European settlement of a country already inhabited by indigenous peoples. In this LITed we explore what parishes can do and perhaps should do. 
​James Robinson
Education Officer, Liturgy Brisbane
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Feature Articles

This is not fake news!

What are the facts around Australia Day? What should give us pause as Catholics to re-think how we celebrate this day?

Advance Australia Fair?

Is it permissible to use Advance Australia Fair during liturgies on our national holiday? We explore the alternatives. 

Celebrating Australia Day

Elizabeth Murray SGS writes that Australia Day is not a liturgical feast but a day of national observance, a day of prayer.
...for thousands of years you have lived in this land and fashioned a culture that endures to this day. And during all this time, the Spirit of God has been with you...

Pope John Paul II Alice Springs Address (1986)

Recommended Resources

Sacramental Workshops

Liturgy Brisbane with Evangelisation Brisbane will be hosting workshops throughout March on Archdiocesan Sacramental Programs: First Rite of Reconciliation. 

Liturgy Team Discussion Groups

Liturgy Brisbane announces a discussion group process that will support formation for Liturgy Preparation Teams in parishes. Come join us in Caloundra or Upper Mt Gravatt!

ACU Short Course

The ACU Short Courses are starting again. Great for a quick update. Held in the Cathedral Precinct. This year, one of the lectures will focus on liturgy with Dr Jason McFarland. 

Ask someone who knows

As a teacher, I was often confronted with the biased or racist views of parents and students. The first thing I would ask was if they had spoken with the person from the race they were making assumptions about. When it comes it the difficult conversation about celebrating Australia Day, I ask the same thing: have you listened to what our Aboriginal brothers and sisters want? Have you legitimately listened to their concerns? I challenge you to play this clip as your community deliberates how you will celebrate Australia Day. 

Other Publications

Blessed are the Religious Right

HUFFPOST: Increasingly, the religious right in America are espousing values that seem less and less Christian. Are we headed to the same place?

Rising Mass Attendance

PRAYTELL: An intriguing story about a parish in Chicago that increased mass attendance by 64%. A challenging article.

Australia Day has never been unifying

EUREKA STREET: There is momentum around facing the truth. Read about the history of our National Day. 

In the news

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Contact Us

Cathedral House
229 Elizabeth Street
Brisbane Qld 4001
Phone: 07 3324 3314
liturgy@liturgybrisbane.net.au
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