Whitley College L i f e Equipping leaders for a different world The newsletter of Whitley College Issue 5 - June 2011
sharing the
whitley
spirit!
Rev Merrill Kitchen at MCD Conferral in Mathe y
Rev Dr Frank Rees ‘Love and Justice’ is the integrating theme for this year at Whitley. In this edition of Whitley College Life we have many stories of how people are doing remarkable things towards creating a more just society. Recently, medical scientists have identified a part of our brain which is ‘wired’ for justice. They have found evidence of a strong emotional response to unfairness. Any parent knows how strongly children respond to what they see as an unfair distribution of food or other goodies. We seem to have an innate sense of what is just. Justice, however, is much more than an equal distribution of good things. Equality is not achieved by sameness. Part of our education into a civil society involves discovering that deeper and more creative sense of justice. One of the most important moral challenges of our lives is what we do in the face of injustice. One part of this is to work for restoration. Another part is to consider how we ensure that further injustice does not develop. Here is where the rule of law is important. Another important part is working for community development and the education and enabling of refugees and others with the ability and desire to grow as persons and communities, but who do not have the means. Whitley students and staff are involved in many of these things. This is what will make justice. This is part of our vision ‘for a different world’ and it is exciting to read these stories and to see people finding fulfilment, not just because it makes us feel good but because it really is living into the world and the life God sets before us. We are also keen to include as many people as possible in these activities. If you wish to support us, through donations or participation in some of these projects, we would love to hear from you.
WHITLEY COLLEGE LIFE - ISSUE 5, JUNE 2011 Editor: Sivonne Binks, Community Relations Manager If you have any news or submissions for future issues, please send them by email to: sbinks@whitley.unimelb.edu.au Whitley College - Equipping leaders for a different world 271 Royal Parade Parkville VIC 3052 www.whitley.unimelb.edu.au For more information about how you can become a part of or support the Whitley College community, please contact the Community Relations office: T: 03 9340 8018 E: sbinks@whitley.unimelb.edu.au WHITLEY COLLEGE LIFE, LIKE ALL WHITLEY COLLEGE PUBLICATIONS, IS NOW PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER.
Rev merrill Kitchen honoured Former faculty member Rev Merrill Kitchen OAM has been appointed as a fellow of the MCD. Rev Kitchen was Dean of the Evangelical Theological Association, Principal of Churches of Christ Theological College. She has served as President of the MCD, the first woman to occupy this role in the 100 year history of the College. Rev Kitchen has an extensive commitment to ecumenical relations and interfaith endeavours, along with an active concern for refugees. Her regular educational trips to the Middle East with students are described as life changing. Rev Dr Marita Munro stated in the service, “where others see boundaries and are limited by them, Rev Merrill Kitchen sees through and beyond artificial human constructs, to connect directly and respectfully with the hearts of individuals and communities, and to come away as enriched as those who have travelled with her to that quiet space of grace and transformation where humanity and Divinity reside.”
past student updates Dr Doug Rowston (1966) has lived in Adelaide since 1972. He has retired after working as a theological lecturer, religious education teacher and local church pastor. Despite living in Adelaide, he still barracks for Carlton FC. Other interests include sharing coffee with his wife Rosalie, enjoying their five grandchildren, walking their Welsh Corgi dog and writing books. His latest publication is Jesus and Life: Word Pictures in John’s Gospel. Dr Stewart Culbard (1970) is Second in Humanities in the Religious Studies Department at Campion School in the UK. He teaches Philosophy, Ethics and History. Mr Frank Horwill (1960) was married to Maureen Guthrie in 2010 and moved to Bulahdelah, NSW.
a special friendship In September 2009, Whitley Principal, Frank Rees, and his family experienced the turmoil of the tsunami in Samoa. In the months following the tsunami, the Whitley College community responded generously with donations for the people of Samoa. In January 2010 the College was privileged to be able to donate $17,000 Tala to the Malua Theological College in Samoa. It was decided by the Malua Theological College that the funds would be allocated to the four villages most severely affected along the south-eastern coast of Upolu Island. Given the destruction and complete loss of educational materials among the schools in these villages, the purchase of reading books for the village children was deemed appropriate.
Students and teachers with their ne w books
Reading books were given for children from Pre-School to Primary School levels, to assist the young tsunami victims of the four villages in the process of rebuilding their schooling life. In a letter to Whitley College, Rev Faalepo Tuisaga from Malua Theological College said, “It is one thing to deliver and present the material, and quite another to witness the children’s blissful reception and their appreciation of the books. This project is no doubt a memorable one for the children who survived the tsunami in these villages. Thank you Whitley College, for your selfless giving in the spirit of blessing our brothers and sisters affected by the tsunami.” the
ho received Students w and stationery o o ks donated b
The wives of Malua students label the books to be donated to the four villages
For more pictures and news from Malua Theological College visit www.malua.edu.ws
Amy Clements, Renata Coppola and Lauren Morgan performed alongside guest pianist Daniel de Borah.
PIANO LAUNCH evening In early 2011 the College was excited to purchase a Grand Piano which will reside in the newly renovated Chapel. The purchase of the beautiful new K.Kawai Grand Piano has been funded by the 2011 College Residents. To celebrate the new addition to the College and to thank the current students for their contribution the College held a special musical evening on Thursday 24 March 2011. We were very lucky to be entertained by Australian pianist Daniel de Borah who highlighted the beauty possible with this fine instrument. Daniel was joined by current and former Whitley College residents Amy Clements, Renata Coppola and Lauren Morgan who also performed for the audience of residents, students, staff and friends of the College. It was a very enjoyable evening. All who attended would certainly agree that the new piano will be of benefit to the musical culture at Whitley College for many years to come.
Margie Welsford The exhausted but happy student leaders at the end of a successful Transition & Orientation week
This year’s Transition & Orientation week had the theme of “Super Her-O week” and launched student residential life for 2011 with lots of fun and new formed friendships. A number of initiatives were trialled during the week to offer a more diverse introduction to College life for our new residents. An “Introduction to Volunteering” session saw students visit four local community organisations. An Indigenous awareness-raising program involved Charcoal Lane, an Indigenous Restaurant and training initiative. A Personal Development session was held to introduce our new wall planners to assist with goal-setting, organization and study. Commencement Dinner was a successful evening with Emily Giliam, a former senior student, addressing students on the importance of making the most of the amazing opportunities for growth and development within and beyond the Whitley Community.
The 2011 ‘fres
Some of our new Whitley College residents getting a taste of Melbourne during Transition and Orientation week
at th rewelled fa e r e w r ts ne May din e studen exchang e Christmas in l a n o ti a g t intern tial colle Our eighannual residen
e
her’ residents
pose for a phot o during Super
Her-O week
Our Tutors have been busy mentoring students in the use of their Study Planners in addition to teaching and offering consultations. Our newest tutor Heather Aitken will be presenting a poster at a conference in Cambridge, USA, and has recently had two papers published in the Australian Journal of Chemistry. Mario Dobernig will lead the Ballarat Wind Orchestra on a tour to Austria 20 -25 June. Belal Khan featured on the front page of the Cancer News in February 2011 with the article explaining his PhD and the issues being raised by his project. We have hosted also two Tutor Seminars with Shane and Goran presenting their PhD work to a small group of staff and students in a relaxed atmosphere. We are very pleased to report that one of our Senior Students, Courtney Waterson, has been placed on the Dean’s List. Courtney is studying the third year of her Arts degree. We congratulate her on her consistently outstanding grades. We were pleased to host Courtney and her parents at a small celebration prior to them attending the Awards ceremony. “Christmas in May” was held on Wednesday 25 May where Julie and her team served a delicious meal. We made presentations to the eight international exchange students who will return to the US after their semester at Whitley and to the three Whitley students who are scheduled to commence exchange programs: Brittany Carter, Raymond Seow and Christopher Wilkinson.
community service
Students from the Residential College and the Theological School get to know each other during the TransFormation Program.
The theme in 2011 of Love & Justice has been evident across the College. This year the residents were introduced to local community organisations and volunteering, with many volunteering as part of the TransFormation program. This provides a chance for the TransFormation students to practice their English conversation skills. Many residents have participated in fundraising campaigns, with some students even shaving their heads to raise money. And the Live Below the Line challenge saw 16 residents eating on less than $2 per day for a week to raise funds and awareness for the fight against extreme poverty.
whitley sports whip-around
The first semester saw many early mornings for the Residential College’s sports fans. Already this year the College has competed in cricket, softball, guy’s and girl’s hockey, guy’s and girl’s soccer, swimming, table tennis and rowing. We have had an enthusiastic turnout of fans and competitors which looks set to continue with the teams already in training for the second semester sports. Go Whitley!
Amy Clements and Asangee Perera star in table tennis The Whitley Wolf and his pack of supporters make some noise in the grandstand at the swimming
Virginia Cooper and Nat Ballinger bring Whitley style to the soccer
Keegan Macdonald backs up Taylor Hoffman as he takes a shot
Kat Duncan attacks the ball during the girl’s soccer match
The guy’s and girl’s rowing crews both impressed on what was a very chilly morning on the Yarra
coming up at Whitley 27-29 JUNE School of Ministry Baptists & the Bible 30 JUNE Retired Pastor’s Day 2 AUGUST Launch: Whitley College Reconciliation Action Plan 2 AUGUST Annual Mission Lecture Mark Yettica-Paulson 24 NOVEMBER
Big Night Out
28 - 30 NOVEMBER The Aus & NZ Association of Theological Field Educators Biennial Conference
Dr Ross Langmead The 2011 theme of Love and Justice reflects a central aspect of Christian faith as it is taught at Whitley and practised by its staff and students. We celebrate and encourage them. There are Whitley theological students and graduates who work with asylum seekers and others who offer friendship to prostitutes in a brothel. Some are chaplains in the court system and others work with the disadvantaged in Melbourne’s western suburbs. Some are lawyers bringing sexual abusers to justice while others advocate for a human rights charter in Australia. Some live in a slum in Bangkok (while doing a PhD at Whitley) while others run an Indigenous Hospitality House in North Carlton for out-of-town Koories visiting relatives in hospital. Dr Mark Brett is organising an international conference on postcolonial theology, which sounds abstract until you realise that most of those who will come have suffered deep injustice over centuries of colonisation and are working out what faith means today. There are many other reasons to see 2011 as a great year in the theological school. Rev Gary Heard received his PhD in pastoral care. Rev Japheth Lian, a Chin Burmese pastor, became the first Burmese refugee to gain a research MA. Three Burmese students—all refugees—were ordained by the Baptist Union of Victoria in May. Whitley is hosting an Australasian Baptist Research Forum on ‘Baptists and the Bible’. It teaches plain-English theology to a keen bunch of over a hundred people of non-English-speaking background in its TransFormation program. And it has taken classes to the suburbs, offering units at New Hope Baptist Church in North Blackburn. I could continue with this list. We are proud of the team at Whitley and quality of students who study here as part of a deeply engaged Christian faith. We are equipping leaders for a different world.
23 -25 JANUARY 2012 Postcolonial Theology Network Conference
Whitley College students Aung Tun Than Saw John, Dr Saw Ner Dah and Thomas Tun Sian Mung during their Ordination Service
Gary Heard is awarded a PhD at the MCD graduation ceremony in May. Also honoured: Nathan Hunter (MT Japheth Lian (MA by research); Marheol); k (MA in Spiritual Direction). Beth BarnHolt was awarded an MDiv (Hons) and namett on the MCD Dean’s List for excellenc ed e.
Conversations while travelling In January Whitley College Principal Frank Rees attended an Asian Baptist Conference in Korea. There he met the Principal of the Baptist Bible College in Nepal. The conversation turned to books and Frank discovered that their library had only 1,000 volumes. To become a registered College the library needs to contain thousands more books. To help the College in Nepal we wanted to send our unused books, however it is very difficult to get books into Nepal in large numbers. We have been able to overcome this by collecting used books, packing them in small parcels of 12 – 20 books and sending them to individual students of the College to pass on to the Library. Our initial batches of books have been successfully received in Nepal. During the same period, Rev Roslyn Wright was attending a conference in Puerto Rico. While travelling in the area, she visited Cuba and met up with Baptist colleagues and visited the Evangelical Seminary at Matanzas. The US blockade of Cuba has deprived them of much, and so the library at the seminary is pretty bare. Roslyn has sent one 20 kg box of books and has enough books gathered to send at least 2 more boxes. We hope that these small contributions will have a lasting impact for those in less fortunate colleges and communities around the world.
Library Manager Lorraine Mitchell (above) and Rev Jillian Stewart (below) preparing the parcels of books
how you can help Many retired pastors and former students hand their books on to Whitley. Some of these go in our Library, others have been set aside for Nepal or Cuba, and others are put on display for students to purchase at minimal cost. Donations of your old books would be greatly appreciated. Donations towards postage would also be welcome. One parcel to Nepal costs between $85 -110, a box to Cuba is approximately $185. To make a donation please contact the Community Relations Office on 03 9340 8018.
The summer break was a hive of activity in some areas of the College. The doors on the residential rooms in the circular building (known affectionately as the “donut”) were removed and replaced with fire doors. This was a complex and time consuming process that took most of the break and we saw the rooms ready just in time for a couple of our conference groups who stay here regularly each February. There are still some works to be carried out next December to finalise the project, but the students have particularly appreciated the new colors and the repainted walls in the corridors. While that project was happening we also had a number of people involved in the renovation and upgrading of the Chapel. It was important that we retain the original “feel” of the Chapel design while providing a more flexible space. This we have achieved and the feedback we have received from many people has been very positive. As part of the upgrade we installed some audio visual equipment that is being utilised each week. The equipment provides for data projection, playing of DVD s and CDs, recording of events and amplification (both inside and outside the Chapel as required).
Mr Ian Prentice
One of the most popular additions to the Chapel is the Grand Piano. The last two years the residential students have paid a Capital Levy. Last year it paid for the Multi Purpose Sports Court and this year it has paid for the Grand Piano. I regularly enjoy the piano music emanating from the Chapel as students practice. I hope you get to enjoy it too!
annual residential college festive dinner
Music tutor Mario Dobernig led a group of residents who performed Honour The Earth during the Christmas in May celebrations. Main photo: Celeste Bussell, Chris Lai, Mario Dobernig, Amy Clements, Cody Shannon, Taylor Hoffman, Pat Au, Renata Coppola and Marc Nguyen.
Whitley College residents and staff enjoyed a festive dinner and farewelled the current exchange students. See more College photos at facebook.com/WhitleyCollege
Festive gingerbread cookies These easy-to-make cookies were a perfect Winter warmer and a great way to get us into the festive mood.
This is a slightly amended version of recipe from www.taste.com.au
Melted butter, to grease 125gm Room temp butter 1/2 cup Brown sugar 1/2 cup Golden syrup 1 Egg
2 1/2 cups Plain flour 1tbs Ground ginger 1tsp Mixed spice 1tsp Bicarbonate of soda Icing sugar, to dust
1. Preheat oven ti 180oC. Lightly grease 2 baking trays with butter. 2. Use electric beater to beat butter and sugar until pale and creamy. 3. Add golden syrup and egg until combined. 4. Stir in flour, ginger, mixed spice and bicarbonte of soda. 5. Turn out and knead on a lightly floured surface. Press into disc, cover with cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 6. Roll out dough between 2 sheets of greaseproof paper until 4mm thick. Use cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Place on trays 3cm apart. 7. Bake in oven for 10 minutes or until lightly brown. 8. Remove from oven, transfer to cooling rack. Dust with icing sugar and enjoy!