pathways, October 2009
As the calendar year begins to draw to a close, so to does the Church's liturgical year. Advent, the beginning of a new liturgical year, with Sunday cycle C and weekday cycle 2, begins on Sunday, November 29. Bishop David Walker (Broken Bay) has produced a new resource for the season and two at least two significant celebrations are being planned - one in Melbourne and another in Sydney - and Australia's second e-conference will focus on Luke whose writings will feature in the coming year.
the 2009 Advent Festival
lectio divina for Advent
Advent Festival of Carols and Readings
Come to the table - national e-conference on Luke
Advent Festival
In Melbourne, the 2009 Advent Festival - the first of its kind in Australia - will offer patrons the opportunity to sidestep the Christmas rush and pause in Melbourne's culturally rich Newman College, according to artistic director Gary Ekkel.
"Timed around the cycle of eight services celebrated each day in a medieval monastery, the series of concerts will feature some of Australia's finest musicians, ensembles and choirs," he said.
"The festival will be held at Newman College, itself designed with a set of cloisters around a courtyard by Walter Burley-Griffin. The concerts will be held in the college's high-roofed chapel, the domed dining hall and the oratory."
Mr Ekkel said that complementing the concerts would be the medieval Play of Daniel
and two exhibitions of religious art - Arthur Boyd's tapestries of the life of St Francis; and original leaves and quality reproductions of Choir Books - together with a series of introductory talks on the Medieval Choir Book, monasticism and the themes of the concerts.
"The aim of the festival is to allow people to experience sacred music, art and drama as part of daily life," Mr Ekkel said.
To facilitate this, meals and accommodation would be available at the college, he said, and subscriptions tickets had been arranged to provide participants with the opportunity to experience a series of concerts, talks and displays over the course of anything from a couple of hours to the whole weekend.
"Advent is traditionally a time of contemplation and anticipation. We warmly invite you to celebrate the beauty of this pre-Christmas period with us," Mr Ekkel said.
The 2009 Advent Festival begins at 9am on Saturday, November 28, and concludes with a closing supper at4.30pm on Sunday, November 29.
lectio divina for Advent
Australia's Catholics have been invited to open wide the door of their hearts during this coming Advent season by praying the scriptures for Year C.
Praying the Scriptures in Advent by Bishop David Walker (Broken Bay) is a lectio guide which invites participants to prayerfully reflect upon the Sunday readings of Advent and select readings of the Christmas season.
The booklet includes outlines of the lectio divina process for both individual and group journeys. Bishop Walker was supported in the writing by the Australian Catholic Bishops' Commission for Mission and Faith Formation, and in its production by from The Broken Bay Institute and the Bible Society NSW.
Advent Festival of Carols and Readings
The Advent Festival of Carols and Readings will give expression to the Advent themes of watching and waiting, expectancy and hope, helping participants to ponder the coming of Christ in history, in mystery and in glory when it is held at Mount St Benedict, Pennant Hills (Sydney) on the first Sunday in Advent, November 29. Afternoon tea at 4pm will be followed by the festival.
The cost will be a donation to the Good Samaritan ministries in Kiribati. Bookings would be appreciated - by Wednesday, November 25, to (02) 94946208 or faxed to (02) 9481 8947 or emailed to mtstbenedict@bigpond.com
