LIFETEEN in Australia

On Wednesday I met with the Youth Minister of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Randwick. I had met him the week before when we talked about their parish A-V program. In the course of the conversation then, I mentioned that we web cast all our Masses and have especially good feedback from our Sunday 6pm LIFETEEN Mass. He was very interested in our program and asked me to tell him more at another time. That meeting happened yesterday.

I answered the usual questions about LIFETEEN and gave my typical affirmation of its value to our teen and our whole parish. But the thing that really caught the attention of this youth minister was when I said “We have found over the years that teens actually bring their parents to church!” and it is true. I usually watch our LIFETEEN Mass here on Monday morning at 10:00am Sydney time. Now several others from this parish and other people I have told about our web cast system are watching too. This is what my sabbatical is all about – making good use of the technologic al blessings of our time! My reading of recent Papal teachings on Evangelization all affirm the use of the media and technology of our culture to proclaim God’s love and mercy! So far so good!

There is one parish not too far away where they have LIFETEEN and I plan to check it out soon. I’ll keep you posted.

A Trip to the Diocese of Broken Bay

Monday started a big week of travel for me. I went across the harbour to the Diocese of Broken Bay where I met with Bishop David Walker and several officials of his diocese. They call their headquarters “The Curia.” It’s located in the northern suburb of Pennant Hills in a large office building which the diocese recently purchased. It houses many of the offices which coordinate the major ministries of the diocese. This was a most productive meeting in which I got another look at how this diocese “does church” here in the Sydney area. The bishop was warm and welcoming and very informal. After a while with several of his staff, I continued with the coordinator of the Curia, a layman by the name of David Penny.

From this connection I took many ideas about creative use of the internet. I learned how they use a system called “CASTnet” to link teachers, students and administrators across several dioceses in the eastern part of the country. This is like an expanded version of our own DOR (Diocese of Rochester) Intranet, only its focus is on Catholic Schools, which in Australia are funded by the state and federal governments. I spent two hours with David and members of his staff, it was most instructive. I also shared what we have done using webcasting of our church services. I showed them our website and gave them the link to our parish webcam system. Boy, were they impressed! They are looking for a way to allow the Bishop to be in touch with all households in the diocese. Our system is giving them inspiration.



On the train ride back to The Centre I started processing the conversations that I had had and this started me thinking how we might expand our Webcast system to reach out to folks as well. Think about the possibilities of having a scheduled time when anyone in the parish could watch a presentation, bible study or a teaching put on by at the parish. Anyone with an internet connection could join in and they could have live interaction via phone or email. It boggles the mind.

North Sydney View

It's a big city! Almost 5 million people live in Sydney. Somewhere I read that there are over 500 suburbs, sections and districts in the greater Sydney area. I have been exploring these via the wonderful mass transit system. One day I had to go to the Diocese of Broken Bay for a meeting with the Information Technology Department. This diocese begins on the northern shore of the harbour; it was established about 20 years ago to make the Archdiocese of Sydney a little more manageable. On my way back to Randwick (which is an eastern suburb) I decided to stop and take a look for the north shore of the harbour. Click here to see another beautiful view of Sydney. http://www.pageset.com.au/Sydneypan.jpg



On this same trip I also had some time and wanted to ride the rail system (called "CityRail")from end to end. Since it was the middle of the day, the trains were not crowded and it was raining. I curled up on the second level of the car (they are bi-level similar to Toronto's) and took in the sights as we went from Hornsby in the north to Botany Bay in the south. It took over an hour on the system. It was also a great time to process what I had just experienced in the meeting with Bishop David Walker and his right hand man, David Penny. The train ride and the gentle swaying of the train cars helped me think through our meeting and its implications for my study of media and technology in evangelization and worship. It was a most profitable day and I saw some great sights too.

One final note. As you may have heard, Australia is experiencing a severe draught for several years now and the rain that I mentioned above is being cheered as a minor improvement. I can see the grass and plants drinking it up as we head for Fall. That's right, summer here is beginning to wind down, schools have started back up; primary and secondary schools a few weeks ago and the universities this week. Amazing this "down under!"

Toranga Zoo! Sydney, of course.

Today I had the treat of meeting Tony and Gloria Sciolino for a trip to Toranga, the Sydney Zoo. Our rendezvous began the Circular Quay. I was delayed in meeting them because Vice President Dick Chaney was in town and all the buses were rerouted. We finally connected about 20 minutes later than planned and caught the ferry for the ride across the harbour to the zoo. It was a wonderful day filled with lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) in a delightful setting on a hill side over looking Sydney Harbour. Actually the zoo features critters native to Australia: kangaroos, koalas, meerkats, wallabies and of course, snakes. It couldn’t have been a better day, sunny, nice breeze and good company. The animals, of course, were all well behaved and enjoyed looking at us as much as we enjoyed looking at them. The highlight for me was the bird show in which the trainers directed the eagles, cockatiels, the owls and hawks to fly around on command and perform all manor of wild bird things to the amazement of the audience. We finished our day together with a wonderful dinner at a Circular Quay Chinese Restaurant. Tony and Gloria depart tomorrow on the continuation of their 6 week “retirement vacation adventure.” It was a great day!

The A-V Plan of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church

Today I had the chance to meet with two staff members of the local parish here in Randwick. Brett and Tristan are responsible for putting a plan together for the use of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish. I first heard about this plan when I went to mass at OLSH in January. It is ambitious and creative and aims at helping the parishioners be drawn more into the liturgy by the use of plasma screens in the side aisles and a large clear glass panel over the altar. This transparent glass becomes opaque when needed so as to allow images to be projected on to it. The idea here is to use the “iGlass” in the center of the church where it is virtually invisible until needed, thus preserving the architectural lines of this 100 year old gothic style church. It was a great meeting and I learned a lot from them. I was very proud of our accomplishments at Assumption and excitedly showed them our website and webcam set up. They watched in amazement as Fr. William finished the 5:00pm Ash Wednesday Mass approximately 9783 miles or 15744 kilometers away! They were also very happy to see our website and decided to take it to their IT team for review since they are in the process of designing their own web site. All very exciting – and the reason why I came!

The Queen Mary 2 Arrives in Sydney!

Today the Queen Mary 2, the largest passenger ship ever built, arrived in Sydney amid much fanfare and huge crowds of well wishers. The QM2 slipped into Sydney harbour in the early hours, but “Sydneysiders” surprised the crew by being there in the thousands to welcome her in their boats, ferries, yachts and on the shorelines. At 23 stories high, the Q was so large that it couldn't sail under the Sydney Harbour Bridge! It is 2275 feet long and three times the size of the Titanic! People in the thousands came to the Garden Island port where the QM2 was birthed for the day. I went down to check it out in the afternoon as well. There was an atmosphere of excitement and delight that immediately enveloped you as you approached the dock. The ship is huge!

At 7:00pm the Queen Elizabeth 2 also arrived in Sydney and when the two sister ships passed each other in the harbour, they let out a deafening volley of boat horn blasts! The newspapers report that the sound could be heard rumbling around the CBD amidst the sky scrapers for as far away as 20 km. (12 miles). Before the QM2 departed at 11pm for Hong Kong to continue its around the world journey in 80 days, the was a fantastic fire works display! Over 100,000 people viewed the display from all the harbours and hills surrounding the city. It was a fun night.

Of course trying to get that many people home afterwards was a job, but that’s another story.

Sunday in Sydney

I have been trying to experience different celebrations of the Eucharist on Sundays since I am on sabbatical. It’s a whole different perspective to be a PIP – that’s Person in the Pew. I’ve been to Mass in Mexico (lively, but not understandable to me because of my language deficiency), Tucson Cathedral, Randwick’s Sacred Heart Church and of late, St. Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney. This very large church is gothic in style and cavernous in scope. It is also quite difficult to fill with the Spirit and enthusiasm that I appreciate at our own celebrations. We spent the day walking around the uptown district after a wonderful breakfast at an out door Italian Restaurant. All in all it was a great day which ended with a swim in the salt water pool that is part of The Centre where I am staying in the eastern suburb of Randwick.

The Sydney Opera House

One of the most famous buildings in the world and an icon of the City of Sydney is the Sydney Opera House. Yesterday I had the opportunity to take a tour of this great edifice. The hour tour began in the lobby and proceeded up the grand staircase to the front side of the structure. Actually it is a bit misleading to call it the Sydney Opera House. There are actually 5 venues in the complex. The opera hall and the concert hall are the largest of the structures, but as you can see from the picture, there are many arching roof lines that contain the five theaters or “theatres” as we say down here. We were able to view the largest on these, the concert hall. The one on the right in the picture above. These magnificent buildings were the first in the world to use precast concrete in such a manner. I incorrectly assumed that the super structure of the buildings was steel. It’s all concrete. The external is covered in mother of pearl colored ceramic tiles. The shape of the buildings in unique and is said to represent sails on the harbour, sea shells or mere geometric abstractions. It is an open question. The Danish architect, Jorn Utzon, when asked what it looked like to him is reported to have said: “Like the Sydney Opera House!” No matter. It is a powerful work of art. Inside the concert hall one enters a totally wooden structure – a building within a building. It is acoustically designed to resonate the same way whether filled with people or not. It holds 2000 people and I will be one of them on Saturday evening when I attend the Brahm’s German Requiem. It was an inspiring visit. I may go back for the “behind the scenes tour” later. The only thing about that is that it starts at 7:00am (so as to not interfere with rehearsals).

The Sydney Aquarium

I’m not much on aquaria, but since a friend back home had recommended that I check out the Sydney Aquarium, I figured I’d give it a try. What a delightful surprise it was indeed! There were all the usual tanks filled with glowing exotic fish of the tropics as well as the fish one might expect to see in the streams, rivers and seas around Sydney. But then there was the “oceanarium” where one can see all the fish that might eat you if you are in their hungry sights. One of the distinct features of the Sydney Aquarium is the huge glass tank (easily 75 x 200 feet) into which you walk through a glass tunnel. There on all sides and above swim sharks, eels, sting rays, giant turtles and the like. It was fantastic! While walking through this amazing underwater display there is soothing music and wonderful display boards which tell the visitor what you are looking at. At one point I wondered who was looking at whom!

Rain in Sydney

It started last night, the rain that is. They had been predicting rain for several days, but last night as I stepped out onto the platform at Milson Point in North Sydney, I walked into a deluge! My intention had been to stand on the platform and watch the trains go by as they passed onto the Sydney Habour Bridge on their way into the underground tracks in the CBD. The phrase "sheets of rain" fits the reality perfectly! It was coming down so hard that even the sheltered platform offer no relief. My intentions thwarted by the much needed rain, I scurried across the platform and jumped into another train going right back across the bridge. Several zig zags on various lines brought be to the bus station in Bondi Junction where I finally boarded (under cover) a 400 bus which brought me back to the Centre. That was Sunday night.

I write these words on Monday afternoon and it is still raining on and off. I guess all the prayers for rain have been heard and I hope that the down pour will alleviate the drought somewhat. The locals are quick to remind that we really need the rain in the catchment areas on the planes and that these coastal rains just run off the land. Well, I can't argue with that, but there sure has been a lot of run off in the last 18 hours!

Australian English!

The Australian culture is a lay back one. Today one of the leaders of the Broken Bay Institute where I was doing some studying described the "culture of leisure" that pervades his country. It is very often manifested in the commitment to sports. Seems like every where I go there are people playing Cricket, football, soccer, etc. People are certainly very friendly and welcoming where ever I go. They always seem to have time to give directions and answer questions. Nice!

More on “Australian English”:

They say:
sorry when we would say “Excuse me”
Motorway when we would say "expressway"
Ring me when we would say "call or phone me"
Bonnet when we would say "hood of the car"
Barbie when we would say "outdoor grill"
Bookings when we would say "reservations"
Schoolie when we would say "grammar school student"
Unie when we would say "University student "
Pasty when we would definitely say "a piece of pastry! "
Footie when we would say "soccer player"

My favorite saying to day: “I am thrilled to my back teeth!”

On today’s trip to the BBI and diocesan headquarters (called the Curia here), I took a 45 minute commuter train ride from downtown. I’ll retrace my steps on that trip with a video camera soon.

I'm getting used to it...

When I first arrived here, I was met at the airport by the Director of the program, Sr. Judee Glaister, RSM. She led me to the car and I proceeded to go the "passenger side" - the right side of the car. "You gotta get used to Australia" she said. "Unless you intend to drive," she continued, "you have to sit on the left hand side of the car." Several days of this and I have finally, I hope, gotten used to where I sit in the car. But it is also a challenge to look to the right when you cross the street. In the center of the city the cross walks are marked as the picture illustrates. I haven't stepped into traffic (which is always coming from the right, not left) yet, but I have had a few close calls.

Other peculiar linguistic elements of this culture are: "bookings" not reservations, the "boot" not the trunk of the car, you "ring" people as opposed to calling them on the phone. The list goes on. I'll say more about this at a latter time when I compile more.

View from the Bridge

Yesterday I was able to walk across the Sydney Bridge and want to share these pictures. The weather as you can see is is warm and wonderful. Australia is presently in the midst of a severe drought, though with all the water in the 16 mile long harbor it's hard to believe. Temperature today is supposed to be over 90!

Information Technology in Sydney

I was able to meet with some of the IT folks in the Diocese of Broken Bay where David Walker, founder of The Centre where I am living, is now Bishop. It was a fascinating interview with one of their staff of 27. Right now there are 15 contractors working with the 12 permanent IT department folks. Six years ago they invested 1 million dollars in this project. They are about where we were in Rochester three years ago. But they have a plan for the future that is very exciting and more far reaching than where we are going. Among the things that this diocese of 250,000 is planing are: the networking of all parishes, institutions and interested parishioners on one system which will have its own fibre optic network and microwave towers. Excess band width will be leased out to others to off set some of the expenses. They plan streaming video conferencing available at all parishes and institutions which will be supported by the diocesan server (which I saw in an air conditioned 20 x 20 foot glass enclosed room in the IT Dept.) This will allow folks to visually connect through their intranet as a supplement to their email system. When the bishop wants to connect with his priests or all parish personnel, they simply go to their computer stations and there he is! Amazing, just think of the possibilities!

PS For those of you who have asked about pictures from the top of the bridge; the BridgeClimb is highly organized and comtrolled. They do not let you take ANYTHING up there with you. You are given and jumpsuit, eye glass straps, handkkerchiefs attached to your wrist with elastic bands, a very heavy harness which attaches to a cable that anchors you to the bridge structure at all time! But alas, you can't carry your own camera (you are too busy holding on for dear life!)

Some day when I have the chance I will take and post some pictures from the sidewalk level. of the bridge.

Climbing up the Sydney Harbour Bridge!

Today I got to do one of the things that I had on my “must do” list – the Sydney BridgeClimb. It was a fantastic experience! After an hour of orientation, clothing changing and gearing up, we were led out side to the stairway that leads to the bridge walk itself. Now when they say BridgeClimb, they mean climb. All in all there are 1494 stairs that take you to the summit of the Sydney Harbour Bridge close to 500 feet above sea level. As you climb of the ladders and stairways, twisting and turning in between the almost 75 year old grid work of the bridge, you finally reach the upper surface of the structure where the pathway of steps arches more gently across the harbour. All the while you climb from the very bottom of the structure you are attached to a guy wire by a very ingenious contraption that was invented by an English sailor to keep him and his mates from falling off a hard keeling sailboat. It works great always following you up and down the stairs, ready to hold you “just in case.” Our guide assured us that since BridgeClimb has operated none of the 1.9 million people who have made the climb has been lost!

The whole thing lasted 3 1/2 hours and it went by in a flash! They offer the climb 24 hours a day in all kinds of weather, only canceling for electrical storms (right!). All in all it was a terrific day! I am glad that I had all the walking around on the previous days to get me ready for this adventure.

The Australian Museum

Today I took a trip back into the city to see the Australian Museum. My fellow residents at The Centre, Pete and Eddie and I traveled by bus to CBD (remember that’s Central Business District) to the museum. Yesterday’s walk proved to me that one has to use his energy wisely or when you get to your destination, you may be too pooped to enjoy what you can to see.

The museum was quite good featuring the many birds and animals of Australia – all appropriately stuffed and displayed. A special section of the museum offered a very enlightening exhibit on the history of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia. It was only in 1967 that the national government gave these folks full citizenship and formally apologized for the taking of their lands and the disrespect of their traditions. Did we ever do that for our Native Americans?

The weather was again glorious and we went out to one of the many local Randwick establishments for dinner.

Sydney's CityRail System is good.

I walked to downtown Sydney today, first for some execise and secondly to see how far it really is. As I write these words I can feel my calf muscles tightening up after the 7 mile walk. Those big buildings seem closer than they really are!

I had as my goal today to get to the Central Rail Station to see what kinds of train transportation this city has. I was impressed with the system called "CityRail". There are several lines which stretch out into the suburbs and the airport. The trains are a mixture of 70's and more modern style. I did not have enough time to ride the length of any one line and had to content myself with only a few station stops. Clearly I'll be back to go the whole of the many routes.

Dinner tonight was in an Italian Restaurant in Randwick. The menu was varied and the food very good. The irony was that the waiter was Chinese and the chef was Viet Namese. Sydney is a city of many, many different cultures for sure. This morning I met one of the people who work here at The Centre. Her name is Marquise and she is from New Caladonea, which is a French possession in the South Pacific. Just about everybody here comes from somewhere else. I think this is why the folks are so friendly and lay back, they have all known what it is like to be strangers in a foreign land. Mofe of than later.

A Day at the Beach

Sunday afternoon, after mass at one of the local churches, I loaded my pack pack and walked down to Coogee Beach. It was a nice 27 minute walk "downhill" to the beach. When I turned the corner in "downtown" Randwick, I caught my first sight of the Pacific Ocean. It was a windy but sunny day and the beach was packed. Summer holiday ends for grammar school kids on Jan 30, so that's why so many folks were getting in a day at the beach, I presume. I had a delightful time, but since I didn't apply sun screen to my back I am paying for it today!

I am doing well and enjoying myself as I get oriented to the Southern Hemisphere. For those who are wondering, the water doesn't seem to swirl in the sink in a counterclock wise direction. When I figure out how to upload video's I will give a propper illustration. I have not as yet mastered the art of looking in the correct direction when crossing the street. I find myself stepping in on coming traffic because I'm looking to the left, when it's the right from which cars a coming.

Off to do some more orientation with the transportation system.

Australia Day!

What a glorious summer day we had for Australia Day! This annual celebration is like our 4th of July. All sorts of folks and families converge upon the “CBD” to picnic, party, mill about and consume large quantities of various and sundry liquids. I went with two guys I have met here who are from the Archdiocese of Chicago. One of them, Pete has been here on Sabbatical since October, so he knows his way around. The other, Eddie, is visiting Pete, his classmate, and will be here for just another week. We went to the “centre” of Sydney via bus. So many things here are “backwards” from my perspective; like the cars and buses drive on the left hand side of the road. The two times that I have gone out in a car I have instinctively tried to enter the passengers side which here is the “drivers side.” Yesterday’s bus ride proved no less disorienting. I went to the wrong corner to catch the bus because I forgot which direction the traffic flows. It’s all part of being in a different culture! I am a quick study, but this will take some time to absorb.

Because it was Australia Day yesterday many of the streets were closed to vehicles and we got to walk about very freely. The parks are beautiful and grass is green (despite a severe draught). The Botanical Gardens offered a large variety of trees, flowers and critters like I’ve never seen before – like the Flying Fox Bats. As you can see these creatures hang up side down from big trees in the day time and cruise around by night. They are vegetarians and seems to have made the Botanical Gardens, where there are plenty of fig trees, their home.

As we rounded the bend in the gardens, we came upon the sight that is so familiar and so famous: The Sydney Bridge and Opera House. Both of these are on my “see again up close and in detail list.” The Sydney Harbor is magnificent and a challenge to take in. As we walked along toward Central Quay (say “key”), we can to the area where the CityRail and the Ferry Wharf converge. I look forward to getting more acquainted with the rail system, of course.

All in all it was a very exciting day and the crowds, including us, made their way home!

Safe Arrival in Sydney

1/25/07 My bags were among the last to arrive off the plane and when I had passed through the necessary Customs procedures, Sr. Judee, the Director of The Centre, was there, “Ed Palumbos” sign in hand ready to fetch me from the crowd of arriving people. There must have been over 300 people on that flight! I am typing these words in my new base location for the next few months. As you can see from the picture, I have a wonderful view of downtown Sydney. They refer to it as “CBD” – Center Business District. I unpacked and tried take a nap but getting into this time zone will take a while. Tomorrow is “Australia Day” and the Founder of the Centre, Bishop David Walker, is expected for a picnic. I look forward to meeting him, he moved from here when he was ordained the Bishop of Broken Bay, which is one of the three dioceses in the Archdiocese of Sydney.