“what will you do with the time that is...

OSOS EMMANUEL NEWS – MAY 2018Emmanuel CentreA SELF HELP CENTRE For People with Disabilities25 Windsor St Perth WA 6000Tel: (08) 9328 8113 (Voice)(08) 9328 9571 (TTY for Deaf & Hard of Hearing)

SMS 0401 016 399 Fax: (08) 9227 9720Email: [email protected]

Facebook Emmanuel https://www.facebook.com/Emmanuel-Centre-Perth-431678073532315/ Catholic Ministry with Deaf and Hard of Hearinghttps://www.facebook.com/CADHOPWA (Check before coming, could be changed. Look inside for more info.)

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WED THU FRI SAT29 Apr

9.30am: Mass at St Francis Xavier Church (Interpreter & Ppt)

30 Apr9.45-10.45am: Challenges-

Music11am-12.30pm: Cooking;

Spinning (Judy) Gardening

1 May9.30-10.30am: Painting

(Geoff)11am-12.30pm: Community

Activities 1-2pm: Bible Study

2 May 3 May 4 May 5 May

6 May.30am: Mass at St Francis Xavier

Church (Interpreter & Ppt), followed by morning tea

7 May9.45-10.45am: Challenges-

Music11am-12.30pm: Cooking;



(Geoff)11am-12.30pm: Scrapbooking1-2pm: Bible Study

9 May9.30-11.30: CMHN Meeting

10 May 11 May

12 May9.30-11.30: CMHN Meeting

13 May9.30am: Mass at St Francis Xavier

Church (Interpreter & PowerPoint)


Craft-Tiaras and bow ties11am-12.30pm: Cooking;




Activities 1-2pm: Music & Singing (Mary)/ Bible Study – Guest Fr Mark James from South Africa

16 May 17 May1-2pm: Auslan CaféFamily Night Meet Fr Mark James from South Africa5.30pm -9pm

18 May

19 May


Church (Interpreter & Ppt)


Royal Wedding11am-12.30pm: Cooking;





23 May 24 May 25 May

26 May



28 May9.45-10.45am: Challenges-WA

Week11am-12.30pm: Cooking;





30 May 31 May 1 Jun 2 Jun

3 Jun9.30am: Mass at St Francis Xavier

Church (Interpreter & Ppt), followed by morning tea

4 JunWA DAY

PUBLIC HOLIDAYNO PROGRAMS

5 Jun9.30-10.30am: Painting



6 Jun 7 Jun 8 Jun 9 Jun4-6pm: Board games Social Event



11 Jun9.45-10.45am: Challenges-

First Aid & Safety in the home

11am-12.30pm: Cooking; Spinning (Judy) Gardening


(Geoff)11am-12.30pm Scrapbooking1-2pm: Bible Study

13 Jun 14 Jun 15 Jun

16 Jun


Church (Interpreter & Ppt)11-1.30: Deaf Mental Health PD


Healthy eating11am-12.30pm: Cooking;




Activities 1-2pm: Music & Singing (Mary)/ Bible Study

20 Jun 21 Jun1-2pm: Auslan Café

22 Jun

23 Jun




Active games11am-12.30pm: Cooking;

Spinning (Judy) gardening




27 Jun 28 Jun 29 Jun

30 Jun

NO PROGRAMS DURING THE TERM HOLIDAY. ACTIVITIES WILL START AGAIN ON MONDAY 16TH JULY 2018.

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mailto:[email protected]

“What will you do with the time that is left”

Over Holy week and Easter recently, I reflected on how busy that week was. I was interpreting at many church services. I was aware that God had given me a gift to share so that that gift has been given for a purpose - so that Deaf people could hear. I never have a sense that I am doing this alone. God will give me the strength to get through.At the same time, I felt that I needed to take time to hear what the Lord wanted for me this particular Easter. I knew there was a “Desolata” Service on at a local Church. The service held on Good Friday evening gives a person an opportunity to reflect and think about the Good Friday experience and why it is called “Good” Friday. The service gives a person an opportunity to think about Mary and how Mary reflected on her life.Mary was present to the moment. When the angel Gabriel delivered his message Mary was present to the moment at the same time not knowing what it all meant, Mary said, “Yes”. Then thirty-three years later she’s standing at the foot of the Cross, her son dead. The thoughts that were going through her head were perhaps similar to those of Jesus in the Garden when he said, “not my will, but your will be done.” Jesus, too was an example of what it means to do the Father’s will. He lived the Father’s will totally and completely. He was totally one with the Father’s will throughout his life here on earth. “He and the Father are one”, Jesus said.The choir then started the song, “What will you do with the time that’s left” by Mark Schultz. I realised that I am faced with some choices. Do I retire; go on a trip, do further studies or ?????. The words of the song resonated with me, not only in the experience of that moment, but have been with me ever since. If I live to be 70 years old, I get 613,200 hours to live. That’s 365 days, timed 70 years, times 24 hours.

I realise that it is not so much what I will do with the rest of the time that I have, but my overall attitude to why I do what I do. What is really the purpose of my life. There will only ever be “one of me” and “one of you.” God doesn’t need me, He does not need us: "The God who made the world and everything in it … is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything" (Acts 17:24-25). God did not make me or us because he was lonely. Long before we were here, God already had "company" with his Son and the Holy Spirit, referred to in Genesis 1:26, "Let us make man in our own image. "And he didn't make us because he needed his ego fed. It's not like God made us to satisfy some craving to be worshiped. God is totally secure in who he is—without us. God chose to create us anyway, out of his great love: "I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3). Yes, God loved us before he even created us. I find it impossible to get my head around that idea, but it's true; that's what "everlasting" love means.God is love (1 John 4:8), and because of that love and his wonderful creativity, he made us so we can enjoy all that he is and all that he's done. God created us to fulfil his eternal plan. I could write pages and pages about this, but suffice it to say that God, in his infinite wisdom, chose to make us a part of his eternal plan.What will I do with the time that is left? I seek to give to Jesus the pain of the past and walking every moment with the future no matter how long it is – a day, a week, a month, 10 years. It doesn’t really matter. I pray I will love till my final breath. Hallelujah!

Learning Programs at Emmanuel CentreHeld every Monday and Tuesdays from

9.30am – 2pmEmmanuel’s Learning Programs are about “choice”.

“This choice must be the Person’s choice”.

The person must want to come to Emmanuel.

Sometimes a person may not know if they really want to come, so a period of time is

allowed to “try out”. This must be discussed and arranged

with the Co-ordinator before coming to the Learning Programs.

With the extension of individual NDIS funding, more and more people are attracted to the uniqueness of the

Emmanuel Learning Programs and there is a long waiting list.

During the next two months, those that are already coming to the Emmanuel

Learning Programs will have an interview to discuss their learning with the

Co Ordinator. If you are not yet involved but would like to attend the Emmanuel’s

Learning Programs please contact

THURSDAY 17th MAYFr Mark will spend some time with us and be

at a “Family Night” from 5.30pm to 9pm.People attending are asked to bring along a

Plate of finger food to share.Children welcome

Barbara 9328 8113. Information on what programs are offered is available.

Fr Mark James is coming to PerthRemember October 2013? For us here in the west it was a special privilege to spend some time with Fr Cyril Axelrod.Father Cyril Axelrod is a deafblind Catholic priest of the Redemptorist Order known for his work for the deaf and deafblind people around the world, especially in South Africa, China and the United Kingdom.

FR MARK JAMES IS COMING TO PERTHAs we go to press we are preparing for Fr Mark James’ visit to Perth

from Sunday May 13th to Sunday May 20thFr Mark James is a South African born Dominican priest and he started Deaf ministry in about 2006 at the invitation of two Deaf parishioners in his hometown of Springs. Fr Mark says “They both knew my grandparents who were both Deaf. Fr John Turner, a Deaf priest from Durban, had been ministering to the Deaf throughout South Africa for close to thirty years but was aging and finding it difficult to visit the Deaf in the Johannesburg regularly enough. I started ministering the Johannesburg community and gradually improved my signing doing courses in South African Sign Language (SASL). The work has been building on the foundations established by Fr Cyril Axelrod CSsR and Father John Turner CMM. I have been drawing together the faithful remnant and renewed contact with a group of Catholic Deaf people in Soweto in 2011. In 2014, I started visiting the Deaf community in Swaziland after the death of Fr John Turner in 2013. Fr Mark said, “Presently, we have established a transnational Catholic Deaf association, called Mzansi Deaf Association, encompassing South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho. The Executive president is Faith Cronwright from Cape Town, the Vice President is Zanele Mbothwa from Durban, the other executive members are: Sibusiso Zulu (Swaziland), Hilda Mbeta (East London), Makeni Myanga (Soweto), Mokene Matsau (Lesotho). Besides myself we have three other chaplains: Fr Lufeyo Mpaha CMM (Durban/ Mariannhill), Fr Mark Foster (Cape Town) and Fr Charles Phofoolo OMI (Lesotho) EMMANUEL CENTRE and the CATHOLIC MINISTRY WITH DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING are organising opportunities for people to meet Fr Mark James during the week that he is here.

================================================================================RIP Mrs Margaret Farmer – 24 MARCH 2018

Margaret, of St. Dominic's Catholic Church in Innaloo, was a much cherished wife to Frank (dec) and a kind, patient and very forgiving and devoted mother to her five sons: Graham, Colin (dec), Robert,

Fr Cyril is pictured here withFr Mark James

MONDAY LEARNING PROGRAMSChallengers – Current event happeningsCookingGardening and vegetable growing, SproutingMicrogreensWheat GrassWicking bed vegetable growingRecycling newspapersLearning how to spinCommunity games and activities

TUESDAY LEARNING PROGRAMSPaintingCraft ActivitiesGardening and vegetable growing, SproutingMicrogreensWheat GrassWicking bed vegetable growingRecycling newspapersScrapbookingReadingSingingCommunity games and activities

TUESDAY 15th MayFr Mark will be spending some time at

Emmanuel Centre meeting with people who are Deaf and hard of hearing and looking at some of the activaties they are involved in.

This will be followed byLUNCH at 12 noon WITH FR MARK JAMES

and the Emmanuel CommunityFr Mark will then share some thoughts in

the Bible study group from 1-2pmAll Welcome

Anthony and Stephen. Margaret showed a deep commitment to God, to her family and to the Church. We are all the better for Margaret being in our lives.

_____________________________________________________________________________PLEASE NOTE NEW TIMING FOR AUSLAN CAFÉ!!! Now every 3rd Thursday of the month – 16th May and 21st June at 1–2PM, same place at Emmanuel Centre, 25 Windsor Street, Perth 00.

BOARD GAMES SOCIAL EVENT ALL WELCOMETIME: 4-6PM, DATE SATURDAY 9TH JUNE, 2018

‘WHERE: EMMANUEL CENTRE, 25 WINDSOR ST PERTH

The next Deaf Group Mental Health PD will be on Sunday, 17th June at 11AM –1:30PM at Emmanuel Centre, 25 Windsor Street, Perth 6000.

Please bring a plate to share for lunch.

STANDING ROOM ONLY AT THE SEDER MEAL

On Thursday, 22nd March 2018 about thirty-five people sat down to a Seder Meal at Emmanuel Centre. It’s a Jewish tradition to remember the Passover meal they had so many thousands years ago on the night before they left Egypt for the Promised Land. Notice. I used the word ‘they’ not ‘their ancestors’ when talking about the Passover. It’s because when the Jewish person eats the Seder Meal, he/she really remembers what happened as if they experienced it themselves. It’s their houses that the Angels of God passed over and it’s their first-born that were spared from the tenth

plague. It’s they who ate unleavened bread in haste with their walking sticks in their hands and their traveling clothes on, ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Most of us who came to this Seder Meal are not Jewish, but we’re mostly Catholics who are trying to find connection between this old tradition with our own Catholic faith. As we went through the meal and by listening to Father Paul’s commentaries, we learnt a bit more about how this tradition is still very much alive in our current Church lives. We eat unleavened wafers, and wine is offered in a chalice/cup during the Holy Communion. We do this because Jesus did it at his last supper and He asked us to do it in remembrance of Him. But why did Jesus do it that way? Because He himself was a Jew and He was eating the Passover meal at that time and therefore what’s at hand was the unleavened bread and the wine. All the connection is there.

The main dish of the meal is roast lamb. Why, you may ask? That’s one of the easier questions to answer. If we go back to the book of Exodus in the Old Testament, we’ll read about how the Jewish families in Egypt were instructed to kill a lamb or goat and use the blood to mark the lintels and doorposts of their houses, that’s how the Angels of God would know which houses to pass over. And then they’re to eat the meat of the lamb or goat. If the family was too small to finish a whole lamb, then they were to share with their neighbours. So the way we did it in Emmanuel Centre with many ‘families’ sharing the lamb is quite appropriate for the occasion.

There are also other components which we may not be so familiar with but still have meanings. For example, one of the side dishes that everyone had was a boiled egg. This is to represent a new life and it’s served unpeeled so that everyone would have to peel their own egg and therefore open up a new life.

The desert is an apple-walnut mix called charoset. It’s sweetened with honey, cinnamon, and sweet wine (or grape juice for those who don’t drink alcohol) so it tastes good but it may not look very appetising because it’s been blended to look like mortar. This is to remember the time when they were slaves in Egypt and they had to make bricks out of mortar.

This Year we focussed on the four cups of the Seder Meal to explore some of their meaning. The Cup of Salvation, The Cup of Deliverance, The Cup of Redemption and The Cup of Praise or Restoration.

We remember from the Scriptures that there is often a mention of a “cup”. For example, Jesus in the Garden prayed the “Cup “that He was about to drink, would pass away. Another time Jesus asked some disciples, if they could drink the “cup” with him? “Cup” means that we share deeply in its meaning,

I have been fortunate enough to have attended the Seder Meal three times now. The main components are always there: the meal, the candles, the cups. But there is always something new every time, new stories, new understanding, new people.

One of the new people who attended this year was Father Pierluigi who drove for over an hour all the way from his parish of Rockingham. He is thinking about hosting a Seder Meal next year to cater for parishioners in the southern parishes of Rockingham, Baldivis, Port Kennedy, Kwinana, and

the surrounding areas. We wish him all the best for this endeavour and if he needs a recipe for the excellent lamb roast we had, he’d have to go to Barbara, Emmanuel Centre’s Coordinator. My son could be a witness to this lamb recipe. He had four helpings and he’s not the only one.

More than ten kg of lamb finished, with nothing left over except the bones which were saved for Father Paul’s dog Squeaky to gnaw (article by Judith Wirawan)

New website helps people with disability keep the faith

(Article and photo from cathnews.com)The Australian Catholic Disability Council has launched a new website to help ensure people with disability can prepare for and participate fully in the sacramental life of the Church.Bishop Terry Brady, Bishops’ Delegate for Disability Issues, said the website is an extension of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference’s foundational

document Celebrating the Sacramental Life from Birth to Death: Guidelines for the celebration of the Sacraments with People with Disability. The website will help the Church better understand how it can support people with disability, he said.“Our Church is a Church that’s called to be welcoming and inclusive to all. This website gives parishes, schools and families important information so they can answer that call,” Bishop Brady said.He said people, including priests, pastoral workers and teachers, who don’t have experience supporting and walking alongside people with disability are sometimes anxious or unsure about how to best support their faith life.“If someone hasn’t had much exposure to young people living with autism or a young adult with Down syndrome, they can often be cautious and, despite the best intentions, struggle to adequately feed their faith,” Bishop Brady said.“We are called to be inclusive parishes and schools and communities that warmly welcome and acknowledge people with disability and their families on the journey of faith.”Sr. Myree Harris RSJ, chair of the Australian Catholic Disability Council, said just as the broader society has made progress in how it provides opportunities for people with disability, the Church has been doing the same.“This is a large step forward in supporting people with disability in their participation in the Mass and in accessing the sacraments, but much work is still to be done in this area,” Sr. Myree said.“We will continue to upload material to the website that helps individuals, families, schools, parishes and the wider community better understand how the faith life of all people can be nourished and nurtured.”Trish Mowbray, disability projects officer for the Bishops Commission for Pastoral Life, said the website draws on local and international content. It includes general principles for supporting people with disability, as well as specific documents for preparation and celebration of individual sacraments.

PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOUR WOULD LIKE THE NEWSLETTER IN A DIFFERENT FORMATBraille, audio, easy English, Auslan, widget symbols, email etc

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Details: www.catholic.org.au/cslbd

HOME SACRAMENTAL GUIDELINES SACRAMENTS DEATH, GRIEF AND FUNERALS RESOURCES

People with a disability need a chance to work(Article by Julie Waylen from the West Australian newspaper 2nd March 2018)

Much has been made of the decision to scrap plans for a “roof climb” attraction at Optus Stadium on the grounds it would exclude some West Australians with a disability.While it was pleasing to see the State Government stand firm in the face of disappointing backlash from some sections of the community, this does not go far enough.There remains a glaring omission in the conversation about what real access and inclusion means for people with disability.Real inclusion means being able to participate fully in all aspects of the community. Crucially, that includes having a job. As we all know, working gives us a sense of purpose and fulfilment, an opportunity for social interaction and importantly, economic security.Unfortunately, people with disability are woefully under-represented in WA workplaces in both the private and public sectors.In 2015, just over half of working-age West Australians with disability had a paid job compared with 83 per cent of people without disability—a figure that has changed very little over the past 20 years.People with disability are more likely to be unemployed (11.4 per cent compared with 4.9 per cent for those without disability) and face longer periods of unemployment than people without disability.Moreover, one in four (27 %) reported that they had experienced discrimination by their employer in the past year.It is damning that in WA the rate of disability employment in the public sector continues to decline.Why is it that companies such as the Westpac Group can employ a 12 per cent rate of staff with disability, yet in the public sector the rate sits at a dismal 1.9 per cent?Sadly, it is outdated attitudes such as we have seen recently that continue to excuse the exclusion of up to one-fifth our population from the workforce.All of us, including business and government as both an employer and purchaser of goods and services, must do more to tackle the barriers and discrimination that exists.We know it can be done. At National Disability Services WA, one in four of our staff identify as having a disability. We support the social inclusion of people with disability through our administration of the ACROD Parking permit scheme, the Community Participation and Living Grants program, the Companion Card program and the Changing Places Strategy.While the disability sector will require State funding to support the smooth transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, investment is also needed in local strategies to bring about social and economic changes that fight discrimination and exclusion head on.

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The State Government must set mandatory targets for employing people with disability in government departments and demonstrate yearly increases in this rate that are reported and tabled in Parliament.While the See My Abilities disability employment strategy has a goal of employing 2.3 per cent of people with disability in the public sector workforce, a bolder stance needs to be taken.Perhaps we could follow the lead of the Victorian Government, which recently set a 6 per cent public sector employment rate target for people with disability by 2020, increasing to 12 per cent by 2025.We should also do more to ensure employers realise the benefits of employees with disability.Research shows people with disability take fewer sick days, have fewer OSH incidents and accrue lower workers’ compensation costs. They can boost staff morale and loyalty by helping to create a diverse workforce.It is also a myth that it costs more to recruit someone with a disability. If an employee needs a modified workplace to create an equal workplace, there are already financial supports available through job access programs.Employers need to step up to the plate and ensure their workforce reflects their community by providing equal opportunities for people with disability to work.Regardless of the fact the NDIS is now run by the Commonwealth, we will also need strong local leadership by the McGowan Government to ensure West Australians with a disability don’t miss out. Opportunities will not be realised without the support of the whole community, but it is the State Government which must lead the way in this

endeavour.

SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE FOR MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID

COURSEAre you interested in mental health and would like the opportunity to gain more skills in this area? Emmanuel Centre has scholarships available for you to attend the Mental Health First Aid course to be held over two Saturdays (Dates to be confirmed in August

2018 from 9am-4pm at Emmanuel Centre, 25 Windsor Street, Perth).

This course teaches adults how to assist other adults who are experiencing a mental health crisis or developing a mental health problem. Participants will learn the signs and symptoms of these mental health problems, where and how to get help and what sort of help has been shown by research to be effective. The first aid is given until appropriate professional treatment is received or until the crisis resolves. For more information about the content of the MHFA course, go to www.mhfa.com.au.

Upon completion of this course, you would be expected to contribute your skills in the mental health area, preferably in a parish capacity and you would become a part of the Catholic Mental Health Network, which meets once every 6-8 weeks.

Still interested? We are collecting expressions of interest now, so to be considered for this scholarship, please call Emmanuel Centre at phone number 9328 8113 or email [email protected] to put your name down. If you have any questions, please contact us as well.

People hoping to receive a scholarship must be recommended by their Parish Priest and must have a Commitment to ongoing Professional Development opportunities organised by the Catholic Mental Health Network and to share your new skills with others in a parish, school or organisational setting.

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PEOPLE WHO ARE DEAF ARE NOW LEADING THE WAY IN SPREADING HEALTHY LIVING Growing Wheatgrass

Microgreens Sprouts and making sure they are all protected from the birds

and rats. Make an appointment to come and try.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.mhfa.com.au/

https://mhfa.com.au/

https://mhfa.com.au/

==========================================================================How does a person with a disability engage in the Year or Youth or the Plenary Council

At a recent gathering of young people with disability and some parents, topics on the Year of Youth and the Plenary Council were on the Agenda. Unfortunately, most of those present had not heard of these two very important occasions. An “impromptu, on the spot” research, at the meeting indicated that publicity about the events were not reader friendly for those present. There was disappointment by people who use Auslan as their first language that although some videos had been captioned, Auslan on the videos were not used for those who do not easily understand the meanings of the written word. Other people can ready widget symbols, and others can understand with easy English but they found that there were many concepts too hard to understand. They asked “IF YOU ARE ORGANISING SOMETHING PLEASE MAKE THE EVENT ACCESSIBLE AND INCLUSIVE AND MAKE US ALL FEEL WELCOME”.

“what will you do with the time that is...

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