As the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of the moon landing this month, almost 20 men gathered in Queensland to mark a 50 year reunion of Divine Word Missionary seminarians.
The reunion of those who had been at the former seminary in Marburg, was held under the title of ‘Marburg Moon Muster’ and saw the coming together of men from various walks of life.
Some had gone on to take final vows and live as SVD missionaries for the last half century, while others had taken up other lives of service, including through marriage and family.
A special guest at the gathering was Fr Frank Gerry SVD, who was novice master to many of those present.
“Particular tribute was paid to Frank for his role in awakening us to our potential to be the best we could be, in the SVD tradition, in our own different way,” said participant John Reedy.
“Many of us had spent much of our working lives in the helping professions, especially in social action and social justice activities, often with a connection to Australia’s indigenous people.”
The gathering, which was organised by Terry Davies (class of 69-70), also included Archbishop Douglas Young of Mt Hagen in PNG (69-70), Fr Nick de Groot (61-62) and Fr Phil Gibbs (70-71), Paul Ashton, John Beirne, Dan Cooper, Rick Dalmau, Brian Gibbons, Chris Hawke, Anthony Lupi, Ian McDonald, Damian McNamara, James ‘Sandy’ Mitchell, Peter Murphy, John Reedy, Peter Roberts and Gary West.
The reunion got underway on Saturday July 20 with morning tea and a formal lunch, although the dynamic was one of informality, humour and the pleasure of renewing old friendships, as well as meeting others who had previously been known only by name (or legend!).
Participants spoke of a lot of light-heartedness in the large group sharing, with some deep and moving stories told in smaller groups throughout the weekend.
“This reconnection was moving, peaceful and reinvigorating,” said Chris Hawke. “I was gladdened by the many glimpses of our lived life journey over the last 50 years. I also felt a freedom and an honour to share more deeply on some topics.”
The gathering continued on Saturday evening with a meal at the Bowden family’s Marburg Hotel, with great hospitality shown to the group by Julie, Dan and Matt.
“The Marburg community’s hospitality was as unstinting now as it was in the years we lived there,” said Brian Gibbons.
The conversations continued at breakfast on Sunday morning. Some then had to leave to begin their journey home while others remained to celebrate the Eucharist together in the Chapel at Marburg. Archbishop Doug Young concelebrated with Fr Frank Gerry.
Archbishop Doug reflected on the weekend’s experience of “peace, at-homeness, rootedness, mercy, journey”, and how those experiences seemed to have surfaced from within each person present as well as having seeped in from the outside.
“There is a sense of ‘country’ that Marburg gives us which, for all of us who have moved around a lot in our time, might actually be the one still point in our individually turning worlds, a truly recognisable point in the journey at every stage,” he said.
The weekend concluded after a final coffee following Mass.
“For me, it was a weekend of nostalgia and renewed energy,” said Fr Phil Gibbs. “As I said during the Mass on Sunday, the SVD spirit was so alive in the sharing of everyone there.
“Yes, four of us have taken final vows and are ordained for mission in the SVD. But, I felt the same sense of connection with each one of you as you shared about your mission, whether it be in the love and care you give to your family or to the various works of service in different parts of the world. To me, it was a real blessing.”
This article was taken, with thanks, from a report prepared by John Reedy and contributed to by those who attended the reunion. Read the original report here.