While most of Australia prepares to hit the beach, 11 Divine Word Missionary seminarians are spreading out across Australia over Christmas and the summer period to spend time in parishes, gaining valuable pastoral experience and cultural exposure to help them in their missionary formation.

Three of the seminarians from Dorish Maru College are undertaking their summer pastoral ministry in Alice Springs and Santa Teresa, while others will go to Inala Parish in Brisbane, Macquarie Fields Parish in Sydney, and Preston and Noble Park Parishes in Melbourne.

Another three students will spend their summer completing the Clinical Pastoral Education requirements, which includes a practical placement in a hospital, visiting patients and then following up with supervised reflection and guided feedback.

Fr Boni Buahendri SVD, Formation Director at Dorish Maru College, says the summer pastoral ministry is an important part of each student’s formation.

“The students who are going to Alice Springs are primarily going there to do pastoral work with indigenous Australians,” he says.

“They will spend time with the people at Santa Teresa as well as visit the town camps in Alice Springs and the jails and visit the homeless.

“It is an opportunity to immerse themselves in indigenous mission.”

For those students who are placed in other parishes, the summer placement is also a learning opportunity.

“The purpose of it is to learn parish-based ministry, especially with the marginalised and the poor,” Fr Boni says.

“It’s to learn how the parish runs, especially during Advent, Christmas and New Year, and to expose them to the Australian style of Christmas, which is very different to the style of Christmas in their own country.

“So, for our students, it’s definitely not a holiday time, but a time for learning and experiencing.”

When the students return to Dorish Maru College, they will be asked to submit a formal, written reflection on what they have learnt during their summer ministry about ministry and about their vocation.