On 9 September 2023, BBI-TAITE and Garratt Publishing held a special celebration for the late Therese D’Orsa’s contribution to Catholic Education, and the Launch of her last book in Vaughan Publishing’s Mission and Education Series, The New and The Old: Christian Communities Recontextualise Faith in a Change of Era.
In The New and The Old: Christian Communities Recontextualise Faith – published just days following Therese’s passing – Therese, along with her beloved husband and partner Jim, share extensive research and insights to help educators clarify the recontextualisation of faith in a time of deep change.
The New and The Old demonstrates how the gift of recontextualised faith has the power to provide leaders of hope-filled school communities to be co-creators of a ‘new humanism’ enabling them to respond to the profound change of era we are all experiencing.
Bishop Tim Norton, SVD launched the book. Dr Patricia Hindmarsh, Dr Paul Sharkey, and Sr Catherine Mead RSJ offered their tributes to Therese and the legacy that she and Jim have left.
This was not just a book launch, but an opportunity for Catholic leaders to come together to celebrate and thank Therese and Jim for their extraordinary contribution to Catholic Education.
Importantly too, we were able to spotlight just how important the ongoing work of BBI-TAITE’s Mission and Education Board is to Australian Catholic schools, and collectively honour Therese (and Jim’s) unwavering commitment to it over the years.
The event was recorded, and can be viewed below.
PRESENTERS
Bp Tim Norton SVD
Tim is the Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Brisbane in St Stephen’s Cathedral. He professed as a seminarian in the Divine Word Missionaries (SVDs) in Mexico in 1986, and was ordained in Sydney 1991.
Dr Patricia Hindmarsh
Trish Hindmarsh is a retired teacher and educational leader who has worked in Catholic Education across Australia, most recently as Director of Catholic Education in Tasmania.
Dr Paul Sharkey
Paul is the Postgraduate Coordinator at Catholic Theological College and is also a Senior Advisor to the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria and a consultant in leadership and governance at the La Salle Institute of the Australian Catholic University and is a consultant in Catholic Mission and Identity to Catholic Education in the Diocese of Parramatta
Sr Catherine Mead, RSJ
Catherine is currently the Chair of the BBI – TAITE Mission and Education Board and Doctor of Education at Sisters of St Joseph. She acts as Leader of Catholic Identity and Mission, Catholic Education Office Northern territory and is a member of the Catholic Education Council of the Northern Territory.