To mark the 150th anniversary of the Diocese of Ballarat, and in recognition of, and sensitivity to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sisters and brothers, four Message Sticks will simultaneously journey to each Catholic school across the four education zones of the Diocese. A Mother Stick will remain in the central Catholic Education Ballarat (CEB) Office to which the four travelling Message Sticks are indelibly linked.

The Message Sticks were crafted by Trevor Clark and Vicki Clark OAM, a DOBCEL Board Director and founder of The Aboriginal Catholic Ministry of Victoria (ACMV). They were blessed by Fr Marcello Colasante and presented to representatives of the four diocesan education zones during the Catholic Education Week Mass in Ballarat last Friday evening.

The Message Sticks now begin their journey across the Catholic schools of the Diocese, remaining with each school for approximately one week, before being handed onto the next school community, connecting over time, community to community.

At the conclusion of their journeys, the four Message Sticks will find a home in a prayer space within each one of the Catholic Education Ballarat offices.

They will journey outwards to further gatherings with their presence in liturgies symbolically reminding all that, from the Murray to the Sea, we are a hope-filled Catholic community of communities.