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The Southern Cross : May 2010
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The Southern Cross May 2010 Page 9 www.adelaide.catholic.org.au news 17 Prospect Road, PROSPECT P 8269 6333 F 8269 7846 E registrar@bps.sa.edu.au BLACKFRIARS PRIORY SCHOOL A Catholic School for Boys in the Dominican Tradition OPEN DAY Tuesday 18th May 2010 2pm - 6pm Come along and see our school in action Tours of the school conducted throughout the afternoon • See the facilities • Meet our staff and students • Experience being part of the Blackfriars community Please contact the Registrar on 8269 6333 for further information or an enrolment package A spiritual epiphany 18 years ago inspired Rob Maumill to hand-craft more than 13,000 wooden crosses in a bid to bring more people closer to God. The 90-year-old resident of Victor Harbor says a "baptism of the Holy Spirit" in 1992 changed his life. Caring for his wife Merle, afflicted by Alzheimer's disease, Rob recalls the day he brought her breakfast: the usual cup of tea and muesli. "When I got to the foot of her bed with this tray in my hand, I felt an over whelming flood of warmth at the top of my head and then through my face, neck and shoulders, and I was filled with so much love -- it was a terrific deluge." Soon after his experience, Rob met a couple at St Jude's Anglican Church, in Por t Elliot. The pair introduced him to Cursillo -- a worldwide movement of the Christian Church, which runs shor t-term retreats for reviving a commitment to the church. At first, Rob began making palm- sized wooden crosses for the Cursillo candidates, but soon they were distributed to the elderly in nursing homes and patients at the Repatriation Hospital, in Daw Park. "The shape has gradually become smaller and thinner," says Rob, "because the ladies like more room in their handbags, although plenty of men have them too." "People love them," he says. Rob does not charge money for the crosses, volunteering decades of his time and materials, either donated to him or paid for by him. He does make a few stipulations though: the cross must be handed on to someone in greater need and that in taking on the cross, people must share a special prayer reminding them that it is "not magic" or "a good luck charm" but a "daily reminder" of Jesus Christ. "It's only a little bit of wood made attractively," says Rob. "The impor tant par t of it is the prayer." Up until last year, Rob spent most of his time cutting, sanding, routing and oiling the crosses. However a move into the McCracken Views residential care facility, run by Catholic Church agency Southern Cross Care, has meant Rob does not have the space nor the stamina to work the machiner y required to make the palm-sized crosses. Today he has the crosses cut and routed for him, and, from his room at McCracken Views, he lightly sands, oils and polishes the crosses for distribution. Over the years, the crosses have touched the lives of hundreds of people. "One gentlemen died with the cross in his hands and it meant so much to his family in their grief," says Rob. Rob's crosses have even influenced those abroad. "I get lots of letters from people," says Rob. "But I do it for Jesus." Former Education Minister and tireless Catholic Church worker Greg Crafter has been awarded an honorar y degree of Doctor of the University of Adelaide for his "distinguished creative contributions in the ser vice of society". Mr Crafter AO is chair of the Clergy Care Council, President of SA's Sovereign Militar y of the Order of Malta, a member of the Archdiocese Development Task Force, a member of the national board of the Little Company of Mar y which runs the Calvar y health ser vices, and ser ves on the National Catholic Commission for Education. Mr Crafter entered the University of Adelaide as a mature age student and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1978. He was the member for Nor wood from 1979 to 1993. His significant contribution to the university includes fostering the allegiance of graduates to the University, assisting in raising additional funds for major projects, and playing a major par t in the establishment and development of the Don Dunstan Foundation which acts as an inter face between the University and the community in matters of social justice and social inclusion. He has also made a vital contribution to the governance of the University over many years, both as a member of the Adelaide University Council and as Chair of the Alumni Association. Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Mr Crafter said he had always appreciated the words attributed to French scientist Louis Pasteur "for tune favours the prepared mind". "I regard my university education as an essential ingredient in my good for tune," he said. "Good for tune comes in many forms. For me it is the joy and satisfaction that comes from working with others to build a better world, not by doing the big and brassy things but in ever yday life, by simply making the most of the oppor tunities that have come my way. By never losing faith in one's fellow citizens to understand the human condition and by responding to human need wherever and however it is revealed." Honour for Crafter HONOURS BESTOWED: From left: Adelaide University Chancellor the Hon John von Doussa QC, "Dr" Crafter and the Vice-Chancellor and President Professor James McWha. Cross my heart CRAFTSMAN: Rob Maumill and Southern Cross Care staff member Jude Bridges at the McCracken View residential care facility in Victor Harbor. Photo: Kate Elmes
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