The new Director of the Janssen Spirituality Centre in Boronia, Fr Thien Nguyen SVD, says he is looking forward to helping bring to life the vision of the Centre as being a peaceful gathering place for people to share and celebrate their faiths and cultures.
Fr Thien says he will be working with the team at JSC to build on the work already underway to develop the original vision for the Centre as a place of welcome for interfaith and intercultural relations.
Opened in January 2008, the JSC, a collaboration between the Divine Word Missionaries and the Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS), was dedicated to mutual understanding and enrichment, respect and collaboration, among followers of various cultures and faith traditions. Over time, the Centre’s focus widened to include such activities as providing accommodation and care for asylum seekers in 2012-13. However, in recent years, the SVD and SSpS resolved to refocus on the original vision for the Centre as a place for inter-religious and cross-cultural relations.
Fr Thien says he is excited about his new assignment at JSC, which fits well with his academic background and missionary interests.
Originally from Vietnam, Thien came to Australia in 1998 to learn theology and was ordained priest in 2004. Following ordination, Fr Thien has been involved in parish pastoral ministries as well as interreligious dialogue and cross-cultural activities in the Melbourne Archdiocese. From 2013, Fr Thien pursued further studies in Comparative Theology of Religions and is completing his post graduate research at Monash University.
He says he is looking forward to being engaged in a ministry which draws on his studies as well as his interest in religions, mission and cultures.
“As Director of JSC, I am responsible for interreligious dialogue programs, as well as to be spokesperson for the JSC, to convene the executive committee and advisory board of management meetings, to be a member of the committees that manage, plan and run programs and activities at the Centre, and to provide reports to the congregational leaders of the SVD and the SSpS,” he says.
“I won’t be working by myself, but sharing my responsibilities with other staff members in a teamwork fashion.”The team includes Sr Elisabeth Hiayanti SSpS, Assistant Director and in charge of cross-cultural programs; Fr Gilbert Carlos SVD, responsible for spirituality programs; and Fr Aloysius Nato SVD, who is a full-time chaplain to the Chinese Catholic Community and is assisting communication coordinator for the Centre.
Fr Thien says one of the priorities for the Centre is to invite people with an interest in interfaith and intercultural hospitality to join the team as volunteers.
“The Centre used to enjoy a great team of volunteers and supporters,” he says. “However, because of the changes of focus of the Centre over the years, the number of volunteers and supporters has significantly dropped. The Centre is now inviting more people to join the voluntary team.”
Fr Thien says the ministry at the Centre aims to: provide a gathering place for people to share and celebrate their faiths and cultures; extend hospitality to people of diverse cultural and religious traditions; foster a culture of welcome, acceptance, mutual understanding and trust; and facilitate learning, growth and deeper understanding of different cultural and religious beliefs.
“It is my hope to make all these beautiful and meaningful ideas a reality at the Centre and to extend this special ministry beyond the Centre,” he says.
PHOTO: The Janssen Centre staff team, from left to right: Fr Aloysius Nato SVD, Fr Thien Nguyen SVD, Sr Elisabeth Hiayanti SSpS, and Fr Gilbert Carlos SVD.