An Interesting Conversation Overheard at the Bus Stop

Sometimes the job of Rural Chaplain gets you into some pretty interesting conversations as well as taking you to some pretty interesting places!

The tank stand in the school yard at Weilmoringle Public School.

This week finds Julie in Weilmoringle attending a cultural exchange camp with the students from Weilmoringle Public School and Mosman Boys Preparatory School.This is the result of a lot of work over years by Julie and one of the local elders, Josie Byno, not to mention Marg Coddington, the local school principal at Weil.

Two programs come together this week, the "Book Buddies" program and an idea to promote bush walking. "Book Buddies" is a program being piloted in Weilmoringle, where a city school or organisation links up with an isolated rural school to provide books to students for whom a book shop is often a 4-5 hours drive away. Bush Walking is being offered so non-Aboriginal people can experience the bush with an Elder who knows it like their mother. This is the second of such walks and there may well be more if the interest from Mosman has been anything to go by.
Mosman students will visit Weilmoringle for 3 days, having fun with local kids, roughing it, sharing books,bush walking and eating local foods. The details of the camp have been worked out by enthusiastic Mosman teacher, Meredith Eakin (known to blog readers as Meredith of Mosman) Julie, Josie and Marg.

And this is where the interesting conversation comes in........

Julie was in Sydney last week waiting at the bus stop to take her into the city when a call came from Weilmoringle.

Julie: "How are the plans for next week coming along?"
Weil: " Good. There's just one thing we're having trouble with though.."
Julie: " Oh, yeah?"
Weil: "It's about the food."
Julie: 'The food,yeah?"
Weil: " We're not sure if we can have the emu we planned."
Juie: "The emu -Oh,why?"

Weil: "No one in town has a gun."

Julie: " A gun........surely someone in town has a gun to shoot an emu?!'

At this point Sydney local bus goers start looking around and nervously edging away.

Julie:'There has to be a gun somewhere!"
Weil: "We'll do our best!'
Julie: "Good, the boys were looking forward to it. Emu is a favourite local meal."

       NB:   No emus were harmed in the writing of this blog but we can't say the same for up at Weil!

                                                     Emu photos courtesy Robin Loznak

Part 2 - Broken Hill to Cobar then Home.

Photo courtesy-  Barrier Daily Truth

The Broken Hill area has a rich history and much has been preserved for us all to visit and enjoy.  The Broken Hill Uniting Church was getting ready for a birthday -125 years of service to the town and surrounding properties. Valerie White, the church secretary, has even been polishing up the foundation stone!This will be a big event and a great booklet has been printed for the marking of this event.

Next day a big group headed ‘up the road ‘to farewell the outgoing minister of Cobar. By the way-‘ up the road’ to Cobar is 456 km  round 5 hours both ways! The fellowship was great! We had dinner Friday night on arrival, then next morning, the last service at Cobar with Rev Ian Tucker, 50/50 Frontier Patrol and Cobar /Nyngan Parish. This was followed by lunch and then a Closure of Service. The SES and all the local churches presented food which was wonderful. Then it was dinner at the Bowling club for around 20 of us! Such a day with a long drive home for many, including the local Presbytery minister and his wife. They had to drive up the road to Nyngan to do it all again the next day.
I shot through.

From Cobar to home it is around 500 km. Even though the sun is shining, all the dirt roads are closed from the good rain that fell this week. Big sky country has and very different feel .With farming, mines and tourists everywhere you go sharing the road with road trains with big loads some as wide as the road , then there are the roadside hazards,goats are in plague numbers. The conditions mean they have twins- cute- but they eat more than the stock. They go through the fences. One good thing is that they run away from the road most times.

There were emus too, in big mobs. I got a shot of them- camera not a gun! and by the number of dead roos there are a lot of them around too. Pigs have also become a major problem round here. They are not something you want to hit with your car!

This is the why people have lived and moved over this land from the beginning of time : it has beauty and ruggedness, sun sets that look like the sky is spreading the sun across the mountains . It has a mining Industry that goes deep into the earth to bring out the raw deposits to make all we crave. It provides an army of men and woman big money but at what cost? The same land grows crops and stock that feed us. It’s a harsh country in the dry but it has finally rained. Who will win the fight to survive? Many I talked to hope to make some money for the first time in many years.

As you look out into the distance across the Mundi Mundi Plains you see how small we are in the scheme of things.....

                                 ......Yet God loved us while we were still in the womb!

                                                                                                                           -Phill Matthews

"But First I Need to Listen." - Phill Matthew's reports on his visit to Broken Hill -Part 1

As I took off into the outback of NSW, like many I had the van on the back but it was not a holiday.

I was going to make contact with people who live in the same state as us but there is a difference. In Broken Hill you have a SA prefix on your phone and you’re a half an hour behind the rest of the state all the time. This is a challenge in many parts of life but they, like most things they do, just get on with it.

I met up with the Coordinator of the Far West Legal service that looks at lots of legal issue, domestic violence and community problems across the many towns and camps in this area of the state. This is a connection point to journey with some of the groups as they are looking for a holistic approach. I’m now on the mailing list and can follow the programs and projects and become involved at an event the next time I am in town. They’re going to put on a gathering so I can meet other workers from different parts of the area and other services. I will seek ways the church can support their work in some way but first I need to listen.

The next day I talked with local minister, Will Pearson. He took me to a spot just off the tourist trail to a creek bed where he’d done a wedding and a baptism for the same family. There had been music and choir on the day but even with none of that, as I stepped down into the red dirt I felt the Holy Spirit surround  me.

     I could hear the silences of the inland spirits. I could see colours and shapes that had me spinning.

The camera was taking in the beauty as I was worshipping the living God. 

At the same time talking and listening, in a way that was as living water to us both, the empty creek flowed over us.  In my head the song “Deep Stillness” played.

The night before I found a spot on the road heading out to the sculptures as the sun set I pulled into a bare patch of red dirt and lent against the bull bar listening to a CD Celtic Thunder as the sun set. Amazing Grace came on and a couple pulled in alongside. I stepped around to turn down my music but they asked me not too. We talked and took photos of this awesome sun set. They had seen the sign on the door of the car and needed to talk. At the end they told me they are leaders in a Melbourne based Baptist church. 

                               Life offers up opportunities. It is up to us what we do with them.

 Acknowledgements :- Text - Phill Matthews, Sunsets -God

Kindness Kicks off in Hillston

Last week an article appeared in the local Hillston paper,The Spectator, entitled Random Acts of Kindness. 
Below is an extract from that article.  

"Random Acts of Kindness"
-Unplanned, Spontaneous, Anonymous and Unforseen!
You may have noticed some new posters in the street or some little cards appearing randomly around the place. You may even have been a recipient. If so, you have experienced a “random act of kindness.”
What are random acts of kindness?

Random acts of kindness are thoughtful or kind, actions towards others-family, friends, aquaintances or strangers.

Why “random”?

They are “random” because they may be unplanned, spontaneous, anonymous or unforseen by others , even if they are well planned by you. They may be completely undeserved or offered to complete strangers. We may not even know who it is who eventually receives what we give. They are kindnesses done without any thought of reward or getting something back. They are a pure gift. We do not always know the outcome but we may get the pleasure of seeing a smile on someone’s face and the knowledge that we have brightened someone’s day.

How can I participate?

Pick up some cards and leave one each time you do a random act of kindness. If you receive a kindness then use the card and do something for someone else.

What kind of things are “random acts of kindness” ?

It can be anything you have ever dreamed you would love to receive. It can be anything you have imagined doing to bring a smile to someone’s face and make their day. The possibilities are endless but to give you some ideas a list has been provided for you to get you started.

Buy a coffee and leave money for the next coffee or 5. (Also cokes, cakes, lollies, beer, groceries…..)

Send a card of appreciation to a community member eg member of council or charity group or shop   keeper

Buy a lovely card or a treat and leave it for someone to find or mail it to them for them to get during the day

Leave flowers for someone to find

Leave a box of kindling for someone with a wood fire          

For Children to do

Leave a note for your teacher you enjoyed the lesson  

Buy a small treat you can afford for someone"

In her travels Julie heard of this idea from a pastor in Griffith, Kevin Webb. She and Sue investigated further and set about making it happen in Hillston. After consulting Hillston church council and receiving their support, other churches were approached to help get it going and the concept was launched last week in the community! 

This is one activity you CAN try at home.
Let us know if you decide to get this going in your community.We have a package to help you get started.

Bringing a community together - Learning more about English as a Second Language (ESL)

Part of the job of being Rural Chaplain is to "keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground," (or 'your eyes and ears open' as demonstrated above) which is why Phill's on a keep fit program walking the dog and Julie bikes,kayaks and does yoga so that the difficult position of "keeping your eyes open and your ear to the ground,"can be maintained.In this way no opportunities are missed if something can be done in a community to make things just that bit better for the people living there.

That is how Julie had the idea of ESL classes in Hillston. With her eyes open she saw the numbers of  Mandarin,Cantonese,Vietnamese,Korean and Hindi speakers in Hillston. These are community members who have settled here and who work usually in restaurants or on farms. Some are here with their whole nuclear families,others are the spouses of  longer term Hillston locals. They are a vital part of our community but find it difficult to mix widely, or sometimes even get work, because they do not have enough English. Most Anglos in Hillston,even in Australia generally, only speak English so some knowledge of English is required by everyone else if they are to mix outside their own ethnic group.

Hillston's picturesque main street where Sue put her feet to the ground.

Keeping her ear to the ground meant that when Julie met up with an ESL TAFE manager she pricked up her ears (as demonstrated above top) and asked lots of questions.What she found was a very co-operative person willing to offer classes to potential tutors and community members interested in knowing more about speaking to ESL speakers and in supporting ESL students as they learn English.

Sue then put her feet on the ground and ask around to see who in Hillston was interested. It was not hard to get the numbers. There was a huge interest so a workshop is planned for this year, to be held, hopefully, before the Hillston Sesquicentenary celebrations in late September.

                     Keep your ears and eyes open for more news on this in the blog.

Multiculturalism in Microcosm

Bible Study at Bill's farm,"Currah" - a Multicultural Event " in the sticks"

Multiculturalism in Microcosm.

What does that mean?

Simply, it means becoming friends with people from other cultures and places in a small place like Hillston.

But that wouldn't fit in the blog heading box!...................... and I love the alliteration!

For me,after nearly a year of having one or more of the "backpackers", as we call them here, sharing our church times,our bible study and joining in to what is happening in town, it describes some valued friendships.These friendships are forged across age,cultural and language barriers to become treasures.

After attending the UME workshop in October at Galong, Hillston Uniting was inspired by Katelina to think about the young overseas visitors in our midst. This led to the Backpacker BBQ last year and has also encouraged us to step up our efforts to include backpackers in the congregation.

We have not had to try very hard. 

They have come to us from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Vietnam, Africa; some who have always been church goers and some who have not, but who were brought along by friends and stayed to share food, laughs and a warm welcome from us. Some have been part of our congregation (and our lives) for months and we miss them (and they miss us) when they go.They have become "locals",always ready for a "cuppa" and to learn 1940's Australian idioms from one of our congregation members.We once had a discussion about the difference between being "fair dinkum" and "dinky di." (Think about it - same,same but different.)

Jenny, Lee, Matthew and Anne.

So what did we do? Not much really.We have put Mandarin and Korean language on our powerpoint along with English but the most important thing was to be willing to include people and make them welcome and part of the place; include them in our lives and be friends. 

After that they have blessed us in so many ways. We have been inspired by their willingness to bring along others to the church and tell them about Jesus. They have contributed to community events, like WNWN and they have increased the size of our bible study so much we can't fit into a home any more,using the church hall instead to fit all 12-16 of us in! They have kept in touch when they leave town or go home.They have added a youth and vibrancy which is fun and refreshing. 

Anne at the High Tea

Our friend, Anne, from Taiwan, is back in Hillston for the third time.She is now "part of the furniture" and we take an interest in her (and she in us) as if we were parents or grandparents as well as friends.On her last visit she delayed her trip back to Foster to help Sue with the preparation and serving on the day for a  High Tea run for Hillston locals when the other organiser had to make an emergency trip to Sydney to assist her elderly parents.

All of this breaks the stereotype of the monocultural rural town,suspicious of anyone different and a boring place to be and proves Galatians 3:26-28 as to how it is in the Kingdom of God.

 "You are all now sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."   (We could add - neither old nor young)

Mandy (centre with boyfriend, Derry) had this picture taken at Hillston Church and made it into a card to give to congregation members at Christmas 2012.

What do you mean 'double click'!?

Making the links doesn't sound like a very exciting job but it is crucial part of the work I do. Services in western NSW are scarce and cover large areas, and churches are thinly spread, so helping to make links can really pay dividends.

One of the networks is the Western Riverina Rural Service Network (WRRSN). This group focuses on the small towns and villages of the western Riverina and helps service providers and local people find out what is on offer and how they can access it. It also promotes joint projects.

Recently at a grant writing workshop in Merriwagga, organised by WRRSN, I met a number of the local residents and from that meeting a variety of great things have happened. One of these is basic computer classes for older people who have NEVER used a computer before and found other computer classes assumed a lot of familiarity with computers and were well above where they were.

It has been a great time with the four Merriwagga (and one Hillston) ladies learning how to use computers and the difference they can make. I am aiming to prepare them to join other senior computing classes.

The classes are held in the Uniting Church hall. The relationship between these ladies and the church has been strengthening over the last 2 years as their craft group meets in the hall on Monday mornings. The church has built a disabled toilet and put in air conditioning to make the hall more suitable for use, and helped with grants for sewing machines. It is fantastic to see church premises used in this way.

However, one of the issues for Merriwagga is that there is no mobile phone coverage, so internet is very difficult. As well as this they do not have access to ADSL by landline. This is despite being only 80km from Griffith and having optic fibre cable going straight past the village. They will not be connected to the NBN and their only option is to have NBN satellite, which is not quite as good as ADSL2. Surely it is areas such as this that deserve better internet access due to the their isolation, rather than less. Imagine computing these days without the internet!

Julie