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February 2026 – Part 1

Cormorants (“Shags”)
Kookaburra in the Old Gum Tree
Indian Runner Duck (not native)
Former Dance Hall, now cafe and gift shop
Boatshed

The Royal National Park is south of Sydney and north of Woonona, and is the second oldest national park in the world, created in 1879. Originally intended as a place for entertainment (like the dance hall above) and recreation (like the boatshed) it now provides a sanctuary for biodiversity, environmental protection and education. We attended one of the outdoor classes for children that the rangers hold, this time led by Angela’s sister Michelle. After learning about insects, we had a picnic surrounded by the cormorants, kookaburra (who was eyeing our food the whole time) and the runner duck. I feel particularly drawn to the fabulous birdlife in Australia, as you can tell by the many photos I take of them!

Jon’s family and I somehow chose a cloudy, windy day right at the end of Evie’s school holidays to take a ferry ride on Sydney Harbour from Circular Quay to Watsons Bay, which is on the south side of the Harbour. We’d heard there were markets set up for the weekend. The ferries in the picture on the left are classic Sydney Harbour ferries, used by locals and tourists alike.

On our Watsons Bay adventure, we first passed the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House as we moved out into the Harbour. That’s when the full force of the gale winds hit us, but we managed a photo anyway! The clouds cleared for a bit as we arrived to see the markets set up along the beachfront. After lunch, including a sad attempt at a Philly Cheesesteak, and some shopping and fun at the markets, we walked past the calm Camp Cove beach and the nudist Lady Bay Beach (only one patron that day.) We then “walked the path” to a colourful lighthouse. The clouds had returned as we headed back, and we glimpsed a different view of Sydney’s clouded skyline. Massive cruise ships are now often docked at Circular Quay, and one of them was blocking our access to the ferry wharves. We had to manoeuvre around the ship, almost under the Bridge, and back to the wharf – all something that was new and a bit exciting for me and Jon’s family.

Later in February, I traveled by train along the stunning South Coast line up to Hurstville. The truly stunning parts are the views of the coast and ocean, but I did get this photo of some of the deep bushland the train travels through. I was actually on my way to pick up a church car to drive down to Canberra for the weekend. But first I wanted to see some friends from the Hurstville New Church

View of the Georges River from the train on the way to Sydney
Dinner with Pastor HyunJin and friends from the Hurstville New Church

Two things to add, closer to home (Woonona) after my Canberra trip in February. Evie had her outdoor Swimming Carnival, an event that most schools hold annually early in the year while the weather is still warm. There are competitions for various swimming strokes and distances, with individual prizes and points for houses (like in Harry Potter!) Evie is pictured doing breaststroke, for which she placed in her heat. Also pictured are some Lilly Pilly berries on a random tree in the neighbourhood. There were several Lilly Pilly trees on our street when I was growing up, and we would eat the berries while walking to and from school. It was definitely a “memory lane” moment when I saw the tree!

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January 2026 – Part 2

After a few days to re-orient and re-pack after returning from the NCIA retreat in Queensland, I set off for my first weekend ministry visit for this year to Canberra, Australia’s capital. It involved the usual Spiritual Growth class on Saturday, and worship followed by a shared (potluck) lunch, on Sunday. On my way back to Woonona, I stopped at “Old Parliament House,” now a history museum.

My focus was on preparations for Australia Day, also known as Invasion Day, which was to be celebrated the following day. It marks the date of the beginning of British settlement in Australia, in 1788. In the gallery above, the first photo is of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy which is the longest running protest for First Nations land rights in the world. It started in 1972, in front of the then Parliament House, now Old Parliament House. The second photo is of a depiction in the museum of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pouring soil into the hands of an indigenous leader in 1975 as a promise of land rights restoration. The rose garden outside Old Parliament House in the third photo was the site of the gathering place for the annual First Nations protest planned for the following day, which is pictured in the final photo, taken by Mick Tsikas of the Australian Associated Press.

Every Thursday evening in Wollongong (the closest city to where Jon and Angela live) the indoor/outdoor Crown Street Mall holds “Eat Street” on the plaza. Thursday is the “late shopping night” in NSW, meaning shops stay open till 9pm instead of the usual 6pm. One Eat Stret evening, Jon organised an “Amazing Race” (Google it!) for a group of friends. We were divided into 3 teams, following clues up and down the food trucks, night markets and musicians on the mall. Michelle and her two girls were the winners! Evie placed the winner’s medal on her cousin.

When we got home from the Amazing Race, we had an amazing visit by a Tawny Frogmouth Owl, which is a nocturnal predator that is technically not part of the owl family. An almost daily visitor is the heron pictured below it, who preens and enjoys the sunshine on the same stretch of the garden fence.

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January 2026 – Part 1

First off for 2026, since I was in Hurstville for the extended New Year holiday, I went to a favourite place nearby, Poulton Park Walking Track. You’re barely aware that there is civilisation around you! I saw rainbow lorikeets, a scary looking but harmless spider, and beautiful frangipani blossoms on my bushwalk. On the way back, I took a slight detour so I could go down memory-lane and see my old Infants’ School (early elementary) and Primary School (upper elementary) including the updated playground.

After spending a few days visiting friends, including enjoying a hot cup of tea served in an individual sized tea-pot with a hand-knitted tea cosy, I was able to join the Hurstville congregation as they consecrated the New Year with a Holy Supper/Communion service in their outdoor sanctuary. In the past I was able to offer a reflection there during a Sunday service when the pastor was away, and a male lay leader conducted the service. The “Garden Church” is part of the locally-famous Baringa Gardens on the church property, that was created by the late Norman Heldon (my daughter-in-law Angela’s grandfather.) Besides native and non-native plants, there are little statues of Australian animals and birds, like the kangaroo lounging near the sanctuary, and plaques explaining the correspondences of elements within the garden.

After Jon’s family returned from their New Year’s holiday in northern NSW with friends, it was time to enjoy Evie’s school summer holidays together! That included time at nearby beaches, discovering a skeletal sea horse on the sand, visits to beach side cafes, an outing to an art installation/playscape that found me standing under Deborah’s palm tree, and temporarily fostering a lovely young dog called Diamond.

A highlight for me and Jon’s family in January was the annual retreat for the New Church in Australia, held on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, about 1100km/680 miles north of Woonona. It certainly lived up to its reputation of being a humid subtropical location! People attended in person and virtually from across the country, east to west and north to south. There were also people from USA and New Zealand in person and online. I gave a talk about how the Biblical story of Deborah the prophetess has been an inspiration for me, especially for my online ministry.

Stopping for a snack on the two-day drive to Q’land
Evening group event
Workshop about Spiritual Awakening
Evening entertainment
80’s Disco Night
Fun in the pool, when not at the beach
Annual table tennis tournament final
Bishop Peter Buss with his table tennis trophy
Two generations, Mums and daughters, of life-long camp friendships
Shared open space, lined with cabins
Kids helping with worship before my talk
Closing program on the last evening of the retreat

I returned to Woonona with Carolyn Heldon, and Donna Heldon’s family, taking three days. The first stop for Carolyn and me was to visit the retired Rev. Julian and Ruth Duckworth, who now live on their son’s farm in Queensland. We had a traditional morning tea with them, and Ralph and Graham Horner, who were also driving south to NSW.

We saw only horses on the portion of the Duckworth farm that was visible from the house, but there were crops in the distance. The farrier arrived to attend to one of the horses while we were there. Flies and disease-carrying mosquitoes are a problem, so one of the grandchildren demonstrated how to sit outside in the mosquito net. And being in Australia, we also had to beware of snakes! After morning tea, we drove on to the Airbnb at our destination, stopping at a typical simple roadside rest-stop. I was intrigued by the wildlife netting high above the road, a relatively recent strategy to keep koalas and wombats off the roads. Sadly, I didn’t see any creatures using the wildlife bridges. We stayed in Southwest Rocks in northern NSW for two nights, enjoying time on the beach, tours of an historic gaol and a lighthouse, and walking on the track around the headlands.

Palm Lily and Frangipani at our Airbnb
Remains of a shipwreck close to the shoreline
Some of the rocks that give Southwest Rocks its name
Beach cricket
SW Rocks beach, near the cafe where we had lunch
Rocky shoreline at the gaol
The 1877 gaol was built for well-behaved prisoners to build a breakwater
At the end of the corridor is the guard’s lookout
The cat-o’-nine-tails whipping post that was thankfully never used
In WWI German “aliens’ were held in the gaol, with better conditions and more freedom.
Humans aren’t the only visitors to Trial Bay Gaol! Warnings were posted about interacting with ‘roos.
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December 2025

Welcome back to “Walking the Path with Ros” – a ministry and travel blog! This year, unlike last year, I didn’t plan any other international travels besides my usual time in Australia visiting family and friends, and supporting Swedenborgian congregations in the New Church in Australia (NCIA) that don’t have a resident minister. Soon after my arrival in mid December, my family in Woonona, on the South Coast of New South Wales (NSW) south of Sydney, went to the First Annual Pup Cup (dog show) at a local beach. It was definitely a first for me! There was a local choir performance and activities for kids, as well.

Kid’s activities
“People’s Choice” category
“Most Like Owner” category
Winner of “Most Like Owner” Cup
Winner of the “Best Dressed” Cup

The Advent/Christmas season was already in full swing when I arrived. After all these years living in the Northern Hemisphere, it now seems odd to me to have winter-themed traditions and decorations in summer, though it didn’t seem at all incongruous to me growing up in Sydney. Pictured is the Roseville New Church chancel, decorated for the annual Carols by Candlelight service. Being summertime, and actually right on the summer solstice, it didn’t get dark until well after the evening service was over, but the candles were lit anyway in the evening dusk.

The captions on the gallery above (Images of a Sydney Christmas) are not showing, so here’s an explanation top to bottom, left to right: A Sydney tradition, fully decorating your car; Sydney’s official Christmas Tree, in Martin Place; a look-alike Christmas Tree at Manly Beach; Christmas morning with Evie; tents on the beach on Christmas Eve, getting ready for a tent city on Christmas Day; flowering gum (eucalyptus) tree in Christmas colours; Evie and my gingerbread house, a careful copy of the one in Aunt Mim’s children’s book; the Hurstville New Church on Christmas Day.

Almost as soon as I put my bags down in Jon and Angela’s unit (Aussie for apartment or townhouse) I was off on my daily centering walks on the beach, one of my favourite spiritual practices, only one and a half blocks away. This is Bulli Beach, with its saltwater rock pool, a concrete structure often found on the headlands of NSW beaches. They are safer to swim in than the ocean with its sharks, deadly rip currents, and sometimes dangerous surf! Evie had broken her leg a few months before when she was dumped by a wave in rough surf.

Not long after arriving and celebrating my birthday and Christmas, I went up to Sydney to house-sit for some friends in Hurstville. While there, I went on what felt like a “pilgrimage” to Sydney Harbour. It’s a must-do for anyone spending time in Sydney, and has deep connections to childhood and joy for me. First I met Rev. Howard and Debra Thompson, soon to be leaving the Roseville New Church, for lunch at their favourite restaurant, tucked away in an alley behind a busy Central Business District (or CBD, another Aussie term) street. Then found my way through the historic Rocks section of Sydney to Circular Quay, the hub for activity on the Harbour’s waterfront. I ended up entering the quay at a place I’d never been to, Campbell’s Cove, nested next to one of the huge pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It has quite a history as the first centre of commerce in Sydney, within a decade of the arrival of the First Fleet. Then on to one of my favourites from childhood: a ferry ride across the Harbour to Manly and Manly Beach.

Campbell’s Cove
Water taxi arriving at a wharf
Palm trees on Circular Quay
Bridge from the historic Rocks area
Opera House from the ferry
A Tall Ships cruise

Manly Beach is the most popular of the Northern Beaches, known for its award-winning Life Saving Club, and the stately Norfolk Pines lining the walkway around the beach. I found something new to me here as well: a walk around the rocky cliff to the Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve, and then calm Shelly Beach. Snorkelers were abundant, looking at the mini-reef and the many varieties of fish and other marine life.

The rock pool at the Aquatic Reserve, with snorkelers on the far side; below that is Shelly beach, looking across to Manly Beach whose name refers to the female indigenous warriors who defended their land at the arrival of White people; and “Team Manly” doing some surf life saving training at Manly Beach.

As I was still house-sitting on New Year’s Eve, I had some friends over from the Hurstville church to celebrate. Sydney’s fireworks show on New Year’s Eve is amazing, and one of the first to bring in the new year around the world. We watched it on TV, which captured some of the splendour, and helped us avoid the crowds bringing in 2026.

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American Addendum

On the way back to my USA home, I spent a few days in San Francisco, California. It so happened that my flight had me landing in San Francisco the day before a meeting of the Board of the Center for Swedenborgian Studies (CSS), located nearby in Berkeley, CA. The CSS is the theological school for the Swedenborgian Church of North America, and is affiliated with the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in Berkeley. I had received a Certificate of Swedenborgian Studies from CSS in 2019 as the last step in my very long path to ordination as a Swedenborgian/New Church minister. But I had never set foot on the campus, as I had studied online with CSS.

The Board very graciously invited me to join them as a guest. I stayed with them at the Mercy Center Burlingame, a ministry of the Sisters of Mercy, where most of the meetings were held. The gardens and buildings were serene, and contributed to the mission of helping people to become “more attentive to the Divine.” During the business meetings for Board members only, I walked the hand-laid labyrinth and soaked in the tranquility.

The CSS is physically housed in the Pacific School of Religion, one of the member schools in the GTU. Dean Rebecca Esterson gave me a tour of the CSS during one of the board’s executive sessions, and I explored the campus as well. It felt so good to have finally visited the Center for Swedenborgian Studies!

A view of the San Francisco Bay just steps away from the CSS offices and classrooms.
The Holbrook Building in which the CSS is housed

A brief stay in San Francisco would not be complete without walking across the Golden Gate Bridge! So I did exactly that, on the morning before the CSS Board members started arriving at the Mercy Center. It wasn’t very crowded, as I’ve heard it can be, and the weather was a bit foggy and windy. The walk across and back was a very comfortable 3 1/2 miles, with people walking, running and riding bikes at all different speeds. From the bridge (pictured, from the south side) we could see Alcatraz (to the left in the foggy photo), the San Francisco Bridge, the city of San Francisco (bottom, left photo) and the Marina District (in the large photo) at the north end of the bridge.

The path back to the Mercy Center included a tour by my friend Jennifer through some notable parts of the Bay area, including the longest, steepest and most curvy street in San Francisco – and it’s not the famous Lombard St. Quite a challenge for someone who is prone to motion sickness! The next day, I began my path home, with a stop in Denver to see family, and then on to my USA home in Bryn Athyn, PA.

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Sightseeing in Australia

While ministering to the Swedenborgian/New Church groups in Canberra and Perth, attending events at the Swedenborg Centre in Sydney, and spending time with family and church friends in Adelaide and Melbourne, I managed to fit in time for being a tourist as well.

The Big Merino, a statue in sheep country in Goulburn, NSW, on my way to Canberra
“The Travellers” art on the Sandridge Bridge in Melbourne
A friendly black swan said hello on the banks of the Yarra River in Melbourne
Finally I got to the famous St. Kilda beach in Victoria…
…while visiting with my colleague …
Rev. Martin Pennington, with Melbourne in the distance.

The next sight-seeing opportunity was in Adelaide and South Australia. Henley Beach (left) and Glenelg Beach (below) are near downtown Adelaide. Some schoolboys had a fishing class at the end of this jetty when I was there. My brother Stephen and I hiked in the Waite Conservation Reserve that has views overlooking the city. Then a few days in Tintinara with family who own a small farm. You might remember the view from my favourite cafe along the way, now with the floodwaters receded back to normal.

My cousin Simon in Tintinara had converted a 100-year old wool sorting table into a unique dining room table. The shearers would have thrown the newly shorn fleece onto the sorting table for it to be graded for sale. The slats were for dirt and debris on the fleece to fall through – the sheep live outside year round. I loved seeing how the farming heritage of the family has worked its way into elegant living indoors!

Next up was seeing some sights in Perth, which I had time to do because there was not such a need for pastoral visiting this time. Kings Park is a botanical garden and bushland preserve right on the waterfront in Perth’s CBD (central business district). My friend Ros also took me to Bayview Park, on the other side of the CBD. Another highlight was fish and chips on the waterfront in Fremantle, near Perth, with my host and church group leader, Mary. And of course, a beach day a bit north of Perth’s CBD, at Scarborough beach.

Later on, when Evie had her autumn school holidays, we took a short trip to the Blue Mountains, which are west of Sydney, and stayed in an historic Victorian-era cottage. We met up with a friend of theirs who was doing an art residency in Katoomba, and of course hiked in the Blue Mountains National Park, sometimes with her and her daughter.

Artist Giulia took time off from painting to go to the Wentworth Falls with us and her daughter
One of many waterfalls in Wentworth that we walked under
It claimed to be an “easy walk” but these stairs were a bit scary
Look carefully for the rarely-seen Lyre bird building a nest
The iconic Three Sisters rock formation
We replicated a photo of my kids, from 20 years ago
Lunch with Giulia and Tessa, in a cafe with a spectacular mountain range view

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Hanging Out in Woonona and Sydney

As you can see from the photos, the first part of my visit in Australia was mainly about hanging out with my family in Woonona (pronounced Wunoona), a beach town south of Sydney, and with my friends in Hurstville, which is the suburb where the General Church congregation is located. Featured in the gallery above is a photo of a “flat white”, my favourite coffee beverage in Australia. Google says a flat white is “a coffee drink made with espresso and steamed milk, similar to a latte but with less milk and a thicker layer of microfoam on top”. Every day I walked on the beaches only 1 1/2 blocks away: Bulli Beach top right, and Woonona beach below it. Below that is the Bulli Beach rock pool, filled with ocean water. A feature of many beaches in the area is a human-made pool like this at the headland. A local high school was having PE class at the rock pool one day as I enjoyed my flat white at the beach-side cafe. The other photos show Evie having fun at her swimming lesson, and the llama there enjoying having a nibble on my hair! Also pictured is Evie celebrating her 7th birthday with family and friends at the river-side Audley park in the Royal National Park, and some friends from the Hurstville New Church having a memorable evening at a local Chinese restaurant.

Growing up on the south side of Sydney, I’d always heard that the “North Head” of Sydney Harbour (the headland on the north side of the ocean entrance to the harbour) was uninhabitable, wild, and difficult to access. “South-siders” typically have dismissive things to say about anything on the North shore, and likely vice-versa! I had been to the South Head several times, which had the reputation of being an interesting place to visit. So one day I decided to see for myself, and set off on an adventure to explore the allegedly disreputable North Head. In the photo, the North Head is the formidable headland on the left.

I took a ferry from Circular Quay in Sydney…
…past the Opera House…
…and looked back at the Sydney skyline.
The ferrry landed at the Manly Wharf, where I spent a little time on the beach on the Harbour side. The Ocean beach at Manly is the famous one, with its award winning Manly Life Saving Club. From there I took a bus to the North Head Sanctuary. How very civilised!

What a surprise to find how easy it was to get to the North Head Sanctuary, to enjoy the bushland while walking on easily traversible paths, and catch some amazing views of the dramatic harbour! I found remnants of the North Head Quarantine Station that was established in 1833, and of the North Fort that was built during WWII. There were roads and houses in well-established neighbourhoods. So much for the urban myths I had grown up with 😀 The North Head is definitely a place I want to return to with my family.

From left to right, top row to bottom:

  1. This scary looking spider safely up high in its web, as well as many of its relatives, greeted me as I walked through the bushland.
  2. A path through the more open parts of the headland
  3. Sometimes there were some steeper parts of the trail through “scrub” bushland (not tall trees)
  4. Some beautiful flannel flowers, an Aussie native, along the path
  5. A view to the south- east from the largest lookout, kindly taken by one of the many international and local visitors walking the trails. You can see Sydney’s Central Business District in the distance.
  6. A view more to the south from near the lookout, showing the South Head of Sydney Harbour.

Hanging out in Sydney and Woonona included an afternoon visit to the Symbio Wildlife Park, where as you can see the kangaroos had already finished hopping around, and had been fed by many visitors already. They were only interested in being petted while they rested. We ended up giving the animal feed to the insatiable goats in the petting farm area! The gallery below includes photos from several other fun outings and activities within easy travel range of Woonona.

Evie is now taller than an Emperor penguin, measured at Symbio
A crocodile at Symbio’s Reptile Show, right after an audience member held it briefly
Feeding time for the koalas
Catching up with a friend from high school.
Two hikes, one with Carolyn, one with Caldwells to…
…Curracurrong Cove, seen from the trail in the Royal National Park
The Pacific Ocean pounding the coastline
Caldwells and me hiking on our way through the bush
A little tree dragon greeted us at the Cove…
…where we had a picnic lunch and paddled (waded) in the water.
Finally, a swim at Wattamolla
Angela, Evie and I had a spa afternoon, thanks to a birthday gift from Evie’s party.
We got to attend a mini concert by the Da Vinci Singers,
…in which Carolyn sings and plays 5 instruments (not at once!)
Breakfast in the Southern Gateway Centre…
…with a stunning panoramic view from our table of Dharawal country, now known as New South Wales’ South Coast. Jon, Angela, Evie (and I for 3-4 months per year) live in about the middle of the photo.
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Ministry in Aus

A significant purpose for my annual trips to Australia is to “give back” to the New Church in Australia (NCIA). Most of my training as a minister was through the Australian New Church College, and my family on my mother’s side goes back many generations in the NCIA and the General Conference of the New Church in the UK. Two Australian congregations do not have a minister, so I’m a visiting minister for them while I’m there. And I like to be supportive in other ways to the congregations that do have a minister.

If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll probably recognise the location and the people. This is the group in Canberra, Australia’s capital city, which gathers for worship every other Sunday here in Philip and Eleanor Richards’ sunroom. I visit there monthly when I’m in Aus, giving a spiritual growth class on Saturday and leading worship on Sunday. Not pictured here are two couples who had taken a break, but have rejoined the group quite regularly.

Above is the group in Perth, on the western coast of Western Australia. Like the Canberra group, there are people affiliated with both the New Church in Australia and the more conservative General Church of the New Jerusalem. Sometimes they gather separately, but whenever a minister is visiting from either Swedenborgian/New Church branch, they come together for a long weekend of activities. We had a discussion class about “Spiritual Judgement vs. Assesment” in the home of David and Ros Walker (seated in the centre of the photo on the left) The next day I gave a more formal presentation about “Tools for Healing the Pain of Polarisation” in a conference room at a restaurant, where we stayed for lunch afterwards (the photo on the right.)

Sunday’s worship service, including Communion/Holy Supper, was a combined event as well, at the hall where the group usually worships. They had sold their church building several years ago. Afterwards we enjoyed the fellowship of a shared (potluck) lunch, and then a few of us continued our conversations over coffee at a nearby cafe. In addition, during my five-day visit, I was able to have some individual visits with three of the members of the group.

In addition to ministering to the groups in Canberra and Perth, I made my usual tour around the country visiting relatives, and my friends and colleagues in other Swedenborgian/New Church congregations. In the south side of Sydney, I played the piano twice for a church service in the Hurstville New Church, including Easter Sunday (pictured). After attending one session of their series of spiritual growth classes about Joseph in the Hebrew scriptures, I joined the group for a fun movie night, watching the Disney film “Joseph: King of Dreams,” and snacks afterwards (pictured.) On the “north shore” I attended the Roseville New Church once, and interesting discussion sessions at their Swedenborg Centre three times. During one session I received some very helpful feedback on the presentation about “Tools for Healing the Pain of Polarisation” which I ended up giving in both the Hurstville church and in Perth.

In my rather whirlwind travels outside of Sydney, I stopped briefly in Melbourne where the Swedenborg Community Victoria is based. As I was only there during the weekdays, I was unable to attend a worship service, but I was able to Zoom in to an online Connect discussion. Rev. David Moffat, the spiritual leader of the Melbourne-based group and also the President of the NCIA, and I took a whole day to visit my friends/his parishioners Suzanne Coutanceau in Trentham (pictured), and Barrie and Edith Rabone in Majorca. We covered a lot of territory, both physically and in discussions about the Swedenborg Social Media Network that he had initiated in September 2024. We also had a wonderful “clergy gathering” with Rev. John Teed who was a good friend of my parents, and a vibrant minister in the NCIA when I was growing up. While in Melbourne, I also connected with another colleague, Rev. Martin Pennington, over lunch at the famous St Kilda Beach where we indulged in our usual far-ranging theological discussion.

Then on to Adelaide, where the congregation meets twice a month, but not on the weekend that I was there. But I managed to visit with the lay leader, June Johnson, and three other members of the small but devoted group, who had been quite disrupted recently with major repairs to the church building due to white ant damage. The Saturday evening Vespers service that I attended at my brother Stephen’s Russian Orthodox church was absolutely beautiful and serene. Stephen chants and sings in the choir, and I really enjoyed hearing him sing his solo and picking out his voice at other times.

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Visiting China

My stated reason for traveling to China was to help Yuhong, my sister-in-law, clear out her mother’s apartment in Beijing. Su Ying is now a resident in an aged care facility, and wants to rent out her apartment. My other reason was to finally make it to the Asian continent, and to be a limited tourist in Beijing. Limited by my commitment to help Yuhong, and planning on staying only six days. Also limited by not speaking Chinese, which is why I told Yuhong I would staple myself to her side as soon as I saw her in the Beijing airport 😅 Fortunately both Shanghai and Bejing airports had plenty of English signage, so my fears about traveling through two Chinese airports without an interpreter were allayed.

I arrived the day after the New Year, and the celebration continues for 10 days. The shops, the restaurants, the streets, EVERYTHING was decked out in red and ready to have fun! After a bit of shopping, we headed to crowded, nearby Ditan Park to enjoy the celebration: dancing, singing, street food (I chose BBQ squid), all despite the chilly winter weather.

And we did settle in to the task of clearing out Su Ying’s apartment, where we were staying. We started with her many wardrobes of fabulous clothing. As a singer in the China National Symphony Orchestra Chorus, she had to maintain a professional look. We tried on two of her fur coats, and took one to her – we’re all about the same size! In the end we filled 49 huge rubbish/trash bags of clothing and linens (mostly for donation) and actual rubbish. But when I left at the end of the week, we looked around and sadly concluded that there was very little evidence that we had worked so hard. There is so much more to be done – another trip for me?

The view from Su Ying’s 4th floor apartment window

We took breaks on our clearing-out mission to visit the Temple of the Earth and other temples, the ancient Great Wall (on their busiest weekend of the year, right after the New Year!), a nearby well-known and upscale Peking Duck restaurant, and local restaurants. We also visited a Chinese medicine shop where the practitioner gave me a remedy that cured my common cold symptoms overnight (thankfully!)

Something I found a little unnerving was the almost constant presence of surveillance cameras and soldiers in public places, but Beijingers seem to take it in stride. I was shocked but not entirely surprised to find that my debit and credit cards, gmail, Google app, Facebook and Messenger apps were all shut down. The only means I had of communicating with my family was FaceTime, because they also use Apple products. Yuhong fortunately was able to cover my expenses while we traveled around and enjoyed ourselves.

From a ministry path perspective, I was surprised at the extent to which religious practice is permitted in China. There are active religious activities and practices in some of the temples we saw. We saw several Christian churches in Beijing, which are all government-sanctioned. Needless to say, I had no contact with the readers of new religious writings in China.

The different kinds of personal transportation were fascinating to me. We often walked to wherever we were going, but if not, the subway system was wonderful and taxis/ubers were plentiful and inexpensive. Many people rode e-scooters with blankets to protect them from the cold. There were also traditional and motorised rickshaws.

Finally, in the last few days of my stay, we went just outside of Beijing to visit Su Ying in her aged care facility. It was in an amazing and brand new centre for health care services, spread over many blocks like a small town. We stayed in a hotel for visitors in the complex. When we got on the elevator, R2-D2 joined us on his way to deliver something to another guest (maybe food?) Yuhong and I enjoyed our own tea ceremony, laid out for us in our elegant hotel room.

I was very grateful for the opportunity to visit with Su Ying again, as she and Yuhong’s late father had been to the USA several times to see Yuhong and her family. They had definitely become part of our extended Taylor family. On the way back, we had to show our passports and state where we were going when we crossed the border of the city of Beijing. Visibly and intimidatingly armed soldiers were posted at the border crossing. We got through without incident, and with appreciation for my Australian passport, and headed for the home of Mao Rung (not sure of the spelling!). She is Yuhong’s cousin, who is a lawyer who looks after Su Ying’s financial and legal affairs when Yuhong is not there. Several other family members were gathered there for a lovely afternoon tea.

I ended up getting an extra day in Beijing, because my seat had been canceled on my non-refundable, full flight to Sydney! Very thankfully Yuhong was with me to talk at length with the kind customer service people, and to pay for another flight to Sydney, since my bankcards were still inoperable. That flight left at 1am, so we went back to our clearing-out mission and celebrated with one final dinner out. Late that evening, I bravely took a taxi to the airport on my own, after Yuhong had instructed the driver where to take me 😊, and found my way to check in, send bags, and get on the plane for my next adventure – Australia 🇦🇺

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Touring New Zealand

Thank you for joining me again on my ministry and travel path! My path in 2025 started near the end of January with some exploring, and venturing into new experiences. First up, visiting in New Zealand, but adventures further afield in the north island than in the past. Previously I’ve mostly stayed in the Auckland vicinity, focusing on the NCIA/General Church Swedenborgian congregation. But they have now sold their building, as have many small congregations around the world, and are meeting virtually with an occasional in-person event. I missed the in-person church gatherings in Auckland, and going to the familiar physical building. Before I began visiting there as an adult, my father used to visit the New Church in Auckland on a regular basis when I was growing up in Australia. This was in a way a personal loss for me. It is even more of an emotionally painful and challenging process to wind-up a church organisation legally and financially for the people who have worshiped together for decades, and worked hard to keep it going. And equally challenging to sustain relationships and maintain a sense of community. But they are doing just that, though, through social media and group video meetings.

The former home of the New Christian Church in New Zealand, built and maintained by members.

Denis and Lis Keal are very active in the group, and were my wonderful hosts. I’ve known Denis since I was 6 years old. First up, a trip to the active geothermal area around Rotorua, in the central region of the north island. The area has many hot springs as well as the Lady Knox Geyser, in the photo. We soaked in some hot mineral pools, and toured the Waiotapu Scenic Reserve, where we saw and smelled many hot mud and sulphur pools. We also walked through the mainly Redwood Whakarewarewa Forest, which is also home to native species like Golden Fern Tress

Our final stop in Rotorua was the Mitai Maori Village, for a celebration of the Maori culture. The original Maoris were a Polynesian people who traveled to New Zealand centuries ago. We saw warriors paddling a war canoe, enjoyed musical entertainment and traditional haka dances, had an authentic Hangi dinner, and walked through the old village site and the forest, lit up by glow worms.

My final few days in Auckland were spent touring Hobbiton, the movie set for the Hobbit movies, and visiting with church friends. In the photo gallery above, the tiki pole was actually at the Mitai Maori Village, as we descended down to the river where the warriors demonstrated traditional war canoe chanting. The rainy-day Hobbiton photos show part of the village in the hill, the “party tree” and tent, a fully built Hobbit home that we toured inside including my demonstration that I’m almost Hobbit-sized : ) and the bridge to the Green Dragon Inn.

Once we were back in Auckland, Denis and Lis hosted an extended family gathering, and a smaller gathering of church people. Rev. John Sutton is pictured here with his wife Jenny and their fur-baby. As I mentioned earlier, lovely as it is to catch up with some of the church members, I still felt the heaviness of grieving the loss of what-had-been. Though I do support the notion that old structures might need to fade away so that a vibrant new spirituality can emerge.

We also visited Hugh and Jenny Keal in their Retirement Village on two occasions. Hugh has continued his passion for garden railways by using his 3D printer to create an entertaining steam-powered miniature railway system – pictured above.

After almost a week of venturing further afield in summer-time New Zealand, with less of my usual emphasis on the church group, I was ready to fly 13 hours back into the wintery northern hemisphere, for my first visit to a country in the Asian continent.