As in previous years, my ministry path has taken me to the Swedenborgian/New Church group in Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT.) Canberra, being the capital city of Australia, is the seat of the Federal Government, with the two houses of Parliament, and the High Court. Since 2008, when Prime Minister Rudd made an official apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Parliament opens daily with an Acknowledgement of Country as well as the Lord’s prayer, which has been traditionally been said since Parliament was formed in 1901. Christianity is not a state religion in Australia, but was the predominant religion at the time. Whenever there have been attempts to discontinue daily prayer, the legislators keep it as part of the Australian Parliamentary tradition.
Acknowledgement of Country is now a cultural norm in Australia as a way to open meetings, gatherings and events. I like the spirit of respect for all indigenous people that this practice encompasses. When the name is known of the people on whose land the gathering is taking place, a typical Acknowledgement of Country might be “‘I begin today by acknowledging the <name of people, e.g. Ngunnawal)> people, Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather today, and pay my respects to their Elders past and present. I extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples here today.’
The Canberra group has been meeting in the lay leader’s home, in the large screened sun-room at the back of the house, for several years now since their minister moved to Melbourne. During my weekend visits in November and December we covered, in by now the usual pandemic-inspired hybrid style, three of four sessions in the “Seeing Providence” program that had been developed in the Swedenborgian/New Church in Bryn Athyn, PA, USA. We also worshiped together, including a lovely Christmas service in which we shared our favourite readings and carols. We were blessed by some very good singers in the group! I stayed in the home of one of one of the congregants, and also took some time to visit some of the tourist highlights in Canberra.
Early in December, there was a hybrid Women’s Weekend for Swedenborgian/New Church women in Australia and New Zealand. With my ministry outreach to women in various ways over the years, I felt right at home with the purposes of the retreat. This was the eighth retreat I believe for this wonderful group of women. My contribution was a presentation on “Feminine Swedenborgian Spirituality.”
During the retreat we attended sessions, put together birthing kits for women in poverty, walked the tracks in the bush around the Conference centre, played games, and enjoyed sharing some spiritually-focused time together. At the conclusion of the Women’s Weekend I enjoyed a ride back to Sydney in Jenn’s bright yellow BMW convertible! Since my focus for this part of my path was really on supporting Jon, Angela and Evie, this was the extent of my ministry activities until my road trip, which started just before New Years Eve, when they went away with friends for the holiday weekend.