The Gathering Place

Redfern, Australia

I describe ourselves as neighbours among neighbours.  We participate in what takes place rather than initiate projects or activities.

Our house, on Monday evenings, is a place of
gatherings of locals and friends.  We meet for a meal, for prayer and reflection - people take it in turns to prepare the prayer. A simple candle is the one symbol we use. As people are of various religious backgrounds or none, there is some variety in the reflections offered.

Twice weekly a meal is served in our church by members of the parish and other volunteers.  This is called Sharing the Meal and those who do so include people who are Aboriginal, people who are poor, people who have mental health issues, and people who live on the streets. All the food is donated and about 200 people are fed each week.

Each Thursday a small group of people of the parish involved in Aboriginal and/or justice ministry meet in our house for a meal, prayer, and mutual support.  A similar group meets each Friday evening in our church to reflect on the coming Sunday's scripture;  significant challenges are found in relation to justice issues, especially in light of what is happening locally in the parish, in our country Australia, and in the Catholic Church in Sydney.

In our house, The Gathering Place, are Mary who is a Daughter of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (OLSH/FNDSC) and myself.  We participate in the above activities and also have involvements with Redfern Residents for Reconciliation, Aboriginal Catholic Ministry, the Aboriginal Justice Support Group, the Society of St Vincent de Paul, and others as required. We also try to attend local gatherings of citizens in relation to local issues.

Within our own house which is close to The Block where many Aboriginal people live, there is interaction and pastoral care over cups of tea, meals, telephone calls, referrals, and such.  People sometimes call in just for a yarn, for some peace, perhaps even to escape some tension at home. This is a place where they feel at home, where they find peace (despite what sometimes seems to me to be chaos), where they feel accepted.  This is not an institution but simply our home, so there is a certain spontaneity which makes for homeliness. There is hospital visitation and court support when possible, even accompaniment to the dentist on one occasion. We cannot always have education as an explicit activity but an educational agenda is always in my consciousness.  There may be many encounters before one can be explicit about this.  Trust has to be built up and this does take a lot of time.

However to meet a young woman as I did the other day in the street who wanted to tell me her news was very rewarding.  She has been out of trouble for 12 months and was bright and talkative.  I have seen her grow from being demanding and sullen to being cheerful and engaging.  Hearing a young man say he is continuing with his methadone programme after many months is also rewarding - he has not sunk back into drug addiction.  A woman for whom we were able to find a sewing machine is finding more opportunities, and her gift of a painting she had done herself said far more than words could.  She now has access to children she was earlier denied, and now has two other children of her own.

Local organisations, in addition to schools, provide educational and creative activities for youngsters; there is also a local tertiary college for Aboriginal students and others and the Society and others are endeavouring to support financially Aboriginal students in secondary schools.  Members of our local parish supported an Aboriginal woman who attended an Aboriginal theological college in Darwin.  She has now graduated.