Rural Chaplains Adventures

Professionals Gather in Young

2011-01-15T09:08:00.002+11:00

As a response to the disastrous cereal and fruit season in the Young district, an initial meeting of concerned community stakeholders was called late in 2010. From this meeting it was decided that a good way forward would be to invite service providers and professionals working in the Young district so that they might know what government and non government assistance might be available to the Young community.

This meeting was held last Thursday at the Uniting Church Hall in Young. The meeting was well attended by a diverse group of professional such as bankers, health workers, religious groups, farmers, NSW Farmers members and service clubs.

Greg Paul a Rural Financial Counsellor working in the Young district spoke of the various grants and loans available from a wide source of government agencies. Paul McMahon and Jeanette Lloyd from Centrelink spoke of the financial and counselling services available through their organisation.

John Harper a great champion of farmer's mental health offered useful strategies in supporting those who the professionals might come across as presenting with mental health issues.

I hope this is the beginning of an effective network in Young so that we might care for each other in helpful ways.

Congratulations to the Young UCA congregation and Rotary for hosting a great breakfast meeting.

Kel Hodge

Christmas Greetings

2010-12-24T08:22:00.001+11:00

I think that at this time of the year we make a special effort to greet, thank and wish well those that we spend our lives with throughout the year.

There are some people that we are able to say Merry Christmas to, and pass on well wishes for the coming year. There are others who have left our physical lives and live away. We may send them a good old fashioned Christmas card with a note about what's happening for us and our families. Or, we may be up to date and email, text, twitter or send greetings on Facebook.

I am choosing this blog to send my wishes to the many people who make my life interesting, varied, hopeful, challenging, colorful, worthwhile and fulfilling.

The people I am talking about could be the person who lives next door to you. I think that the Christmas story illustrates for us that our God chose the every day situation to be with us and I believe still does. Our Lord is with us in the ordinary, the mundane and the every day. So it is at this Christmas time in the special time we celebrate the presence of Jesus in our lives in the ordinary times to come.

Last but not least I wish to send my love and best wishes for Christmas and the year to come to Julie my colleague. I give you thanks for your patience, understanding, graciousness and the new ways you continue to inspire myself and others. Merry Christmas Julie.

The photos I have chosen are of my friends in Corowa, the Burrowes. Merry Christmas. Kel Hodge

How many different ways can Santa arrive?

2010-12-24T06:03:00.002+11:00

Forget reindeer!

Flooding across the Riverina

2010-12-23T06:20:00.000+11:00

A meeting was help in Wagga Wagga last week with a large variety of service providers and community members to look at what assistance was available for Primary Producers who had been impacted by floods a wet weather. Over the last couple of months there have been thousands of hectares flooded and tens of thousands with rain damaged crops.

Government assistance tends to concentrate on Local Government infrastructure and there is virtually no assistance with agricultural losses. This can be a problem for those farmers who have lost all their crop and need to money to get through Christmas and buy food, let alone repay loans, plant next years crop etc. Kel and I are experiencing a marked increase in the number of requests for welfare help. The Riverina Presbytery has also asked Fred and Anne Humphrey, who did pastoral visiting in the drought, to return and work with flood affected farmers.

The group that gathered in Wagga Wagga expressed concern at the situation and also the potential for increased levels of stress and depression in Jan when farmers are able to see how their harvested ended up and how much they don't have. I suspect there will be an increase in calls for pastoral support.

As you will have read on this blog the Uniting Church as launched it's Rural Appeal. any support you can give will be gratefully received. It will provide food vouchers for families and also help to pay some of the Humphries expenses as they visit people.

Julie

Young producers

2010-12-21T06:19:00.003+11:00

Last week both Kel and I went to Young at the invitation of the local Uniting church there to see how the church might respond to the devastation of the cherry harvest in the area. The cherry growers in the area have lost between 60%-70% of their crop. Of course this also has implications for the local economy with less money coming in from casual labour employed, and from the producers themselves.

The local congregation was keen to see how they might help, so after their Sunday morning service Kel and I had a great planning meeting with them.

On the Monday we organised, with the Primary Industries section of Industry & Investment NSW, a meeting with service providers in the area to talk about what sort of support could be offered. It was agreed that most primary producers in the area were very busy harvesting what fruit or crops they could and were too busy for much else, but some meetings were planned for Jan.

How can you help - wherever you can buy cherries and other stone fruit from Young or Orange. The growers are finding that their markets for the fruit they have picked is drying up because of the public perception that it's all spoilt. This is not the case so please support growers by purchasing their fruit when you can.

My thanks to Young church for not only wanting to do something useful but also with helping to organise all this.

Julie

A travelling companion

2010-12-20T12:48:00.001+11:00

Julie: The following was written by Jane Schrader who recently spent a few days travelling around with me. I'm always happy to have people from other Uniting Churches who want to see what this type of ministry is all about.

Jane:
When I think of my time spent with Julie, recently, I think of vast distances travelled, friendly country people, connecting with small bush communities, coffee in the pub at Mt Hope on the way back from Nymagee.

A welcoming Sunday service at Hillston run capably by lay people and then lunch with the lay teacher Jenny and her husband Joe afterwards.

A trip 200klms down the track to Hay across the green Hay plains that would normally be red dust by now. A visit to Bishops Lodge there and viewing the dental implements a visiting clergy person carried with him in years goneby on his visits to the outback.

I remember very well our trip to Louth across muddy outback roads which were very wet and full of pot holes..I remember sinking in the red mud as we walked across a clay pan. We enjoyed wonderful hospitality there at the Old Post Office B and B.

The next day saw us in Bourke. Julie connected with some local workers in the areas of Aboriginal Affairs, rural outreach and the liaison person for the rural mental health project. I visited the local Bourke Outback centre which was very informative and enlightening . I have a better understanding of life as it was and is now.

We travel another couple of hours later in the day and stayed the night with Ian who is the minister for Cobar/Nyngan as well as part-time person with Frontier Services. Good to connect with someone from this wonderful service.

I travelled back to Oberon the next day. A 6-7 hour trip as the roads through Dubbo and Bathurst were show due to the rain and some of the local bridges being out of bounds.

Thankyou Julie for allowing me to spend time with you on your journey with people of the outback of N.S.W. I now have a better appreciation of the hardships and benefits of life, there.

Jane Schrader(Oberon Uniting Church- member)

Uniting Church Flood Appeal

2010-12-18T13:29:00.001+11:00

The recent weather wet weather events in NSW have caused great economic and emotional damage across the state.

The Moderator of the NSW Uniting Church Synod Rev Nial Reid has launched an appeal as one of the responses of the church to the devastation.

I would urge those of you able to donate to go to the link http://www.insights.uca.org.au/news/2010/flood-appeal-10-12-2010.htm for information about how to donate.

Kel Hodge

Pulling together for Operation Christmas Child

2010-12-13T06:00:00.000+11:00

Each year Samaritan's Purse runs Operation Christmas Child which encourages people to gather Christmas gifts for kids and pack them into shoe boxes. The boxes are then packed into shipping containers and sent to various developing countries.

Two Hillston women have taken this project to heart and this year managed to bring many people in the community with them. Hillston collected enough gifts to fill 80 boxes and had a very successful luncheon to raise the money to pay the shipping costs. Thanks to their encouragement all sorts of organisations and individuals around town got involved, from kids to seniors.

Well done to Doris and Dot who put a lot of time and passion into this project. Next year they tell me they are aiming for even more boxes.

Julie

Safe families in Bourke

2010-12-11T13:33:00.001+11:00

A new initiative in Bourke aims to bring together various government agencies that are involved with families to try and coordinate responses to keep kids safe.

As part of their community engagement they are looking to form good relationships with the Aboriginal elders in Bourke with a series of morning teas. I was fortunate to be in Bourke for the first of these and was allowed to "gate crash" to meet some of the local elders and workers.

The meeting was held under the covered area outside the office, which was an ideal setting on a hot humid day.

This is an initiative that very much needed in the area and it is good to see a willingness to work with the local indigenous community.

However, last week in the Bourke area was not without it's challenges and this picture shows my car after the trip from Louth to Bourke - and this is after I washed the windows so we could see out of them! Thank heavens for a big 4WD.

Julie

Eugowra Floods Again

2010-12-10T14:09:00.000+11:00

The Mandagery Creek has burst its banks at Eugowra this morning for the second time in a week.

This is typical of the flooding affecting much of NSW at the moment. The wet weather has diminished the value of crops and damaged a lot of property in rural NSW. A farmer mentioned to me just lately that as bad as the droughts have been he always lost more from too much wet weather.

The locals in Eugowra are used to having their village cut in two during flood episodes. It must become frustrating to clean up after the water leaves behind mud and debris.

A couple of years ago a flood event hit Eugowra and the sand bagging of the Uniting Church allowed me to perform a wedding after the waters receded.

Our land is certainly a land of contrasts.

Kel Hodge

Stressed growers

2010-12-07T17:50:00.001+11:00

Those of our readers who live in NSW will be aware that we are having extreme rain events across the state. In many places this has resulted in the destruction of crops or downgrading to feed quality (worth less than half of good grain). We also have had, and are in the middle of, widespread flooding.

The wet often has results that we don't think about. I was talking to someone who has a property outside Weilmoringle. They had 500mls (20 inches) last Christmas so the kids and their families couldn't get home for Christmas, and this year is shaping up to go the same way, so Christmas will be cancelled again. It wasn't something I had considered.

People often ask me what impact this has on farmers and I came across this interview done with my old boss from the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health, Prof Brian Kelly. As usual Brian puts it very well but he also has some good advice about helping people cope. News interview

For those who like to pray you might like to pray especially for those who have been evacuated from their homes and those who have had significant losses due to the rain.

Julie

A Gathering on and in the water

2010-12-02T05:20:00.002+11:00

Julie:

Each year the Rural Womens' Network organises a gathering for rural women in NSW. This year it was at Wentworth, where the Murray and Darling Rivers meet. It was a fabulous weekend with over 300 women, but no only were we on the banks of the river, but the torrential rain felt like a vertical river.

But rain did nothing to dampen the fun and fellowship. With over 50 workshops, talks by a wide range of speakers, laughter workshops and fabulous entertainment it was impossible not to have a great time. The Rural Chaplains Network organised chaplaincy services for the weekend and ran a workshop on "Sustaining Hope in the Bush".

For me, one of the highlights was being able to kayak where the rivers meet, and have an opportunity to explore some of the area by water. It was especially poignant as earlier in the week I had been kayaking at the other end of the Darling at Bourke.

Next year the gathering is in Gloucester and if you can make it, a good time is guaranteed.

130 years and still going strong

2010-11-30T11:02:00.001+11:00

Julie:

Last Sat over 70 people gathered to celebrate 130 years of the Post Office building. Although no longer operating as a PO the building has been recently purchased and restored by Warren and Lyn Oakes from Nowra, who are planning to live in part time and hoping that once again it will play a role in the life of the community.

The Salvation Army brought a band of a dozen players from Orange, Sydney, Dubbo and Newcastle, the CWA catered for the morning tea, I organised a brief ecumenical service to celebrate the restoration and the Oakes put on a BBQ lunch. It was wonderful day and everyone enjoyed being with their friends and neighbours, having a good sticky-beak at the building and listening to the wonderful band.

Art in the Bush

2010-11-05T08:55:00.000+11:00

I recommend a drive from Orange to Dubbo making sure you turn left at Molong and proceed to Cumnock and Yeoval.

Apart from the lovely scenery and promise of great crops you will see bicycles suspended in trees. At first your mind thinks maybe the rider hit a huge bump and became airborn. Of course this is crazy especially when you see other bikes being ridden by snakes, rabbits and an assortment of other animals.

The bikes will surprise you as drive between Cumnock and Yeoval as they might be in the middle of a paddock or high in the air above the road.

The bikes are artworks representing and celebrating A B Paterson's poem of "Mulga Bill". The Mulga Bill Festival happens in July every year. Last year some five thousand people ventured to Yeoval to enjoy the festival. The locals are proud to celebrate the fact that one of our great bush poets, Banjo Paterson, was born in the area.

Kel Hodge

Church in Weilmoringle

2010-10-27T10:16:00.000+11:00

Julie:

Welmoringle is not a place a lot of people visit. It's 100km from Brewarrina. The village consists of a few Aboriginal homes, a school and a shop, and the surrounding district has large pastoral holdings. With very little there it would be easy to wipe it off as a place that has died.

Yet Weilmoringle is a community that has worked extremely hard during the drought to maintain their social bonds and look after each other. One of the most successful ways has been their fortnightly get-togethers at the tennis shed. Once a month they have church as well as their lunch and tennis. Their very practical shed has been largely built by community volunteers, with very little outside money, and works extremely well as a meeting place.

Last Sun I was able to join the community for their church service, lunch and a talk by John Harper on recovering from depression. It was too wet for tennis but we still had a great day of worship, food and fun together. One of the most delightful parts of the service was that they literally "pass the hat" for the collection, but this just seemed to typify the community.

4 out of every 10 irrigation farmers are considering leaving the industry

2010-10-13T23:35:00.000+11:00

Julie:

The NSW Farmers Assocation has surveyed 525 irrigation farmers in NSW in the Murray Darling Basin on how their felt about water allocations and the results were quite striking.

Worringly 38% indicated that they would leave Agriculture if there was not enough water to carry on their enterprise. This will have a colossal impact on our food production. Over two thirds (many of whom had been in their areas for over 60 years) were concerned that farming families would leave and towns would be impacted.

There does not seem to have been a lot of consultation with only 6% indicating they had been consulted as part of the Murray Darling Basin Commission planning, suggesting that local knowledge is not being taken into account.

If you would like to read the report you can find it here

Valleys of Gold

2010-10-12T14:29:00.000+11:00

Driving towards the Murray River last week I was struck by the panoramic wonder of the canola crops.

The day was clear and bright which leant a special glow to the paddocks on the right and left of me. On the Old Gundegai Road between Cootamundra and Gundegai lies a series fertile of valleys that have been extensively planted down to canola.

The picture was breath taking as it was contrasted to the other, as yet green, cereal crops. I don't know if it is the extra fertility of the soil after the drought or the new varieties of canola or perhaps both, but the growth is phenomenal.

One hopes the all augurs well and the promise of these great crops are realised in a bountiful harvest. Any number of things may happen to spoil this harvest such as plague locust, bush fires, hail storms and the possible cessation of rain.

That is definitely the glass half empty approach. I prefer to think that with such great promise the bounty will be great and all will be well.

You have to have a little bit of faith!

Kel Hodge

Water such a controversal issue

2010-10-11T15:31:00.002+11:00

Julie:

If you live in the Eastern part of Australia you will no doubt have heard that the Murray Darling Basin Commission has released their draft report on water sharing in the Murray Darling Basin - and that it's very controversial.

Here in the bush the anger/frustration/apprehension is enormous. With predicted cuts of nearly 50% in some of the catchment areas the impact is likely to be huge. As one speaker said "its like give water to the environment and count the bodies later". I believe that some of the concerns in the bush are around the strong impression that instead of the "triple bottom line" approach (economic, social and environmental) only the environment has been taken into account.

To give you some idea of the impact, the Cotton Industry commissioned a report to look into the social and economic impacts of water cuts. In Griffith (a city of 27,000) a water cut of 50% will reduce employment by 19% and population by over 25%. If this is the impact on a major city then imagine what will happen in smaller places. I was incredibly disappointed to hear one of the Wentworth Group casually mention that small towns "will just have to close".

If you would like to read the report done by Dr Judith Stubbs you can find it a here. It's in a number of parts and looks at a range of communities and areas.

Hillston sheep sale very upbeat

2010-10-08T06:19:00.001+11:00

Julie:

Hillston held their sheep sale a couple of weeks ago and it was a very upbeat affair with both buyers and sellers very positive. I think this is a great measure of how much morale in the bush has risen with the good rain that has been regularly falling. Currently everything is looking fantastic with the crops thick and lush and great pasture everywhere. A spring like this one gives people confidence to plan for the future in areas such as their sheep flocks.

A special experience

2010-10-07T06:00:00.002+11:00

Julie:

I went to Bendigo last week to a conference and while I was there had a few minutes to visit the beautiful Catholic Cathedral. Imagine my surprise when I entered and found a young man practising with a great competancy on the pipe organ. To be able to wander through this stunning building accompanied by fantastic pipe music was a very moving experience. If you happen to find yourself in Bendigo do make time to visit.

Many Cultures, One God

2010-10-06T08:40:00.000+11:00

I was asked to participate in the Uniting Church Cross-Cultural Conference at Wagga Wagga recently.

It was my first experience of of this sort of gathering which included people from Tonga, Samoa, Korea, Lebanon, Armenia, Turkey, Niue, India, Sri Lanka and some people from Anglo-Celtic origins.
I listened to the stories of these people who struggled with a new country, culture and church culture. It was an eye opener for me as my experience is more or less mono-cultural.

Most of the stories people told were of there hopes and dreams of coming to Australia and their struggle with holding onto the richness of their own cultures in the church environment, let alone in the wider Australian scene.

I found my conversations with various people, the food we shared and the worship we participated all contributed to a fantastic week end.

It was a pity more locals could not avail themselves of this experience as I am sure they would have found it as life giving as I did.

Kel Hodge

It's now or never!

2010-10-04T21:51:00.001+11:00

Julie:

With the river dropping rapidly, today was the last opportunity I was going to get to go over the weir, so after checking it out, doning a helmet and life jacket and summoning all my courage, off I went.

It was quite an adrenalin rush and I'm really glad I got the chance to have a go (and I'm really glad I didn't make a complete fool of myself in front of the teenage boys fishing on the bank!).

Thanks to Jenny and Joe for coming with me as backup.

Chaplains Visit Hillston

2010-10-03T09:55:00.000+11:00

Julie kindly offered the hospitality of her home, and the hospitality of the Hillston church community so the Rural Chaplains network could meet their last week.

It was a great time spent sharing and listening to each others stories about the ministries we offer in rural and remote NSW.

The network has only been meeting for about two years and it seems that trust grows as our relationships deepen and become richer.

Although we work in a variety of christian denominations with differing theological and ecclesiological standpoints, the important thing we offer in chaplaincy is a caring attitude to those we minister with and for this weekend it was each other!

Kel Hodge

Lithgow In the Morning

2010-10-02T08:18:00.000+10:00

It may seem to some that I have been off the air for some time. I have come to realise that time can slip away so quickly. I would plan to write the next blog and I would be away again. Oh well, better late than never!
Recently I was invited by the Lithgow Men's breakfast group to speak about the possibility of building a citizen's alliance in the Bathurst, Orange, Lithgow region.
I explained to the group that work was under way and a investigative meeting was being held in Bathurst on the 16th September.
As it turned out this meeting went well and there may well founded hope for the alliance into the future.

It was good to catch up with the men at breakfast which I might add takes real dedication in Lithgow during the colder months!

Kel Hodge

River is almost abanka

2010-10-01T06:43:00.001+10:00

Julie:

A gorgeous afternoon on Mon saw us get in the first kayak since last Autumn. Seems like such a long time since I have been on the river.

In the two years I've been here I've never had the river really running, but it is now.

Not a lot of work involved, just sit back and enjoy the ride! Now we're planning a ride over the weir. Nothing like a bit of white water rafting in Hillston.

To top it off all the birds were out and we saw kingfishers, willy wag tails, a duck with 8 small ducklings and many more.

A most enjoyable way to be in God's creation.

Hillston Show is a great day

2010-09-30T06:28:00.001+10:00

Julie:

Last Sat was a perfect spring day for the Hillston Show. It's not a big show but is a great opportunity to meet everyone and have a chat, enjoy the pavilion, watch the races like "Young Farmer Race", eat good food and exclaim at the fireworks. Events such as this have incalculable community value.

The range of fruit and veges grown in the area is truly remarkable

One of the competitions is the tallest weed! (My model was over 6 ft)

And what would a show be without machinery and farm stuff ...

or rides.

A big weekend for Hillston Church

2010-09-28T18:28:00.000+10:00

Julie:
I was very proud of the folk of Hillston Uniting Church the other weekend. On the Friday they had a luncheon to raise money to send Christmas boxes overseas for Operation Christmas Child. The church (and many members of the town) have collected enough stuff to fill 100 boxes but needed $1000 to pay for the shipping costs. Thanks to the hard work of the team they raised over $1600 at the luncheon.

Then on Sun it was a special service at the church with many extras. Not a problem to our congregation who managed to feed everyone and have food over.

As you can image I was a bit loath to ask them to back up on Mon and Tues and provide catering for the Rural Chaplains Network meeting (more on this to follow) but they not only did a great job but did it with a minimum of fuss. I and the other Chaplains were most grateful.

I'm sure by the time everyone left on Tues afternoon everyone was ready to never see food again!

The photo is an attempt to show some of the caravans parked in the church grounds for the Chaplains meeting.

Some small steps forward for Enngonia

2010-09-22T06:33:00.000+10:00

Julie:

A small, but enthusiastic group of community residents met in Enngonia a few weeks ago to think about some things that they could do to help strengthen Enngonia. Despite half the group having to leave to fight a grass fire there was some excellent brainstorming. One of the great ideas to come out of the day was for the school, Birrang Aboriginal Corporation and the Enngonia Aboriginal working party to join forces and start capturing some of the oral history of the Aboriginal Elders in the district. I think some really interesting stuff will come out of it.

If you would see some of the other small projects that they have in mind the document is under the "Newsletters and articles" heading on the Blog site.

Planning for the Future

2010-09-17T07:03:00.002+10:00

Julie:

Recently five Shires in this area were successful in obtaining a Federal Government grant to work with communities to plan for a future with less water. As part of this process a series of community meetings have been held and Hillston's was on Monday. This planning is being done in preparation for the release of the Murray Darling Basin water sharing plan.

Stage one of the process was to look at various scenarios with those who had gathered. The next stage will be to look at drivers and issues and then do some future planning in stage 3.

One of the things I find most hopeful in this project is that the Shires involved (even though they are quite small by the State standards) are actively looking ahead and thinking about strategies rather than just relying on what they have always done. It is symptomatic of the self-help attitude in the bush.

Mental Health in isolated areas is hard

2010-09-15T11:54:00.006+10:00

Julie:

I've written before about the problems of mental health in the bush and I'm not the only one. The following is from Garry Hardingham, who is a flying padre with Uniting Church, based in Cloncurry in Qld. To see the rest of the story and learn what happened to the young man click on Garry's newsletter on the right-hand side of the page under "Newsletters and Files'

Dear Friends,
The gun was lying across the front dashboard of the ute as he fumbled for the door handle and almost fell into the front seat. His wife ran out the gate and threw his wallet in through the front window just as he took off in a cloud of dust. This time he wasn't coming back. This time he would solve everyone's problems. It would be quick, decisive, final. His anger had welled up so high that now there was nothing left to feel. Just a daze before him as he roared out the gate and onto the road bound for something....but what?

I was having breakfast when the call came. A frantic mother calling from across the other side of the country. She'd heard that her son had taken off and was, understandably, worried about what he might do. But what could I do? Apart from maybe call the police. There was a history of her son's anger, but this was something else. She pleaded for me to do something. But, the reality was there was really nothing I could do, until he'd done something, whatever that might be.

As many of you will know, dealing with psychological issues in the outback is a hard thing. There are few, or often no, counsellors, let alone psychologists or psychiatrists about. There are no mental health units or psychiatric hospitals. And the distances and isolation can often mask the seriousness of a person's mental state....... (read the rest in Garry's newsletter on the right hand side of the page).

From the River to the Pub

2010-08-30T07:57:00.000+10:00

Julie:

Last Thursday I went to the NSW Farmers Mental Health Network meeting in Sydney. This is a network set up by NSW Farmers with some of the key mental health and welfare bodies, to help progress good mental health in the bush. The meetings are held about 3 times/year and focus on issues from the mental health blueprint.

This meeting spent some time looking at some of the employment and other implications of the reduced water allocation in the Murray Darling Basin (more on this to follow in future blogs). We also looked at the lack of good ways of presenting drug and alcohol information and education to community members and the network has undertaken to look at this issue over further meetings.

The meetings for the Network are always stimulating and are a good example of rural organisations taking the initiative to address some of the issues in the bush.

Oberon In August

2010-08-24T13:59:00.000+10:00

Last Sunday I was hosted by the Oberon Uniting Church congregation. It was a very cold August day in the high country.

I must say the fellowship was warm as I lead worship and spoke at morning tea about the possibility of building a regional alliance in the Central Tablelands.

The people in Oberon stated that they saw value in being a part of a civil alliance in their region.

Oberon is a small community and I believe it is fairly typical in the passion of its community members for each other and their way of life.

Kel Hodge

Nothing like a big log fire and a good speaker on a cold winter night

2010-08-19T08:35:00.000+10:00

Julie:

Carrathool is a tiny community just east of Hay. The town itself has about 30 families, a primary school and a pub. There is also a strong surrounding farming community. One of the great geographical aspects of Carrathool is that it sits very close to the Murrumbigee River and I'm told the fishing is great.

Last Thursday over 40 adults and kids gathered in the pub dinning room (where the big open fire was doing a great job of warming everyone) to hear John Harper talk about recovering after drought. The evening was sponsored by WorkCover NSW and Industry & Investment NSW and was designed to help people think about their mental health.

After the extremely entertaining talk I lead a discussion on "where to from here for Carrathool" and there was great support for getting together to do some future planning.

And of course sitting in front of the fire chatting with others after the meeting was a great way to wind down before retiring to a very comfortable room in the pub.

Sydney Day Mission

2010-08-17T10:28:00.002+10:00

Julie:

Last week I was invited by the Sydney Day Mission Group to preach at the Annual Thanksgiving Service.

It was a wonderful morning with over 60 women gathering to worship together. The singing in the beautiful Roseville Uniting Church was great and the fellowship very warm.

There were also representatives from Catholic, Baptist and Presbyterian Ladies groups.

I find it very heartening to see this level of commitment to the mission of the church, especially for our mission in the bush.

Thanks ladies for a lovely day.

City Aid to the Bush

2010-08-13T06:33:00.003+10:00

(The following has been written by Rosie Earlie, Principal of Enngonia Public School)

Enngonia Public School has been fortunate to develop a partnership with the Pymble Uniting Church. One of the church’s aims is to provide hands on and materiel support for schools and communities located in isolated and remote NSW. After much discussion between the church, community and school it was decided to offer each tutor and family with a student at the school a computer for home use. This will provide continuity between school and home as well as allowing for greater communication with parents on an educational and social level. We are already beginning to work towards developing sites that allow students who are ‘flooded in’ or unable to attend school to access class work via the internet and have face to face discussions with their teacher. We see technology as an important part in providing equal opportunities for all our students and developing a lifelong love of learning as well as having access to a world beyond their immediate locality.

Last Saturday saw the culmination of a dream for our students and their families when Andrew and Bill delivered and set up their new laptop computers. Andrew Williamson, a member of Pymble Uniting Church, and Bill MacLennan his friend and adventurous IT expert, have spent many months making sure the computers purchased would meet our student’s educational needs. This is the first of many more projects that will benefit the Pymble group, our students and the wider local community.

Visit to Enngonia

2010-08-11T12:19:00.000+10:00

Julie:

A large part of my job is building networks between people to achieve better outcomes for small communities. Recently it has become obvious that there needed to be better communication between service providers and service providers and the community in Enngonia so last week I convened a meeting of ggovernment, non-government agencies and community groups who had projects planned.
It was a great meeting because many of the people in the room had not heard about others proposed projects and there were many synergies. Not only was it terrific to hear how much is planned for Enngonia but many of those in the room found different ways to enhance their projects by working with others.

It was also wonderful to have representative from the Pymble Uniting Church who were able to talk about their partnership with school. On the Saturday others from the church arrived bringing computers for school families (see the next post).

The next morning we were able to stay for the mobile preschool and NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee) celebrations which were good fun.

dc training

2010-08-06T06:28:00.002+10:00

Julie:

The Uniting Church and Rev Stephen Robinson has been working very hard to training as many Disaster Recovery Chaplains in NSW as possible. Recognising the need for rural Chaplains two of the trainings have been held in Griffith and Dubbo.

Not only has it been a good time of learning, but it has also been great to bring together people from a wide variety of denominations including Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, Baptist, Uniting and Churches of Australia (AOG).

I was very privileged to be able to participate in both the trainings, renewing acquaintances with some and making some new friends. We have some very dedicated ministry agents in all denominations working in the bush.

A wonderful ministry

2010-08-03T06:23:00.002+10:00

Julie:

Let me introduce you to Joe. Joe is a retired farmer and builder who lives in Hillston and has a wonderful minstry using his carpentry skills. Joe makes "Holding Crosses" for me and others. These are beautifully worked crosses that are made to fit into your hand. I particularly use them when I am with people who have been through a trauma and often people find that having something to hold is helpful when you can't find the words.

Joe is quite passionate about his crosses and has been giving them out to a huge number of people in Hillston with some remarkable results. People seem to appreciate the thoughtfulness.

Joe was also insistent that I take some with me to Bali and they proved very valuable, especially with the young Australian prisoners that I meet at the jail. They were very readily accepted.

Thanks Joe for this great ministry.

Disaster Recovery Uniting Church Style

2010-07-30T14:14:00.000+10:00

It is without doubt that none of us wish for disasters be they natural or not in our lives. We all know that disasters can and do strike at any time and often unexpectedly.

For these reasons the Uniting Church Synod of NSW and the ACT have put in place strategies to aid in effective and rapid recovery from disasters when they strike. It is impossible to to predict where and when disasters might happen and yet being prepared is one of the key strategies to creating resilient communities.

Briefly the approach we have taken is to oversee the creation of a network of interfaith Chaplains who minister in Disaster Recovery Centers, provide peer support for ministers who are working directly in a disaster zone and putting in place a system of disaster plans within our Presbyteries that cover the whole of NSW.

This week the Presbytery representatives and the peer support team gathered in Sydney to be trained and updated on our strategic response.

It was everybody's hope that we will never be called into action.

Kel Hodge

Ian Tucker's Induction

2010-07-30T13:54:00.000+10:00

The 7th of June saw Julie and myself in Cobar for Ian Tucker's induction into the Uniting Church Congregations of Cobar and Nyngan as well as a Patrol ministry around the the Cobar region.

This was an historic event for the Uniting Church as New South Wales welcomed the presence of Frontier Services within the state borders for the first time.

Frontier Services is an arm of the national Uniting Church that has provided ministry in a variety of forms to the people of remote Australia. Frontier Services has funded Ian Tucker's ministry on a half time basis with the Macquarie-Darling Presbytery.

The brief Ian has been given is to service the congregations in Nyngan and Cobar as well as being a Patrol Padre to the people living on remote stations in the area.

Ian brings many gifts with a life time of experience to this ministry. A full church welcomed Ian to the area and the local representatives sated that they were looking forward to supporting Ian in his new ministry.

Kel Hodge

Illabo Health Day

2010-07-06T10:07:00.000+10:00

I was pleased to be asked to facilitate a health day at Illabo recently. I certainly do not profess to have health care credentials. My field of expertise is practical theology. The day was focusing on the ability of one's mind, body and spirit to adapt to the many and often stressful aspects of change in our lives.

It seems that the tools available to assist with caring for ourselves and one another intersect the boundaries of health care and theology. That is to say in a generalist sense both disciplines at their core point towards healthy and wholesome living.

The day was marked with avid participation, laughter and a focus on what is important to us all, that is leading healthy, productive and happy lives.

The weather was cold at Illabo that day although I must say the hospitality was warm and friendly.

Kel Hodge

Burnt

2010-06-23T07:57:00.000+10:00

Over the last few months an initiative by Rural and Remote Mental Health and the Sydney Theatre Company has been touring the west in the form of a play called "Burnt".

Burnt highlights the issues of what the stress of drought may cause in the lives of rural people.

The play did not pull any punches as mental health, suicide, substance abuse and relationship issues were exposed in the play. This may seem a bit dark however I felt the play was tempered with good humor as the caricatures of rural people carried the plot well.

The quality of the performances by the the three actors, who each played multiple roles, was excellent. The play went for approximately ninety minutes and it seemed half that time.

I was fortunate to view the play at the Prince of Wales Opera House in Gulgong. This venue really lent itself to the performance as we were very close to the action and the acoustics were great.

Well done to everybody!

Kel Hodge

Canowindra Food bank

2010-05-27T09:59:00.000+10:00

It is great to see a good idea working well in your own community!
Through the hard work and imagination of the local Uniting and Anglican Church's the Food Bank has become a reality for the Canowindra community.
The main service the food bank provides is to allow people on fixed incomes access to grocery items that would normally be beyond their budget. The goods are provided by companies and churches in Sydney to this and other food banks across the state.
There is a food bank operated by the Uniting Church in Narromine. The Narromine people see this as an important part of their Christian mission in the township.
The Canowindra people have been joined by people of the other churches in town and see this activity as an important community building project.
The Moderator of the Uniting Church Rev. Niall Reid visited last Tuesday to meet the people and see how the food bank works.

Kel Hodge

What do the youth do

2010-05-24T17:46:00.000+10:00

Julie:
I have been doing quite a bit of work with small communities looking at some goals that they want to achieve in the next 12 to 24 months. Inevitably when we are looking at some of the things they would like to do it is the young people that they are worried about. In many places there is very little at all for the kids to do. In the last week this is come up at two separate places.

The first is Ivanhoe. This is a small community of just over 200 people 150kms from the nearest town. In the past Ivanhoe has had football teams, cricket clubs and various other activities. Now however there is no organised sport left. The nearest picture theatre or maccas is 375km away. The nearest skate park is 200km, none of which is practical on a regular basis. The town does have a swimming pool which is great in summer.

Ivanhoe also has a Youth Centre which houses some broken gym equipment and other old sporting gear. It is this centre that some of the locals and the Aboriginal Working Party and now trying to raise money for so that it can become a place kids can use. My input has been to run a Grant Writing Workshop in the town and also to provide some help with grant applications.

The other town is Goolgowi, which is 60km north west of Griffith and has a population of about 100. The town has a swimming pool and basketball courts at the school (that can’t be used outside school hours). A very enthusiastic local committee there is well underway to building a half tennis court and wall for ball practice. They also have plans to put in a bike track and incorporate some bike road safety training. My role in this process was to help get the committee together, run the goal-setting workshop and get members of the local church involved.

Both committees have a passion to make it better for their kids and it is great to work with these enthusiastic people and to represent the church in these places.

Back from Holidays

2010-05-19T23:06:00.001+10:00

Julie:
Back in Australia and back at work after 4 weeks working with the church in Bali. It has been an amazing 4 weeks and if you are interested you can read about some of the things I did at http://www.juliesbali.blogspot.com/

Mike Gecan

2010-05-08T10:21:00.000+10:00

It's not often that you get the chance to meet a person who has achieved celebrity status in their field because of their achievements. This week I had the opportunity to meet Mike Gecan, a community organiser.
You may never of heard of Mike and yet in the cities of New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Boston his name is synonymous with the citizens organisations that agitate for a fairer society in those respective cities.

Mike has had over thirty years of experience in building and equipping citizen coalitions and was sharing his knowledge with members of the Sydney Alliance. Some of the success stories from the USA encouraged people to believe that the Sydney Alliance may achieve great things for Sydney.

I was encouraged as well, because Mike spoke to me about regional alliances such as the one we are beginning to build in the Bathurst- Orange region. Regional alliances may have less resources at their disposal and yet with good will are able to function well.

It is early days for our regional alliance in Orange and Bathurst and yet all things begin with the first small steps.

Kel Hodge

Synod and Sydney and Coffee

2010-04-21T09:23:00.000+10:00

Over the last week some five hundred representatives of the Uniting Church in NSW and the ACT gathered at Canterbury Racecourse. The meeting took four days over which a diverse range of issues and topics were discussed and decided by the members of the church.

With such a large gathering there was a lot of diversity in the backgrounds and opinions of the Synod members. I feel that generally whilst the Synod was not particularly controversial the energy was good and people appeared to come together with the expectation of making a way forward for our denomination.

The Sydney Alliance, a growing citizens movement of various civil organisations made its presence felt at the Synod as the Uniting Church is a keen participant in the Alliance.

I am pleased to say that we are walking the walk in regard to building partnerships with other denominations, religious faiths and civil organisations such as trade unions, to make our society a better place for all people.

I was kindly hosted by my colleagues the Rev Gareth Thomas-Burchell and Rev Karyn Burchell-Thomas.
Gareth and Karyn kindly sponsored me at their local coffee shop to a baristas course where I learnt some of the art of making fine coffee.

Kel Hodge

I'm off on leave

2010-04-18T16:10:00.000+10:00

Julie:

From tomorrow I am on a month's leave. I will be in Bali working with the Balinese National Protestant church. I will be working in the Synod offices in Denpasar teaching conversational English to the staff and helping with admin.

If you would like to see what I am up to I have started a special blog at http://www.juliesbali.blogspot.com/ and hopefully I will have regular posts. It has also been set up so you can put your email address in a get the posts emailed whenever I write one.

I'll be back at work on the 17th May and will be in touch soon after that.

The Sisters Gather

2010-04-18T15:54:00.002+10:00

Julie:
This weekend I had the privilege of leading a workshop for the rural gathering of the Sisters of Charity held at the beautiful St Clements conference centre near Galong. It was a great group of very dedicated sisters, from a number of the orders including the Dominicans, the Josephites and the Presentation Sisters, as well as the Sisters of Charity.

On the Friday night we did a drumming workshop which I found most enjoyable, even if my rhythm was not always where is should have been! On Saturday morning I did the workshop on "Hands of Hope" and it was great to explore the biblical and practical aspects of bringing the message of hope to the bush with the group.

I find myself constantly in awe of these women who have a vocation for ministry in the bush. Many of them have lived in a variety of places and continue to be called to places of need. It is privilege to spend time with them.

That Marvelous High Country

2010-04-05T09:48:00.007+10:00

It is good after all my travels to still experience the wow factor when nature does its stuff.

A few weeks back I was following Don Burrowes (the DII Drought Support Worker) to a meeting in Tooma.

Don thought it was a good idea to stop and take some photos of the scenery and I am sure glad he did.

It was a beautiful sight with Mount Kosciusko in the background.

The people of Tooma were meeting to discuss how they might transition from a recovering community to a community that has moved on.

The Tooma community experienced a bush fire in the summer months.

Don suggested we might have a function that allowed people to move on and look to the future with joy and hope.

It was agreed to have a gathering at a date to be advised. I am looking forward to going back to this beautiful country!

Kel Hodge

Ivanhoe Book Group kicks off

2010-04-01T06:12:00.000+11:00

Julie:

The CWA group at Ivanhoe have decided to have a book group discussion at the end of each meeting. Using the books supplied by Pymble Uniting Church as part of their "Make a difference out West" project the group has formed with a great deal of enthusiasm.

I went to Ivanhoe last week for their first meeting and it was terrific discussion on the book "Mao's Last Dancer" with over 20 women ranging in age from 19 to 80. I always enjoy people's insights into books they have read and we had quite a wide ranging discussion on china and controlled societies etc. It's just a shame that the 320km round trip mean's that I can't get there each month.

Community spirit strong in Goolgowi

2010-03-31T06:42:00.002+11:00

Julie:

I've mentioned Goolgowi before and as a small community it continues to amaze me. Recently the Community Development Officer from the Carathool Shire, the Drought Support Worker from Industry & Investment NSW, and myself held a planning evening in Goolgowi. There were about a dozen of us and the discussion was wide ranging and very stimulating. Some of the assets of the community that were identified are:

• Progress Association has a focus on building community

• Lifestyle, good people

• Good infrastructure: pool, sports ground, golf course, school

• General community and the Club

• Agricultural industry and its benefits eg economic, self-reliance, inventiveness

The group decided that one of their main focus would be the young people and they are starting by surveying the kids and the rest of the community to see what ideas they all have.

I look forward to hearing the results and standing alongside this small but enthusiastic committee as they work to strengthen their community.

$7 for each man, woman and child!

2010-03-30T06:10:00.001+11:00

Julie:

At this time of the year many communities hold a "Shave for Cure" event to raise money for CanAssist. Hillston is no exception. In a small community of 1000 people everyone knows those suffering from cancer and the CanAssist group here is well supported and very active.

One family affected was the McMaster family when Campbell was diagnosed with leukemia. Thankfully Campbell responded to treatment and is now in remission but since then Campbell and his family have been raising money to help the children's hospital and other cancer victims. At the last count they had raised nearly $40,000.

To help this along Ellen McMaster and Lisa Curry worked with the local CanAssist group to raise funds by holding a "Shave for Cure". The community got behind these ladies and $7000 was raised, which is $7 for each person in Hillston. It was a wonderful event and really demonstrates small town community spirit. Well done Lisa and the McMaster family.

Make a Difference out West Launch

2010-03-29T06:18:00.002+11:00

Julie:

Yesterday I had the privilege of helping to launch Pymble Uniting Church's "Make a Difference Out West" campaign. It was a terrific morning starting with a service focused on working within the broader community. I spoke was invited to do the children's talk as well as the sermon and the congregation happily joined in and participated.

The service was followed by a morning tea and the official "launch". There were a number of "official" visitors from various levels of government, the NSW/ACT Synod and the local Presbytery. I have written in the blog before about the project that the Church is undertaking in rural areas. The four part of the project are:

Book groups
Expertise Brokerage - linking the expertise of city people with rural people trying to help their communities
Enngonia partnership - range of projects with the aim of improving the employment prospects of current school students
Family time out - providing accommodation and meals vouchers for rural families travelling long distances fr health or sporting appointments.

It is great to see this church committing itself to this long term project.

Riverina Presbyteria looks at its goals for the next few years

2010-03-26T06:56:00.001+11:00

Julie:

The Riverina Presbytery of the Uniting Church covers a large area from Tumut in the east to Hay in the west and from Finley in the south to Hillston in the north. It comprises 33 parishes, many of which have multiple congregations spread over different centres. As you can imagine issues such as isolation, small congregations and distance make running the Presbytery a challenge.

At their last meeting the Presbytery decided to look at some of their goals for the next couple of years. After some preliminary ground work by Tony Davies, the Presbytery Minister and Darren Wright, the Youth Worker and myself, I helped facilitate a session with all those present and everyone worked extremely hard in a very short time to find common goals and prioritise them. There was remarkable agreement amongst those present and the top three goals they prioritised were Discipleship Formation, Pastoral Support for Congregations and Resourcing. The challenge now for the Presbytery is take the goals and find good ways of integrating them into the way Presbytery does business.

Visiting the 2 G's

2010-03-25T06:28:00.000+11:00

Julie:

Just occasionally I have the privilege of preaching at small rural churches and recently I got to do so at Goolgowi and Gunbar. Both congregations are part of the Hillston parish but Goolgowi is 60km to the south and Gunbar is nearly 100km to the south west, so I don't get there very often.

I started at Goolgowi and because there was on only one young person there all the dozen or so adults got down onto the floor to help with the children's story.

Then on to Gunbar, a beautiful building sitting in the middle of nowhere but with an enthusiastic congregation who meet together monthly. One of their nicest traditions is a fabulous lunch together after each service. It was a quite a "bush" affair with people contributing home grown milk, fruit, eggs and of course great cooking.

Both services reminded me that even though the drought has been quite devastating, population is declining and congregations are getting smaller and older, there are still special times when people of faith gather together to praise and worship their God. On this Sunday this was especailly so for 7 yr old Archie who was had just lost his cousin in a tragic accident as was very keen that the congregation pray for him and his family.

Rankins Springs has a beaut night at the Pub

2010-03-24T07:30:00.000+11:00

Julie:

A few weeks agothe communities of Rankins Springs and Weethalle came together for dinner and to hear John Harper talk about managing depression. 100 adults and children had a great time in the family atmosphere and of course John was his usual dynamic self.

For me it was a lovely time to catch up with people I haven't seen for ages and to hear how they are going. One family is selling their wheat and sheep property and moving into oyster farming on the coast, which is quite a change.

Most farmers however and just looking forward to getting a crop in the ground with the excellent subsoil moisture that this rain has brought.

Rural Chaplains meet in Cobar

2010-03-18T10:40:00.005+11:00

Monday and Tuesday of this week saw the Rural Chaplains Network meet in Cobar.
It was good to catch up with the chaplains who have been a part of the network for some time.
We had representatives from the Salvation Army, Presbyterian Inland Mission, the Baptist Church in Cobar, Uniting Church and a representative from Chaplaincy Australia came for the first time.

Pastor Ian Charles of the Cobar Baptist church provided a great program of local people presenting local issues. Of particular interest was the Buckwaroon Land Care Group who shared their struggles with land management in the light of native vegetation legislation, the drought and the stuggle of maintaining a strong family unit.

The presentation by the Buckwaroon Land Care group prompted much discussion on how the church should respond to the justice issues of the communities we minister with.

Unfortunately, the representative from the Cobar mine was unable to attend and provide a perspective on the issues faced by those in the mining industry that has a great impact on many of our rural communities.

Kel Hodge

All Those Meetings

2010-03-07T11:06:00.000+11:00

It's is good to be back in harness and planning out the new year. I have begun the active process of work by once again connecting with the schedule of meetings Julie and I are obliged to attend.

It can be the bane of those in large organisations to front up to meetings that seem pointless, unproductive and just going through the motions of keeping the organisation ticking along. A wise friend of mine pointed out that it seemed to him that the meetings became and end in themselves and the action part of the process was forgotten.

Three of the meetings I have attended this year have been quite the opposite. Some of the highlights I would like to share with you are;
The Macquarie-Darling Presbytery ( a regional representation of the NSW UCA church ) met at Dubbo recently at which one of the key note presentations was from a young member about "Hospitality" as understood by the Y generation. It seems that we older folks have much to learn from this generation who see hospitality as intentional, relational and integral to who we can be as church.

The Uniting Church State Disaster Response committee met in Sydney last week at which it was revealed that a network of inter-faith chaplains have been recruited and trained by the UCA in partnership with NSW community Services to offer chaplaincy in recovery centers post a disaster in NSW. It is hoped that the chaplains will have no work and yet we are there if needed.

Last but not least the Rural Ministry Unit ( a body of the church passionate about ministry in rural NSW) met last week at Wellington to map out strategies that might best serve the interests of rural communities across the state. As NSW is primarily an urban culture the interests of rural people have to be presented vigorously to share in limited resources.

So it is that the meeting process can and should be action based. I hope these meetings set the tone for the year to come!

Kel Hodge

It's all so green!

2010-03-04T06:29:00.002+11:00

Julie:

It's amazing what rain will do. Last week I went to the Bourke area for a network meeting and just couldn't get over the green growth all the way. As Bourke has had lots of rain and some areas around Brewarrina have had as many as 800mls the pasture growth is phenomenal.

It is just a delight to travel anywhere at the moment and see the lush growth - such a change from driving through red dust. It has also given those that live in the bush new hope. Although most of the state (but not all by any means) have had good rains this year, there is still a long way to go before we can declare the drought "over". We need at least a whole year of normal rainfall and the catchments filled.

This has been recognised by the Federal Government who have just extended the Exceptional Circumstances declarations for a significant part of the state. If you want to see the map of which areas have been extended you can see it here.

Disaster Exercise in Deniliquin

2010-03-03T06:02:00.003+11:00

Julie:

Emergency Management Australia and Community Services NSW held a simulated bushfire emergency in Deniliquin a couple of weeks ago and I was invited to go as part of the Red Cross Team (the Disaster Chaplains are still waiting for the final go-ahead from Community Services). The exercise was to see how various welfare agencies could work together to run an evacuation centre. Under the NSW Disaster Plan the roles of each agency are specified, so we had Red Cross providing personal support and registering people, ADRA providing emergency housing, The Salvation Army doing food, St Vincent de Paul providing personal needs and Anglicare filling in where needed.

It was a very well thought out exercise with lots of interesting and varied situations (including one person who had their pet snake with them) to test us all out. I'm pleased to be able to say that most situations were handled well and hopefully everyone is a little better equipped when the real situation comes along.

Hillston gives thanks for the rain

2010-03-01T10:01:00.001+11:00

Julie:

On Sunday the community of Hillston gathered on the banks of the now flowing Lachlan River to give thanks for the recent rains. Over 60 adults and kids from all the churches in town and other community members came together to celebrate the 141mls of rain that have fallen so far this year and also the fact that the river is running again.

It is hard to explain the impact that the river has on a town like Hillston but to see it drying up and going stagnant was a constant source of conversation. Now we have people showing pictures on their cameras or phones of the water starting to run and talking about how excited they feel seeing the water again .... and of course I get to go kayaking again.

So it was with a profound sense of gratitude and a great deal of excitement that the service yesterday was planned by representatives from all the churches. The day went really well, and the service was a lovely blend of different traditions. I was very privileged to be able to do the kids talk.

lunch in the park together afterwards was a terrific time of fellowship.

The wet certainly makes for interesting travel

2010-02-22T06:45:00.000+11:00

Julie;

Some of you may be aware that there has been good general rain across large parts of NSW. Happily this includes the far west. However, sometimes the water causes a few problems for those of us who are trying to travel the roads.

On Wed I had a meeting in Broken Hill so had to head out Tues. It was quite a trip but thankfully I was travelling with Danny Byrnes, a Drought Support Worker with Industry and Investment, NSW. After meeting Danny on the road we went and had lunch with one of the bush's more excentric characters, Mick Huntly. Mick lives and works on the farm by himself during the week and then goes to Hay each weekend to be with his family. Unfortunately this situation is not all that uncommon as many families have to have off farm income to keep going, but live too far out for people to commute.

All was well until we got 15km out of Ivanhoe and hit the water. Over 200mls had fallen in the area. After walking the track we decided it was OK and this turned out to be the case as we got through with very little trouble.

However, the best part of the trip was the countryside that had turned green. It was one fantastic sight after another with lots of lakes all over the place, green growth everywhere and livestock who were walking around with big grins on their faces. Even the emus looked like all their christmas' had come at once. I still find it remarkable how quickly this country recovers. As they say out here "just add water!".

Follow up on mental health issues

2010-02-18T22:37:00.005+11:00

Julie:

I'm sure people must wonder why we keep talking about mental health issues in the bush or anywhere outside Sydney, but lack of services is very real. Here is a comment that I received to my post on Sunday night and with Julie's permission I have reproduced it for you.

"The services are pretty inadequate in most places.. can't imagine how bad it must be out there in the real bush. Did you know that when you ring the national mental help hotline they take your details etc and then say well someone will get back to you. In my experience lately with ringing regarding my dad it took three days. Admittedly he wasn't in danger, but I rang them for myself a couple of years ago and it took a day and a half. They do tell you to call an ambulance if it is urgent but how many mentally ill people will do that. This issue is huge and mental health needs way more funding. If there is ever anything I can do to help from here pls let me know." Julie Holt, North Coast

Julie's story is not unusual and I very much appreciate her sharing it with us.

Blighty plans their future

2010-02-17T06:15:00.002+11:00

Julie:

Blighty is a very active community down near the Murray River. Last week they came together to think about some priorities for the next 12 months. I facilitated a session with about 12 community members, from 2 weeks old to longer term residents, and some service providers looking at the strengths of the area and how they could be built upon.

Looking at educational opportunities and using the talents of some of the locals were two of the top ideas.

It was an excellent session with some great outcomes and it will fantastic to watch Blighty over the next year as they put some of their priorities into effect.

A great night at Goolgowi

2010-02-16T06:48:00.002+11:00

Julie:
Over 100 people gathered in Goolgowi on Friday night to hear John Harper, a farmer from Stockinbingal, talk about getting over depression. John is always a great speaker and Friday night was no different.

His message was well received by the audience and prompted much discussion.

After the excellent meal and John's talk, the music started and the dancing started. Many of the couples belong to an old time dance group and the standard of the dancing was terrific. There were also some dances for the kids and all in all it was a great family time.

Network focuses on a small community

2010-02-14T21:55:00.003+11:00

Julie:

The very small community of Goolgowi had an awful suicide at the end of last year that has had quite an impact on the community. In very small villages like this where everyone knows everyone, all are affected by something like this. Often if provides a rallying point for the community and in this case they have come together to raise money for the family and suicide prevention.

The Rural Service Providers Network whose area takes in Goolgowi met in the village last Tues to look at ways of supporting the community. As a result of the meeting it was decided to meet with the locals to see what they think might be useful. One of the things that has been organised was a night with John Harper (see tomorrow's post).

The Network also decided to look at mental health services in the area. Most providers in the room felt that services in the area were very inadequate so an audit will be carried out and at the next meeting the results provided to local MPs.

Celebrating Australia Day in the Bush

2010-02-11T17:57:00.003+11:00

Julie:

Carathool Shire has a joint celebration across the shire even though it covers a very large area. This year it was Rankins Springs turn to host the event and they decided to have a brunch. So under a beautiful setting of spreading trees and green grass over 150 people gathered for fellowship, to applaud amazing efforts by the nominees, hear the very entertaining ambassadors, Judy Nunn and Bruce Venables, and watch a great exhibition of whip cracking on horseback. It was a fantastic way to celebrate being Australian.

If you would like to see what it takes to win an Australia Day award in the bush you can find details of the nominees here.

Moderator visits Hillston

2010-02-10T22:32:00.001+11:00

Julie:

We were very privileged to have the Moderator of the NSW/ACT Synod, Niall Reid, visit Hillston for a week. Niall heads up the Uniting church in NSW but decided to make time in his busy schedule to visit some rural areas in Jan. He spent some time in Lake Cargelligo, Tullibigeal and Rankins Springs and then came on to Hillston. He was able to spend time with local members of the congregation and encourage them, as well as see some of the local sights. Paula, his wife was able to come out for the weekend and stay on for the Australia Day celebrations. I was delighted to see that both Niall and Paula had lots of opportunities to talk to locals at the brunch.

And of course we had to take Niall for a kayak on the Lachlan River, which is looking a bit sad at the moment with very little water, but still lots of birds and a wonderful sense of peace.

When you can't put up Christmas Lights

2010-01-21T04:58:00.000+11:00

Julie:

As I was driving around just before Christmas I noticed that a new trend is developing in some areas. It is to put a Santa at the farm gate as it is not practical to put up Christmas lights on houses that are too far off the road or at gates that don't have electricity. As you can see some people go to a lot of trouble. Makes for wonderful scenery as you are driving.

Same day but different fire

2010-01-19T22:17:00.001+11:00

Julie: On the same day as the Walla Walla/Gerogery Fire (see previous post) fire broke out in the Tooma area just south of Tumbarumba. This fire also caused a lot of devastation with 25 properties burnt, 1 home lost and many animals burnt. This area is on the edge of the Snowy mountains and beside the Murray River so is extraordinarily beautiful but very difficult to fight fires in. Again the rural fire fighters and property owners were almost superhuman in their efforts to save property and livestock.

Fire leaves devastation in its wake

2010-01-12T16:26:00.000+11:00

Julie:
We didn't hear a lot in the media but the Walla Walla/Gerogery fires that occurred a week before Christmas were quite significant in the amount of personal trauma and damage that was caused. Five families lost their homes, including one family with 8 young children, a number of people found themselves in life-threatening situations, over 100 properties were burnt, 1000 sheep, 300 head of cattle were killed or had to be destroyed and a number of families lost their beloved pets and horses. As well as this many families were without electricity for two days and lost a lot of food they'd purchased for Christmas. All in all a pretty devastating time.

I was asked to come to the area by the Drought Support Worker from Industry and Investment NSW just before Christmas to help with some of the Chaplaincy work that we as needed and was pleased that I was able to get there. At a public meeting at Gerogery Hall on the Wed before Christmas I met a number of people who just needed to talk about their experiences, and then I was able to visit some families the next day. Whenever I do this sort of thing I am always amazed by incredible stories of heroism of ordinary people who find themselves in extraordinary situations.

Christmas In the Cathedral Cave

2009-12-22T12:07:00.002+11:00

Kel:
I was lucky enough to be invited to speak at the Wellington Christmas event in the local caves.
The cathedral cave is majestic with superb acoustics. There were about two hundred people singing carols and enjoying the wonderful atmosphere.
I am sorry I was not able to take photos because of the lighting to show you what it was like. I must say it will be a memory that I will treasure always.
As this is my last post until February as I will be on annual leave I take this opportunity to wish you our visitors to the blog a very happy and blessed Christmas time!

Merriwagga Christmas concert

2009-12-21T05:52:00.001+11:00

Julie:

Merriwagga is a tiny village about 40km south of Hillston. It has a population of about 40, a pub, a hall, a church and a silo. However, this is a village that does community events really well. One of them is the annual Christmas concert. There were funny songs, lots of carols and a Christmas message. The highlight for this concert was the Griffith "Sing Australia" choir who came with over 30 members. They performed some wonderful songs for the very appreciative crowd and also lead the carol singing. It was a fantastic commitment by this volunteer choir to come and support the village event.

The other thing that Merriwagga is know for is its catering that the evening was no exception. The nearly 100 people that were there didn't have a hope of making a dent in the fantastic food laid out in the supper room. The night was a wonderful example of great community event.

The Long Road to Wanarring

2009-12-20T11:50:00.000+11:00

It was at the end of along couple of weeks that I made the trip to Wanarring to attend their annual school Christmas celebration.
The road to Wanarring from Bourke is considered to be one of the worse stretches of road in the state. There are 200k of bone jarring ruts, corrugations and bull dust to boot. On this occasion I was lucky enough to strike the road just after it had been graded. The track was much smoother and I was able to enjoy the unique and striking landscape. On the way back I was privileged to see a pair of wedge tailed eagles enjoying a feast of kangaroo.
Whatever the condition of the road I would recommend the trip to anyone with a capable vehicle. The people of Wanarring are friendly and happy to see visitors to their town.
The school children provided great entertainment and after Santa Claus had dispensed his gifts we all enjoyed a great Christmas feast.
Thanks to Moc and Cherie Parker for their kind hospitality at the Outback Inn.
Kel Hodge

Goolgowi Ladies Lunch

2009-12-18T08:25:00.000+11:00

Julie:

One of the nice customs in some of the small towns at Christmas time is to have a luncheon, usually at the local club, and invite nearly all the district and others to come together and enjoy the company and good food. This was no different at Goolgowi this year when nearly 50 people gathered at the Goolgowi club. With Christmas carols, items and skits it was a most enjoyable and entertaining time. Well done to those who organised it.

Ford's Bridge Celebrates Christmas

2009-12-14T13:22:00.002+11:00

Julie:
On Saturday I was invited to Ford's Bridge for their Christmas party. As the town is only a pub, a hall, a cricket ground and one house the pub is centre for all the community events. The Christmas party at Ford's Bridge has a great reputation and this year was no exception. With Stephen and Rosalie Goldsmith, Rural Chaplains with the Presbyterian Inland Mission, we had some Christmas carols, a talk for the kids and a short bible reading and prayer.

Santa arrived when we'd finished and of course all the kids were very excited. And where else would Santa arrive on a motor bike with thongs on his feet!

After all the excitement we had a BBQ with a couple of sheep that some of the local pastoralists had cut up and donated, and heaps of great salads that families had brought.

There was also a band and as I left at about 10.30pm they were just winding up for the dancing.

I was delighted that the people from Pymble Uniting Church were also able to come and meet some of the folk at Ford's Bridge. All in all a great night.

Pymble Church Visits Enngonia

2009-12-11T20:44:00.000+11:00

Pymble Uniting Church members made the long trip to Enngonia to join in the school Christmas celebrations. The Pymble people are exploring the possibilities of a community relationship with Enngonia.

The children celebrated their many achievements over the school year and presented a great drama presenation of a Dream Time story.

Thanks must go to Rosey and her staff at Enngonia School for a great time and wonderful hospitality. Strange as it may seem Santa Claus called in and presented the children with some wonderful gifts.

Kel Hodge

More Utes in the Paddock

2009-12-09T06:35:00.003+11:00

Julie: For those who enjoyed the picures of the utes in the paddock I was able to stop as I was going past and got some more photos of the extra utes that have been put up. No matter how many times I go I am still amazed by it. I have also taken some photos of the plaques that go with some of the utes. If you would like to see more of the photos click here.

Kids have a great service

2009-12-08T17:50:00.000+11:00

Julie:

The Anglican and Uniting Churches in Hillston combine for their Christmas Children's service where the kids are able to present a play and receive a small gift for all their hard work at Sunday School for the year.

This year the service was especially enhanced by having the Salvation Army brass band supplying the music and the group from Forbes doing a drama and children's time.

It was fantastic to join with the others, fill the Anglican church and enjoy the fellowship - and of course the great spread in the hall afterwards.

The Salvos bring their special brand of Christmas hope to Hillston

2009-12-07T22:22:00.002+11:00

Julie:

Each year the Salvation Army organise groups to travel to into rural NSW at Christmas time to bring music, fellowship and a message of hope to small communities. The tours are organised by the Salvation Army Rural Chaplains and as I write this 4 different tours are happening.

It was quite a hectic weekend with a BBQ tea at my place on Saturday night (1st picture), a combined church service on Sun morning (see tomorrow's post), a community Carol's by Candlelight on Sunday night (2nd and 3rd pictures) and then carols at the nursing home on Monday morning.

The people on the tour were mostly retired Salvation Army folk who came from Sydney, the central coast and a variety of other places. They were joined for the weekend by the Officer from Forbes and some of the kids from their youth group.

This is a fantastic ministry and has been really enjoyed by the residents of Hillston.

The Sydney Alliance

2009-12-05T10:08:00.000+11:00

In the last week I have been privileged to attend Sydney Alliance training. The Sydney Alliance is a community coalition formed to bring about change for the good in the city of Sydney.
The member organisations are various community action groups, trade unions and churches. The organisations are diverse and would not normally cooperate with each other on any one project. The Sydney Alliance through relational conversations has brought the groups together to find common ground and a place to make an impact for the good of civil society in Sydney.

I have found the training stimulating and enlightening. I have met Muslim people, Jewish people, trade unionists and various other representatives of actions groups that I would normally not have the opportunity to meet.
It has been a wonderful experience! It seems that we all have the most important things in common. That is , the desire for a better way of life for all people in the places where we live.
On Wednesday night over two hundred people gathered to express their willingness and excitement at being a part of the Sydney Alliance.
It would be wonderful to translate such a powerful agent for change into regional NSW.
Kel Hodge

A great night to support the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS)

2009-12-03T06:15:00.000+11:00

Julie:

Everyone who lives in the far west understands the importance of the Royal Flying Doctor and how much we rely on them. The CWA in Hillston held a dinner last Thursday to raise money for the RFDS. Nearly 40 women gathered to chat, have a lovely meal at the pub and listen to Dr Katherine Hutt talk about her work with the RFDS in quite a few areas of the far west. Katherine comes to Hillston every 5 or 6 weeks to provide women’s clinic services as the town only has one male Dr. It is a very welcome service and her two days each visit are always booked out.

After dinner Katherine talked about some of her experiences in places like Enngonia, Louth, Hillston etc. As Katherine was a very entertaining speaker there was much laughter and sharing. Many of he women told how the RFDS had saved their lives or the lives of members of their family. The evening was completed by lots of rain and thunderstorms. It was fantastic to watch as many of the women in the room received phone calls from their husbands updating them on the amount of rain that had fallen on their properties. It has been one of the best rains for many months. Of course it also meant that a number of women were worried how they were going to get home on the dirt roads, but it still didn’t lesson the excitement of the rain. It also meant that the next day I had to travel an extra 200km to go the long way round to get to Ivanhoe (stories coming up in the next few days), but it was a delightful reason to have to do so.

The Ladies lunch gets bigger and bigger

2009-12-02T06:38:00.000+11:00

Julie:

Twice a year the Ivanhoe Ladies Lunch is held with women coming from a large area. This year a couple of car loads came from the Hatfield area, some from Hillston , and some from Wilcannia, as well as those who live on properties within 100km of Ivanhoe. The aim of the lunch is to bring the women together and provide an opportunity to catch up and share their stories. There are some stalls for Christmas gifts and lots of laughter and fun. Some of the women that I was sitting with live in quite isolated circumstances and they very much look forward to these opportunities. Many of them work on the properties beside other family members but don't get too many times of socialising with other women.

Correction to the Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy post

2009-12-01T08:38:00.002+11:00

Julie:

My apologies to everyone but I made an error in the blog post on the Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy training. At this stage the Uniting Church is still working on the Memorandum of Understanding with Community Services NSW, it has not been signed yet.

A Social night in Ivanhoe

2009-12-01T06:39:00.000+11:00

Julie:

Despite the rain and closed roads more than 50 adults and 20 kids gathered at the Ivanhoe
club to hear John Harper speak. John has quite a reputation across NSW for speaking to groups in rural communities about depression. His presentation is always entertaining and informative and Friday night was no exception. His visit was sponsored by Workcover and organised by the Broken Hill Rural Service Providers Network.

After the talk we all had a BBQ dinner provided by Industry and Investment NSW and a good chance to talk about some of the issues. It was an excellent opportunity to catch up with some of the locals and of course there was a lot of talk about the good rainfalls.

Rain makes life interesting!

2009-11-29T21:34:00.000+11:00

Julie:

Quite a big weekend planned in Ivanhoe last weekend. Friday afternoon the Broken Hill Rural Services Providers Network was meeting with some of the Ivanhoe community members to talk about what is happening in the area, Friday night was a social night with a guest speaker, Saturday was the Ivanhoe Ladies Lunch and Sun was the Anglican Christmas service. However, Ivanhoe only has one bitumen road to the south and all the other directions have dirt roads that are dry weather only. With the rain Thursday many of the roads were closed. As I said yesterday I had to go an extra 200km to get there but many others didn’t even have this option. The road to the north to Wilcannia was opened again about 11m Friday morning so some of the people were able to come on it. John Blair, the Flying Padre with the Uniting Church, came in by plane but it was very rough and another person with a smaller plane decided not to try it. One other person got bogged on the way but luckily she was right on the edge of phone range and we were able to go and get her. Many of the locals were not able to get into town. Others managed to get through and although the Friday afternoon meeting was very small it was still a worthwhile time. It is a testament to the Service Providers in the area that they made such an effort to get there. I will talk about the other events in the next few blogs.

Happy Retirement Norm and Narelle

2009-11-29T15:54:00.000+11:00

Today I attended the service of closure for Pastors Norm and Narelle Hawkes.
Norm and Narelle are retiring to Tea Gardens from the Uniting Church congregation at Wellington.

The accolades the Hawkes' received were well deserved as they have served this congregation tirelessly and faithfully for six years.

I must say they have been champions of rural chaplaincy since its inception and a great support to me in the role. I wish them both a long and happy retirement and will miss them a lot.

Kel Hodge

Broken Hill Moments of Dreaming

2009-11-27T15:16:00.000+11:00

On 12th and 13th November Julie and I were pleased to host a group of people fro the smaller centers around Broken Hill. The conference was along the lines of the Riverina Moments of Dreaming which allowed people to explore their dreams for their communities.
People came from Wilcannia, Menindee, Nanua, Tibooburra, Pooncarie and Broken Hill.
I must say that the people who attended were all passionate about where they lived. There was a keen interest in making a better life in these places.
Many stories came out of our time together and we hope to share those with over the coming weeks.
Dr David Lee was our evening speaker who spoke to us about the life of Stanley Melbourne Bruce a Prime Minister of Australia from 1923-1929. Dr Lee is an historian at the department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
It was a great time and new and important relationships have been formed.

Kel Hodge

The River is dying!

2009-11-26T06:34:00.001+11:00

Julie:
I have written before of how much pleasure and rejuvenation I get from being able to kayak on the Lachlan River when I am at home. It is especially enhanced by the company and pastoral support of my good friend Jenny who comes with me. So it is with a great deal of sadness that I am watching the water turn stagnant and knowing that soon I won’t be able to go any more.
The Lachlan River has been closed below Condobolin because Wyangla Dam is now less than 5% full. The town of Lake Cargelligo will have some water “pulsed” to it from Condobolin when needed, Hillston has underground water and the same villages of Booligal and Oxley will get water carted in. For farmers on the river they are expected to make their own arrangements, which is causing some hardship. While I can understand the decision I will miss my river and I am certainly praying that there is rain in the catchment soon so they will open it again. In the meantime I have been taking some photos of the river and if you would like to see more of them just click here.

Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy Training

2009-11-24T21:33:00.001+11:00

Julie:

The Uniting Church in NSW is working on a Memorandum of Understanding with Community Services NSW to train and coordinate Chaplains at evacuation or recovery centres. Up until now emergency services such as Police and Fire had their own chaplains but there was no-one responsible for the people who had been evacuated. From now the Uniting Church will be providing training for chaplains from a wide range of faiths including Jewish Rabbis and Buddhist Monks and will be responsible for making sure these people are coordinated and supported in this work.

Last week I spent 3 days in Sydney working through the course with some other very experienced chaplains so that we would then be available to train others or coordinate some of the work on the ground. Stephen Robinson who presented the course is extremely qualified and has spent many years doing this sort of work and the others in the course were all very experienced so I learnt heaps and feel that I will be much more useful in the situation, but at the same time I am praying that the fire season this year doesn’t mean that we are called out.

Church In The Garden

2009-11-23T11:29:00.001+11:00

The Parkes Uniting Church "Currajong" congregation host an ecumenical service once a year in a garden.
This year I was pleased to be able to speak about rural chaplaincy to the gathering. I was also given an opportunity to baptise two children which in somewhat of a novelty for me these days.
The Currajong congregation hope that this service gives an opportunity for new people to attend and meet with others in a friendly relaxed atmosphere.
It was nice spring day and it seemed that everyone had an enjoyable time apart from the very friendly flies.

Kel Hodge

CISMFA conference in Melbourne

2009-11-15T21:13:00.000+11:00

Julie:

Last week Stephen Robinson, who heads up the Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy for the Uniting Church in NSW, and I attended the Critical Incident Stress Management Foundation Australia conference in Melbourne. The theme of the conference was "building resilience" and I got some excellent information for the work we do in building resilience in rural communities and also for disaster recovery chaplaincy. Being in Victoria there was an emphasis on the work done after the bushfires, and there are some very valuable lessons for the rest of us.

Drought Support Workers plan the next 6 months

2009-11-10T06:29:00.000+11:00

Drought Support Workers from Industry and Investment NSW spent last Thursday looking at options for their work over the next 6 months and how to make the most effective use of their time. A number of groups that have worked closely with the Drought Support Workers over the years were invited to attend the morning session and share thoughts on how to more effectively together.

The morning was an excellent time of sharing ideas and plans and some good discussion was generated. It is yet another example of how working and planning together can produce better results.

NSW Farmers seek solutions

2009-11-09T06:37:00.005+11:00

NSW Farmers held two meetings last week to look at options for farmers who have yet another failed year. The first was at Lake Cargelligo with 140 farmers attending. The next day a meeting of stakeholders was held in Griffith and I was the representative for the Uniting Church. A board range of stakeholders spent the day discussing options and prioritising measures that they saw as vital to the future for agriculture in NSW. I was very heartened to see that maintaining small communities was considered extremely important by both meetings and was one of the priorities set by the meeting. All there recognised that without strong communities we cannot have strong agriculture.

TAFE makes a commitment to women in Hillston

2009-11-05T19:18:00.000+11:00

One of the issues of living in a small town like Hillston is getting access to further education. Last week the Outreach Coordinator from Griffith responded to my request and came out to Hillston to talk to women about a range of courses that it might be possible to run in Hillston. 12 women turned up (but of course I forgot to take a picture) and the end result is a couple of days will be held this year and then more courses run next year. I was very encouraged by the willingness of TAFE to respond to the need and the commitment of the women who came and I look forward to it leading to bigger things.

Birds of the Bush a great success in Rankin Springs

2009-11-04T06:56:00.004+11:00

On the October long weekend The Birds of the Bush (click here to see the website) festival was held in Rankins Springs. This is the third year for this festival and it was even bigger and better. The community of Rankins Springs is not very large so it is "all hands to the pump" to make the weekend work. The festival consists of bird watching in the national parks surrounding the town, a dinner and a spring fair.

Last week I attended the debriefing meeting and a meeting of the Progress Association. In conjunction with the Carathool Shire and Industry and Investment NSW the Uniting Church will be holding some workshops in Rankins Springs to help strengthen the community. It was great to see so many of the locals at the meeting and it augurs well for the future of the community.

Women from the North West gather in Ivanhoe

2009-11-03T06:30:00.002+11:00

Julie:

I was invited to speak at the CWA Far West Group meeting in Ivanhoe. This group covers most of the North West of NSW with people coming from Menindee (200km), White Cliffs (280km), Tibooburra (540km) and Ivanhoe Branches. Many of these women live in very isolated circumstances, travel huge distances but enthusiastically put their time and energy in various organisations like CWA. The women that I met on the day were remarkable women who have many skills and great insights into helping make their friends and communities stronger.

Marra Creek on a very hot afternoon

2009-11-02T06:18:00.000+11:00

Julie:

In 37 C heat the Marra Creek CWA group met to have participate in a Grant Writing Workshop. Despite the heat the group came up with lots of ideas for their community and we looked at a number of grants that might be able to help. With the Marra Creek school being over 100km from Nyngan and Warren the 4 students have long distances to travel to join in other school activities or participate in cultural, sporting or art events. So first on the wish list was a vehicle that could transport the kids and their teacher.

It was great to join with this enthusiastic group of people who have a passion for making it better in their little community.

As I travel around I see a great deal of wildlife but not often as I am coming into a town. These pictures show a family of emu I came across just as I was coming into Nymagee.

Cobar Rural Network meeting made easier with video

2009-10-30T06:09:00.007+11:00

Julie:

The Cobar Rural Service Network has people traveling long distances to attend, from Dubbo (300km) to Broken Hill (450km). For this meeting, thanks to TAFE's video conferencing network those in Broken Hill and Dubbo were able to use the facilities in those towns and not have to travel to Cobar. The system worked well and saved many hours of travel and stress on individuals.