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A non-profit organisation, which aims to provide a contact for people
interested in the psychological insights of Carl Gustav Jung.

Through monthly meetings, workshops, other activities and our library,
we seek to help people to understand their own inner journey
and the world today - from a Jungian perspective.

We normally meet at 7:30 for 8:00 pm
on the first Friday of each month
at MacKillop House Conference Centre,
50 Archibald Street, Lyneham (See map)

Recent website updates:

* Canberra Jung Society Programme for 2020.
* Jung Platform, (See it in the menu to the left) - a rich resource of psychological and spiritual programmes!

Coming Events

Friday 6 March, 2020
7:00 pm
Canberra Jung Society Inc. Annual General Meeting
and Election of Office Bearers
^{at MacKillop
House, 50 Archibald St, Lyneham, ACT.}

^{All financial members are welcome, and
eligible to stand for office.
You may nominate someone
(including yourself) by email to

JungSocCanberra@Yahoo.com.au by 5 February 2020.
The Canberra
Jung Society Constitution is available for your perusal
here.}

Friday 6 March, 2020

Shauna Winram
"The Problem of Thought Insertion"
^{at MacKillop House, 50 Archibald St, Lyneham, ACT.}

Thought insertion is a symptom in schizophrenia where subjects report experiencing thoughts that are not their own.

One way to interpret thought insertion is that subjects are conscious of thoughts, but these thoughts lack subjectivity. This challenges what is arguably the dominant way to think about consciousness; that is, that consciousness is connected to subjectivity.

I discuss what consciousness is, and why it poses a challenge to science, before exploring the apparent incompatability between subjectivity theories of consciousness and thought insertion. I then address some empirical problems that thought insertion poses. For example, why do subjects form the belief that inserted thoughts are not their own?

I propose two factors that distinguish inserted thoughts from normal thoughts and suggest these factors lead to this inference. Further, I adjust Robert Van Gulick’s (2006, 2015) higher-order global state (HOGS) theory of consciousness to explain these factors. To conclude, I explore the relevance thought insertion has to Jungian ideas about complexes.

Shauna Winram has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a Master of Analytical Psychology degree from Western Sydney University, and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree from the Australian National University, where she is beginning a PhD in philosophy. She spent many years producing art, and a selection of her work can be found at her website: www.shaunawinram.com and at her blog: www.shaunawinram.org

Cost: Jung Society members free, Guests $15, Seniors/Concession $10.
Pay by cash at the door or bank transfer or by credit card via TryBooking.

We meet from 7:30 pm for tea and coffee and snacks, music, discussion and library.
The Guest Speaker's presentation is at 8 pm for an hour or so,
then we resume for questions and discussion, finishing at 10pm.

				The Problem of Thought Inseron

			Shauna Winram

			Thought inser 

SPECIAL EVENT
Saturday 21 March, 2020
3:00 - 4:30 pm
Padma Menon
"The Secret of the Yoginis:
Studio Performance of Indian Temple Dance"
(at Unit 10 / 19-25 Kembla Street, Fyshwick

The Yoginis are ancient deities who are thought to be connected to embodied contemplative traditions in India.

The language of this practice was dance as all Yoginis hold dance positions (Karanas). Texts on dance refer to practices which are very similar to Yoginis. The Yoginis originally formed part of the practice of aesthetics as a transformative modality. They form part of old Tantric traditions which describe them as secretive, startling and often terrifying deities.

The studio performance is an invitation to experience Indian temple dance in the “darshan” setting - where both the dancer and the spectators are open to a “direct experience” of the feeling worlds the deities hold. This “communion” is the heart of contemplation in temple dance.

Dr Richard Barz will follow the performance with a talk about his study of the Yogini temples in India.

Cost: Jung Society members $15; Others $20.
Payment: Book online at www.movingarchetypes.com.au or cash at door.

Seating is limited so bookings are recommended.
Arrangements: We meet at the Moving Archetypes studio, Unit 10 / 19-25 Kembla Street, Fyshwick, from 2:30pm for the performance commencing at 3pm. Please note that seating is on the floor on carpet and cushions. There are chairs available. Guests leave their footwear at the door.

www.movingarchetypes.com.au
Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/movingarchetypes/

Friday 3 April, 2020

Glenda Cloughley and the Chorus of Women:

"... Counselling"

^{at MacKillop House, 50 Archibald St, Lyneham, ACT.}

Watch this space ...

We meet from 7:30 pm for tea and coffee and snacks, music, discussion and library.
The Guest Speaker's presentation is at 8 pm for an hour or so,
then we resume for questions and discussion, finishing at 10pm.

				The Problem of Thought Inseron

			Shauna Winram

			Thought inser 

SPECIAL EVENT

Six-Week Dream Group series

Facilitated by Dorothea Wojnar

Six Tuesdays: 21st, 28th April and 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th May 2020

7:30 - 9:30 pm.

(in the Vercoe Room, Wesley Uniting Church, 22 National Circuit, Forrest, ACT)

The dream is a little hidden door in the innermost and most secret recesses of the soul, opening into that cosmic night which was psyche long before there was any ego consciousness, and which will remain psyche no matter how far our ego-consciousness extends. For all ego-consciousness is isolated; because it separates and discriminates, it knows only particulars, and it sees only those that can be related to the ego. Its essence is limitation, even though it reaches to the farthest nebulae among the stars. All consciousness separates; but in dreams we put on the likeness of that more universal, truer, more eternal man dwelling in the darkness of primordial night. There he is still the whole, and the whole is in him, indistinguishable from nature and bare of all egohood. It is from these all-uniting depths that the dream arises, be it never so childish, grotesque, and immoral.

CG Jung "The Meaning of Psychology for Modern Man" (1933). In CW 10: Civilization in Transition. pg. 304

The group will be facilitated by Dorothea Wojnar. Members of the group are encouraged to share their dreams and we will be using active imagination in working with the dreams. Please let Dorothea know if you are planning to attend.

Sharing your dreams is not required - You can enjoy sharing and working with everyone else's!

Dorothea is a Jungian Analyst, Counsellor and Psychotherapist in private practice. Dorothea has extensive experience as a group leader and therapist across a range of people and issues and has worked in both a public health facility as well as in private practice.

For further information, please contact Dorothea Wojnar on 6292 2014 or (0413) 245 835.

We meet before 7:30 for introductions and catch-up over a cuppa and snacks, prior to working on the dreams.

Friday 1st May, 2020
Robert Tulip:
"Leonardo's 'Last Supper': a Jungian Interpretation"
^{at MacKillop House, 50 Archibald St, Lyneham, ACT.}

Leonardo Da Vinci’s magnificent Last Supper is recognized as one of the greatest art works ever. It depicts one of the central tragic moments of the Christian passion story, the statement by Jesus Christ that one of his followers would betray him. The centrality of this betrayal as a paradigm of human wickedness, stupidity and greed has an even deeper symbolism than its historical pathos. The whole story of the Last Supper portrays the theological idea that Jesus was the mediator between earth and heaven, incarnating the deep connection in Christian doctrine between the divine and the human, with the old hermetic philosophy ‘as above so below’ reflected in the Christian teaching that Jesus did the will of God ‘on earth as in heaven’.

In this talk, Rob will present an empirical analysis of Leonardo’s Last Supper against this theological psychology, to explore the connection between Carl Jung and Leonardo as great natural geniuses, showing how Leonardo’s central philosophical maxim, that man is a model of the world, found precise expression in The Last Supper through his use of natural patterns as templates for the dynamic stances of Christ and the twelve apostles.

The Last Supper serves as a case study for Carl Jung’s psychology of symbolic archetypes, through Leonardo's use of natural patterns reflected in Christian myth. Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious finds expression in this great art work, which provides a hinge point between the scientific and religious world views. The Last Supper is a sublime parable of the heretical esoteric belief held by both Leonardo and Jung that restoring the intimate connection between culture and nature, and thereby achieving a path toward a state of grace, is the essential primary basis of human redemption.

Robert Tulip manages the chaplaincy at the Australian National University. He has BA Honours and MA Honours degrees in philosophy from Macquarie University, with the masters thesis on The Place of Ethics in Heidegger's Ontology. He worked for the Australian Agency for International Development and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for nearly thirty years, and is now working on his intellectual interests including philosophy, theology and climate change, writing at www.rtulip.net.

Cost: Jung Society members free, Guests $15, Seniors/Concession $10.
Pay by cash at the door or bank transfer or by credit card via TryBooking.

We meet from 7:30 pm for tea and coffee and snacks, music, discussion and library.
The Guest Speaker's presentation is at 8 pm for an hour or so,
then we resume for questions and discussion, finishing at 10pm.

Friday 12 June, 2020 (Note that this is not the first Friday!)

Kirstin Robertson-Gillam, PhD, RMT, CMPACFA, CMAMTA:

"A Jungian Approach to Therapy using Music and Creative Arts"
^{at MacKillop House, 50 Archibald St, Lyneham, ACT.}

Reflections and discussions will focus on ideas expressed in Joel Kroeker’s book “Jungian Music Psychotherapy: When Psyche Sings”.

Kirstin will discuss Kroeker’s six principles of Archetypal Music Psychotherapy (Kroeker, 2019) & make comparisons to the six principles of Creative Music Psychotherapy (Robertson-Gillam, 2014):

1.     Perception: A creative act of perceiving sound. On the level of perception, music is relative, not absolute.

2.     Loosening attachment to mastery and liberating expression. Participating in analytic music psychotherapy does not depend on the patient having musical skill or previous musical background. There is no right/wrong way of music expression. A music-centred analyst can help the patient enter the process more fully through creating a non-judgemental expressive temenos such that unconscious content can emerge without unnecessary hindrance.

3.     Improvisation; Improvisation is the inner state manifested in outer form; “music is metaphor in motion”. The expression of spontaneous composition can be a means for unconscious contents to be communicated, which are currently beyond the reach of words.

4.     Sound; Is an image between sound perception and mental imagination regarding affect, somatic response and chains of echoic association. Sound is an “auditory image, a psychological expression of the totality of the self” as auditory mandalas. (Jung, 1972: 20).

5.     Active Imagination; Through Musical Images. Jung’s active imagination process helps us to assimilate unconscious contents verbally and visually but also musically via musical dialogues in improvisation.

6.     Holding irrelevant aspects in a constellation that can lead to consilience; Consilience is Latin for “to leap together” and this experience in music can hold seemingly irrelevant aspects , held in an energized constellation, suddenly jump in a reconciling transcendent third (chord) which often appears as a way forward from a perceived impossible situation. The necessary capacity for this leaping together is the increased tolerance of dissonance, which is linked to Jung’s (1968) notion of holding the tension of opposites.

Robertson-Gillam’s six principles of Creative Music Psychotherapy are under the acronym C.R.E.A.T.E. and are aimed at improving mental, spiritual and physical health and increasing brain itegration:

1.     C=Cognitions; involves practising mindfulness techniques.

2.     R = Relaxation; involves learning the stress response, basic relaxation methods and imagery and visualisation techniques to access the creative brain.

3.     E= Effort – which involves learning focused attention and commitment to the whole process.

4.     A = Awareness – learning to build awareness of how we as individuals operate upon the our world and self-awareness of how we operate within our world. Increased awareness helps us to understand ourselves and the world we live in better so that we can minimise problems as they present and build coping strategies and resilience.

5.     T = Talk it, sing it, draw it, tame it, combining exchanging and expressing ideas, expressing these ideas through music, song, improvisation, dance and art. One idea can have many forms of expression. As we learn to express our inner needs, we learn to understand ourselves and others and how we all also operate in the world, building compassion and understanding of ourselves and others.

6.     E = Energy flow from negative to positive. We can be challenged with many of life’s curveballs which can give us negative stress responses. By understanding how energy flows between ourselves, others and our environment, we learn to control our energy and build motivation, purpose and happiness. Mindell (1993) said that ‘happiness happens’ when we how our actions, deeds and perceptions that make us happy. We can become inspired to embark on important projects and forms of service that serve others as well as ourselves.

The Friday night lecture will touch on salient points of this topic and will be further worked through the next day, Saturday in a workshop setting.

Dr Kirstin Robertson-Gillam is passionate about empowering people to achieve their potential. She has a private practice specialising in communication disorders and issues of trauma, dementia, Parkinson’s Disease, and general and EAP counselling. She developed her unique psychotherapeutic approach using imagery and visualisation, mindfulness meditation, visual arts, music making and singing from her own research. She underpins her work with psychological theories and current research.

Kirstin completed a psychology major in her BA along with ethnomusicology and musicology majors at the University of New England. She then studied a Master of Counselling at Western Sydney University followed by research in a Masters degree which focused on reducing depression in severe dementia with a choir therapy and reminiscence program. Her PhD is focused on reducing depression in mid-later life with a community choir therapy program.

You can contact Kirstin directly:
P: (0409) 533 466
E: kirstinrg@bigpond.com
W: www.kirstinrg.com

Cost: Jung Society members free, Guests $15, Seniors/Concession $10.
Pay by cash at the door or bank transfer or by credit card via TryBooking.

We meet from 7:30 pm for tea and coffee and snacks, music, discussion and library.
The Guest Speaker's presentation is at 8 pm for an hour or so,
then we resume for questions and discussion, finishing at 10pm.

SPECIAL EVENT
Saturday 13 June, 2020
One-Day Workshop

Kirstin Robertson-Gillam, PhD, RMT, CMPACFA, CMAMTA:
“When Psyche Sings”: Connecting and Healing through Archetypal Music Psychotherapy and Creative Music Psychotherapy.

^{at MacKillop House, 50 Archibald St, Lyneham, ACT.}

Music emerges in its healing aspects, as an archetypal image teeming with historical, cultural and mythological amplifications. Listening and responding to psyche singing can help us to connect with the song of the earth, water, grass and trees, human and animal emotions and became truly and joyfully alive. At that level, you can connect with Earth’s song, with your spiritual life. When you sing, play, dance, drum, you are feeling the emotional connection to the Earth and all living things.

The workshop will have active participation in singing, drumming, and mandala drawing as well as group discussion.

Dr Kirstin Robertson-Gillam is passionate about empowering people to achieve their potential. She has a private practice specialising in communication disorders and issues of trauma, dementia, Parkinson’s Disease, and general and EAP counselling. She developed her unique psychotherapeutic approach using imagery and visualisation, mindfulness meditation, visual arts, music making and singing from her own research. She underpins her work with psychological theories and current research.

Kirstin completed a psychology major in her BA along with ethnomusicology and musicology majors at the University of New England. She then studied a Master of Counselling at Western Sydney University followed by research in a Masters degree which focused on reducing depression in severe dementia with a choir therapy and reminiscence program. Her PhD is focused on reducing depression in mid-later life with a community choir therapy program.

You can contact Kirstin directly:
P: (0409) 533 466
E: kirstinrg@bigpond.com
W: www.kirstinrg.com

Cost: Jung Society members $50, Guests $60, Seniors/Concession $45.
Pay by cash at the door or bank transfer or by credit card via TryBooking.

SPECIAL EVENT

Six-Week Course: "Introduction to Carl Jung: His Life and Work"

Facilitated by Dorothea Wojnar

Six Tuesdays: 16th, 23rd, 30th June and 7th, 14th and 21st July 2020

7:30 - 9:30 pm.

(in the Vercoe Room, Wesley Uniting Church, 22 National Circuit, Forrest, ACT)

Introduction to Carl Jung: His Life and Work

Carl Jung is regarded as one of the foremost thinkers of the Twentieth Century introducing such concepts as extraversion and introversion, the collective unconscious and archetypes into everyday discourse. In this course, Dorothea Wojnar will trace the significant life experiences of Carl Jung which forged his theoretical understanding thereby introducing his most important psychological concepts.

Course content
This Introduction to Carl Jung, life and work course covers the following topics:

Background
• The influences of childhood and family background
• On Jung’s psychology
• Jung’s professional activities
• The split with Freud
• Jung’s “descent into the unconscious”

The Structure of Personality I
• Jung's Model of the Psyche
• Consciousness and the ego
• The personal unconscious
• The collective unconscious and the archetypes
• Projection,
• Complexes
• Persona
• Shadow, Anima, Animus
• The Self

The Structure of Personality II
• Psychological types
• The attitudes of Extraversion and Introversion
• The functions of Sensation, Intuition, Thinking & Feeling
• Dealing with the inferior function

The Dynamics and Development of Personality
• Libido as life energy
• The canalisation of psychic energy
• The progression and regression of libido
• The concept of Individuation
• The stages of life

Ways and Means
• Dream psychology
• Fairy Tales
• Jung’s use of alchemical symbolism
• The place of symbols in psychic life
• Synchronicity

Dorothea is a Jungian Analyst, Counsellor and Psychotherapist in private practice. Dorothea has extensive experience as a group leader and therapist across a range of people and issues and has worked in both a public health facility as well as in private practice.

For further information, please contact Dorothea Wojnar on 6292 2014 or (0413) 245 835.

We meet before 7:30 for introductions and catch-up over a cuppa and snacks, prior to working on the course.

Friday 3 July, 2020

Su Hanfling

"The Life and Times of my Art Therapy Work"

^{at MacKillop House,
50 Archibald St, Lyneham, ACT}

Watch this space ...

Su Hanfling is a registered art therapist, community art facilitator, research professional and trainer, with 25+ years experience working in professional roles in the community, health, disability and academic sectors. She is working collaboratively to build creative, sustaining lives and communities.

We meet from 7:30 pm for tea and coffee and snacks, music, discussion and library. The Guest Speaker's presentation is at 8 pm for an hour or so,
then we resume for questions and discussion, finishing at 10pm.

Friday 7 August, 2020

Dr. David Russell:

"How a Jungian Perspective Makes Unique Contribution

to Understanding Emotional Trauma"

^{at MacKillop House, 50 Archibald St, Lyneham, ACT.}

“… primitive pathology recognised two causes of illness: loss of soul, and possession by a spirit.”
(Jung, 1928. The Psychological foundations of Belief in Spirits, CW Vol. 8:para. 591)

Carl Jung’s primary therapeutic focus was on the person, and secondarily on the distressing emotional experience. He believed and asserted that ‘Psyche’ works to enhance our wellbeing, but profound trauma turns this self-care system back onto itself, and into something akin to a ‘demonic possession’. In mytho-poetic terms, the archetypal energy of the protective Archangel is reversed and becomes an avenging demon.

However, even when the inner life is trashed by trauma (Psychoanalyst Leonard Shengold has called it ‘soul murder’ because trauma is the experience of unbearable effect), in the traditions of Jungian psychology, it is the inner life of the person that really matters.

David’s talk will be person centred, with an emphasis on this inner life. It is: the life of the Spirit/Soul that is of ultimate concern.

Through a re-telling of the fairy tale “The Handless Maiden”, he will illustrate how a Jungian sensitivity gives insight into both the nature of the trauma and the necessary steps to recovery.

He will explain how understanding and subsequent therapy aims to integrate the inner life with the outer life, and how this is often achieved with imagery and narrative, as documented and found in so-called ‘Fairy’ Stories.

David Russell is a past president of the Sydney Jung Society. He completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies and research in psychology at the University of Sydney. Here he was introduced to the writings of Sigmund Freud (unusual for a Department of Psychology) and developed an ongoing enthusiasm for the history and philosophy of psychology.

After a few years in private practice he moved into an academic career, which culminated in the establishment of the Master of Analytical Psychology degree at the University of Western Sydney. David has currently returned to private practice in Sydney CBD.

Cost: Jung Society Members (free), Guest $15, Concession $10.
Pay by cash at the door, or by bank transfer, or by credit card via TryBooking.

We meet from 7:30pm for tea and coffee and snacks, music, discussion and library.
Dr Russell's presentation is at 8pm for an hour or so, then we break for supper,
then resume for questions and discussion, finishing at 10pm.

SPECIAL EVENT

Saturday 8 August, 2020

Dr. David Russell:

"Childhood Trauma as Soul Murder: a Jungian Perspective"

^{at MacKillop House, 50 Archibald St, Lyneham, ACT.}

David’s orientation will be person centred with an emphasis on this inner life. It is: the life of the Spirit/Soul that is of ultimate concern.

He will re-tell (as he did at the Friday evening talk) the fairy tale “The Handless Maiden” and will illustrate how a Jungian sensitivity gives insight into both the nature of the trauma and the necessary steps to recovery. Re-telling of myth and story is vital to our deeper understanding of the psychological processes at work.

Participants in the workshop will be constantly invited to speak of their personal experience especially of the interplay of their emotional distress and their spiritual life.

David Russell is a past president of the Sydney Jung Society. He completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies and research in psychology at the University of Sydney. Here he was introduced to the writings of Sigmund Freud (unusual for a Department of Psychology) and developed an ongoing enthusiasm for the history and philosophy of psychology.

After a few years in private practice he moved into an academic career, which culminated in the establishment of the Master of Analytical Psychology degree at the University of Western Sydney. David has currently returned to private practice in Sydney CBD.

Cost: Jung Society Members $50, Guest $60, Concession $45.
Pay by cash at the door, or by bank transfer, or by credit card via TryBooking

Cost: Jung Society members $50, Guests $60, Seniors/Concession $45.
Pay by cash at the door or bank transfer or by credit card via TryBooking.

Friday 4 September, 2020

Dr. Richard Barz

"C. G. Jung’s Concept of the Archetypes and Aboriginal Rock Art"

^{at MacKillop House, 50 Archibald St, Lyneham, ACT.}

We in eastern Australia are blessed with a wealth of Aboriginal rock art easily accessible from major cities like Canberra, Sydney or Melbourne. Sadly, this wealth is generally ignored and where recognised is considered enigmatic, even when found interesting or attractive. Academic explanations are available, but can satisfactorily answer only questions of date and style. Cultural interpretations are either lost or restricted by traditional law.

Fortunately, the esthetic, cultural and academic approaches are not the only ways that Aboriginal rock art can be viewed. It can also be seen through the lens of the archetypes as they are presented by Carl Jung in these words:

“The concept of the archetype, which is an indispensable correlate of the idea of the collective unconscious, indicates the existence of definite forms in the psyche which seem to be present always and everywhere.”

If this statement is true, then the archetypes are universal and underlie all human drawing and sculpture including Aboriginal rock art. Using examples from Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland I will try to demonstrate in this talk that Aboriginal rock art can be appreciated with this premise in mind.

Dr Richard Barz is a retired member of the School of Culture, History and Language in the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University. Since accompanying a 1974 expedition to record traditional sites of the Wongkanguru people, he has been fascinated by Aboriginal culture and has spent the last decade photographing the rock art associated with it.

Cost: Jung Society members free, Guests $15, Seniors/Concession $10.
Pay by cash at the door or bank transfer or by credit card via TryBooking.

We meet from 7:30 pm for tea and coffee and snacks, music, discussion and library.
The Guest Speaker's presentation is at 8 pm for an hour or so,
then we resume for questions and discussion, finishing at 10pm.

SPECIAL EVENT

Saturday 5 September, 2020

Dr. Richard Barz- Workshop-

“The Yankee Hat Aboriginal Rock Art Site

in the Light of C. G. Jung’s Concept of the Archetypes”

^{at the Yankee Hat Aboriginal rock painting site,}

This workshop will be held at the Yankee Hat Aboriginal rock painting site located on Old Boboyan Road off Boboyan Road in Namadgi National Park about 90 minutes south of Canberra. The traditional custodians of the site are the Ngambri people. The age of the paintings is unknown, though settlement at the site has been dated through excavations to at least 800 years ago. The focus of the workshop will be examination of the paintings from the point of view of C.G. Jung’s concept of the archetypes. Attention will also be given to cultural and academic interpretations, especially as set out by Josephine Flood in her books The Riches of Ancient Australia (University of Queensland, St. Lucia:1990) and Moth Hunters of the Australian Capital Territory (J.M. Flood, Canberra:1996).

Those interested in taking part in the workshop- all are welcome- should meet at Mackillop House and Conference Centre, 50 Archibald Street in Lyneham at 10 AM. Each person should arrange for transportation to and from Yankee Hat and should bring adequate water and a light picnic lunch. The walk from the car park to the rock art site is over a 3 km rough track with some moderately steep sections.

The workshop will conclude at Yankee Hat at 4 PM.

Dr Richard Barz is a retired member of the School of Culture, History and Language in the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University. Since accompanying a 1974 expedition to record traditional sites of the Wongkanguru people, he has been fascinated by Aboriginal culture and has spent the last decade photographing the rock art associated with it.

Cost: $10
Pay by cash at the time, or bank transfer or by credit card via TryBooking.

(Photo R. Barz
Painting of a kangaroo at the Yankee Hat Aboriginal Rock Art Site
[

Friday 2 October, 2020

Rev. Dr. Sarah Agnew:

"Story Telling"

^{at MacKillop House, 50 Archibald St, Lyneham, ACT.}

Sarah says ...

What I do as a storyteller:
* compose, perform and publish stories that lead humans from fear to love,
* equip readers of the Bible to engage with and make meaning of the Sacred Stories as human beings,
* encourage people to tell their own story as a way of nurturing the healing and wholeness of us all.

Why I tell stories:
* because humans tell stories – to make meaning of our experiences of living,
* I believe in the dignity of all human beings,
* I believe that we are fully human – healed and whole – together, and stories bring us together

*** * ***
Here's one of Sarah's poems:

Choking - A Lament for Australia - Summer 2020

Where do we begin
with this great wall of fire
or that fire storm
or the hungry angry monster?
Where do we begin?

How do we enfold them all
into our love,
the dozens of humans dead,
the hundreds of homes razed,
the thousands of folk displaced,
the millions of acres burned,
the billions of creatures dead -
how can our embrace include them all?

What is the starting point
for our care, now, this task
now to rebuild: which lives
to prop up, which towns to
reconstruct, which roads to open,
what first? what next? what do we do ?

We need You.
We need You here with us,
and with us all. We need
courage and wisdom, love
and compassion; we need
safety, we need care, we
need healing, we need hope -
O, Holy One, we need You.

Draw us in, fill us up,
send us and go with us as we reach
out from where we are, one step, one
act, help us remember we are
one, and to find that somehow, thus,
we have begun.

(c) Sarah Agnew

Rev Dr Sarah Agnew has her own blog: http://sarahtellsstories.blogspot.com/

Sarah has served as Minister of the Word with the Wesley and St Aidan's congregations in the Canberra Central Uniting Church Parish since January 2018.

Ordained in the Uniting Church in Australia in 2010, Sarah previously served as the facilitator of alternative church ventures Black Wood Jazz (2005–2009) and The Esther Project (2009–2010), and as sole minister in the Belair Uniting Church congregation (2011–2014).

From 2015–17, while undertaking a PhD, Sarah was sought after for pulpit supply across southern Scotland, in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, Falkirk and the Upper Clyde Parish, in Church of Scotland and United Reformed congregations.

While in Edinburgh, Sarah also continued her involvement with 'fresh expressions' of church as participant in The Gathering and as part of the support team for Methodist Church Venture FX workers. She was an active member of the Greyfriars Kirk congregation in Edinburgh, regularly called upon to offer her gifts of reading, performance and poetry.

Among all the sublime and profound everyday surprising conversations with inquiring young and old minds, playgroup play dough and swing pushing duty, and serving communion to a mentor who was dying from cancer, some of the notable things Sarah has been able to do as minister include ..
* serving communion with the UCA president at the National Christian Youth Convention on the Gold Coast in 2011
* leading protestant communion at The Glen Workshops in Santa Fe, also 2011
* being interviewed on radio as one of 19 ordinands in the UCA in South Australia in 2010
* conducting the wedding for her sister (with bridesmaid's dress beneath the liturgical robes)
* and a full immersion baptism of a faithful 8 year old.

We meet from 7:30 pm for tea and coffee and snacks, music, discussion and library.
The Guest Speaker's presentation is at 8 pm for an hour or so,
then we resume for questions and discussion, finishing at 10pm.

Friday 6 November, 2020

Eve Warren:

"A Dream in a Teacup"

^{at MacKillop House, 50 Archibald St, Lyneham, ACT.}

Watch this space ...

We meet from 7:30pm for tea and coffee and snacks, music, discussion and library.
Dr Russell's presentation is at 8pm for an hour or so, then we break for supper,
then resume for questions and discussion, finishing at 10pm.

Saturday 5 December, 2020

~~~ Christmas Party ~~~

^{at MacKillop House, 50 Archibald St, Lyneham, ACT.}

Watch this space