The Baru Beat
“Other than God’s call to serve in Goondiwindi, one other thing especially attracted me to this parish – the parishioners’ dedication to wider community life. Everyone counts in rural communities. People engage, make things happen, and see needs and action them. Community involvement is central to the local culture and often critical to its survival,” says The Rev’d Dr John Rolley
Features
“While John the Baptist’s ascetic life isn’t attainable for a city-dwelling Holy Hermits Online member like myself, I am inspired by his life of simplicity, his call for people to be just and charitable and how his ministry emerged from a period of hermit-like solitude,” says Jeremy Fraser from Holy Hermits Online, as John the Baptist’s feast day approaches
“There seems to be an innate spirituality that has its origins in and expresses our essential humanity, which bubbles up when we get in touch with the source of our being. For me this helps to explain why the use of water is to be found in a wide range of religious practices and why buildings like St Paul’s in London, and St John’s here in Brisbane, draw into a prayerful stillness people who claim to have no faith,” says The Very Rev’d Dr Peter Catt
“When I arrived at the patient’s bedside, I found him struggling for breath and on oxygen and yet delighted to see me. I introduced myself, explaining that I was from Pastoral Care. I needed to repeat this for him because N95 fitted masks and shields, along with general ward noise, often make it very hard to communicate these days. He very clearly responded that he was very pleased to see me, stating that he had been waiting a long time for such a conversation – seven years in fact,” says hospital chaplain, The Rev’d Canon Cheryl Selvage
“I was introduced to Jesus by my parents from a young age, but when I was 12 I made the decision to be baptised…I think you just live with a great and very different purpose than if you were living for yourself,” says St Bart’s Kids team member Carrie Roberts
“The response to our Baptism book resource project has been wonderfully encouraging. Bishops and Archbishops have been keen to endorse the book and school chaplains and Religious Education teachers have also been enthusiastic,” says The Rev’d Paul Bland from St Paul’s, East Brisbane while providing tips on how parishes can produce their own book resources
“Every person who is baptised promises, or in the case of young children godparents promise on their behalf, to turn to Christ. They are signed with the sign of the cross to show that they are marked as Christ’s own forever. And they are called to Christian ministry, to serve Christ in the world,” says Archbishop Phillip Aspinall
Get some soul in your inbox
Thank you for subscribing