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The
Reconciliation Church and the Stations of the Cross
the Reconciliation Church
the Coordinator Elsie Heiss
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The
Reconciliation Church is a small Church at La Perouse, for the
Aboriginal People of Sydney; there also is an Office
of the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry, within the Church. Elsie
Heiss, the Coordinator for this Church and Office, has been
working for the ACM in Sydney for 13 years.
The Church is also a place where gatherings and workshops
are held and as to be expected, these workshops usually
have to do with Indigenous Issues. School children often
come to the Church for this reason, and other groups such
as the St Vincent de Paul Advisory Council, Caritas, Catechist
groups of the Sydney Archdiocese, and many other groups
use this Church from time to time.
The idea of a special Church at La Perouse for Catholic
Aboriginal People first arose in 1998 while Elsie Heiss was
on the St Andrews Parish Council at Malabar. Fr Pat Hurley
and the Parish council wanted to do something positive for
Aboriginal Catholics. St Andrews, especially under Fr Pat
has had a long history of offering pastoral care to Aboriginal
People. Aboriginal funerals are commonly held there at St
Andrews, and it is also where many Aboriginal families have
taken their children for Baptism.
a baptism at the Church
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The parish decided to offer Elsie the
use of a small outstation Church of St Andrews, formerly
known as the Church of
Our Lady of Good Counsel. It is situated
in Yarra Road, near the Aboriginal Land Council Building of Yarra House,
and the Yarra Bay Sailing Club.
The Church holds about 150 people, and has a large indoors
gathering area at the back. After every Mass the congregation
gather there for refreshments and conversation.
The church is continually developing. Aboriginal symbols
are becoming more manifest, there are Aboriginal paintings,
and a beautiful Aboriginal painting of the Madonna and Child,
and the Stations of the Cross are beautifully expressed in
Aboriginal form.
The Stations of the Cross have not yet been paid for, but
the Aboriginal Artist, Richard Campbell has kindly allowed
them to be hung in the Church. The Stations are large, approximately
1 Meter square.
On Friday April 11th 2001, Bishop David Cremin presided
at a gathering in the Church to launch a fund-raising
drive to help pay for these beautiful works of Aboriginal
Christian
art.
Bishop David Cremin and others at the Launch
This Church now attracts people from many parishes who come
to experience its Aboriginal liturgies. And it is not just
Aboriginal people who come. Many of those who attend are
non-indigenous Catholics wanting to bring reconciliation
into their spiritual lives. "I think it was the best
move we ever made because this church has blossomed. This
is where I want to be. This is why I wanted to join the Ministry
in the first place because I wanted to minister," Elsie
says.
A special Mass for Aboriginal People is celebrated every first Sunday of the
month, and visitors are welcome. There is a lot of preparation before each
Mass. Besides the planning of the Liturgy, fliers advertising the Mass are
sent out to the people, and there is always a gathering in the back room after
the Mass to enjoy conversation and refreshments. Various celebrants including
Bishops take it in turn to celebrate the Mass.
A Note on the Artist Richard Campbell:
Artist, Richard Campbell is pictured with his sister
Louise, speaking at the Official Launch of the Fundraising
Appeal in April 2003 |
He is an accomplished Artist, who has been painting for approximately 30 years.
He is self taught and is
recognised as one of many Aboriginal artists who
works with both contemporary and traditional mediums and symbols. He
also is developing his skills and techniques in the area
of abstract art. He was
commissioned by Elsie to paint one of the Stations of the Cross, and
for this purpose he spent many months studying the Stations
in the many country
Churches within reach of where he lived. When he completed the first
of the stations, he found he was unable to stop work, the
creative energy which
had built up inside him during those months drove him on to finish the
whole 14 Stations. He says of himself during this time, that
he was impossible
to live with; he began painting after breakfast each day, and continued
almost non-stop until 2 am and 3 am the next morning, for
months, until the whole
project was complete. The Artist is currently painting 'The Resurrection'
for the Church. 
the Easter Vigil
the Easter Mass
The Madonna
by Richard Campbell |
the Tenth Station |
the Eleventh Station
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Donations to the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry, P O Box 296,
Matraville 2036 to help pay for the Stations are urgently
needed; Mrs Elsie Heiss Coordinator, and Fr Joe Kelly (Priest
assistant to the ACM).
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