2001 Report to the St Vincent de Paul
Aboriginal Advisory State Committee

by the Sydney Aboriginal Catholic Ministry ( Brenda McDonnell )

The Aboriginal Catholic Ministry has the central office at Erskineville, a Healing House at Picton, a Reconciliation Church at La Perouse, a small welfare outlet at St Vincents Redfern, and last December we acquired Dundara, a hostel that had been managed by a Non Indigenous management committee for thirty years. The property is owned by the Archdiocese of Sydney.

Staff
We have three Coordinators, two full time, one at Erskineville and one at Picton the other is part time at Laperouse, one part time Welfare Officer at Erskineville, one part time worker at Redfern and casuals are employed to assist when needed.

Erskineville Office
Erskineville office where Father Joe Kelly and I are located is the central point for the financial administration for all outlets. All accounts and salaries are processed and entered into a central accounting system. The office is also responsible for support, in terms of advice with awards when employing people and overall support on a day to day basis. Father Joe personally visits La Perouse and Picton on a weekly, and fortnightly basis and we are currently supporting Redfern by visitation and telephone. The Erskineville office does all the printing and publication for all the outlets, brochures, booklets for all the liturgies and masses and mail-outs to Parishes and schools when required.

Within our Welfare office we have a food bank that is donated by St Vincent de Paul Society, food is delivered once a month which enables us to provide a much needed service to Aboriginal people. Our client numbers have quadrupled over since last year and most months we run out of food before the next delivery. Our office is a point of referral to other agencies and we act as an advocate on behalf of the people, either by telephoning the relevant agency or by written letters of support. Some cases need ongoing support, particularly if it involves bureaucracies such as Corrective Services, the Police force and legal services.

This office receives quite a number of requests for speakers and advice on Aboriginal culture/spirituality and protocol. A group of elders has been set up to seek their advice on protocol and these elders attend formal functions along with the Coordinator of the Erskineville office. We have been fortunate to have been asked to attend the last formal function of the outgoing Governor General of Australia, Sir William Deane and the first formal function of the new Governor General, the Honorable Peter Hollingworth.

In May 2000 a Reconciliation Advisory committee ( known as RRR, Reconciliation for the Renewal of Relationships )was formed for the Archdiocese of Sydney with the permission of Cardinal Clancy, and with support from Bishop Peter Ingham in partnership with the Erskineville ACM. His Grace Archbishop Pell has been informed, and some of the committee members are meeting with him to discuss our work on the 25th September 2001. A big part of our role is to educate non-indigenous, though the major focus is to minister to Aboriginal people.

On average Father Joe Kelly and I are called upon to celebrate one funeral per month, mostly held at St Mary=s in Erskineville, in Funeral Parlors in the area or in St Vincents at Redfern. This involves preparing the ceremony together with the grieved family members of the deceased, counselling, preparing the church and performing the funeral service. This year we have had thirteen baptisms, some of the children are babies more are older, about primary school age. We assess their background(re Catholicism) and if necessary we bring the children in for several instruction sessions. We have also had two weddings.

Healing House Picton - Barbra Asplet Coordinator
The Healing House has been in operation since 11th March 2000 and its services has been utilized by many different Aboriginal groups, see attached report.

Reconciliation Church Laperouse - Elsie Heiss Coordinator
The Reconciliation Church came about from conversations between Elsie Heiss and Father Pat Hurley, the Parish Priest of Malabar. The Church officially became part of the Ministry in August last year after lengthy discussions between Father Joe Kelly, Father Pat, Elsie Heiss and the Charismatic Group who had been using the Church for many years. Father Pat=s vision for the Church was to break down barriers between Indigenous and Non Indigenous within the parish community, providing a place to worship where two cultures could celebrate mass together. Since May this year the Church has been holding regular monthly masses, they have had a small number of baptisms. The La Perouse ACM office is based within the Church and is open three days a week. Elsie visits a number of Catholic schools throughout the Eastern region to educate the children in Aboriginal culture/spirituality. She is also on various committees and is a N.S.W. representative on NATSIC (National Aboriginal and Islander Catholic Council).

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