My
first memory of St
Vincent's,
Redfern, is etched indelibly on my mind and goes back
to 1971. It coincided with my release from enclosure
as a Religious of the Sacred Heart in the wake of the
reforms of Vatican II. I made an early visit to Redfern
where Aboriginal people had already received hospitality
in the Presbytery and Convent. What a royal welcome
I received as I moved among the Aboriginal people being
introduced as “Father Ted's sister”! My first conversation
with one of the men is still with me. He told me of
his sad life of poverty and separation from family,
and ended with the words,
“Sis,
when you're most lost, then you're found”.
This
was the beginning for me of a growing friendship with
the Aboriginal people and of my first awareness of the
tragedy of the “Stolen Children”. The Presbytery attracted
hundreds of Aboriginal people from all over Australia
as a centre of communication and, for many of them,
the emotional discovery of lost relatives. It was not
until decades later that this sad episode in Australian
history came into the consciousness of the nation.
On
my first visit to Redfern I also met the famous rag-picker
priest from Europe,
Abbe Pierre, who had become known for his great work
after Wor1d War II for the homeless and dispossessed.
He was followed over the years by so many inspiring
figures, indigenous and non-indigenous, from Australia
and Overseas. We connected with them (and still do)
as a Community in solidarity with their struggle for
justice and self-determination. One of the great gifts
of Ted's leadership was to provide a strong spirituality
for the struggle. Rooted in the Gospel and unfolding
with such reflective insight each week, this offered
us a way of integrating Contemplation and the call to
Social Justice. This model inspired some of us (Maureen
Flood, Marie Grunke and myself) to initiate what has
become known as the “Street Retreats”. We felt the need
to move into the less sheltered environment of the inner
city and to allow the socioeconomic and political
realities to sharpen our understanding of the kind of
apostolic spirituality needed for today.
Retreatants
are billeted in houses to which the powerless and disadvantaged
have ready access as friends. The Gospel imperatives
began to speak through the daily encounters in the households
and on the streets with life at the edges. There we
found the graced revelation of the God of Liberation
and unconditional love working where least expected.
It was the initial experience at St
Vincent's
Redfern that urged us to share with hundreds of others
around Australia
these “Street Retreats”, which have been offered in
Redfern and other inner city contexts since 1984.
The
heritage that Ted leaves us at St
Vincent's
is a crucial one. Christian spirituality has a new and
urgent role to play in the heart of the political and
socio-economic area. Education and legislation are important
to combat the deep racist attitudes that exist among
old and new settlers, but it is at an even deeper religious
level that transformation really takes place. Acceptance
of others who are different means entering into solidarity
with them and reaching out in love towards them. As
Ted so often says,
The
love in question is a genuine love for concrete human
beings whom we know by name.
This
is what offers an energy that flows from friendship
not ideology. Long may this energy flow from St
Vincent's
Redfern!
by Marnie Kennedy RSCJ
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