CLRI(NSW)

Rural Ministry Group

The Rural Ministry Group is a support network for religious and their colleagues in often isolated ministry in rural New South Wales, Victoria and southern Queensland. The animator of the group, Madeline Breen, lives in Gilgandra. The group communicates mostly by email and meets only infrequently, often at gatherings instituted by other organizations. However in 2002, the Year of the Outback, the Rural Ministry Group inaugurated their biennial weekend gatherings. In 2002 and 2004 the group met in Carcoar and in 2006 and 2008 at Galong. April 16-18, 2010 was the date of our most recent gathering, again at Galong. Twenty seven women gathered for a weekend that offered opportunities to pray together, celebrate together and share the challenges and richness of ministry in a rural setting. Leone Wittmack rsc taught us to drum; Julie Grieg, a Uniting Church minister, shared with us some insights about rural Australia, Helen Barnes rsj encouraged us to express ourselves through art. Some of the resolutions as we evaluated the weekend were:

• CLRI(NSW) would continue to supply organizational support for future weekends, lightening the burden for the organizing group;
• The Rural Ministry Group page on the CLRI(NSW) website www.clrinsw.org  will display material from the gatherings as well as resource material for group members;
• A photo gallery will be included on the Rural Ministry Group page;
• And, yes, we’re booked into Galong in 2012!

Persons with connection to the Rural Ministry Group

Latest Photos from Rural Ministry Gathering 2010....

The 2012 Galong Gathering will be held at St Clements' Retreat, Galong on April 20-22, 2012.

Western Mission NSW