By Rev. Dr Katherine Rainger, Senior Chaplain

In the holidays, I was fortunate enough to travel with 24 students and four staff to Timor-Leste. Each day held multiple insights and connections. A soccer game in a village on Atauro Island stands out.

As we arrived, we were welcomed by two lines of soccer players: the local male and female teams. Our students lined up in formation with the local teams and shook hands as an opening ritual before commencing a very competitive game. Music was playing to pump the crowd up and the linesmen and referee kept everyone in check. The atmosphere was electric and the score tight (Radford lost 5-4 - we’ll put it down to a home game advantage!). At the end of the game, speeches were made by both teams about the joy of the game taking place.

Everywhere we went there were rich and meaningful encounters such as this. Stay tuned for future Bulletins in which students will share more of their experiences.

The spontaneous nature of moments of grace reminds me of a reflection a friend sent to me. The reflection draws on an ancient Celtic image of the Holy Spirit as a wild goose who cannot be tamed, whose very nature brings disruption and surprise.

“Celtic Christians have a unique image for the Holy Spirit: the wild goose. Yep, the honking, flapping, nipping-at-your heels bird who refuses to be tamed, has framed the theological imaginations of believers for generations in regions surrounding Ireland and Scotland. The imagery is spot on and brilliant.

"Like a wild goose, God nips at us and provokes us to travel to obscure places as a collection of practitioners of the kingdom unconfined by convention. God’s Spirit, like these obnoxious long-necked creatures, can even be somewhat aggravating and difficult to ignore when pushing us to defy logic and comfort. The nudging of the Divine Presence is not always graceful or welcome either, disrupting our conscience and disturbing our assumptions about what is good, right and just.

"The Holy Spirit, like our feathered friends, lives in freedom and refuses to be contained and controlled.

"Still more, beauty is in the flight of these strange birds. They refuse to travel alone and instead fill the skies in gaggles shaped like the letter 'V'. This provides yet another seamless symbol for individuals and gaggles of God's people who trust the whims of the Spirit as they follow Jesus as the head of a rather rambunctious flock. May we never try to tame them, only fly alongside them."

- Taken from Wild Geese and God's Spirit as Uncaged Bird by Greg Klimovitz

The Bible passage from the Book of Job encourages us to see everyday encounters with the world around us as markers of profound insights into the nature of God.

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you,
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
Who among all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?
In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of every human being.”

- Job 12: 7-10, the Bible

I wonder what has been revealed to you in encounters with fellow creatures in your environment this week.

National NAIDOC Week Award Winners

Congratulations to local Elder Aunty Dr Matilda House-Williams who won the National NAIDOC Week Female Elder Award. You can learn more about Aunty Matilda’s work in the ACT region here. Her advocacy over many decades is inspiring.

Congratulations also to Rev. Tom Slockee who was one of three finalists of the National NAIDOC Week Male Elder Award. Rev. Tom is an Anglican priest in the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn. Along with his wife Muriel, I’ve learnt a lot from Tom over the years. They live on Walbunja Country at Batemans Bay. Rev. Tom has been instrumental in making housing accessible for First Nations peoples. You can learn more about his work and vision here.

A full list of the finalists in all the award categories can be found here. It is a compelling insight into the innovative work that First Nations peoples are undertaking in a range of fields.

As we begin a new term, may there be moments that surprise and nourish you within the relationships that are at the core of our lives and amidst the tasks at hand.