Mission rather than parish in Australian bush
Sr Mary Farrelly SM, who works in Central Western Queensland, speaks about inculturation and evangelisation in Australian rural areas.[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]
After 13 years on the ‘other side of the range’ I’ve come to believe that ministry (evangelisation) to those living in rural and remote places such as central western Queensland, is better compared to a mission than to a parish. Many years ago I was struck by the story of the first Jesuits who went into China: how they inserted themselves into the culture. Such an approach contrasted with many other missioners who in their zeal, rather than taking time to understand the local people, almost immediately began ‘evangelising’, preaching the christian message and denouncing the darkness of beliefs and superstitions held by their hearers. Rather than seeking out and building on any elements of truth such as Paul did when he spoke at the Areopagus (Acts 17: 22ff) they condemned what they found. I remember that in the latter part of the 1960’s inculturation almost became a buzz word.
From my perspective over the last four or five years, although the pastors/priests ministering in the rural and remote areas with which I am familiar, don’t approach the people in that way, often it seems to me that they fail to ‘connect’, to recognise the reality, the shape so to speak of the people’s understanding and knowledge of church doctrine; their familiarity with church ritual, symbolism and church language is very limited. By contrast, homilies often seem to be generic, even learned speeches rather than being relevant to the little congregation who actually present the pastor with an opportunity to pass on the message of Jesus, to evangelise after the description of Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium no.14: Ordinary pastoral ministry seeks to help believers to grow spiritually so that they can respond to God’s love ever more fully in their lives.
Very few of the children whose families live on properties are close enough to a town to be able to attend the local school. Instead they learn by distance education. In any case, across the country which I cover, there are just three catholic schools. Some of the children will go away to boarding school for their secondary education. These will have the opportunity of living in a faith environment and learning about the catholic faith. However, not all catholic children go to a catholic boarding school. Criteria for selecting a school include cost, distance from home and location of other family members who may be able to visit and support the children given that they are hundreds of kilometres from home and their own families and in a classroom situation for the first time.
Country town church life has changed
It is not surprising that in most cases the primary school children whom I have encountered, know little of what I will call the language of the faith even when presenting for preparation for the Sacraments – much of which must be done via the telephone in a limited number of lessons. Following the celebration of her daughter’s Confirmation and First Communion a mother commented to me recently on how different it had been for her growing up in a town, attending the local Catholic school during the week and then with her family going to Sunday Mass each weekend. Now married, she and her husband live an hour (mostly on dirt road) from the nearest town where there is no Catholic school and where Mass is only sometimes celebrated on a Sunday. So much depends on parents for the transmission of the faith whether or not they attended a Catholic school. In any case for the most part they themselves have received little if any further input because they are not attending church. They are good people. They want their children to receive the sacraments.
Ten of the thirteen towns which I visit have a catholic church. Five of the churches have the Blessed Sacrament reserved. Five of the churches have Sunday Mass at least twice a month. Three towns have Mass once a month. Two have Mass scheduled for every two months but in practice this would rarely be more than four or five times a year. One little town hasn’t had Mass for almost two years, maybe more. Most congregations are very small. Not everyone who could go to Mass does go. I would suggest that they have lost the habit, if they ever had it.
Mixed marriages are very common. That said I’ve been surprised and in admiration at the number of cases where the non-catholic mother is the one who supports and guides her child through the sacramental programme. I see great potential in this aspect of life in remote places. Ecumenism is further evident in the way that people will attend a service held on a property, regardless of their denomination. Often they are glad to come together as a community of neighbours when a pastor visits a property. I believe that we need to encourage this particularly when ministers of any christian denomination are in very limited supply and those who are available may be reluctant to go out of the church precinct to the people.
Challenging times in rural Australia
For those who live on properties (which they do not always own but frequently manage for the owner – sometimes one of the big pastoral companies) there is not the rhythm of a five or five and a half day week. This is especially so in years of drought which seem more common than good years. It is often a seven day week with ongoing need to distribute feed to stock (in the absence of pasture) and check waters which are spread over hundreds to thousands of acres and to attend to many other tasks which can’t be fitted into a neat schedule. Such tasks may be as unpredictable as the need to attend to a pump which has broken down as stock cannot be left long without water and replacement parts are only available some hundred or more kilometres away.
Apart from family, the number of staff living on properties and employed to work has been greatly reduced over the years, for example as graziers have moved from sheep to cattle because of the ‘dogs’ (dingoes and hybrids). Often the only workers are the family members. Children have to learn young! Formal schooling sometimes has to fit around the property tasks which cannot wait, given that live animals are involved. The women usually have added roles including that of governess, property worker and book-keeper, which in itself is no small task. When it comes to specialist tasks such as crutching, shearing, lamb-marking or pregnancy-testing contract workers are in short supply. Because many people have left agriculture, the tasks must be slotted in according to the availability of workers. Such arrangements can change with little notice and no room for negotiation.
I have often thought to myself that rather than trying unsuccessfully to get people into the church building we need to take church to the people, so to speak. I have been present at some very special celebrations on properties. They are what I call God-moments where people are open to hear God-messages! In rural and remote places the neighbours, living 20 – 100 or more kilometres away, depend on each other. They form little rural communities with each other rather than with the people who live in the ‘nearest’ country town and with whom they have limited interaction.
In the case of baptism for example, people living in rural and remote parts of western Queensland desire to celebrate baptism with their community: neighbours whether catholic or not, and with their family and friends who often need to travel hundreds of kilometres to be present. Celebrating the Sacrament outside of Mass is conducive to spending time in explaining the symbols and the significance of the ritual, its words and actions. It is permitted to celebrate baptism on a property. Not only does the home venue provide a welcoming environment for the unchurched; it is also an opportunity for some basic evangelising (Pope Francis’ description – E.G. no.14 – of the different groups to be evangelised). As with town dwellers usually the need/desire is for a weekend so that family and friends who have to return to work towards the coast some hundreds of kilometres away are able to do so. Unfortunately on weekends the priests are only available in church buildings and only once, or less, each month in some churches. There is little to no flexibility in terms of accommodating people out on the properties. So there is difficulty in arranging dates. While dependent on a priest as celebrant of this sacrament, some baptisms are being delayed and some are not even being requested.
Bridging the gap to meet spiritual needs
A gap exists today between many people and the church as it has developed over the last two millennia. In order to bridge this gap, I suggest that it will be necessary to take baby steps, so to speak, to begin with what is essential not with the refined established institution with its doctrine and ritual. Perhaps many will not be able to go beyond the essential and yet if they embrace this, it would be world-changing because I believe Jesus’ message was that we are loved deeply, unconditionally and are called to love others in our turn. I am reminded of the butterfly emerging from its cocoon. It must go through the slow process: to help it by cutting the cocoon would not be to free it, but to prevent the process coming to its completion.
For such reasons as these I believe that the western pastoral ministry which developed from the aerial ministry of earlier times and in which I have spent almost thirteen years, is better compared to a mission than to a parish. Ministry in a mission-field differs from ministry in a parish setting. Expectations and assumptions are different. The reality as I have said is that often Catholics living in these rural and remote parts of our country do not have the habit of church-going. Given the constraints of their lifestyle, which involves production of food for the nation, there may be good reasons for this. They have limited knowledge and understanding of what we might describe as ‘the faith’ or the ‘practice of the faith’ as it has developed since the time of Jesus and the early church. We need to recognise the reality and look for other ways to nurture faith rather than trying in vain to get people into a church building. We need to take opportunities outside of the ‘structures’ to lead people, to accompany them in developing their relationship with Jesus. Go make disciples: first and foremost disciples of Jesus! Perhaps later they will become members of the church community.
The word, pre-catechesis comes to mind and also another image. Here in rural and remote parts of the country where people are longing for rain, they say any rain – rare as it has been – will be welcome. Yet they talk of good rain and bad rain. Good rain is grass-growing rain, gentle rain soaking into the parched country, deep enough and for long enough to reach roots and not be evaporated once the rain stops and the temperatures rise again. Bad rain is too much, too heavy, not soaking into the ground but running off and taking the soil with it. Bad rain is light rain, not enough rain which comes when temperatures have dropped and a small amount of grass remains; rain which blackens that precious grass, changing its chemical nature so that there is no nutritional value in it. So I believe with evangelising. Its style and content and delivery must be fashioned to the people in their particular context, with their limitations, at their level of faith and readiness. Inculturation, mission! [/s2If]
