A leading expert on Aboriginal spirituality and how it intersects with the Christian spiritual tradition will be giving a talk in the Blue Mountains about how to develop an authentic Australian spirituality.
Evelyn Parkin, an Aboriginal Quandamooka woman from Minjerribah/North Stradbroke Island, in Queensland, will outline the deep spiritual heritage in Australia, the impact of colonisation and the possibilities that emerge when Aboriginal and Christian spiritual traditions encounter one another.
She will invite the audience to consider what it means to develop an authentically Australian spirituality, one that listens to the ancient wisdom of First Nations’ peoples, acknowledges the realities of our history and seeks a way forward through respectful listening, encounter and walking together.
Her talk, “Nurturing an Australian Spirituality: Pre-Colonisation, Colonisation and Walking Together”, is part of a series called the Stockton Conversation, named after the late Fr Eugene Stockton, a Catholic priest, archaeologist and long-time resident of the Blue Mountains, who was its inspiration and patron.
Evelyn Parkin has contributed to academic, theological and liturgical discussions about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander spirituality and theology. Her published work has appeared in publications such as Liturgy News.
She was involved in the liturgical development of the “Feast of Creation” and “Healing of the Land” for observance on this year’s Creation Day.
In 2021, she was the inaugural presenter in the Laurel Blow Speaker Series, where she reflected on Aboriginal and Christian spirituality and her own experience of encountering the sacred in silence, in churches and in the natural world.
She is a member of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council and a consultant to the National Liturgical Council.
The talk will be held at the Mavis Wood Hall, in the Mid-Mountains Community Centre, 7 New Street, Lawson, on 1 November, starting at 2pm.
For more information send an email to: contact@bmert.com.au
