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The Abbey of St Barnabas
A Centre for spirituality and the environment
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ROM THE ABBEY OF ST BARNABAS, RAYMOND ISLAND.
Saying “Goodbye”. I have recently been in Ireland, and I found the two houses in which my grandmother and grandfather grew up. It was very exciting!
My son Patrick was with me and we had been planning this trip for
some time. We found a number of Patrick McIntyres, and Williams ( my
father’s, brother’s and grandfather’s name) and Johns (in use in
many parts of my family) on our journey, but we thought it would be
a long and difficult journey to find any trace of my grandparents
who left Ireland for Brisbane in the 1880’s. In fact, the GPS in
our car took us to the very place where they had both grown up
without any trace of difficulty. When we arrived I stopped a man in
a car and asked if he could possibly help us with any information
about where they had actually lived, and to our surprise, he did
know and he owned both houses! In fact he grew up, and his
father before him, in the actual house in which my grandfather had
grown up. His son and his grandchildren, now live in it! Then I discovered that this man is actually of the same family as me! So I discovered a distant cousin into the bargain. “So easy!” as they say! In fact Patrick and I were a little disappointed that it was so easy! We thought we were on a long detective hunt. The reason the hunt was so easy was because that part of my family never moved away from their roots. For generation after generation they lived in the same houses and in the same area, and they still do! By contrast, when my last child left school they added up that between the five of them, they had been to 32 different schools. That’s how much we had moved! Why did my grandparents come to Australia? I now believe it was for the adventure, and the lure of gold, because my grandfather died in the Mt Morgan gold rush in Queensland in the late 1880’s, leaving grandma with three little children to bring up. But, I have moved around a great deal. When I came to Raymond Island, my first contribution to this webpage was to say that I was reluctant to come here and had needed much persuasion. Then I discovered what you islanders are like and I found such warmth, not only in the welcome, but also in the continuing friendship and sense of community here. Even though it is only six months since I came here (and I have been away for three of them,) I am finding it very difficult to say “Goodbye”. Because of a set of very complicated factors, things have not worked out as I had thought they would (as they say), and I will have left the island by the time you read this, after weeks of very difficult discussion with the bishop. However, the bishop has thanked me for what I have been able to do as the Foundation Abbot here at the Abbey, and I, want to say sincerely a huge “Thank You” to you who have made my stay here so warm and rewarding. I do hope and pray that that warmth will remain for the Abbey and whoever comes to take my place. By the time you read this I will be celebrating my 79th birthday with my family in the Blue Mountains, but I will always be grateful for the friendships made here on this lovely island.
There are many words used to say, “I am leaving”. Goodbye is “God be
with ye”, Adieu is “To God” that is I commend you to God, and
Farewell, is “Fare you well”. What else can I say? How else can I
say it? I came reluctantly, I leave reluctantly, and with a
profound sense of loss mixed with thanksgiving for all that I have
experienced here. So I say, “The Lord be with you.”
This is Laurie McIntyre who has come to live in this glorious part of the world. To be truthful I came reluctantly at the insistence of my nephew John, the Bishop of Gippsland, to help him in the renewal of A’Beckett Park as a camping and conference centre and to establish an Abbey as a Centre of Spirituality and the Environment, but now that I am here, I am really looking forward to my role in the church. An abbey, in the Christian church, has always been a place of community, often encompassing a whole village or area and responsible for it and for the fields, vineyards, forests and so on. Essential to the life of the abbey was its role as a place of hospitality. I do not intend to take over the whole island here (!) but hopefully to become involved in its life and to welcome those who come to A’Beckett Park for whatever purpose and to offer a welcome in the long tradition of abbeys. Initially, no-one will notice much difference, but as we develop our plans we hope you will begin to see changes which reflect a Christian concern for the environment and for those who need a retreat for a while from the pressures of our increasingly hectic life style. I welcome the possibility of visits from you all and conversations and discussions. For the time being, I will be conducting a church service on the first Wednesday of every month at 12noon in St Barnabas’ Chapel where all faiths (or none!) will be most welcome. When a bell tower is built a bell will announce services, ultimately, at 8am, noon and 5pm daily… not all obligatory!! With warm greetings, Laurie McIntyre, Abbot. Phone : 03 5156 6118 Mob: 0418571011.
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