Although the Rev’d Gloria Shipp hardly ever seems to stop, she has nonetheless now fully resumed her ministry which takes place amongst Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, largely in several towns and cities in the Diocese of Bathurst. You can read her latest ministry report below.

The first half of 2022 has been quite busy with lots of travel for my ministry and the delivery of it. 

The Dubbo Elders Outreach Group continue to meet every Tuesday in the hall at Dubbo Anglican Church.  I travel the 165km most weeks to be with them, or I phone in and talk with them.  Rev Brett Watterson and Jen were also on hand in Dubbo if the Elders needed pastoral care/assistance if I was not in Dubbo.  Health professionals continue to visit the Elders group as well as other community members to do craft activities with the Elders or just have a chat.

In March I started a similar group in Nyngan.  This is held in the Anglican church hall Wednesday each fortnight.  The group started off small but has been slowly growing through word of mouth. 

On Saturday 7 May, I was commissioned in Dubbo Anglican Church as a Companion of the Company of the Good Shepherd (CGS). During the service I was presented with a CGS stole (red and white) and pectoral cross which had been made by The Reverend Ray Tickle who is the Chaplain of the CGS.  As a Companion I will be ministering to the parishes of Nyngan, Warren, and Cobar, who do not have any clergy.  In this capacity I have been taking Sunday services on a rotating basis with Licensed Lay Ministers.

The Women’s Camp was held in May at the Riverside Caravan Park Nyngan.  We had women from Sydney, Dubbo, and Nyngan at the camp, with most of the Nyngan ladies staying during the day and going home at night.  The weekend was very enjoyable with great weather and fellowship ending with a Sunday morning church service.

The Reconciliation lunch was held on the 31 May in the Uniting church hall at Nyngan.  Ken Phillis once again was the MC for the day, travelling from Dubbo with his wife Di.  Lunch was catered for by Nyngan High School students who also danced alongside students from the primary school.  Kevin Shipp was the guest speaker on the day and spoke on both his personal and work life with the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group. He then recounted the violent displacement of Aboriginal people around Nyngan.  The people who have spoken to me since the luncheon have said they enjoyed the day and look forward to next year’s, with the intention of inviting others along to join them. 

In addition to the above I:

• had two baptisms in Nyngan, three in Warren (one of these was an adult) and two in Cobar.
• led a funeral service in Brewarrina (a 416km round trip), two funerals in Nyngan as well as an interment of ashes in Nyngan.
• travelled to Dubbo in March to conduct a wedding held in a function room of a hotel. I also travelled to Cobar to conduct a wedding on a property.  This wedding was quite unusual as most of the guests thought they were there for the baptism of the couple’s two children.  After the baptisms, the surprise wedding was held with the bride coming to the altar on a goat!

I am still a life member of NATSIAC, however have nothing to report from this.

Jen and I continue to work from our own home offices, staying connected through email and phone for ministry matters. We also meet at the Elders group when I am in Dubbo.

I continue to be thankful for all the support given to this ministry from ABM which enables these programs to continue. I am also thankful that after the last two years of COVID lockdowns I can go ahead with the ministry activities.

Rev Gloria Shipp   

ABM wishes to thank all who support Gloria’s ministry through ABM.