Sharing the Mission

In 1974 a large family walked into Lagrange Mission, about 200km to the south of Broome. Life had become increasingly difficult in the Great Sandy Desert, and they had heard stories of these white people who were kind to Aboriginal people. I am told that by the time the priest arrived to greet them, aboriginal residents of the mission had already clothed them and had started inducting them into sedentary life. In those few hours they left behind the lifestyle, freedoms and the day to day life their people had enjoyed for at least the last forty thousand years. Instead of being ruled by the seasons and the Dreaming, their lives would be now governed by the bell and watch; instead of living in a group of maybe twenty, they would live among hundred and then thousands;  and instead of relying on the country to provide food and sustenance, eventually most would come to rely on some sort of welfare.  I see several members of this family often, and I can’t stop thinking of the enormous changes they have seen in their lives and amazed that they have been able to make the jump and be functional at all.

The Aboriginal people on whose land we stand did not invite us here, yet they welcome us openly and wholeheartedly. In a spirit of reconciliation they accept us who come with a chequered history yet with open hearts. It has been said often that non-indigenous people in the Kimberley are missionaries, misfits or madmen, or even a mixture of these. Each of us will find some of ourselves in these categories! So this is the Kimberley which you have come to and to which you have been welcomed. It is a land of incredible contrasts: wet to the dry, desert to the sea, clock to the Dreaming, black to white. All of these seeming opposites are in fact not, they are parts of the same continuum in which we live, breathe and thrive. 

Broome is home to multiculturalism. The Catholic Church in Broome was founded by Filipinos who came to work in the pearling industry. The priests who came soon advocated for the rights of local aboriginal people and started Beagle Bay Mission. The Church was of the ordinary people, and did not enjoy official recognition. This was the Church of the battlers and emigrants. The first church was burned down by and angry and racist mob, jealous of the protection offered by the Church to the vulnerable, people they wished to exploit.

The priests and brothers, followed by sisters, had no great qualifications for the work ahead of them. Most of them were not young: the first priest, Duncan McNab, was 67! Most did not speak any English, let alone one of the 52 aboriginal languages they were to encounter in the Kimberley. They came, however, with a message that extended beyond the boundaries of language, race and culture. The message of Jesus Christ was communicated by the French speaking Trappist monk Fr Alphonse to the Nyul Nyul speaking Felix at Beagle Bay in a way that Felix not only understood but was able to respond to positively.  He encouraged his people, going into the bush and telling them: “Kalam, warrijal layibabor”, which means: “Come and see, good place.”

Fr Alphonse obviously communicated the love of Christ and the compassion of God in a way that was understandable and accessible. He did not judge, but shared faith and shared hope. Many years later Fr McKelson, an old missionary, gave me the same advice given to him by Fr Worms when he got off the boat at Old Jetty in 1954: “Matthew, remember that you are among a people who have had their spirit broken, be courageous, but gentle.”

You will meet people in many settings and places over the next few days. You will encounter people from many communities and cultures. You come as members of the Church and as such there will be expectations of you in the minds of those you meet. Those you meet will expect you encounter them in a friendly and gentle way, showing respect for their situation, which in all probability will be very different from where you have come.  Your presence among people of this town, like the presence of missionaries over the last hundred years, will elicit good as well as bad reactions. Some will welcome you, some will swear at you, but both will note your reactions! You will bear witness by the way you are patient, kind, friendly and joyous.

You have the chance to continue the work of the first Filipino Catholics, of Fr McNab and all who came after him. Let us now pray our morning prayer and open our hearts to God before committing ourselves to the work of the next few days.

Homily at Morning Prayer, Nulungu Chapel, Broome July 12th, 2012, on the occasion of the NeoCatechumenal Youth Pilgrimage to Broome.