On behalf of the Martin de Porres Community, Cathy Hutcheson, Lorraine Tomlins and Margaret Thompson present the covenant document to Fr Stephen Hackett MSC, of Holy Spirit Parish.
SIGNING UP
WORDS Monique Preston
Many believe that covenants are a feature of biblical times, almost non-existent in our modern landscape.
That is until St Martin de Porres Aboriginal Community and Holy Spirit Parish in Darwin made a covenant to keep faith with each other. And although God isn’t one of the signatories to this particular covenant, those who did sign felt God’s spirit moving their hands.
The covenant–thought to be the first of its kind in Australia–is reconciliation in action. It is the culmination of a long journey sparked by the words of Pope John Paul II during his visit to Australia in 1986:
‘The church in Australia will never be who Jesus wants it to be until the Aboriginal people make their contribution to it, and until that contribution is joyfully received.’
The Pope’s encouragement for the enrichment of faith among Australia’s indigenous community led to the establishment of St Martin de Porres, a Catholic indigenous community which has its own chaplain, weekly Mass, and outreach program.
An indigenous Mass had been held monthly St Paul’s Catholic Church in the Darwin suburb of Nightcliff since 1984. Feeling that was not enough to meet their spiritual needs, prior to 1986 members of the indigenous community had already begun to open their homes to fellow Aboriginal Catholics for a weekly Mass.
With these strong roots, and spurred on by the Pope’s words, members of the community approached the Bishop of Darwin, Ted Collins, for a place of their own.
They didn’t have long to wait. In 1988 the group, under the name of St Martin de Porres Community, took up residence in the old church in the Holy Spirit Parish in the Darwin suburb of Casuarina. It was being used as a parish hall following the construction of a new church in 1986.
A building to worship in–and the appointment of their own chaplain–was exactly what the St Martin de Porres Community had hoped for. Founding member Maria Tomlins explains that it was important for the Aborigines to have a church of their own where they could celebrate Mass in their own way.
‘There were a lot of Aboriginal people who were too shy to go into regular churches’, she says. ‘They were used to mission life. We celebrated differently on the missions.’
Fellow St Martin de Porres Community member Margaret Thompson agrees:
‘Aboriginal people tend to stand back’, she says. ‘And they thought they were not good enough. It goes back to the upbringing on the missions, where we learned to do things differently.’
Having their own priest they knew and trusted to conduct funerals and anoint their sick was important to the community. Having their own church and priest also meant that they could have more input into celebrating Mass, and they could strengthen their own faith through this participation.
‘Previously, in other churches, we couldn’t say "We want this"’, Margaret says. ‘We didn’t have a voice. At St Martin de Porres we had a chance to celebrate the way we wanted. Suddenly we had a priest who would listen to us.’
The most recent step in the community’s journey came in October with the sealing of the covenant with Holy Spirit Parish and Bishop Collins. Being a community and not a parish, St Martin de Porres Community does not–and can not under church law–actually own the building they call their own. The covenant, however, gives them stability in knowing they will always be able to run things how they want.
The security this offers the members of the community is of utmost importance. Many are part of the stolen generation, taken from their homes and brought up on missions. Others are people who have felt they don’t belong in other churches. That the destiny of the church is in their hands is a vote of confidence in the community’s ability to make their own choices for the future.
The document itself speaks of God’s covenant with his people and also of the covenant between St Martin de Porres Community and Holy Spirit Parish. It speaks of a respectful relationship between St Martin de Porres and Holy Spirit as well as respecting and protecting the identity of each community.
Holy Spirit parish priest Fr Stephen Hackett MSC said the covenant meant the two communities would be able to keep their own identities, but also grow in faith together.
‘We really wanted to say that in the light of the Gospel we are two Catholic communities, each with our own life, and we want to keep faith with one another’, he says.
The sealing of the covenant marked the end of about seven months work of a working party of representatives from the community, the parish and the priests of the two communities, Fr Stephen Hackett MSC and Fr Steve Fletcher MGL.
Covenant Working Party and St Martin de Porres Community member Kathleen Hutcheson said the covenant was a guarantee that the community would be able to do things the way they wanted to.
‘There was a fear that the Holy Spirit Parish could come in and take over’, she explains. ‘The covenant means we can look after that church as the caretakers and that we can grow in faith with each other.’
Kathleen sees reconciliation at work in the writing and signing of the covenant. ‘It was beautiful how it worked out. We are combining our faith and respecting our faith. This is what it’s all about–reconciliation.’
For Bishop Collins, the signing of the covenant was the realisation of a dream for the Aboriginal community to be free to celebrate their faith.
‘It’s absolutely marvellous to see the way the two communities have grown together’, he says. ‘The barriers have fallen down. I had tears in my eyes at the sealing of the covenant.’
Just as God’s covenant with Noah was acknowledged with a rainbow, each church decorated a copy of the covenant for the other to hang in their church. The members of both communities hope that their covenant will stand as inspiration for future agreements between other similar communities in Australia.
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