ABM Supporter Fest – looking to the future
Supporter Gathering
Over 60 ABM supporters, staff and partners gathered at Christ Church St Laurence on Tuesday 28 October to collectively tell our ABM story and to participate in a visioning exercise that will contribute to ABM’s discernment of where God is leading ABM for the next 25 years.
The morning was spent reviewing the highlights of our 175 year history and how our own personal ABM stories connect into that larger story. Participants added their own, and sometimes their parents’ and grandparents’, memories to the timeline, finishing with what their current involvement is. From former missionaries to pilgrims, from staff to volunteers and from faithful prayer partners to financial supporters, everyone was able to place their story within the bigger picture of all that ABM has achieved.
After lunch, participants spent the afternoon looking to the future of mission, in Australia with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters and overseas with our Anglican Communion partners. They also discussed how best ABM can resource the Anglican Church of Australia for mission. The outcomes of these discussions will feed into the work of the ABM Board and staff as they develop a vision for the next 25 years.
Myanmar Roadshow
The day finished with the immersive Myanmar Roadshow – an evening of food and stories from Myanmar. There were many highlights
- the Myanmar food ranging from fermented tea leaves and curry and rice dishes to mango pudding
- hearing stories from ABM Pilgrims to Myanmar demonstrating the impact of the work funded by ABM
- hearing from the Rt Rev’d Shee Sho, Bishop of Toungoo, about the current situation in Myanmar and the work of the church.
Tranby, Scarred Tree and Gawura Tours
On Wednesday 29 October, small groups of ABM supporters had the opportunity to tour two sites with historic and current partnerships with ABM.
Larissa Minniecon, ABM’s Truth Telling and Reconciliation Missioner, led a tour of Scarred Tree Ministries at St John’s Glebe and Tranby National Indigenous Adult Education and Training Institute. ABM was involved in the establishment of Tranby in 1957 through the Rev’d Alf Clint.
Also on the Wednesday morning, St Andrew’s Cathedral School welcomed other ABM supporters for a tour of Gawura School, a school within a school, that ABM supports through our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leadership Fund.
Guests at the Myanmar Roadshow listen to the presentation from Myanmar Pilgrims Lyn Bannerman and Tony Naake.
Myanmar Roadshow team members hard at work in the kitchen led by Colin Bannerman (in the red hat).
The Rev’d Dr John Deane thanking the Rt Rev’d Shee Sho from Toungoo Diocese in Myanmar, and Saw Fabian, former staff member of the Church of the Province of Myanmar.
