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Painting a picture of unity
A self-confessed idealist, Reverend Helen Quinn knows just how important it is to put our differences aside and work together.
“In unity, we have strength,” she says.
“If we leap out and say: ‘Look, I don’t want to be associated with you because you’re black’, or ‘I don’t like you because you’re a Muslim’, or ‘I don’t like you because you’ve got a mullet hairdo’ – we’re all individuals, but we need to have a focus.
“That focus should be on a united front within our community, within our country, and within each other. To me, that’s the only way forward.”
An ordained Priest within the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle, Reverend Helen is currently based in the Harrington and District Parish, on the Mid North Coast.
Her journey to priesthood has been one of self-discovery.
Raised in Sydney’s southern suburbs, Reverend Helen excelled at school and studied teaching at university.
Throughout her younger years, she was often asked questions about her heritage.
“Nanna used to say: ‘If anybody asks, say you’re Indian rather than Aboriginal,” Reverend Helen says.
“In those days, to say you were Aboriginal as a child meant you could be taken away.
“When I was at school, I was called certain things and didn’t know what they meant.
“Even when I was at university, it seemed as if I was being identified. There was a fellow a year or two older than me, and we used to talk on the train. He said: ‘You should ask your mother’, but she denied it.
“So, I never thought about it at all and just accepted my skin was dark.”
Reverend Helen finally confirmed her Aboriginal heritage at the age of 50.
As she’s grown older, divisive comments from within parishes and the wider community have left a more noticeable mark.
“It seems to make more difference to me these days. I do get a bit sensitive if people are cruel. It hurts,” she says.
“I just want us to be one. I know it’s idealistic.
“While we were waiting for a [church] service to start recently, I put on the Seekers song I Am Australian.
“When Judith Durham sang the line: ‘I’m the black soil of the plains’, I burst into tears because that’s where my mother came from. Grandpa farmed on Breeza, which is part of the Liverpool Plains, and it’s the black soil plains.
“Suddenly, I thought: ‘Here’s someone singing about our wonderful country, and we are one.’
“I don’t see myself as any different to you or the bloke down the road. We are one, we’re people, we’re God’s children, we’re human beings.
“We all have a story to tell and should be treated with respect.”
Reverend Helen believes significant events like NAIDOC Week, which will be celebrated from 2-9 July, can help pave the way forward.
This year’s theme is For Our Elders.
It recognises our Elders as cultural knowledge holders, trailblazers, nurturers, advocates, teachers, survivors, leaders, hard workers, and loved ones.
“I love NAIDOC Week,” Reverend Helen says.
“It’s a weeklong celebration, it’s party time. Celebrating who you are, what you are, what you believe, and what your background is – that’s important.
“It’s really good for people who have just come to understand. I think it’s a bit like Christians suddenly coming to faith – there’s this explosion of joy.”
After joining the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle seven years ago, Reverend Helen helped form an Elders art group at Tuncurry.
Apart from painting, people also dropped in for coffee, tea, or cake, while others came to pray, sing, and tell stories.
The COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to the group’s activities, but members have slowly started to regather at a new location in Forster every Thursday.
“We’ve just about finished a group painting using the theme ‘For Our Elders’ – we formed our own meaning of that,” Reverend Helen says.
“It’s about the contribution Elders make to the people coming after them, so it’s an exciting piece of work because it tells a story.”
Reverend Helen’s own story paints quite a picture.
