The Archbishop of Canterbury Makes Historic First Visit to Ballina & Lismore

By Philippe Coquerand

The Archbishop of Canterbury, The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Justin Welby and his wife Caroline, recently visited homes and businesses still recovering from the devastating and unprecedented Lismore floods in the Diocese of Grafton in February.

Archbishop Welby and Mrs Welby were on a two-week tour of Australia during their historic first visit to Ballina and Lismore, with their trip also including Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Cairns and the Torres Strait Islands. Their visits to Lismore and the Torres Strait’s Thursday Island were about witnessing the devastating effects of climate change and speaking with locals.

The visit marked 72 years since the Archbishop of Canterbury visited the Diocese of Grafton, with the first visit held on 7 November 1950 by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Francis Fisher.

Archbishop Welby arrived in Ballina on Wednesday 12 October. The following day he delivered an open community address on the theme of “Building peace in robust diversity” at Emmanuel Anglican College. The event was attended by over 700 people and raised over $2,500 in donations for the Anglicare North Coast Flood Appeal. The appeal is providing direct and efficient emergency relief support to flood-affected households.

The emcee for the evening was Principal Rob Tobias, with The Reverend Aunty Lenore Parker giving the Welcome to Country and The Venerable Zoe Everingham introducing the Archbishop.

After Archbishop Welby’s lecture on building peace, he and Bishop Murray Harvey participated in a question and answer session. The discussion covered climate change, inter-church politics, the royal corgis and who will win the next Ashes.

The Reverend Sally Miller presented Archbishop Welby and Mrs Welby with local art depicting Jacarandas in bloom, local produce and two handcrafted glass crosses made by First Nations priest The Reverend Brenda Yager from The Parish of Byron Bay.

The Reverend Sally managed a cheeky “selfie” with the Archbishop, which the Diocese will send straight to the Pool Room. The Archbishop also spent time chatting and getting photos taken with school representatives.

The Venerable Tiffany Sparks, who closed the formalities in prayer, said that she was moved by the Archbishop’s and Mrs Welby’s attentiveness and kindness.

to reconciliation and peace. “The Archbishop of Canterbury’s great personal warmth, humility and wisdom rang through as he spoke about building peace in a diverse world,” Mr Tobias said.

“Archbishop Justin’s lovely down-to-earth manner really shone through as he joked with the audience and shared a number of funny anecdotes, including a couple about his experiences with the Royal Family. As part of the evening, the Emmanuel College Band performed, and they were simply brilliant. Numerous people, including the Archbishop, were taken aback by the standard of performance and commented on how much they enjoyed the music. It was an honour and privilege to have Archbishop Justin Welby visit our college and he even left a couple gifts, including a signed copy of his latest book The Power of Reconciliation and a signed photo of him in Canterbury Cathedral.”

“Both the Archbishop and Mrs Welby showed genuine interest and excitement at Emmanuel Anglican College and genuine concern and compassion during their visit to Lismore.

“My prayer is that our shared faith and our excitement and appreciation for their visit will be of sustenance in their ministry.”

Principal Rob Tobias said it was an absolute honour to host the Archbishop of Canterbury at the school’s Lindsay Walker Centre.

Mr Tobias reflected on the importance of keeping the lines of communication open, even during conflict, and that empathy and compassion are the true foundations

The next morning, Archbishop Welby and Mrs Welby joined in Morning Prayer with Ordinands Aaron, Ruth and Mandy on retreat at St Mary’s Church in Ballina as they prepared for their ordination the following day. Retreat leader The Venerable Gail Hagon, who also conducted the service, said that she offered to give the Archbishop a blessing.

“When I asked if I might give him a blessing, his face broke out into an enormous smile, he clasped his hands and said ‘I would love it’ and sat back in the chair just waiting to soak it all up,” Archdeacon Emeritus Hagon said. I then asked him if I could use the blessings that my son- and daughter-in-law have used with their boys since they were born, and his response was, ‘I would be honoured’, and he closed his eyes and held out his hands like a child about to receive all the goodies in the sweet shop.

“The ordinands were blown away – it was a special moment indeed for everyone.”

Archbishop Welby and his Chaplain drove with Bishop Harvey from St Mary’s to St Andrew’s Church in Lismore, where they met up with Mrs Welby and their support team. The Archbishop, Mrs Welby and their staff were welcomed with a fantastic morning tea catered by La Baracca Espresso Bar and Trattoria, one of the many businesses recovering from the devasting floods.

Over morning tea, grassroots organisation Resilience Lismore's spokesperson Claire Sowden, shared about the community’s strength of spirit during the floods and in the ongoing recovery. The director of the local parish’s pre-school, Natasha Livock, spoke about how education was affected in the floods. These presentations enabled Archbishop Welby to understand the extent of the damage caused by the floods and how parish volunteers, along with the SES and wider community members, assisted those in need.

This gathering was also attended by Mayor Cr Steve Krieg; Cr Ellie Bird from Resilience Lismore; The Reverend Alan Shaw (Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy Network Chaplain); Sue Shaw (Anglicare disaster volunteer); The Reverend David Riethmuller (Operation and Connections Manager with NSW Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy Network); Cr Sharon Cadwallader (Mayor of Ballina); Cr Robert Mustow (Mayor of Richmond Valley Council); Ken Arnett (local RSL Branch Chair); The Venerable Kay Hart; The Venerable Tiffany Sparks; The Venerable Zoe Everingham; The Reverend Grant Sparks; The Reverend Christian Ford and his wife Brenda Ford; Anglicare North Coast representatives Jo Greensill (Acting CEO) and Lesley Grant (Programs Manager); Bishop Murray Harvey; members of Archbishop Welby’s staff, including David Porter (Chief of Staff and Strategy), The Reverend Tosin Oladipo (Chaplain), Chris Cox (Director of Communications), Joanna Alstott (Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff), Amelia Sutcliffe (Executive Assistant to the Chaplain); and, Anne Hywood (General Secretary of the Anglican Church of Australia).

Lismore City News reported that Archbishop Welby was surprised by the extent of the damage. “I mean, just whole streets [were] completely wiped out,” he said.

“And [there were] very, very few people in particular streets who had gone back into their own home at all.”

Archbishop Welby also toured the Lismore CBD where he spoke to various business owners still recovering from the floods eight months on. The tour went from St Andrew’s to Keen Street to Magellan Street to Molesworth Street and back to St Andrew’s before a midday service at St Carthage’s Catholic Cathedral.

Following the CBD walk, Bishop Murray Harvey said that he was impressed by Archbishop Welby’s warmth and spontaneity. “People seemed to really warm to him and they appreciated his personable nature and the fact that he was so interested,” Bishop Harvey said.

“At one point he disappeared into a shop and I said, ‘Hey, I don’t think this visit is on the run sheet of prearranged visits is it?’ His wife Mrs Caroline Welby said, ‘No, he just does that sort of thing.’

“It was just a random visit! The shopkeepers were keen to tell him about their experience and how they’ve worked hard to reopen.”

The Parish of Lismore Rector The Reverend Christian Ford said that he was struck by Archbishop Welby’s compassion. “Their interest, compassion and love shone through in their visit,” The Reverend Ford said.

“Walking down Keen St with the Archbishop took a long time because he would disappear into a shop to speak with the shopkeeper who was slowly recovering or the local who was out shopping.

“He was shocked and surprised by the height of the flood and the devastation he saw, even after more than seven months of recovery. He spoke with Brenda about the possible solutions for Lismore to lessen the impact of flooding in our city. He listened intently to the community groups who worked so hard during the flood period and now in recovery.

“You would hear him remark that we had much to learn in England about this.”

Archbishop Welby met with Bishop Greg Homeming and Cathedral Administrator Father Bing Monteagudo. A small congregation, including school Chaplains, joined in the service. Both the Archbishop and the Bishop gave brief homilies on ecumenism, friendship and hardship. The Lismore Cathedral was extensively damaged by the floods, with the statue of Mary left waist-high in water.

During the lunch at The Sherwood Hotel, Anglicare representatives Jo Greensill and Lesley Grant shared about the Anglicare North Coast Flood Appeal and how they have been providing much needed community assistance.

Over lunch the Archbishop and Bishop Murray Harvey prayed for The Reverend Christian Ford’s local ministry and for Brenda Ford in her role as Operations Engineering Manager for Rous County Council. After lunch The Reverend Christian Ford introduced the Archbishop and Mrs Welby to parishioners still unable to return to their homes. Among these locals was a family who are living in a caravan in their backyard and a parishioner awaiting a lung transplant who is now living with other parishioners. Parishioner Ray Nickel said he was deeply moved when Archbishop Welby prayed with him.

“I was pleased to let him see what the situation was for not just myself, but [so] he would understand how it is for other people in this town, and how much devastation and loss there was,” Mr Nickel told ABC News.

The Reverend Christian Ford said that the Archbishop Welby’s pastoral approach meant much to locals. “His visit to two flood-impacted homes meant so much to the people he visited,” he said. “I know his time of prayer with Ray was greatly appreciated and a source of blessing for Ray.

“He also visited with Jenna, Shannon and Raelene –Raelene is one of our Mainly Music children and she was so happy to meet him twice in one day, once at preschool and then again in her home.

“She still speaks of meeting him, and her mother Jenna was so excited to meet him, too, and share with him the slow pace of recovery and the challenges they face as a family trying to restore their home.”

Bishop Murray Harvey said that Archbishop Welby’s prayer and conversations with Lismore locals were the highlights of the visit for him. “I will always remember the visit to Lismore, especially walking around the streets and talking to locals and agency representatives and doing two home visits to families who were flooded and who are still living in temporary accommodation,” he said.

“This is why he came and he’s very engaging and interested in people and their stories. The Archbishop, Mrs Welby and the whole team that travelled with him were clearly overwhelmed by the extent of the devastation, and also by the friendliness, tenacity and resilience of the local people. There is a real sense of community in Lismore and he was touched by that.”

Archbishop Welby concluded his tour of Lismore and Ballina with an afternoon tea at St Andrew’s before flying out of Brisbane Airport for Cairns.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual leader of the world’s 85 million Anglicans, which include around 2.5 million Australians.

Image Credits: Anglicare Southern Queensland

If you would still like to donate to the Anglicare North Coast Flood Appeal, please visit: www.anglicarenorthcoast.org.au/donate/ and then click '2022 Flood Appeal'.