Yandoit Sacred
Initiated at the beginning of 2024, Yandoit Sacred meets every 6 weeks at Yandoit’s Uniting Church, the home of Yandoit Cultural.
Yandoit Sacred is a sanctuary, a place for stillness and silence, a place for ceremony, prayer, song and ritual. It is a place of connection beyond religious or philosophical divisions, where we foster curiosity about how to live in the world with love and joy and wisdom as we face the challenges and big questions for humanity and other species at this time. Yandoit Sacred provides a gathering place where our hunger to share the deepest movements of our hearts can be fed. It is a community beyond denominations, open to the mystery; a community where our gifts are nurtured and appreciated; a community open to wisdom teachers, past present and emerging.
Yandoit Sacred is supported by Castlemaine’s Uniting Church Minister, Sarah Tomilson, and the Castlemaine parish.
Some reflections from participants of Yandoit Sacred include:
- ‘Yandoit sacred is a place where I seek connection with others and this connection nourishes my spirit’ .
- ‘Yandoit church’s particular spirit of place has its own essential agency. Like indigenous cosmology, where Country is an active participant in the ritual process, the building and the land it stands on holds an energy that permeates the gatherings held there. While acknowledging that ‘everywhere is Country,’ I do feel Yandoit church is what the Celts referred to as a ‘thin place,’ where we feel the presence of spirit in a special way. Which is all to say, the place itself ministers to me.’
- ‘Yandoit Sacred is a community and a place where I can touch into the sacred and the mystery, where my spirit and heart can be nourished, and where the qualities of faith, hope and love, so needed in these times, are nurtured.’
- ‘We are troubled humanity in troubled times on a troubled planet. Transformation is essential now. In an emergency we need places where we can ‘emerge’ and ‘see’. Through Dadirri, deep listening, we are listening to what’s emerging in us in this group and we are framing questions. What we are doing is the healing- creating stories of healing for the healing of stories. We are co-creating a space to share our stories and our experiences.’
- ‘It’s exciting to consider what an expanded faith community might look like for the Uniting Church and the community- breaking new ground that is enriching for all involved. These times make it so much more crucial to explore.’
Enquiries: nikki.marshall@mmnet.com.au or 0432 232 073