BELCONNEN COMMUNITY newsletter A CONNECTED, ACTIVE & STRONG COMMUNITY Issue 3 - 2015 20th July 2015 - 11th October 2015 In this issue... • Benambra Intentional Community Seeks Members The Art of p7 Mindfulness • Bit Bent Retreat p17 • Anxious Architecture – Artist Janet Angus p16 Message from the CEO 3 The Art of Mindfulness – an overnight retreat for seniors 4 English Conversations at the National Portrait Gallery 5 Rolling with the National Disability Insurance Scheme 6 Benambra Intentional Community Seeks Members 7 Too Old for This, too Young for That 7 Get Involved in Belconnen 8 News from our neighbourhood 10 Go Social, All Around Canberra 11 social@bcs 12 gallery@bcs 14 Anxious Architecture 16 Bit Bent Retreat 17 10/10 Project - many hands make light work 18 Get on Board - Community Bus Excursions and Lunch Tours 19 Tracks to Reconciliation 20 National Youth Week 21 Spring School Holiday Programs @BCS 22 Community Calendar 23 A Conversation with Tim Bourke 27 CONTACTS Belconnen Community Service Belconnen Community Centre, Swanson Court, Belconnen. PO Box 679, Belconnen, ACT 2616. Tel: 6264 0200 Fax: 6253 2901 Email: [email protected] Web: www.bcsact.com.au www.facebook.com/BCSACT FOLLOW@BCSACT Newsletter Editor [email protected] 6264 0205 BELCONNEN COMMUNITY SERVICE INC. ACKNOWLEDGES THE SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE OF: The ACT Government • The ACT Chief Minister and Treasury Directorate • The ACT Community Services Directorate • The ACT Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate • The ACT Health Directorate The Australian Commonwealth Government • The Department of Social Services • The Department of Health Australian Government Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education as I head home on a Monday night but I’d never met the whole group before. On Friday May 29, I attended a morning tea to farewell the members of Bit Bent Message from as they headed off to their retreat. It was a great opportunity to realise the impact that Bit Bent has, not just on the young people who attend, but on their the CEO families as well. There were quite a number of parents at the morning tea. A mother of one participant told me that she saw an article about Bit Bent in a previous edition of this newsletter. Her teenager had recently come out to the family and she suggested that they might want to look into Bit Bent. After attending the group for the first time, her child came home and said, “I’ve found my people.” Like other parents I spoke to, this mother was very happy that her child had somewhere to go for support and a strong sense of belonging. Attending the Bit Bent morning tea with me was one of our board members, Riki Sutherland. The value of an engaged and active board in a not-for-profit organisation can’t be overestimated. BCS’s current Over the past few months, three of our social support board is one of the most committed and effective groups have taken trips away from Canberra. On our groups I have ever had the pleasure of working front cover is Rena McCawley, who is 99 years old with. They’re all volunteers and our treasurer, Ann and recently attended two trips away with the Silver Thorpe, does extra volunteer work with BCS’s English Threads and Golden Needles program of creative arts Conversation Group. This long-established group for seniors. You can read Caroline White’s account recently went on an excursion to the National Portrait of their overnight retreat to Murrumbateman on page Gallery. You can read Simone Penkethman’s story four. On page 13, in our Social pages, you’ll see about the day on page five. pictures from a trip to Eden attended by staff and Bit Bent and the English Conversation Group are just participants in our mental health programs. And on two of the long running social support groups that page 17, you can read about the Bit Bent Retreat to BCS provides. This year we celebrate 40 years of Camp Wombaroo, near Mittagong, NSW. community leadership in Belconnen. Our next issue Bit Bent is a social support group for same sex of this newsletter will have details of our combined attracted and sex and gender diverse young people Annual General Meeting and 40th birthday party on that meets at the corner@bcs on Monday nights. It’s Tuesday November 10. I hope that many of you will an award-winning group that’s been running for over come along and help us celebrate. a decade. I’ve often seen the light on at the corner Dira Horne Stretching the boundaries at the Bit Bent retreat BELCONNEN COMMUNITY 3 newsletter Issue 3 - July 20th - October 11th 2015 that was one of the highlights of the day. He honestly altered my state of consciousness and that is a HUGE thing to do. I nearly dozed off! That evening we got into our glad-rags and were taken to Flint in the Vines. We spent a wonderful evening at the The Art restaurant, which is set on the grounds of the Shaw Estate Wineries. We also sampled some very, very good red and of Mindfulness – white wines. What a treat! The next morning – after a short lesson on Post- an Overnight Retreat for Impressionist painters – we tried our hands and talent at landscape painting. Some of us felt more confident than Seniors others but we all became absorbed in the work. At times Caroline White shares some highlights from the Silver you could have heard a pin drop, which is a fabulous Threads and Golden Needles group overnight mindfulness feeling; the absolute concentration. retreat. After lunch we had a Singing and Voice Workshop, learning to project our voices and harmonise. Most enjoyable, and we actually were all rather proud of our singing! After afternoon tea we loaded our suitcases on the bus, and said a very fond farewell to Redbrow – we shall be back! Before we headed home, we stopped at the Chocolate Factory right next door. All had complimentary chocolates and some of us bought extras. We were home around five-ish, after a truly fabulous and highly interesting one nighter. Silver Threads and Golden Needles soaking up the sun at Redbrow Gardens and Guesthouse. We left Belconnen Community Centre on an autumnal Wednesday morning in April, and made our way north. There were 12 participants, as well as myself and our lovely Team Leader, Katie Anderson-Kelly. We headed to Redbrow Garden and Guest House, a little oasis just between Hall and Murrumbateman. We missed it the first time around but with a little help from the people at the Murrumbateman garage, we found it. Oh my word… I thought we had all just been wafted heavenwards! It was ever so pretty, with the autumn-coloured trees around the still waters of the dam making for a picture-perfect setting. Our hosts at Redbrow welcomed us with a delicious morning tea on the patio over-looking the beautiful dam. Then we were straight into our first craft task; decorating Making candle lanterns and talking ten to the dozen. glasses to make candle lanterns. We got to know each other over this small task and talked ten to the dozen! After a tasty lunch and a short break for a rest or walk, we met up for a story-reading with our poetry and literature aficionado, Colin. At 4.00pm a rather good-looking and reserved young man found his way into a darkened room where we were all lying or seated on our yoga mats. Using mindfulness exercises, he proceeded to calm us down to a complete state of tranquility. I can only speak for myself in saying Finished candle lanterns. English Conversations at the National Portrait Gallery By Simone Penkethman On a rainy Thursday in June, I accompanied the BCS English Conversation Group on an excursion to the National Portrait Gallery. The English Conversation Group is run by dedicated volunteers. Members of the group come from all over the world and they meet weekly in Belconnen. The BCS Community Bus brought the group to the gallery where we were greeted by three guides and educators. Predrag with Rod McNicol’s portrait: Tariro I joined a group of eight advanced English speakers. showed people from many cultures. Our conversation We followed our guide, Katrina, to John Webber’s was lively and vocabularies were stretched. The ideas 1782 portrait of Captain Cook. Katrina directed our behind the art traversed the boundaries of language, attention to various aspects of the painting including showing that the power of art is universal. Captain Cook’s hand which is beautifully painted and We were all very grateful to the National Portrait points, almost boastfully, to the artist’s signature. One Gallery and our three dedicated guides. I also thank of the group members said that Captain Cook had sexy the members of the English Conversation Group for fingers. Katrina had shown many people that portrait making me feel so welcome among them. Despite the but had never heard anyone point that out before. We grey day, the warmth and generosity of our city and our discussed Cook’s voyage to Australia and the group community made me feel happy and lucky to be there. members shared some of their stories. Their countries of origin included Indonesia, Vietnam, Iran, France and The English Conversation Group meets at the Bosnia Herzegovina. Some are in Australia temporarily Belconnen Library Community Room from 10am- and others have made it their home. 12pm on Thursday during school terms. It’s free and no bookings or registrations are required.