By Peter Branjerdporn.

In 2012, I spent a year on the Thailand-Burma border volunteering as a pharmacist-trainer in a refugee health and community centre. There, I became friends with people seeking safety from one of the world’s longest civil wars, and started advocating for stateless Rohingya families in the region via social media.

When I returned home and became increasingly involved in advocating for the rights of people seeking asylum, I joined Love Makes A Way, a movement of Christians seeking compassion for people seeking asylum through prayer and nonviolent actions. At our refugee vigils I met many amazing people, including The Very Rev’d Dr Peter Catt who was Chair of The Australian Churches Refugee Taskforce at the time. We worked and campaigned tirelessly, but found it very difficult to change people’s negative perceptions of the rights of people seeking safety. It quickly became clear to me that many Australians’ attitude towards refugees had worsened while I was away!

Years of negative messages and effective fear campaigns about people seeking asylum by our elected leaders and parts of the media made it difficult for people, including Christians, to feel compassion towards these fellow humans who are made in God’s image. This reality prompted one of Australia’s major refugee advocacy organisations to commission research on what messages resonate with Australians, so that we could communicate more effectively – both in advocacy campaigns and also in conversations with friends and family. That organisation subsequently ran workshops for refugee advocates, like me, from different walks of life. At one of these workshops, I learned how reframing our communications and conversations can help us to be more effective in shifting people who are ambivalent or on the fence about refugee needs and rights.

The research and Australia-wide workshops had a huge impact on the effectiveness of how refugee advocacy and service provider organisations around Australia communicated about the rights and needs of refugees and people seeking asylum. This contributed to a shift in how Australians viewed refugees and people seeking asylum, which consequently resulted in a positive outcome for campaigns like #KidsOffNauru, where 170,000 Australians signed a petition to get children evacuated from Nauru to Australia.

My experience advocating for people seeking asylum taught me that you can have a lot of passion and good intention for a group of vulnerable people or for an important cause, but that the right words and approach are needed for people to see your point of view or join the movement for justice.

A friend recently mentioned how a prominent justice advocate made her feel inadequate and guilty about her and her family’s lifestyle. I could feel a sense of disempowerment in her voice when she then said that she could never be as useful or dedicated as that advocate. We need to speak up for justice, whether it be for people living with disability, refugees or creation care. However, when we communicate in a way that does not resonate with our audience, we can end up wasting time and energy ’preaching to the choir’ and often alienating everyone else, including those we could potentially shift for the common good.

In my role with the Anglican Church Southern Queensland’s (ACSQ) Justice Unit, my top priority shifted two years ago from refugee advocacy to climate and creation care. A safe climate is one of the most effective ways to prevent people from being displaced from their homelands due to extreme weather events and the resulting poverty and geo-political conflicts.

The Brisbane Cathedral and the Justice Unit hosted climate conversations for Anglicans and other Christians over the past two years. At these events, we learned a lot about words and phrases that are unhelpful and helpful when speaking about climate and creation care. Along with ACSQ Resource Church specialist Michelle McDonald, we have produced a suggested key-principles-and-tips resource outlining alternative ways to frame climate and creation care conversations and communications for Anglicans. The Very Rev’d Dr Peter Catt, Michelle and I are currently running online workshops for Australasian Christians to explore these alternative principles.

The Jesus whom we follow is himself the Word, who became flesh and lived among us. He learned and understood what it was like to live in the world with all of the pressures and worries of life. He learned the vernacular and effectively shared his message of radical compassion and care for humanity and all of Creation. May we also learn to better reframe our words in the climate and creation care space for the common good.

A free online ‘Reframing climate and creation care communications for Christians’ workshop, co-hosted by Christ Church Cathedral, Grafton and St John’s Cathedral, Brisbane, will be held on Wednesday 29 September between 12 noon and 3 pm. While the free workshop has ‘sold out’, there are a few spots still open for Grafton Diocese clergy, communications professionals and advocates if they register by 5pm Monday 27 September by emailing contact@doingjustice.org.au. Although the workshop will focus on climate and creation messaging, the principles explored have application across broad advocacy areas.

First published on the anglican focus news site on 28 May 2021 (text amended and updated with September workshop information). 

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By Tom Hammer.

Upon returning home from a large barbeque gathering one evening, my mum asked, “Hey, Tom! Who was at the barbeque?”

“Sam,” I replied, telling her the name of the person who turned the sausages and steaks at the grill.

It’s easy for people like me to misunderstand what is being asked.

At a young age I was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome; what’s recognised as a form of Autism that is low in support needs.

I’m currently working in an internship for neurodiversity and access in the Diocese of Brisbane as part of the Equitable Participation Working Group, along with The Rev’d Ann Edwards from St Mark’s, The Gap and Peter Branjerdporn from the Justice Unit.

We are aiming to create educational resources on neurodivergent conditions, including, but not limited to, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The resources will be accessible to people in our Church community who live with neurodivergent conditions, have loved ones who are neurodivergent or who minister to people who are neurodivergent.

While growing up with Asperger’s, I’ve reflected on my lived experience, so this brief article is an informal piece offering a few practical suggestions and tips.

Tips and advice when talking to people with Autism Spectrum Disorder Level 1 or ASD 1 (Asperger’s Syndrome)

1. Understanding that eye contact is different

Conversation between neurotypical people usually involves eye contact (observation of the century, I know). This signals to neurotypical people interest, confidence, honesty and that there’s a mutual respect between each party.

For people with ASD, eye contact can be a difficult thing to maintain, so when we’re not giving eye contact, please understand that it’s not a sign that we’re disinterested, lacking in respect or dishonest.

2. Asking what name the person wants to be called

Sometimes we find it hard to maintain our own individual identity and being called ‘Mate’, ‘Boss’ and ‘Deary’ or a nickname (even by friends) that we dislike makes things hard. These names, while intending to be friendly, can imply a closeness in a relationship that doesn’t mirror our reality. And, in the case of ‘Deary’, it can be outright confusing.

Asking neurodivergent people what name they prefer and if they’re comfortable with being called ‘Mate’ or ‘Boss’ or a given nickname can go a long way to ensuring meaningful interactions.

3. Understanding that non-verbal cues can often be missed

Similar to eye contact, non-verbal cues are an integral part of neurotypical communication and general social interaction. These cues often communicate an implicit meaning through subtle facial expressions or bodily gestures, such as when people are sad (e.g. corners of the mouth being drawn down or eyes being lowered) or running short of time (e.g. looking at a watch). These can be very hard to read for people with ASD1 (Autism Spectrum Disorder Level 1).

Using exaggerated expressions or being outright explicit in what you mean can be very helpful in communication.

4. Being explicit and specific with your invitations and requests

Imagine four people sitting together at a table. One of them lives with ASD1 and the other three are neurotypical. Two of the neurotypical people are discussing a board games night that they have decided in that conversation to plan. The remaining neurotypical person recognises that due to the pair talking about the event in such an open matter that there is an implied invitation for that person to join in the forthcoming event. However, the neurodivergent person may not pick up on this implicit invitation and may even feel that it’s inappropriate to intrude on their business.

Giving people with ASD1 an explicit invitation might help a lot. I guess I wanted to bring this point up because while a lot of ASD1 people hate the feeling of loneliness, it’s something we end up feeling at home with.

5. Asking follow-up questions

The barbeque anecdote given above shows how important it is to phrase your questions when talking to neurodivergent people. It’s also important to ask follow-up questions, such as when clarifying responses to your initial question.

For example, asking questions like ‘What do you mean by that?’ or ‘Can you expand upon that, please?’ can go a long way to better understanding what neurodivergent people mean when they respond to you.

Now, I want to just reiterate that I don’t claim to be a medical expert on Autism Spectrum Disorder or the neurodivergent spectrum. I am also learning. However, like all people with lived experience of ASD1, I have insights that can assist neurotypical people seeking to understand how we see the world and how we can be better engaged. This is important so we can participate more equitably, which is what being part of a Church is all about.

First published on the anglican focus news site on 23 August 2021.

By Sr Helen Jamieson CSC.

Everyone and everything in our universe is unique, which suggests to me that everyone and everything has a relationship with God which is both similar and different. We are all embodied in our Creator’s one overwhelming love, while also being individuals with our own special experience of prayer or relationship with God.

Relating with God can be explained by using the image of a pipe organ. An organ has many pipes. None are the same and each makes a different sound when air passes through it. We, also, are different from one another, and when God’s life moves in and through us we each have something unique to offer to others of God’s love. As Christians, members of Christ’s body, this variety is important for our work of helping to spread God’s kingdom in the world.

John Vianney, (a French priest who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries) wrote in his Catechism on Prayer: “Prayer is a foretaste of Heaven, an overflow of paradise. It never leaves us without sweetness. It is like honey descending into the soul and sweetening everything. Troubles melt away before a fervent prayer like snow before the sun.”

This may have been true for John Vianney, but what of our prayer? Perhaps we pray for something, but it does not happen. “Where is God?” we ask. Our prayer may feel empty, painful, boring and a waste of time. On the other hand, prayer can also be a time of deep peace, resting in God’s presence and love. Regardless of how we experience prayer, our faith can help us to hold on to the unchanging truth of God’s continual love for us.

At present, when we are faced with the restrictions of yet another lockdown resulting from COVID-19 and its variants, it is easy to slip into depression. Depression can cause us to think that God has left us, and even to question God’s existence. At these times we may be comforted by remembering that Jesus also experienced a feeling of being deserted. On the cross, Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15.34). Later, before Jesus died, he was able to say, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23.46). These are words of faith, trust and oneness.

God, who loves us so much, does not withdraw from us when we are in trouble, any more than God turned away from Jesus dying on the cross. At our lowest moments Christ is closest to us, sharing our suffering. We experience something similar when a person we love is in grief or distress. We want to comfort them, share their pain and support them – not abandon them. Prayer at these times is not felt by us as ‘sweetness’, but rather as anguish.

We may pray for people or situations by asking God to intervene in a particular way. Alternatively, we may place people or situations in God’s care, praying for God’s will to be done, and trusting God to work in a way that is best for all. Both these ways of prayer may ask for some action by us.

Whether we pray formally with others or alone, sometimes our prayer can seem boring. When we recite the Lord’s Prayer, for example, it may become just words, which we say while our mind is busy elsewhere. At a Sunday Service, perhaps during Holy Communion, we receive Christ’s life under the outward forms of bread and wine. Such a service can feed and nourish us spiritually, and bind us to others present, yet it does not always feel like that. Afterwards we may not even remember the sermon! However, when we say the words of traditional prayers, in a sense we join with other Christians, who have used or are using the same or similar prayers, to extend God’s rule in our world.

There is also another way of praying which is sometimes overlooked. It leads us to becoming more aware of our life with God. We choose each day to briefly pause to enjoy sharing moments with God. It might be gazing at the beauty of an amazing sunset, singing a hymn, thanking God for the feel of soft yellow wattle blooms or an old gnarled tree trunk. Perhaps we pray for someone who passes us on the street, or thank God for the help we have just received from a friend or stranger. Whenever we hear or read about current disasters in our world, we bring the situation and all involved before God to be loved and healed in God’s way. On waking in the morning, we can ask God for guidance during the day. At the end of the day we may take time to review with God what has happened for us—to say sorry for hurting or failing another, to discuss how and why we said or acted as we did, and to be open to listen to God speaking to us through it all.

If we return to the image of an organ, air directed by the organist moves through particular pipes producing beautiful music for all. When we pray, we enter into the unique relationship with God for which we are each created. Linked with one another by the breath of the Spirit, I suggest that in prayer, as the body of Christ, we present our love and life to be received and used by God for others.

Some people may never be aware of the beauty and wonder of prayer, but it does not make their relationship with God any better or worse. God loves us as we are, relates with us as we are, and cares for us as we are. Through our prayer, alone and with others, God’s love for all creation, human and non-human, can be revealed in God’s world. For us, our prayer will be both pain and joy.

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