Offering Hospitality
to the Track
The Revd Grahame Bowland, Assistant Curate, Anglican Parish of Kalamunda-Lesmurdie
The Anglican Church in Kalamunda and Albany are now offering hospitality to those who walk upon the Bibbulmun Track. The Bibbulmun Track connects those two places, stretching a thousand kilometres through the beautiful south-west of Western Australia.
This new initiative has emerged from an exploration, with the Bibbulmun Track Foundation, of the spiritual and religious aspects of the Track for those who set out upon it, carried out over the past year.
Almost everyone who has walked sections of the Track, or completed it end-to-end, will have experienced the powerful effects of leaving the regular hustle and bustle of life behind, and going out into the unknown. There are many reasons that people walk the Track: adventure or challenge, a major life change, or sometimes a spiritual intention. It is our aim to offer a new kind of hospitality and acknowledgement to those who walk the Track, starting with those who arrive or depart from the northern and southern terminuses.
This initiative emerged from a well-attended forum held last November, titled ‘Track as Pilgrimage.’ Some of the world’s most famous trails were established as pilgrimages, such as the Camino de Santiago. Our guest speaker, Lucy Ridsdale, explored this, describing pilgrimage as ‘a long journey on foot with sacred intent.’ After the presentation we had a lively Q&A, which explored (among other things) the ways in which the Bibbulmun can be approached through the lens of pilgrimage.
The importance of the Track to those communities through which it passes was also observed. I know from my own experience the pleasure of observing happy people coming and going – the terminus in Kalamunda is often busy with people, especially on weekends.
Thanks to that forum and the enthusiasm of those who came along, we are now launching a new program. Volunteers will make themselves available to meet those arriving and/or departing on the Track at either Terminus (Kalamunda or Albany.) We see this as an act of hospitality, freely offered. Those who wish to can fill in a web form, and arrange a time to meet for a time of fellowship, sharing, or prayer. We anticipate that those setting out might want to share about their reasons, hopes, or even anxieties in setting out; those who are completing the Track might want to share their feelings at achieving that milestone, and now being on the cusp of returning to a more usual pattern of life.
In both cases, there’ll be an opportunity for the church bell to be rung by the arriving person, which we hope will announce to the wider community that someone has arrived or is setting out, further weaving the life of the Track into the life of the towns of Kalamunda and Albany.
We’ve already met one person who came in off the Track, completing it end-to-end from Albany to Kalamunda. It was moving to be with that person as they arrived, and to listen as they shared much of the joy of being out in the bush, away from the normal pattern of life, and the new perspective that experience had brought. We look forward to greeting many more walkers.
Prior to the forum, St Barnabas Anglican Church in Kalamunda was in the process of having new stained-glass style art designed for its windows. To recognise the importance of the Track to the life of the community we serve, motifs of the Track have been included into that art. The new windows, designed by the noted local artist Stephen Castledine, were commissioned by Bishop Hans Christiansen in June, and we hope will be of encouragement to all who see them.
Please click on the link to sign up if you would like to be met, simply visit: kalamundaanglicans.org.au/bibbulmun/