City Meets Country, Again!

Last year, as reported on the Synod website and in the Spring 2025 edition of Insights, a group of women from Concord Uniting Church congregation spent a weekend with congregation members of the Uniting Church in Dubbo. Both groups had an enjoyable time of rich fellowship. Recently, Concord Uniting Church had a similar experience with a different congregation. 

This time we were delighted to have the opportunity to visit Coonabarabran, a small town in the north - west NSW, some 160 kilometres north of Dubbo and 183 kilometres west of Tamworth. Located on the heavily trafficked Newell Highway, Coonabarabran is a tourist town with lots of accommodation, and many sights to see.

The immediate stimulus for the trip was a visit I made in January to attend a memorial service for an old friend I had had when I lived there over forty years ago. On the following Sunday I told our Moderator, Faaimata Havea Hiliau (Mata), what a wonderful place it was and still is. She said, “Let’s make it our big trip for this year!”

Robyn Barrington, secretary/treasurer for Coonabarabran Uniting Church, co-ordinated our visit, and we visited from 11 to 13 September, 2026.

At the Golden Sea Dragon Chinese Restaurant on Friday night, five visitors and ten members of the Church enjoyed a splendid meal and good company. New friendships were made, and plans for activities on Saturday developed.

Saturday morning saw us at the Whitegum Lookout in the Warrumbungle National Park with Coonabarabran Uniting Church members Sally and Procter Morris. The sun shone, the air was clear, and the view of the park could not have been better. Procter and Sally pointed out the main sites and features in the park. This was special for me. It brought back memories of many visits and long walks during my 13 years living in the town.

Our next stop was the Siding Spring Observatory. The visitor centre is packed with information, and we were able to see the Anglo-Australian Telescope with its 3.9 metre diameter mirror. While there are more than 40 telescopes on the mountain there is no visitor access to most of them. Wild goats grazing near the observatory were a reminder that feral animals are one of many challenges facing rural communities that city dwellers rarely see.

It is not often that a small country congregation has an opportunity to consult in person with the Moderator. Consequently Mata, Procter and Sally withdrew to lunch together to discuss Church business. We others went north to the Pilliga Pottery Creative Farm Stay in the Pilliga Forest. We enjoyed good food for lunch, including wood fired pizzas and German style meals, and explored the rustic buildings.

Coonabarabran Uniting Church has a service of worship every Sunday at 9.30 am and we were honoured to join them. Procter Morris led the service and Mata gave the message. A delightful morning tea was provided after the service and there was much pleasant conversation to be had. Mata announced that she wished to speak to every single person at the morning tea and I believe she probably achieved her aim.

Worshipping alongside the congregation made clear what has sustained it. Coonabarabran Uniting Church has not had a full-time ordained minister of the word for over 30 years. Lay leaders have managed the Church over that time. Lay leaders are relied upon by many congregations and the long-term commitment and energy they display is not always as widely appreciated as it ought to be. Coonabarabran provides several outstanding examples. Two particularly deserving of recognition are Joan Barrington and Joan Blackburn.

Often work begun by a parent is continued by their children. Joan Barrington passed away some years ago but son Kevin and his wife, Robyn, are very much involved in the current management of the Church.

Nor do stalwarts of the church allow age to deter them from continuing service. Tony Brain, who is now 93 years of age, gave the message when I visited in January and was present on the Sunday. So too was Stella Hotchkiss, who at 99 years of age, drives once each month to Coonabarabran Uniting Church to deliver the message, and regularly leads services at nearby Baradine and Bugaldie.

It is sometimes asserted that there is a divide between city and rural Australians. Whether or in what regard this is true is debatable. What we saw in Coonabarabran was a congregation held together by the faithfulness of its lay leaders and the warmth of its welcome, and a unity of purpose that members of the Uniting Church in Australia share wherever they find themselves.

Ada Mackay