Wellspring Community Council

Lisa is a Quaker who grew up in the Uniting Church. She has taken part in the Uniting Church NSW Synod and national youth programs and Assembly committees on Covenanting (Reconciliation). She has also  represented the Uniting Church on the Gender Commission, a committee of the National Council of Churches.

Lisa  is a trained educator currently working in environmental education with extensive experience in community development and event organisation and campaigns. She has organised state and national campaigns to reduce litter and plastic pollution, facilitated the establishment of a local community eco-garden and the planting of a forest in memory of her father. 

Lisa’s  first campaigning work was for Fair Wear, to end exploitation in the clothing industry and then for the Total Environment Centre, campaigning for the Cash for Containers - Deposit-Refund system. She has been involved in Reconciliation groups in the Hawkesbury and Central Coast, where she has organised workshops, church services and movie screenings. Lisa is a friend of the Myall Creek Massacre committee.

Joy is an educator and activist and holds a Masters of Management (community) educational qualifications and a Master of Philosophy Architecture (research area-low income housing). She has taught in disadvantaged communities in schools  and TAFE and worked with marginalised communities including caravan park residents, social housing communities, work- place unions and Aboriginal groups enabling them to organise and have a voice. She has organised multicultural community events and festivals, community consultations, training, seminars and conferences for groups as diverse as Aboriginal leaders, refugee activists, social housing residents  and caravan park residents. 

Joy has been part of the advocacy and development of just policies as Chairperson NSW Baptist Social Issues (10 years), Co-ordinator Park and Village Service, Senior Policy Officer with Shelter NSW, Project Officer, developing church government partnerships with Churches Community Housing and leadership on boards and committees in the secular and church world at local, state and national level. These have included the Tenant’s Union, Baptist World Aid Australia, Sydney Alliance National Task force on vulnerable migrants during COVID and Chairperson Blue Mountains Refugee Support Group (BMRSG). 

She currently co-ordinates visiting, connection and support for refugees in closed and community detention for Blue Mountains Refugee Support Group (BMRSG), the largest voluntary support group for refugees in the country.

BA (Hons) Sydney MA (Hons) Sydney MTh (Hons) Sydney PhD London; LSDA Australian Music Examinations Board

Professor Emerita Diane Speed, Office of the Dean, Diane retired as the Dean and CEO of the Sydney College of Divinity in 2021. She started in the role at the beginning of 2008.

Diane’s previous working life was based in the Department of English at the University of Sydney, where she was engaged in teaching, research, and supervision, alongside administration in the Faculty, and occasional teaching and supervision for the Department of Studies in Religion. In the United Kingdom she has also been an Honorary Associate at the University of Liverpool and a Visiting Fellow at Robinson College Cambridge.

Diane’s outside interests focus mainly on lay teaching and pastoring. She has preached in Anglican churches in Sydney and Presbyterian churches in Korea. Shea co-convenes the NSW Ecumenical Council’s Theological Reflection Commission and more recently a member of Peace for Ethiopia Now. She has been a member of Wellspring for 8 years, Deputy Leader for 3 years, and now an Associate Member of the Iona Community.

Neil is a follower of Jesus who seeks to express his faith through egalitarianism and communitarianism.  The values embedded in these ideologies have developed in and shaped his work in Aboriginal school and teacher education (Northern Territory), at International House (University of Queensland), at the Anglican church in Darlinghurst, NSW, at Macquarie Christian Studies Institute (Macquarie University), at Sydney College of Divinity, and as a Moderator (Australian College of Theology). These values found expression in his membership and various forms of leadership within Wellspring Community.

David Eckersley has been a Chartered Accountant all his working life qualifying in the United Kingdom in 1969. He was with an accounting practice and became a partner in the practice in 1975. He stayed there until he emigrated to Australia in early 1987. For his first 4 years in Australia David was employed as the audit manager of a practice but left there in 1991 to join the Criminal Justice Commission. He was with them for 11 years through various name changes to the organisation and his status as a financial analyst, financial investigator and then Senior financial investigator. He left there in 2002, then studied with his wife at Bible College doing a Graduate Diploma in Bible and Ministry course. From there he travelled with his wife to Tajikistan to serve there for 2 years with Operation Mobilisation. In Tajikistan David was the finance person for the Central Asian Development Agency (CADA). Some surgery for Cancer meant that David could not continue this work. Since then he has taken on a few voluntary roles, one working with Centre for Men Australia, and now with Wellspring Community. 

Brooke is a proud Wakka Wakka woman and Aboriginal Christian Leader.  Brooke is also a theologian, writer, speaker, poet, Company Director, Chartered Accountant, and community pastor.  

Brooke has a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Japanese and Political Science. She is a Chartered Accountant who has been a Senior Finance professional for over 15 years, including seven years as an Auditor with Ernst & Young, and has held positions in Top 100 ASX companies, Government, and Not-for-profits.  Brooke is a governance expert and has served, and is currently serving on a number of Boards, and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD). 

 Brooke is also a founding member in Australia of NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community which is a global initiative for Masters and PhD level theological education.  She has completed her Graduate Diploma in Theology through NAIITS, the University of Divinity, and Whitley College. 

Brooke has published a number of theological papers and is currently writing a book to be published by Acorn Press with the working title “Listen, Learn, Love: Walking with Your Aboriginal Neighbour”.

Doug Hewitt began teaching in a one-teacher school in western NSW and retired from teaching four decades later as Associate Professor and director of academic staff development at Australian Catholic University (ACU). He lectured to post-grad students in global and peace education which became his primary research areas.

He has been a member of Wellspring Community for over 20 years and was its Deputy Leader from 2007 to 2011. He now convenes its Ecumenical and Interfaith network and is the Public Officer of the Community.

While teaching Doug served in many voluntary capacities. His ecumenical passion led to involvement in the Australian Council of Churches and its overseas aid program. He was on the Christmas Bowl Committee for 25 years and its chair for 12 years. After retirement from ACU he continued promoting the Christmas Bowl, bringing speakers from overseas and taking groups of supporters to visit projects in the countries where partnerships had been developed. When the New South Wales Ecumenical Council was in difficulties he served as: Honorary General Secretary, 2012-14. He continues on justice and climate change committees for the national and state UCA, as well as Christians for Peace in Newcastle.

In 2017 Doug was awarded an AM “For significant service to ecumenism and inter-faith dialogue, and to the Uniting Church in Australia”

Mark and Mary are Pastoral Workers for the Anabaptist Association of Australia and New Zealand (AAANZ) and former pastors of Avalon Baptist Peace Memorial Church in Avalon Beach, NSW. Both are retired Mennonite mission workers and ordained Mennonite Ministers.  Together they have Masters degrees in Peace Studies and Christian Formation from the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in the USA. They have been leading workshops and teaching in church institutions for the past forty years in the area of conflict transformation, conflict in the church, and peacebuilding as well as serving as pastors to eight congregations in three countries. Previous to congregational ministry they worked with university students through Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship in the USA and various prison ministries in the USA, Canada, and Australia.

Julie seeks to live as a questioning and faithful follower of Jesus. She is a lifelong activist – beginning with the Moratoriums of the 1970’s. She has degrees in History, Education and Theology and began her working life as a teacher in a one teacher school.  

Julie has worked in a number of Christian settings – with The Girls’ Brigade organisation for over 30 years working at State and National level in Australia and becoming an International Vice President with responsibility for G.B. in twelve Pacific countries. Following her time in the Pacific Julie worked for several years as the Co Ordinator of Women’s Ministry at Alan Walker College of Pacific Evangelism Julie worked to establish a multicultural ministry and large E.S.L. programme in a suburban church in the 1990’s. Julie has worked for 30 years in inner city Glebe, for 10 years as the Baptist Pastor, where she still works weekly running a drop-in café and as an activist working with tenants living in Public Housing.

Since “retiring” and coming to live in the Blue Mountains she has become involved in advocating for and working with Refugees – as the Convenor of Grandmothers for Refugees in the Blue Mountains and working with several refugee support groups. Currently she is working with a Community Sponsorship programme to settle refugee families in Australia.

Spirituality and Worship: Alex Nelson

Pipeline Publication: Geoff Stevenson (editor), Heather Eckersley, Neil Holm, Joy Connor

Council Members: Helen Weavers, Alex Scutt, Doug Hewitt, Julie Brackenreg

State Contacts

New South Wales: Clabon Allen, Peggy Goldsmith

Victoria: Stephanie Hogg

South Australia: Lynona Hawkins

Queensland: John Martin