Find a Wellspring group near you.
NEW SOUTH WALES
SYDNEY
Our Sydney Wellspring group meets roughly every two months, moving around people's homes in various parts of Sydney. Usually we meet on a Saturday afternoon from 12 or 12.30pm to 4pm. Our programme, after a shared lunch, is usually a short act of worship, some sharing and a structured discussion on some spiritual issue.
Sydney Wellspring Gathering News
Nine Sydney Wellspring members and friends gathered for our most recent meeting, at 12.30pm on Saturday, 20th June 2026, at the ‘clubroom’ in Hawkins Place, Leichhardt, the retirement home of Isobel Bishop, who was an early Leader of Wellspring. Several friends were unfortunately unable to be with us this time due to health factors and other commitments. Those of us present enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship, worship, and deep thought, and we look forward to gathering with other friends soon!
After we had shared a great lunch in the sunlit clubroom, Sr Jacinta Shailer led us in moving prayers based on Iona worship and a short but profound reflection on our need to grasp the divine nature of reality itself, in a Christianity that calls us to become ‘participants in the ongoing creation of a more complex, conscious, and compassionate world’.
Rev. Dr Rod Benson, joins with us as often as he can be in his role as General Secretary of the NSW Ecumenical Council. He led a challenging discussion of ‘Theologies of Happiness’, arising from his recent engagement in conversation with visiting Tibetan scholar Ven. Geshe Lhakdor at Pitt Street Uniting, where Gheshe presented ideas on ‘Turning Inward: The First Step to Universal Compassion’ from a Buddhist point of view, to which Rod responded from a Christian point of view. This special event had been organized by Julie Brackenreg from the Blue Mountains Wellspring Group.
Rod produced a useful handout encapsulating the main points of his subject, available now at https://rodbenson.com/2026/06/20/theologies-of-happiness/.
We are always delighted to welcome any new members or visitors who may like to join us.
Current information about the rest of our gatherings for 2026 is set out below, and an up-to-date, detailed notification of each will be sent around our group and any others who have indicated interest a couple of weeks ahead.
Saturday, 22th August 2026
At the home of Rev. Clabon Allen in Ashfield, with a discussion of the shared interests of Common Grace and Wellspring, led by Jane Kelly, Community Organising Lead and Creation and Climate Justice Coordinator of Common Grace.
Saturday, 10th October 2026
At the home of Rev. Andrew and Marie Thompson in Dulwich Hill, with a presentation on the Myall Massacre and the 2026 memorial event, led by Peggy Goldsmith, visiting us from the Blue Mountains Wellspring Group, together with Rev. Bill Thomas
Saturday, 5th December 2026
Back at the Hawkins’s Place clubroom, hosted by Isobel Bishop, with a presentation by Sr Jacinta Shailer on her interests in cosmology, the scientific area of her professional expertise.
Enquiries to Sydney Coordinator Diane Speed, dianespeed1@bigpond.com.
