Volunteers lifted our spirits

Volunteers lifted our spirits

Volunteers lifted our spirits: Megan has worked on her brother’s farm since 2003 and has had a really heart-breaking decade. Megan moved onto the farm in NSW with her brother to look after her sick parents. Sadly, they have since passed away and her biggest reminder of them is the farm.  Megan feels a huge …

Our livelihood depends on the rain

Our livelihood depends on the rain

Our livelihood depends on the rain: The past six months have been very trying times. Recovering from droughts, bushfires and now COVID-19. Farmers are working incredibly hard to make ends meet in these rough times. Two hardworking farmers who have been through it all are David and Linda. The couple are located 200km north of …

The brunt of the drought

The brunt of the drought

It was clear when speaking to Kylie that her life as a farmer has been incredibly hard. Both Kylie and her husband, Greg, came from farming families and have been feeling the brunt of the drought for years. “You can deal with most things in life if there is an end in sight but with …

Bushfire Recovery

Bushfire Recovery

Arnie Wierenga and Jennie Gordon are Chaplains in the Presbytery of Gippsland. Two incredibly kind hearted people who worked to support Frontier Services Bush Chaplain Rowena Harris during the bushfire earlier this year. Arnie and Jennie have been there for our remote communities supporting bushfire recovery at a time when hearts are broken and morale …

Standing with (older) people in the bush

Standing with (older) people in the bush

Today is International Day of Older Persons. The work that we do here at Frontier Services has a significant impact on the lives of older people living in rural and remote Australia. We have huge numbers of Outback Links volunteers who are "grey nomads", travelling the country and lending a hand where they are needed ...

International Translation Day

International Translation Day

Today is International Translation Day. At Frontier Services we work with all kinds of communities across Australia. And for many, English is not necessarily their primary language. This is particularly true in the West Arnhem Remote Area which is ministered to by our Bush Chaplain, Lindsay Parkhill. Lindsay’s wife Louise Macdonald, also works for an …

Merv’s Story

Merv’s Story

I was recently inspired by Merv's story, that of a kind hearted and brave 76 year old farmer, Merv, living alone on a 600, 000 hectare station near Cue, 700km from Perth in Western Australia, that I want to share with you. For many of us, COVID-19 has been our first experience of the social ...

Closing the Gap in 2020

Closing the Gap in 2020

Closing the Gap in 2020 Closing the Gap was developed in response to the call of the Social justice report 2005 and the ‘Close the Gap’ social justice campaign. In March 2008, Australian governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people agreed ‘to work together to achieve equality in health status and life expectancy between …

First Aboriginal Bush Chaplain

First Aboriginal Bush Chaplain

As part of this year’s National Reconciliation Week we’ve been speaking with members of the Frontier Services family, who work within Indigenous communities across Australia, about what reconciliation means for them. Today, we catch up with Pastor Julia Lennon, who we were extremely proud to induct as our first ever female Aboriginal Bush Chaplain late last year.