The 2025 National Gathering of IofC Australia, 13-16 June, was designed to free up honest conversations ahead of major decisions facing the movement this year: fundamentally, what vision of the movement and how it operates will shape IofCA into the 21st century?
40 members and volunteers across nearly all States went through a weekend of collective and small group conversations, with 18 more online. We were challenged and inspired by German consultant Axel Dubinski, whose Trauma-Dialog method helps unblock vital energies through tending to past hurts and conflicts in an organisation. Axel also ran a series of workshops during three weeks prior to the National Gathering, impacting some of those who joined the weekend.
With this context and preparation, a major decision ahead is whether to keep and develop Armagh as its Australia-Pacific Centre… or selling it and creating a purpose-built centre somewhere else? The decision is about sustainability: not just financial but more so in terms of generational change and growth. A consultation process with national and regional stakeholders for further ‘breakthrough thinking’ on these major questions is being formed to inform decision-making by the Board.
Anne Marie George (IofC Sydney) gives her impressions of the weekend:
I came to this National Gathering (and first visit to Armagh!) with a sense that Axel Dubinski’s presence -- the professional, compassionate, outsider perspective -- would help unearth the unspoken feelings among IofCA’s network in a managed way. Daya Bhagwandas had the intuition that Axel’s trauma lens would be useful. She was right.
While part of the NG Program Design team, I learned for the first time of the Cultural & Structural Change process which ran from 2013-2016 creating structures and accountable processes for IofCA, but not without some pain. The idealist in me had assumed that a conscience-driven movement like IofCA would leave no grievance unaddressed -- that our high-mindedness and desire for bridge-building would see us through any conflict! Over the weekend, as Axel opened up the issues, pains and concerns were revealed, many still unresolved. I wondered: Can we build grievance resolution into our new way of ‘doing IofCA’? Can we build a landing space for suggestions into our new way of ‘doing IofCA’?
Axel’s trauma workshops in Australia outlined types of trauma, from the personal to the collective and the ancestral. And in amongst that, is systemic trauma – the trauma that is created by imperfect, incomplete systems. Axel described his own experience of a Church whose systems were intended to reinforce hierarchy; one with the holders of knowledge and power at the top, and the lowly at the bottom – whose role was simply to comply, or leave.
So, setting out to build a healing system is crucial – a system that is whole and self-reflective. It’s so easy to pin systemic shortcomings on individuals (and we do!). We could start by re-viewing what makes up IofCA systems and processes eg. the function of the Board, the role of the Strategic Plan, the Co-ordinating team, the new National Network Liaison Working Group – and ask how these can work smoothly and transparently together while steering the IofCA ship towards our North Star and keeping the crew cared for. It’s a new work we can undertake with curiosity, drive and goodwill.
On the final afternoon, Axel turned our attention to our IofCA goals for the coming year – what could IofCA be in 2026? This was in the context of two key questions: 1) What are we about? 2) How will we organise ourselves to get there? There are many questions and dreams to talk through following the NG. Let’s embark on a national conversation to honour the visions expressed in those small groups, and design an operating model that is fit to meet the spirit of those wishes.
What were the other positives? The warm welcome and generosity of the Melbourne team especially Liz Weeks, Nigel Heywood, Ann Holland, Sarah Yue, David Clisby. Thanks to a personal tour from Liz, I have now seen the breadth of the sprawling ageing mansion that is Armagh. And after years of meeting IofCA’ers online, to finally see, chat and hug in person was wonderful. While Zoom has been a game-changer for inclusion, there is no substitute for being in the room!
Photo Credit – Dhalia Rera