From the Chaplains

The Good Shepherd

Hello, it is so lovely to be writing for my very first time in The College Compass. 

For those who I haven’t had the chance to meet you, my name is Rev. Danielle Hemsworth-Smith and I have just this week joined the Pymble family as College Chaplain. I am really excited to be here with you.  Thank you for the warm welcome that has greeted me over the past week. 

One of the lovely things that I have done in my short time at Pymble is to hear so many stories about the many different things that the community has done over the holiday.   

For me it was a busy couple of weeks.  

I had the great joy of presiding at the wedding of a wonderful couple who were surrounded by their family and friends. I celebrated a family birthday where we overindulged on cake. I went to the movies and saw Ryan Gosling  (or was it his stunt guy…?)  thrown about in the back of a skip bin through the streets of Sydney. I attended the new staff welcome program here at Pymble where I was introduced to a small group of fantastic colleagues, including Turi the dog and some of the family at the college farm.  I sat with a friend as she moved from this life into death.  

And amongst all of this, like many of you, felt the grief of that seems to have settled on our city following the incidents at Bondi Junction and Wakeley. For me the shock of Bondi Junction has been particularly close. Bondi Junction is my home. Westfield is a place that I go every day, and my oldest sons place of work. 

As I have journeyed through these past weeks and tried to navigate the complexity of the joy and the sadness it has been a bit confusing.  

How can I, in one moment, be so happy, when I know that others around me are so sad?  

And how should I act, in another moment, when I must go into the everyday where people are busy and happily going about their own lives, when every part of me wants to sit down and have a good cry?  

And where is God in all of that?  

The answer, I think, is that God is right there in the middle, and on the margins, and along the edges. God is in all places, at all times, even when it doesn’t feel like it. We just need to remember this to be reassured of this truth.  

But how do we do this?  

Truth is I am not always very good at it, but over the past few weeks the metaphor of God as the Good Shepherd has been helpful.  

The image of God as the Good Shepherd is found numerous times in the scriptures. The most familiar images are of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, but we also find this image in the Hebrew Scriptures. These various images teach us that God, as the Good Shepherd is with us in all things. God is with us in the shelter of the sheepfold. God is with us in the danger of the dark valleys. And in the refreshment of the cool waters and lush valleys.  

We also learn that these places are not always as simple as they first seem. In the safety of the sheepfold there are sometimes difficult moments, where we feel threatened and scared. In the dark valleys we will find comfort and care. In the lush valleys and cool waters, we can get lost. Those who we think are strangers suddenly become the closest of friends. 

This image has helped me through the past few weeks as I have navigated all the complexity of life’s joys and sadness. God was with me in the love of my family as we celebrated a birthday.  God was with me in the darkness of the movie cinema through the creative wonder of the cinematographers. God was with me in the welcome that I have experiences through the community here at Pymble. God was in the tears of grief for my friend. God was there in the twinkling of candlelight, and the solidarity of community as I sat with my son during the vigil on Bondi Beach. 

Danielle Hemsworth-Smith

College Chaplain