Newsletter June 2026
The Vicar’s Reflections
Last weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Perth and Sydney to celebrate Pentecost together with the Norwegian Seamen's Church. It was intense but rewarding days with many meetings and nice conversations. Deacon Håvard and I have worked closely together for several years now, and every time I am struck by how valuable that relationship is. To be able to share faith and life with our Swedish and Norwegian friends in different places here in Australia and New Zealand reminds me that we are never alone, no matter how far from home we are.
Back home in Melbourne, our educator Gunnar Wenehult held the positions. On Sunday, Pentecost was celebrated with an atmospheric music service (a warm thank you to Mats Björklund for music and song), and in the afternoon, Gunnar represented our congregation in a joint Pentecost service with the local churches in the Anglican Church in Toorak.
That we pay attention to our cooperation with other churches on the day of Pentecost is no coincidence. In fact, you could say that Pentecost is the birthday of the worldwide Christian church – that's when it all began!
Every year on the day of Pentecost, we read the dramatic story in the book of Acts about the coming of the Holy Spirit, the power of God, the Helper. The disciples are in Jerusalem. They have no idea what is going to happen, even though Jesus has tried to explain to them in the past that He will not leave them alone, and He promises that He will send them a helper.
"Then suddenly there was a roar from heaven as of a whirlwind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw how tongues of fire spread out and stayed on each of them. All were filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak other tongues, with the words which the Spirit gave them."
God spoke to everyone who was there in their own language, and everyone felt seen. Suddenly, everyone can understand each other, despite their different languages. Here we see the beginning of our Christian church.
Today, we are all part of the same church, despite having different traditions, languages, and backgrounds. That is exactly what we celebrate at Pentecost: unity, relationships, cooperation and community.
We could say that the Spirit removes boundaries between us humans and brings us closer together. The Spirit is God's invisible presence in you and me and everyone else.
During the ecumenical service in Toorak, we therefore also renewed the agreement that our congregation has with the other local churches in the surrounding area. It is so valuable to have a functioning collaboration where we can support and encourage each other.
We celebrate worship together a few times a year, and on the last Thursday of each month we meet to pray together. We take turns being in each other's churches, and of course there will be coffee afterwards – it's an important part of the community!
You are warmly welcome to join. Just show up, no registration is needed. The next opportunity is with us in the Church of Sweden on June 25 at 10.30. There are always very good meetings and conversations!
I wish you a warm welcome to worship and fellowship, see you at the church!
Katja Lin
Vicar in Melbourne, Australia