Newsletter February 2026
When I was in my twenties, I worked in the hospital chaplaincy at Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm.
I was studying theology and at the same time working as a secretary. This meant that I got to meet many people—patients, relatives, and staff. I was able to listen, lead devotions, and sometimes simply sit down for a while with someone who needed it.
It was a context where I felt that I truly got to be involved. I was welcomed, encouraged, and learned a great deal simply by being there. It was a context that shaped me—and helped me grow.
Looking back, I have come to understand how important such contexts are—places that give life and energy. Like a kind of source of life.
I don’t know what thoughts you have when you hear “the source of life,” but for me the source of life is very much about community and relationships. About our relationship with God, but also our relationships with one another. About being able to share both what is easy and what is heavy in life.
It is often our communities that carry us—comfort us when life is hard, help us grow, and give us joy and meaning. I would like to share a few lines from the hymn “Vart vi oss i världen vänder” (“Wherever We Turn in the World”), written by Per Harling for the Church of Sweden Abroad.
Wherever we turn in the world,
there is a door that stands open
to our home in many countries,
where we find rest and breathing space…
…Here there is room for everyone.
Here hope is given for life’s journey
through faith and love.
I think that our parish can be just such a community.
A place one can come to and feel: here I belong. Here there are people who care. Here there is life to share—and here I also have something to contribute.
A community where you are welcome exactly as you are.
A warm welcome, whether you come often or just drop by from time to time. I hope we will see each other in the parish in the future.
Katja Lin
Vicar,
Church of Sweden in Australia, Melbourne