Fr Nick de Groot SVD has hit the ground running on his new assignment to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart parish in Alice Springs, meeting the people and “soaking up the atmosphere” of the Central Australian community.

The new assignment came as somewhat of a surprise to Fr Nick, who had recently moved to the SVD’s Marsfield community to take up retirement.

“But the need, here in Alice Springs, came up and I just couldn’t say no,” he says.

Fr Nick is helping fill the gap left when Fr Jim Knight SVD had to return to Sydney from Alice, due to declining health.

“I think the experience that has been given to me by my years as a missionary in Papua New Guinea is helping me to settle in,” Fr Nick says.

“That experience is opening me up to things like listening, observing, and asking the right questions about the local people’s customs and culture.

“Really, so far, I’m just soaking up the atmosphere, which takes time, but is the first task of the missionary. I’m learning the ropes.”

Fr Nick says that while the Catholic community in Alice Springs is a small community “where everyone knows each other”, they have been very welcoming and hospitable to him.

“The people have been so friendly,” he says. “It’s been wonderful.”

Among the activities he has enjoyed so far is a weekly gathering of Aboriginal women who talk about and share their relationship of their own culture with the readings from the Gospel.

“We started with an overall look at the Book of Genesis and then the women shared what they had learnt about creation in their own culture and how it relates to the Genesis story. It was really wonderful.”

Fr Nick is looking forward to working with Fr Olivier Noclam SVD, the district superior for the Central Australian region, and Fr Asaeli Raass SVD, Parish Priest, in discerning how to make best use of the new property acquired by the SVD in Alice Springs.

“We want to use that house to show our determination and commitment to the Aboriginal community,” he says.“The big question is, ‘where do we start?’. So, I’m suggesting we just start with a little something, by inviting the people into our house where they can be at home, speak, listen, and be themselves.”

He is also hoping to take up some of the work of Fr Jim who had begun devising a more systematic approach to ministry with the Aboriginal people, including Indigenous theology.

“So, there is a lot to do, a lot to learn, but my first job is to get to know the people, and I’m enjoying that.”