The Weekly Service Podcast

Abe Nouk is a poet, a community educator, a mentor and a humble human being with an infectious sense of gratitude.

In this podcast he talks about how he fled civil war in Sudan to come to Australia, and his journey to creativity and gratitude as a way of unravelling the numbness and trauma he grew up with. He talks about discovering how important it is to be 'available for life', and his daily appreciation of the lavish freedom of living in a peaceful country.

Through his story, Abe encourages the audience to be open to both suffering and joy, and 'know your truth, keep your peace and speak your joy'. Abe also performs some of his of his spoken word poetry.

In this podcast, Weekly Service members Henry and Jeremy offer guidance on how to curate a service. They talk through the three pillars of atmosphere, facilitation and creating a safe space.

Before Coronavirus this was a 7-hour in person training but they've done a good job of distilling some stellar advice into 20 minutes! This follows on from our podcast 'How we co-create services' and goes more in-depth into the role of the curator.

Inbal left her birth country of Israel twenty years ago - but being a migrant doesn't define her. A few years ago, Inbal decided to reconstruct family - and she wonders why people say "sorry about your divorce". Inbal has three boys who sometimes wear pants and sometimes wear dresses - and she feels pretty good about that. Inbal has braved child abuse - and she talks about it, simply. Because silence is oppressive, and we must turn on the lights.

Inbal is a member of The Weekly Service and a pretty inspiring human. With a strong will and a quiet smile on her face, she is stepping into her power and deconstructing unhelpful narratives. For herself and for others.

Please note there is a content warning for this story, which will mention sex and sexual child abuse.

In this podcast, Jarrah talks about how The Weekly Service is co-created. She explains a bit about the background of The Weekly Service: the intention & structure. And then she introduces the roles and the process for how we make the Service itself. If you're interested in being a storyteller or a curator for one of our Services, this podcast is for you!

Connection to each other and the earth is key to our future. Yet it is easy to feel disconnected and isolated amidst the swarm of people, noise and movement of a bustling modern city. How is our sense of connection related to our cultural identities and values? What do Indigenous cultures and their time-tested ways of being have to teach us?

This week’s storyteller, Hineani Tunoa Roberts, is a Māori / Australian with her own family story of decolonisation. She has always lived with a foot in two worlds. A graphic designer and media artist, Hineani is currently a participant in the Emerging Cultural Leadership program at Footscray Community Arts Centre. Hineani creates public artwork that explores stories of culture, (dis)connection and place.

Join us for a story with heart that unpacks cultural privilege and explores what identity can tell us about connection and place.

Connection to each other and the earth is key to our future. Yet it is easy to feel disconnected and isolated amidst the swarm of people, noise and movement of a bustling modern city. How is our sense of connection related to our cultural identities and values? What do Indigenous cultures and their time-tested ways of being have to teach us?

This week’s storyteller, Hineani Tunoa Roberts, is a Māori / Australian with her own family story of decolonisation. She has always lived with a foot in two worlds. A graphic designer and media artist, Hineani is currently a participant in the Emerging Cultural Leadership program at Footscray Community Arts Centre. Hineani creates public artwork that explores stories of culture, (dis)connection and place.

Join us for a story with heart that unpacks cultural privilege and explores what identity can tell us about connection and place.

When Sally, sleep deprived and bewildered in early motherhood, first began making tombstones to mark the end of the day with her small son, she knew little about what would unfold in her life. Within a year, she had lost her beloved partner to cancer and had birthed her second son.

This is the first time that Sal has shared her story of living in and through loss. Sally brims with questions about what it means to live intimately with death. She sees the world through the eyes of a poet, an artist, a mother, and a widow.

When one sits down with Sal to talk it feels real in a way that is hard to describe - enlivening, raw, hilarious, deeply sad, yet hopeful. Her story speaks to complex questions surrounding our times, exploring the mystery of birth and death, and the invitation these can provide within a secular society.

What price do we pay when we ignore death? How do we truly host our own pain? Might our capacity to be with loss hold the key to transformation?

When Sally, sleep deprived and bewildered in early motherhood, first began making tombstones to mark the end of the day with her small son, she knew little about what would unfold in her life. Within a year, she had lost her beloved partner to cancer and had birthed her second son.

This is the first time that Sal has shared her story of living in and through loss. Sally brims with questions about what it means to live intimately with death. She sees the world through the eyes of a poet, an artist, a mother, and a widow.

When one sits down with Sal to talk it feels real in a way that is hard to describe - enlivening, raw, hilarious, deeply sad, yet hopeful. Her story speaks to complex questions surrounding our times, exploring the mystery of birth and death, and the invitation these can provide within a secular society.

What price do we pay when we ignore death? How do we truly host our own pain? Might our capacity to be with loss hold the key to transformation?

"We are born from the Earth and we return to the Earth. It is our birth rite, to be one with the land and all of nature, we belong to the land.”

Born into a farming family, raised on the land and reliant on the land… Karla grew up understanding her intricate connection to the natural world. In lonely isolation in remote Queensland, she grew akin to the animals, often in silence with only the trees and the red dirt as her playground. From this foundation, she developed her own relationship to the natural world. This became her foundation for life, for when she is in nature, she is home.

"We are born from the Earth and we return to the Earth. It is our birth rite, to be one with the land and all of nature, we belong to the land.”

Born into a farming family, raised on the land and reliant on the land… Karla grew up understanding her intricate connection to the natural world. In lonely isolation in remote Queensland, she grew akin to the animals, often in silence with only the trees and the red dirt as her playground. From this foundation, she developed her own relationship to the natural world. This became her foundation for life, for when she is in nature, she is home.