History
To Dream the Impossible Dream…
The extraordinary ability to imagine things, to dream dreams about what "might be" is one of the amazing gifts of human creativity. This fertile extravagant gift of the imagination evokes many dreams in us all kinds of possibilities of what "might be." Some of them are translated into flesh and blood reality in our lives - usually through hard work, commitment and a generous self-giving on the part of those who have "dreamed."
WellSpring is a story of one imagining, one dream which has started to become a concrete reality in our lives.
Jill Manton, the founding Director of WellSpring reflects:
"I
had a dream many years ago when I was a young minister's wife, with three
young children, living in the manse amongst a large and diverse community
of faith. I imagined a place of beauty and spaciousness, set in a lovely garden—a
place of healing and quietness.
"I imagined this place to be a safe place for people to come in whatever state they were in and simply rest in the presence of God. I felt that such opportunities would provide the context in which people might feel restored, healed, forgiven and energised to go back into all the activities of life to live as bearers of God's Spirit—people of mercy, healing and hope."
But this dream and others were shattered by the early death of Jill's husband. The dream of the quiet place seemed doomed—overtaken by other more pressing demands of sustaining her family.
Jill joined the Ashburton ministry team where she found herself with a group of colleagues and in a community of faith that encouraged her to exercise her ministry in the ways in which she felt truly called. Some years later, out of this ministry came the invitation to develop WellSpring.
"To my delight and amazement, I found that the shy, quiet dream I had had for so many years, was a dream hidden in the hearts of many others who responded in unique ways—each one adding something to the dream and helping to make it a reality."
Do you think we could develop that WellSpring place here?
Around the years 1990-1992, there was considerable discussion at Ashburton Baptist Church and the wider membership about whether it was time to renovate the church property to better suit the needs of the growing congregation.
There was interest too, in developing an Alzheimer's Day Care Centre and a Centre to help those who were unemployed. And there was definitely an interest in acquiring the house and land on the block to the north side of the church building.
Peter Walker and Jill Manton were the ministers of the church at the time and met together regularly to pray for the church and its developing ministry. Jill recalls one such occasion when they were sitting in the vestry overlooking the garden next door.
"Somewhere
in the years we had worked together I must have told Peter about my dream
of a beautiful and quiet place where people could come and be present to God
and listen to the call of God in their lives. On this day, out of the blue,
he asked me about this dream of mine:
'What do you call this place in your mind?' 'I call it WellSpring, because it's like the interaction between Jesus and the woman at the well in the Gospel story. I love the idea of the spring of living water welling up in people and flowing out into life.'
"We sat silently in the sun which was streaming into the room. 'What if we were able to get this place next door? Do you think we could do your WellSpring thing here?' I was surprised and a little dumbfounded at the sheer courage of the question. This nebulous dream of mine was being put before me in very concrete terms. 'I don't know!' I stopped to think of the enormity of what he was saying. 'But wouldn't it be fun!' "
There followed many months and years during which the church wrestled with different possibilities of ministry and ways of redesigning the buildings to accommodate it all.
In the latter months of 1992, there was general consensus that Jill should be invited to develop her present ministry beyond the boundaries of the local church—make it wider and more deliberately ecumenical. How this would be done was not clear and so a discerning group of about twenty people from different churches was gathered together to pray about the whole issue.
That first meeting decided unanimously to press towards the development of a "WellSpring" ministry. But the following meetings were marked by vigorous discussion and an attempt to struggle realistically with the difficult issues involved. Where would the ministry be centred? If it was to be ecumenical should it be a joint effort with other branches of the Church? Should it be in a "neutral" place? How would it be funded?
These and many other pressing matters were debated, prayed about and reflected upon deeply. It was a demanding process of discernment for everyone. By December 1992 four months after they commenced meeting, it was decided that the WellSpring ministry should be developed at the Ashburton church. How, where, when or if there would be a physical "home", an actual building for this ministry was not decided.
But the ministry itself was certainly not to be deferred!
And so for the next three years, the fledgling ministry was housed in
Anglican, Roman Catholic and Salvation Army premises where WellSpring
was warmly welcomed. It was an encouraging affirmation from the start
of its intended ecumenical life.
The Boot of the Car!
The years 1993–1996 were foundational years for the new ministry. There was no "WellSpring Centre"—no building or focal point for the burgeoning work, but in spite of this a great deal happened.
Amongst
those involved from the beginning, this period is frequently referred
to as the time of "The boot of Jill's car".
The programs took place in many different venues and everything that was used had to be carried there—usually in the boot of Jill's car. But other car boots were also frequently commissioned for service especially Val Butler's, and Tess Veenker's.
Books, candles, art materials, icons, tape recorder, cassettes, bundles of material, Bibles, various art works, white board, flowers, communion chalice, plate, cloth and glasses, name tags, program notes, tea, coffee, milk, biscuits and whatever else was needed for a particular occasion was faithfully conveyed from place to place. It necessitated a great deal of carrying, packing and unpacking and packing again, and required a good deal of energy from those involved.
These years saw the beginning of the WellSpring program of silent retreats, quiet days, and spiritual direction as well as the establishment of the formation program for spiritual directors.
In January 1993 on a very hot day, five people gathered at Jill's home to prepare the first programs for posting. There was a lot of laughter around the table and considerable anxiety mixed with excitement as they folded programs and addressed envelopes to about eighty people.
As the numbers coming increased, the Overseas Missionary Fellowship generously allowed Margaret Knight (who worked in the office) to take WellSpring bookings there. In the absence of an office of its own, and of a person regularly there to take phone calls, this provision was wonderful, and Margaret's efficiency and dedication gave a stability to the program which otherwise would have been lacking.
This period also saw the establishment of the Board. The first members were Ron Ham (Chairman,) Jill Manton (Director) Angie Carter (Secretary), Jack Dimond (Treasurer), Garry Stacey, Colin Hunter and Val Butler.
The Board worked hard on several foundational aspects of the ministry. The Constitution was drawn up with the generous help of Michael Jensen, a young solicitor interested in WellSpring. The Mission Statement was written, the logo designed, letterheads produced and membership established. The relationship of WellSpring to the Ashburton church was carefully defined in consultation between the diaconate, the church meeting and the Board. The first Annual General meeting was held and members welcomed.
Several people of great faith and generosity supported the new venture financially. In addition, the annual Assembly of the Baptist Union of Victoria, offered three years of "seeding" finance in a generous grant, thus affirming denominational support. A second grant was given at a later date. These gestures provided important encouragement and hope for those engaged in the fragile beginnings of this new ministry.
At the end of three years, several hundred people had been involved in the program in different ways and it began to look as if WellSpring might be viable. What next?
To be or not to be?
In 1994 there was an empty block next to the Ashburton Baptist Church. The nuisance of living out of our cars as they moved from place to place gave the WellSpring team's dream of a "home" for WellSpring some urgency. They looked at all sorts of ideas—some good, some not so good and some plain awful!
"We went to auctions; looked at unused churches and wondered about different houses. I remember a group of us standing on the empty block questioning each other. Would it be too small? Too noisy? Could we finance a centre? What if it was built and no one came?"
By this time, the Ashburton church was seriously engaged in discussions over how to redevelop its buildings to accommodate the new ministries that were developing. Ken Edmonds, one of the deacons and an architect, was invited to draw up preliminary plans for an overall development of the property. This included provisions for linking the Elsie Salter House Alzheimer's Day Care Centre and the student house with the whole complex.
It also raised the possibility of developing a new building on the recently acquired block to the north of the church—the "WellSpring Centre." This was the site that Peter Walker and Jill Manton had been looking at on the day years before when Peter had first raised the idea of establishing the "quiet place" dream.
Many
months of discussion, healthy debate and prayer ensued as the church community
considered the different proposals put forward. Ken remained patient and
calm in the midst of all the swirling ideas and went back to the drawing
board again and again as ideas changed and evolved.
Eventually, the plans reached a stage where there was enough agreement for them to be displayed over quite a period of time, in order for the church community to examine them carefully and continue the process of discussion. The plans included the proposed WellSpring Centre.
Finally at the end of the year, it was decided to have a church meeting in February of the following year, when hopefully the people would feel confident enough to make a decision one way or the other—either to take courage and go ahead with the proposed development, or to modify it, or not to proceed in that way at all.
It was not at all certain yet that WellSpring would have a "home" of its own.
Peter Walker left for a well-earned holiday immediately after Christmas. The church was terribly shocked and greatly grieved when news arrived a few days later that he and his family had been involved in a dreadful accident on their way north. The other members of the family were not badly injured, but Peter was unconscious and fighting for his life in a NSW hospital. The people were in shock and in no mood to meet in February to decide on a major building program. There were other much more pressing matters to be faced. The church settled down to watch and pray.
As the other minister of the church, Jill wondered whether she should continue with the WellSpring ministry in the face of this unexpected tragedy. The program for the year had been sent out, but was it possible now?
The diaconate and the people were emphatic that it must go on and additional
staff were enlisted to help with the ministry of the church during this
time of crisis. Peter remained in a coma and the people grieved deeply.
For a long time it was not clear whether he would live, or if he did,
whether he would ever be able to take up his position as minister again.
The months passed, and by May the deacons had decided it was time to call
a church meeting to decide what to do about the proposed development.
A few days before the meeting, Peter emerged from his coma and asked what
was happening about the plans!
The church meeting again discussed all the issues. Many difficult questions were thoroughly examined, honestly and prayerfully. The decision was made to go ahead! It was a huge and very courageous step of faith given the circumstances.
The
whole place became a building site and the cold months of winter rolled
in with rain and mud compounding the general discomfort. For some weeks
the northern wall of the church was open as the extension was built. At
weekends, the builder boarded it up in a makeshift way so there was some
protection from the elements. But it was cold—especially in night meetings!
Alongside the church building, the new WellSpring Centre gradually rose.
During this time, the WellSpring Board members were forced to delve deep into their reserves of faith. As the church plans for building the Centre became more definite, the Board meetings voiced growing anxiety over whether or not the ministry would really be sustainable. Resources were slim and now the church had committed itself to providing specially designed space—a home for WellSpring—would it really work out on a long-term basis? If it did not, where would that leave the church? The Board trembled.
A special joint meeting of the Board and the Ashburton church diaconate was arranged. The Board members voiced their fears and the deacons listened carefully. Afterwards, the diaconate unanimously affirmed its confidence in the venture, told the Board not to worry and assured the anxious members that if WellSpring did not continue for long, the church would use the property for some other form of ministry. "But we think WellSpring will continue and we are willing to take that risk!" This generous response revived confidence and courage in the Board members and the project went ahead!
A home of our own!
On
16 February 1996 the WellSpring Centre was officially opened and dedicated,
in a service of great joy and celebration. Dr Ken Manley, the then principal
of Whitley College, preached at the service stating during the sermon
that WellSpring
"…is a testimony both to the traditions of Baptists which honour Scripture and the place of private and shared prayer, but also to the wider ecclesial treasures of different meditation methods, of spiritual counsel and direction. Therefore we gladly affirm the ecumenical spirit and goals which are central to this house."
With the opening of the new building, new possibilities emerged—seminars, prayer times, art displays, a library all became possible—in addition to the program already operating.
Adapted from the book "WellSpring: 10 Years" (Anniversary Tribute)
