By Eric Martin
One of the uniquely Australian perspectives on offer at the Australian Catholic Youth Festival 2019 (ACYF), was an insight into indigenous culture and the work of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC), as related by Sabrina-Anne Stevens, the organisation’s current Youth Counselor.
Sabrina is a 28-year-old woman from the Yidinji Nation from Cairns and the Cookalingee People from Mosman which north of Cairns, Queensland, and has been involved with NATSICC since 2011, when she was just 19.
She is currently studying a double major in arts in politics and human services (focusing on youth contribution and engagement in the Australian Catholic Church) and is passionate about empowering others through aspects of faith, indigenous culture and spirituality.
“Volunteering with NATSICC can be challenging, but is the most rewarding thing that I get to do with my life: I get to see young people transform and be vulnerable with Jesus; I get to see young people feel at home and be welcomed into the Church; I get to share my faith and my culture with people in a way that is inclusive and all encompassing,” Sabrina shared.
“I often get asked many questions though about a lot of different things: I get asked about the motivation behind the work that I do with NATSICC. The motivation behind that, is that I love that I can have a conversation with people and explore our faith journeys together.
“I love that if I don’t know the answer to something, then I can ask someone else who can help me,” she said.
“A big part of that also stems from my upbringing with my family, we were encouraged to be expressive and proud of who we are: If I’m an Aboriginal person within the Church, then why should we not be authentically ourselves by making use of our cultural gifts?”
Sabrina explained that the same approach is often adopted by people of different cultural groups, who actively express their pride in the many benefits brought to the Church by their culture – why should it be any different for indigenous culture?
“My vision moving into the future as a youth counselor is that we can have our young people feel like they have a place here in the Catholic Church,” she said.
“I have a vision that all people will be included and that people will have a vision (for the Church) and that they will be able to share that with us as well.
“I believe that we should be encouraging people to play an active role in contributing to the life of the Church and the journeys of others around us.”
Sabrina explained to the young pilgrims that the only way to really understand her motivations for becoming such an active and involved Youth Counsellor for NATSICC, was to hear her testimony and try to understand the personal journey that led to that decision.
“The link between faith and culture, my family and my history are the foundations of my life, this is where my seeds were watered and this is where I was encouraged to grow,” she said.
“When I was 16, my father became a drug addict. My parents had separated when I was ten due to family violence in the home and even though my mother had removed us from that situation, my dad was still a part of my life, but from a distance.
“Throughout my teenage years I constantly searched for the love that I craved and an escape from the rejection that I felt from my father – he was supposed to be there for my whole life.
“This journey took me away from God as I tried many different things to fill the void which then became detrimental to my high school grades.
“The years following are still so much of a blur, but I do recall a few major points in time where I can now look back and see where God’s hand was guiding me. I fell into a deep depression and suffered from extreme anxiety.”
Sabrina’s mother started taking her to daily Mass, instead of just on Sundays, and there were days were where she could physically do nothing except sit in front of the altar or in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
“They were some really dark days but I know that God was there with me during those times,” she said.
Shortly after that phase in her life, Sabrina’s mother told her about an organisation called NATSICC and invited her to attend the 2009 NATSICC Assembly.
“My mind was blown when I got there: I saw so many other young indigenous people who were sharing faith and culture within the church and I was hooked.
“I wanted to know more, I wanted to know what those people had in their love for Jesus: I wanted that and I loved that I was seeing them combine their cultural gifts with their faith in God.
“I left that event and I wanted more, the fire in my belly had just started but I did expect it to quickly pass,” she shared.
“Fast forward two years and NATSICC was giving young people the opportunity to travel to World Youth Day in Spain.
“I travelled with Bishop Saunders and his Kimberley group and it was exactly what I needed at that point in time: I surrendered myself and my worries at the shrine to Mother Mary in Fatima in Portugal and I’ve never looked back.”