Introducing Diocesan Podcast - 'The Spirit - Stories of Faith'

Below is an introduction to one of the wonderful people of the diocese who shared their stories for our new podcast. You can listen to the full conversations by searching for ‘The Spirit – Stories of Faith’ wherever you listen to podcasts, or by going to the website: www.thespiritstories.com.au . You can also find the podcast on YouTube by seaching ‘The Spirit – Stories of Faith Bendigo Anglican’. And you can find and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with the latest developments and easily share the podcast with others. Enjoy!

Sonia – Red Cliffs
Sonia found herself as a mother of three children in a relationship of domestic violence. She could see the patterns of abuse so clearly in those around her, but struggled to know what to do for herself. Escaping the abuse took a long time, and some help from an unexpected ally. Sonia is now an advocate in the family and domestic violence space, using her experiences and insights to help others and the church. Sonia says:

“I’ve run with anger, hate and hurt. And it never won. you know and it eats you up. So I just refuse to go there anymore, like it has to be love. Has to be love even for the people you cannot get along with, and you might not want to associate with or know.

But at the end of the day, if we’re all God’s people, and we’re all created in God’s image, we’re all here for a reason. And someone in a bad situation, doesn’t want to be in that situation. A woman didn’t want to be in domestic violence. An alcoholic didn’t want to grow up to be an alcoholic. Same as with drug addiction.

So I think open minds, open hearts, and be prepared to believe the unbelievable, and be OK to not understand somebody’s thought process, or their safety process. Because a woman knows when it’s safe for her to leave or not, so you have to trust in that, too.”

Listen to the full conversation with Sonia now on The Spirit – Stories of Faith podcast or at www.thespiritstories.com.au.