Page 137 - moondani kyema
P. 137
ndani kyema, My Story - Ray Moore 137
After my 12 years in the ministry, I joined Lifeline and became, not only a manager
but also a personal counselor. This was to be my role for the rest of my career until I
retired.
I was very proud of my appointment as the first director of Ballarat Lifeline. I had
always admired the Rev. Alan Walker and the organization he had started a few
years earlier. Ballarat Lifeline was largely supported by the local Uniting Church, the
same denomination to which Alan Walker belonged. Consequently the salary was on
a par with that of a Uniting Church minister.
The committee had secured a charming old residential building not far from the CBD,
and I met the chairman there and we sat on two chairs, the only pieces of furniture in
the place. In a way it was good to be able to start with a clean slate. The first thing
that I had to do was to attend a training course at the Lifeline Centre.in Melbourne.
But this was not a happy experience for me.
The training was fairly basic, and concentrated on skills in communication, especially
listening. The principle of good listening centers around the ability to ‘hear’ what the
other person is really saying, not just their words, and not to ‘transfer’ your own
feelings and experiences to what they are saying. Sounds easy doesn’t it? But it
was a new concept for me. I thought good communication was conversing and being
interested in the other person. Unfortunately I discovered that there are a huge
number of impediments to the process of hearing. We had to do role plays and
practice the skills, but all I learnt at that stage was that I was far from skilled at this
new concept.
Fortunately I was given the task, when I returned to Ballarat, of training the new
bunch of people applying for the voluntary positions of telephone counselors. I say
‘fortunately’ because, having discovered what I didn’t know, compelled me to put all
my energy into learning as much as I could from as many sources as I could. So my
skills were gradually built up, until I felt much more confident about my ability to help
people.
To begin with I was the only paid staff and we had a volunteer pool of 50 or 60
people who had submitted to a fairly rigid application procedure and undertaken
about 100 hours of training. They were a great bunch of people from all walks of life
and with a wonderful range of personalities. We had housewives, teachers, business
people, priests and nuns, and a lot more. Eventually we were able to afford a
secretary, who was a great support to me.
The role of director also meant that I was responsible for publicity. This gave me
experience in dealing with the media - especially the local newspapers and television
station. Every year we had “Lifeline Sunday” which was our main fundraising thrust
for the year. The committee would work out ways of advertising for funds and I would
arrange to provide speakers to as many of the churches as possible. My own role on
Lifeline Sunday actually started on Saturday evening when I spoke at the evening
mass at the Catholic Cathedral, St. Patrick’s. I had got to know the priests quite well,
After my 12 years in the ministry, I joined Lifeline and became, not only a manager
but also a personal counselor. This was to be my role for the rest of my career until I
retired.
I was very proud of my appointment as the first director of Ballarat Lifeline. I had
always admired the Rev. Alan Walker and the organization he had started a few
years earlier. Ballarat Lifeline was largely supported by the local Uniting Church, the
same denomination to which Alan Walker belonged. Consequently the salary was on
a par with that of a Uniting Church minister.
The committee had secured a charming old residential building not far from the CBD,
and I met the chairman there and we sat on two chairs, the only pieces of furniture in
the place. In a way it was good to be able to start with a clean slate. The first thing
that I had to do was to attend a training course at the Lifeline Centre.in Melbourne.
But this was not a happy experience for me.
The training was fairly basic, and concentrated on skills in communication, especially
listening. The principle of good listening centers around the ability to ‘hear’ what the
other person is really saying, not just their words, and not to ‘transfer’ your own
feelings and experiences to what they are saying. Sounds easy doesn’t it? But it
was a new concept for me. I thought good communication was conversing and being
interested in the other person. Unfortunately I discovered that there are a huge
number of impediments to the process of hearing. We had to do role plays and
practice the skills, but all I learnt at that stage was that I was far from skilled at this
new concept.
Fortunately I was given the task, when I returned to Ballarat, of training the new
bunch of people applying for the voluntary positions of telephone counselors. I say
‘fortunately’ because, having discovered what I didn’t know, compelled me to put all
my energy into learning as much as I could from as many sources as I could. So my
skills were gradually built up, until I felt much more confident about my ability to help
people.
To begin with I was the only paid staff and we had a volunteer pool of 50 or 60
people who had submitted to a fairly rigid application procedure and undertaken
about 100 hours of training. They were a great bunch of people from all walks of life
and with a wonderful range of personalities. We had housewives, teachers, business
people, priests and nuns, and a lot more. Eventually we were able to afford a
secretary, who was a great support to me.
The role of director also meant that I was responsible for publicity. This gave me
experience in dealing with the media - especially the local newspapers and television
station. Every year we had “Lifeline Sunday” which was our main fundraising thrust
for the year. The committee would work out ways of advertising for funds and I would
arrange to provide speakers to as many of the churches as possible. My own role on
Lifeline Sunday actually started on Saturday evening when I spoke at the evening
mass at the Catholic Cathedral, St. Patrick’s. I had got to know the priests quite well,
