The Thursday morning mandala group has met throughout the year and continues to provide a place of quiet space in which to meet with a few people of various back grounds for the purpose of artistic enjoyment, companionship and sustenance.

Dawn Marando and Margaret Thomson have now looked after this enterprise for 6 years, beginning back in 1998 when it was an offer of morning tea once a week in the room given to St Albans, Lyons by ACT Community Housing in Burnie Court. The purpose then was to offer a space where people could enjoy a free cup of tea or coffee and chat without the stigma that they often suffered outside Burnie Court.

Once the decision came that Burnie Court was to be demolished our little group moved into the St Alban's meeting room under the rectory. At this point our regulars were dispersed to houses all around town. It was no longer convenient for them to drop in, unless there was a particular purpose for them to make the journey. Kerrie Hannan had begun several craft enterprises with members of Burnie Court, but the option of mandalas seemed to be the one that was most achievable to us who had no particular craft of art backgrounds, nor a great deal of resources financially.

The mandalas gave us such a purpose, and over the years we have developed a better sense of colour and application of colour, which in turn has given the group members greater self esteem, as we have enjoyed our own work and also as others have appreciated our efforts. Father John Hunter did a lot in terms of inspiring people to try new colour combinations, to express themselves in the mood that they were in, if that meant black, then use black. John's encouragement helped members of the group to use the mandalas as a form of self expression, which in turn, and over time has allowed us to reach deeper within ourselves allowing more of our spiritual selves to emerge.

The group has changed over this past year, and in fact nearly petered out. lan Thompson of the Woden Community Service has introduced some new members, so we are not catering for exclusively Ex Burnie Court residents any more but to a more diverse group who find the atmosphere of quiet colouring and chat relaxing.

We thank St Albans for the continuation of funds to buy a few much needed supplies, the most significant being our new laminator. When we laminate the mandalas they transform into a treasured piece of artwork, and is an important part of the process in terms of making the job finished and therefore worthwhile. Thanks also to the people of St. Lukes, Deakin for their continued support of food donations. They are a lifeline to some of our regulars.

The Thursday morning Mandala Group did dwindle over the second half of last year, but has begun to grow recently as our base of members has widened. We continue to enjoy our regular meeting time, and our common purpose. We thank members of St Albans for supporting us and the supportive input of Father John Hunter.

Margaret Thomson
Dawn Marando