Craig Watson Artist - a founding member of A Nouwen Network.

Craig’s words and his art are featured on one of the Bookmarks , in Media

Craig passed away 26th January 2015.

 …”Jesus got alongside people just as they were.  So too, God gets alongside us in our daily lives, and so wants to bless us, every day, and on into eternity.

May we be sensitive to His kind overtures, and walk beside Him daily, as He walks beside us, now and forever.  

Amen.” 

~ Craig Watson, December 2014

June Wood - a founding member of A Nouwen Network.

 June passed away 12th August 2012.

“I have called you friends.”

John 16:15

VALE June Wood

"I believe that friends are God's gift to each of us." ~ June Wood in ‘Defying The Dark Night Of The Soul’

Regardless of how well you had the chance to get to know June Wood, I’m sure you would have been gifted with one of her trademark smiles and would have known immediately the genuineness of her interest in you as a person. June was a founding member of A Nouwen Network and a tireless supporter and advocate. Without her encouragement and prayers I doubt if I could have found the courage to even begin to explore the possibility of establishing a Network.

June was familiar with the darkest depths of the pit of depression. She emerged from each bout of illness with a heart that was even wider open to people, especially those who were vulnerable, suffering or lonely. She strongly desired to somehow bring some good out of her suffering - to find ways to make a difference to the lives of others who are affected by mental health issues.

June had an incredibly strong faith. Her great love for God meant that at times in her journey she knew the awful agony of having no sense of God’s presence. Her prayer life was strongly linked to her lifelong involvement in her church community. In recent years June spoke openly of the struggles she encountered as a person who was an active, faithful member of a congregation and who also suffered with bouts of severe depression. She spoke honestly, but she was not bitterly critical, she chose rather to focus on identifying things that would have been helpful had they been done or said. In 2011 June was one of those interviewed by Mardi Lumsden for an article to be published in Journey, Defying the dark night of the soul  

Throughout her long battle with cancer June maintained her interest in A Nouwen Network and often asked after different people within it. She was always thrilled to receive phone calls and cards, or to be told news of her network friends. She loved the images of the Comfort Cushions and of the Out of the depths blog and was excited to see these dreams come true. She repeatedly assured me that she was praying for us all, and I know she would have been faithfully doing so right up till she passed away at home on Sunday 12th August [2012].

June did not expect to survive Christmas. Early this year she came out of Wesley Hospital (with inoperable colon cancer secondaries on the liver as well the original high grade lymphoma) and soon afterwards she and Alan moved into their new unit at Coorparoo. Throughout all of 2012 June kept saying to me “I’m just so grateful for the time I’ve had. I’m so lucky”. I heard the exact same words from her very recently. We will miss her greatly. Let each of us give thanks to God for the time we had with her, and the inspiration she continues to give us – we are so lucky.

Written by Jane Frazer Cosgrove 2012

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