Annual Pilgrimage to Port Augusta, SA, for the Feast Day of the Beheading of the Forerunner 2024
With the blessings of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia, the Diocese of Adelaide’s focus again returned to the only parish in the Diocese that is dedicated to the memory of the Beheading of St John the Baptist – the regional city of Port Augusta, the “Gateway to the Outback”. Normally it has been the intent to visit the Church twice per year – at the feast days of the Beheading and the Nativity (24th of June), however as this year’s feast of the Nativity coincided with Monday of the Holy Spirit (the feast of the Diocese’s Archiepiscopal Church) the Beheading represented the first chance to visit the city this year.
As in previous years, a small advance party arrived on Wednesday 28 August 2024 to clean and prepare the Church for worship and the luncheon to follow. The team arrived only to find that local resident and volunteer caretaker Mr Nicholas Lemonis had already done most of the hard work in preparation for the celebration. The pilgrims celebrated Vespers together that evening, joined by another catechumen who travelled from Whyalla for the service.
The following day the Matins and Divine Liturgy for the feast was celebrated, with a slightly later start time of 8:30am to allow the pilgrims time to arrive from Adelaide. The pilgrims were joined by four locals and another two from Whyalla, making around 20 people. The service was therefore led on this occasion by Father Jeremy Krieg, who addressed the congregation speaking about the wonderful example of the life of St John the Baptist – his humility, his faith, and his commitment to truth and righteousness so strong that it ultimately cost him his life. He also used the example of Herod as a warning for us to try and surround ourselves with good company that can help us in our spiritual lives.
After the service there was a fasting luncheon served, lovingly prepared by the ladies of the Central Philoptochos. This was followed by a visit to the local nursing home where one of the community’s original Matriarchs resides, and also a house blessing for one of the newly arrived locals who had attended the service.
