The Eremos Council

Anthony Mayne

A People & Culture professional, Shire Councillor and Thespian, Anthony is excited to join Eremos.  

Anthony lives on the NSW South Coast with his wife, Linda Chapman and is an active member of Open Sanctuary in Tilba Tilba.  He believes that Eremos provides an important role in the Australian cultural landscape, exploring contemplative and contemporary issues of spirituality.  

Augustine Aimale Sami (Gus) 

Treasurer

Gus is a relatively recent member to Eremos, sharing his interest in community and spirituality with his wife, Kim, and a regular attender of Eremos Retreat Days. He is currently working in the Vocational Education sector as a Trainer/Assessor in  Accounting and Business Studies. He also worked as a high school teacher in Fiji for 21 years. In previous roles he has worked as a regional treasure for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Fiji. He has served in parish councils in Australia & Fiji in various roles.

Bethany South

Retreats Leader

Bethany has been involved with Eremos for many years, joining the Eremos Council in 2016. Bethany is an experienced retreat leader, an active member of the Eremos Retreat Team and the Australian Network for Spiritual Direction. Bethany is inspired by the rhythms of life and the Jewish Sabbath and delights in offering gentle and hospitable spaces for reflection and conversation on Eremos Retreats. 

Bethany works near-full-time, is actively involved in the UCA and lives in suburban Sydney with her husband and has 2 adult children. Bethany enjoys reading, journaling, drinking tea, coastal walks and watching the tides change.

Celia Kemp

Celia is a writer and theologian with a passion for Scripture, lay monasticism, and a theology arising from this place. She holds a pattern of ‘small circles close to the ground’ which includes morning prayer, bible studies and retreats. She appreciates Eremos’ work in forming a particularly Australian spirituality, and the way it incorporates creativity and art.

Elaine Alinta 

Elaine Alinta joined Eremos in 1997 after seeing a faded sign outside a church in Newtown that mentioned Australian spirituality. She values the statement in the front of the magazine that Eremos is “an inclusive association with its roots in Christianity” and offers support to “explore, express and deepen spirituality within an Australian context”.

The 15th anniversary was the first Eremos event she attended. At the 30th anniversary event in Bathurst, she took on the coordination of Books for Groups and was elected to Eremos Council. She is a member of the Blue Mountains Eremos Group.

James Iliffe

James was an Eremos member and contributor during the 1990s and, after a life hiatus, is excited to once again be part of the Eremos community. He lives in Sydney with his teenage sons and works with human rights organisations in different parts of the world. He enjoys long runs, beach walks with dogs, the smell of salt air and the evening song of magpies. He values Eremos as a place for questions, ideas, contemplation and a layered understanding of faith in contemporary Australia.

John Foulcher 

EREMOS Magazine Editor

John was a foundational member of Eremos in the 1980s but wandered away into the wilderness for the next few decades. In 2018 he returned to edit EREMOS magazine, a position he still holds. He taught English and Drama in secondary schools in NSW, the ACT and Victoria for most of his life. He finished his teaching career as Deputy Principal at Burgmann Anglican School in Canberra. 

He has also published poetry in Australian literary magazines, newspapers and anthologies for nearly fifty years. He has published twelve books of poetry, and his thirteenth, The Night Stair, will be published in 2025. He lives near Braidwood on the NSW southern tablelands in an old Catholic church he has renovated with his wife, Jane, who is an Anglican priest and theologian. He has two adult children.

Karen Hartas

Council Secretary

Karen, a new member of the Council, has been a member of Eremos for over 20 years.  Her reason for being attracted to Eremos back then remains the same today, viz. a sense of disenchantment with traditional churches and being drawn to spirituality instead of religion. 

Her passions include Indigenous justice, Interfaith dialogue and climate change.  Her interests include singing in choirs, reading and membership of a book club, walking in nature, going to classical concerts, opera and theatre.  She has been a long-term member of a meditation group.

Kate Scholl

Council Chairperson

Kate has a strong interest in how we make meaning and live fully connected to the depth and beauty of our lives. Eremos has been a place which has enabled this connection for her over many years, and she continues to find joy and satisfaction in her Eremos involvements. One of her most deeply valued projects is leading Intensive Journal Workshops in person and online. 

Kate has a background in theological education, management and administration, adult formation and education, and volunteer engagement. She retired in 2020 after 14 years with the St Vincent de Paul Society, working in member engagement, training, and mission & spirituality. In 2022 she was recruited back by Vinnies to work part-time in their housing company. She lives on Dharug country in the Sydney’s Western suburbs with her partner Alex. 

Louise Dobson

I am married with four adult children.  I have had a deep faith, now, for 40 years and have been exercising ministries at our current local Anglican church for nearly 30 years. I love to meet new people and to connect with them closely.  I consider that I am a good listener, and enjoy my work as a Hospital Chaplain at Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney one day per week.  

I have taught SRE at the public school in our local parish for 22 years.  I have also assisted at the Downing Centre Courts in Sydney in the ministry of Prison Fellowship, for over 5 years. The hospital and prison ministries have grounded me deeply and drawn me to Jesus' teachings of equality between all, and having mutual respect for our fellow human beings, without judgement. I am very committed to ecumenical gatherings, in various forms.

I graduated from the University of Sydney with Arts/Law degrees in the 1980s and worked as a solicitor for 3 years.  I care deeply for justice and integrity in the world.

My other interests are travel, meditation and music, as I sing in a community choir.  

Neil Millar

Events and Retreats Committee Chair

Neil has been on the Eremos Council for two years. He values the Eremos vision to be a forum and support for people to explore and deepen their spirituality in the Australian context. Neil works as a professional supervisor and facilitator of practitioner learning groups. He holds a PhD in adult education. He is energised by reflective learning, care of country, music making, and camino walking, all of which reflects his abiding interest in connections between the inner and outer life, action and contemplation. Neil lives in Canberra with Sarah. He has two adult sons and two cricket-mad grandsons.

Nikolai Blaskow 

Council Deputy Chair

I am currently teaching English Literature at Narrabundah Tertiary College, Canberra, and I am an Adjunct Research Fellow with Charles Sturt University, located at the Centre for Christianity and Culture. In my recent past, I have taught Ancient and Modern History and Philosophy in public and private schools in NSW and served as Teaching Chaplain at Radford College, Canberra Grammar and Gippsland Grammar.

My research for a book centres on the existential implications of Generative Artificial Intelligence into the 22nd Century. I follow Benedictine and Franciscan values and would like to foster Inter-Faith dialogue, especially amongst the young. Eremos appeals because it nurtures a contemplative “the deep down inside of us” life practice informed by the language of an open, exploratory spirituality.