Launch of Everlasting Grail

On Tuesday 2 June, we gathered as a community to celebrate the launch of Everlasting Grail. The event opened with a beautiful smoking ceremony at the University of Divinity’s Box Hill Campus and was emceed by Aunty Janet Turpie-Johnstone. This endowed fund establishes an enduring and living structure that will deliver sustainable, recurring funding over the long term to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and projects they lead in theology and spirituality.

The Council of Everlasting Grail will be made up by majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, ensuring that ‘Everlasting Grail is grounded in Country, shaped by story, and oriented toward justice. It flourishes through relational strength, holds memory in its roots, renews across generations, and stands visibly as a sign of accountability and hope.’ A call for applications to the Council will be made later this year, with a view towards a first funding round to be offered in 2027.

Enabled by three entities—the Grail in Australia, the Australian Collaborators in Feminist Theologies and the University of Divinity—Everlasting Grail carries on the commitment of the Grail to the theological and spiritual formation of women.

Speaking at the launch event, Naomi Wolfe and Katharine Massam presented the Golden Everlasting flower as a botanical metaphor for the legacy the Everlasting Grail will embody. Found growing across all of Australia, its roots are grounded in Country. The beauty of the Golden Everlasting is formed through layered bracts, reflecting intersectional justice and collective protection; resilient and regenerative through fire, representing cultural renewal and continuity; and naturally oriented toward the sun, embodying self-determination and sovereignty. Its interconnected ecosystem, dispersing seeds, and unfolding structure illustrate reciprocity, the sharing of knowledge, transparency, and growth, while its enduring, perennial nature conveys a lasting legacy that nurtures future flourishing.

Gift packets containing seeds of the Golden Everlasting flowers were given to guests to take home as a symbol of growth, renewal, and continuing relationship.

“The Everlasting Grail reflects our shared commitment to collaboration as Indigenous and non Indigenous together: creating spaces where the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women’s diverse histories, knowledges, communities, and traditions can come together in relationship, reciprocity, and collective flourishing through the support and funding of spiritual and theological projects. ” said Naomi.

Elizabeth Lee gave a brief history of the Grail in Australia—an international Catholic women’s movement founded in the Netherlands in 1921, inspired by a vision of spiritually grounded lay women working for social and cultural transformation. Today, as the Australian Grail reflects on its aging community and future direction, it is seeking to reimagine its legacy with ethical and historical accountability—particularly in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples—leading to new initiatives such as Everlasting Grail that embody its enduring values of spirituality, collaboration, and social change. It was wonderful to have members of the Grail present with us to celebrate the launch.

Congratulations to key collaborators Katharine Massam, Elizabeth Lee and Naomi Wolfe for the deep dreaming and discussions that have played a significant role in establishing Everlasting Grail.