When Fr Peter MacLeod-Miller first arrived in Hillston nearly 30 years ago, he thought he knew it all.
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“I arrived as a young person thinking I knew everything, but I soon realised that I had a lot to learn,” he said.
“I did a lot of that learning while I was in Hillston.”
Though, he admitted, some of what he was to learn wasn’t included in the initial job description.
“I was even taught to skin a sheep,” he said.
This Sunday Fr Macleod-Miller is headed back to Hillston for a special service.
When he was asked to return for the weekend, he jumped at the opportunity.
“I’m as excited as anything ... I lived in England for a time and whenever the plane touched down in Heathrow Airport I would feel excessive amounts of excitement.
“I feel that same excitement when I hear the word Hillston.”
Father Macleod-Miller was originally stationed in the Riverina in 1993.
Now the Rector of St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in Albury, he is also an advocate for a number of social justice issues.
It was the people he met in Hillston, he says, who helped form his view of the world.
“There was a real sense of ‘everybody matters’. It’s the beautiful thing about the Hillston.
“My views today were formed because of the people of that community,” he said.
During his time at Hillston, he was also responsible for the communities of Ivanhoe, Merriwagga and Goolgowi.
After Fr Macleod-Miller’s arrival from Sydney, the local people welcomed him with open arms.
“It is just about caring for people … Welcoming everyone was so important.” he said.
“The church had such a great community connection. People knew their neighbours. When there was a funeral, the shopkeepers would close up.”
Almost three decades later, he has fond memories of travelling country roads to visit his parishioners.
“I used to travel with the local doctor to go and see people. They were the kindest people you would ever meet.
“There was a real emphasis on treating everybody as a somebody.”
Aside from visiting friends, Fr Macleod-Miller wants to use his trip to reflect on the community that shaped him.
“I want to have a walk around and remember the lovely people who helped me grow up,” he said.
