Dear Inner Circle,
Most of you will know that the King was in town last week, what you won’t know is that the King also sang at Wayside – as a nervous bride walked down the aisle, Elvis crooned. It was a perfect Wayside wedding: unexpected love found in the second half of life, after tragedy and loss had seen both bride and groom give up on ever finding it again.
One of the difficult but important lessons to be learnt in life is that none of us is owed anything, and the people we sojourn with aren’t ours to possess. Rather, everyone we encounter is on loan to us from the universe for only a brief moment. It’s a paradigm that holds the power to transform us all, and to transform a simple ceremony into a royal wedding.
It wouldn’t be a Wayside story without some minor calamity, and as everyone was swept up in the moment, the groom’s son accidentally signed the marriage certificate not as a witness but as the groom. Lucky, we caught the error in time, and the groom had a chuckle but emphatically joked, “He could do a lot worse, let me tell you!”
A few days ago, I was summoned downstairs where I was met by a feisty and vivacious young woman. When we first met, she was too shy to even speak, and she would tremble in fear at the slightest noise. She credits the love she stumbled into here as the turning point of her up-until-then painful existence, which had seen her flee the rejection of her mother into the arms of a series of men who could only be described as monsters with desires for control. Cut to today and she lives with a gorgeous fella who adores the ground she walks on. Our amazing Pathways team recently helped her find a new job. They are the unsung heroes of Wayside, helping so many people back into education, employment and training. So, responding to her summons, I approached to be met with her shoving an envelope into my hands. “This is my first paycheck, and it’s all going here. Now don’t you even try and give it back Rev, give it forward!”
In a few weeks’ time, we will gather around a little baby, whose mother we’ve known since she was only a baby herself. “He is so perfect, I never knew I could make something so whole, and complete!” Three generations of struggle seemingly finding a new path in this baby. We will surround him with love and speak promises over him, promises unheard until now in his recent line. How do you break a cycle? Let me share his mum’s words with you, “I haven’t come this far to have only come this far, his life will write a new story.” Nothing needs to be broken, only re-written.
Like a river flows, surely to the sea… that’s a love that never quits, that’s the Wayside whisper.
Thank you for being part of the Inner Circle,
Jon
Rev. Jon Owen
CEO & Pastor
Wayside Chapel
PS. Wayside Chapel’s 2023-2024 annual report has been finalised, highlighting the impact that we make together. It’s your support that shines through its pages, and I’d love for you to read it here.
