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Dear Inner Circle,
Grandchildren give away family secrets without knowing it. One of my babies asked as we got into the car, “Can we go speedy of one hundred?” My reply was something like, “It’s my job to keep you safe sweetheart, so we won’t be going too fast”. She answered that with, “Well, Mummy does!” Another time, our four-year-old hopped into her seat and said, “Shall we keep our windows up so that people don’t hear us yell, ‘IDIOT!’”
Just ten minutes ago, a tall fellow in a large cowboy hat approached me out the front of Wayside. I expected him to bellow at me but instead a soft voice said, “I need a blessing. Can you do that?” We walked to the Chapel and sat awkwardly looking at one another. In these situations, I’m always shy about leading people to believe in magic. Any blessing is just a feature of a relationship. With some trepidation I asked, “Why are you needing a blessing?” I expected to hear a story of a looming court date or some health crisis or even just a naïve hope that good can be conjured, like a rabbit out of a hat. To my surprise the softly-spoken man said, “I just want to know there is something outside of me; something bigger than me.” We held hands while I recited some ancient words. The big bloke seemed relieved and thanked me. We’d never met before today, but we both walked away changed and lifted. [vc_row columns_on_tablet=”keep” padding_top=”0″ padding_bottom=”0″][vc_column h_text_align=”left” h_text_align_mobile=”left” v_align=”v-align-middle” use_background=”” width=”1/1″][tm_image image_id=”236″ link_image=”none” textarea_html_bkg_color=”#ffffff” caption_type=””][/tm_image][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row columns_on_tablet=”keep” padding_top=”50″ padding_bottom=”50″][vc_column h_text_align=”left” h_text_align_mobile=”left” v_align=”v-align-middle” use_background=”” width=”1/1″][tm_textblock textarea_html_bkg_color=”#ffffff”]Parallel lines don’t often meet but when they do, everything is infused with life. Yesterday, I walked past a young face and after a couple of paces, I stopped. I slowly turned and walked back to the face, drawn by a power bigger than anything in me. In near disbelief, I began to recognise a face that I’d seen scores of times but never like this. Lacking any social skills, I simply blurted out, “Oh my God, look at your face! What has happened?” A young, pretty face lit up. She didn’t have to use words but she blurted out, “I’m drug-free!” What was previously a young but worn face; a face that had a ‘nobody’s home’ look, was now filled with presence. Before she said a word the face arrested me. I couldn’t take my eyes away and her eyes danced as they engaged with mine. She told me that she’d only been drug-free for about a month, but that so many things were falling into place. What a joy to share this moment.
There is a lovely old alcoholic in Bondi, who seems to turn up to any civic occasion that might happen in his town. Staff and volunteers who visit Bondi often return and tell me stories of a good hearted, kind and funny old drunk. They are often surprised when I tell them that I know him well because he attends our little church service down there. He loves our Bondi minister, Rev Graham Anson, and Graham loves him. There are some Sundays when the questions from old mate are pure entertainment. “Hey Graham, what about that bloke who double-crossed Jesus? He dogged him eh?” Graham lives our mission of no ‘us and them’ more in the way he handles this dear old fellow than in anything he might say.
Pastor Jon conducted a wedding at Wayside this week. When they arrived, I was surprised to see an elderly well-dressed groom and then, a beautifully dressed, elderly bride. I met them just before Jon was to commence the service and they told me that they were, “Eloping from their seven adult children.” After the ceremony, all in our café burst into applause in a spontaneous show of love as the couple emerged from the Chapel. As it happened, there was an ambulance at our front door. One of the working girls near the ambulance, yelled to the happy couple, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do”. Quick as a wink, Pastor Jon replied, “That’s why we ordered the ambulance”. I love this place.Thanks for being part of our inner circle,
Graham
Rev Graham Long AM
CEO & Pastor
The Wayside Chapel
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