Dear Inner Circle,
Sitting out the front of our centre in Bondi just before it opened was a great chance to have a yarn on the pavement with a few who had gathered awaiting its opening. Football results from the weekend had not landed my way in either code, so I copped the expected haranguing. It is a great reminder of how to not be a sore winner, not that I am getting much chance lately. My phone rang interrupting my dressing down and I gladly leapt to answer it to escape momentarily, pleading with one of the guys on the pavement, “I don’t know who is calling, but it is very important that I interrupt your abuse to take this call, can you hold the sledging?” I was reassured the tirade would not be forgotten, and that right after he’d had his morning coffee and shower inside, he was going to give me a fresher perspective on how poor my teams are. I asked if he could be given some of the calming soap. “Soap’s not gonna help Rev, it’s your team that needs cleaning up”.
Thankfully, my respite came in the form of a particularly delightful call. Someone ringing to tell me all the news of his new lease on life and the plans he and his partner have for the future. One of the greatest disciplines I was ever taught, by a wise old elder, was to be a “Non-Idiot” — by which he meant the kind of person people can share their hopes and dreams with, without you crapping on them.
This morning, Wayside Chapel hosted an event at our Kings Cross Centre called “A Shower Shouldn’t Be a Luxury”. A warm shower can look like one of the simplest things we offer. Turn the tap, wash away the grime, dry off… but anyone who has lived without one knows it is never just about getting clean.
There is something profoundly human about being able to close a door, feel warm water on your skin, and know that for ten minutes you don’t have to brace yourself against the world. A shower marks the quiet transition from surviving the day to imagining there might be another one worth showing up for.
The mark of someone’s health is how far out in front their future point sits. In crisis, the future shrinks to the next moment — the next meal, the next score, the next deal. When a life is flourishing, it’s spoken of in terms of months and years, like the dream of one day having a place with a yard and play equipment, for a family they never thought possible only a little while ago. I like to imagine that the thoughts the new life detailed in that delightful call might have begun under a showerhead at Wayside Chapel. I do know for certain though that it helped my other friend redouble his commitment to poking fun at my sporting teams’ misfortunes.
Thanks for being a part of our Inner Circle,
Jon
Rev. Jon Owen
CEO & Pastor
Wayside Chapel
