Words from the streets of Kings Cross and Bondi Beach

About Jon Owen
I am the Pastor and CEO of Wayside Chapel. I write with my heart wide open and my eyes looking at life. I am a philosopher, a dreamer, a tower of weakness, a leader and a follower, a husband and a father and I hope to give you a flavour of life by the wayside.

Stop! In the name of love
Dear Inner Circle, Last weekend I was lucky enough to dash down to Melbourne to attend the wedding of a wonderful young couple. One sign

Calling Time
Dear Inner Circle, In one of the more beautiful and yet bizarre days as CEO and Pastor of Wayside Chapel, I recently swapped stories of

Rooting For Love
Dear Inner Circle, There really is never a dull moment around here, and it is a sight to behold what love looks like in action.

Love Born In The Gutter
Dear Inner Circle, Often the first discovery you make when formally commencing study in Social Work is that everything you did leading up to being

A Love That Sparkles
Dear Inner Circle, The power of Wayside Chapel will always lie in our proximity to the pain of this world. That sounds great, doesn’t

It’s raining love. Hallelujah.
Dear Inner Circle, If you want to see what happiness looks like, please drop by Wayside Chapel this week. Our buildings are awash with rainbow

Leaning In
Dear Inner Circle, Hospitality is at the heart of all we do. It naturally extends beyond those we know and is issued as an expression

What would love do?
Dear Inner Circle, The concept of “love” is a strange thing. Some confuse it for a feeling, and lurch from person to person, doing all

Grumpy Jesus and the Lifesavers
Dear Inner Circle, On my first day as CEO of Wayside Chapel, a picture appeared on our Facebook page with the title, “Guess who it

Elephants in Custard
Dear Inner Circle, It’s a funny time of year, right now in the blur between Christmas and New Year, when the rush and adrenaline of