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.

Winding Up with Love

Dear Inner Circle, As we reach the end of another year, I want to thank you for the pleasure of your company, as together we’ve

Much more than pants

Dear Inner Circle, It’s common for kids to laugh so hard that their stomach hurts and they’re gasping for air. Yet for some reason that

Escape Rooms

Dear Inner Circle, Often we simplify morality into concepts of doing ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ – like the lolly we stole from a milk bar once

Love Over Hate

Dear Inner Circle, It isn’t every day that you have conversations with people that you know will be your last. Well yesterday I had three

Good Enough

Dear Inner Circle, Many people ask what this year has been like around here. Sometime around mid-August, someone walked into our building. There were no

The Weight of a Soul

Dear Inner Circle, Life often swings between the profane and the profound, presenting us with moments of levity amidst the gravest of times. I recall

Note to Self

Dear Inner Circle,It’s worth coming to Wayside just to experience the goodwill at the front desks of our Community Service Centres. Here, you will witness

The Spirit That Hovers

Dear Inner Circle, In 2007 we packed up our entire lives, including two toddlers into our Tarago to move from Melbourne to Sydney. We had