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.

All The Masks We Wear
Dear Inner Circle, There is a gift hidden amidst the rush and noise of a typical day at Wayside, and it isn’t so much given,

Simply the Best
Dear Inner Circle The cold has descended upon our streets and the results of the latest Sydney Street Count has confirmed what we already know

The Best Entertainment That Money Can’t Buy
Dear Inner Circle, Life by the Wayside really has no “typical” week, it moves at the pace of life. Sometimes frenetic, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes serene,

Loving and Giving: The Ultimate Stain Remover
Dear Inner Circle, As a young lad I grew up going with my family to a weekly Sunday chapel service in the middle of Melbourne’s

Daring Kindness
Dear Inner Circle, We are only beginning now to reap what we have sowed as a society over many decades. It has happened slowly and

Wounded Healer
Dear Inner Circle, So many people come to Wayside Chapel feeling like a failure, having suffered from systems that have attempted to fix their problems

But First, Connection
Dear Inner Circle, My local barista is a bit of a legend. Everyone who wanders into his little hole-in-the-wall is greeted with an enthusiastic smile

Dangerously Nostalgic
Dear Inner Circle, Life certainly moves inexorably forward. From the early days of chasing toddlers, with long days but short years, Lisa and I have

Somethings change. Some stay the same.
Dear Inner Circle, Lying at the heart of this season is a challenge to explore the unknown, which is always a daring and risky adventure.

Grand Final Beginning
Dear Inner Circle Our vision of “Love Over Hate” is beyond us. It’s speaking to the world we want to live in, the one where