17 October 2017 / Inner Circle / By Jon Owen / No comments

Dear Inner Circle,

Graham is away for the next few weeks, enjoying an opportunity to get some rest with his family. We all wish him the best. He will be back with us and writing to you in two weeks.

When Graham asked me to be the Assistant Pastor at Wayside 10 months ago, I was a little apprehensive. I didn’t know what to expect because Kings Cross is quite different to Mt Druitt. The very first day here, I ambled from the train station, looking at faces and reveling in the anonymity that comes with being in a new place. Soon the thought struck me, “How long will it take for this to become a part of my heart?” It’s easy to physically move from one place to another, but the soul takes a while to arrive. It’s stubbornly resistant to cajoling, only turning up when it is ready and not a moment sooner.

Well it hasn’t taken long.

The busy Wayside cafe is getting a facelift so some lovely volunteers and staff set up a BBQ out the front to keep the customers happy. They were drumming up business in the warm sunshine but they didn’t have to try very hard. The smell of the sausage sizzle was doing the work for them. One of our visitors was wolfing down a sausage sandwich with great delight. She was clearly enjoying herself and couldn’t care less that sauce was spilling everywhere. She doesn’t have an easy life, but in that moment I witnessed sheer joy.

Yesterday afternoon, as I was running home to the station, I was stopped by a lovely cafe operator who assumes that I know every single person who comes to Wayside. She asks questions like “You know, the man with the hair and the pants?” While that criteria narrows the field significantly on some days, it doesn’t on all of them. After we chatted a while I moved on, only to be stopped by a woman I barely recognised. Only months ago she was close to drinking herself to death but now she is sober, working and beaming with the pride that only employment can provide. “I love being tired, and my wallet doesn’t mind it either!” She beamed as she hugged me. It was like being embraced by the embodiment of hope.

As I got right near the station entrance, a gentleman summoned me to the wall he was sitting against. “I have seen you and I have to tell you something. I have found the secret, let me tell you what it is”. He beckoned for me to lean in. As he whispered in my ear, he heaved and wheezed with a breath that could have put me straight over the legal driving limit. “The secret holding this all together is love, and I am so happy”. Now that’s a secret well worth sharing. As we were talking we were joined by another familiar face from the Vegas – a local pub with many regulars. Recently Wayside conducted funerals for three Vegas patrons, all passing away in separate incidents within a week of each other. There was a lot of love on offer on the strip this afternoon and not the kind you can buy. That was what it took to feel my soul rumbling up the M4 and arriving in full force.

Thanks for letting me be a part of the Inner Circle,

Jon

Assistant Pastor Jon Owen
Head of People and Culture
Wayside Chapel

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