A place to belong
Joel Spicer speaks at the Warwick Farm Food 4 Life Market’s inaugural church service. (Photo: Major Belinda Spicer)
The Salvation Army has launched a new church service in one of the most disadvantaged suburbs of Sydney.
The Salvation Army’s Food 4 Life Market in Sydney’s south-west has been providing low-cost groceries to the residents of Warwick Farm for the past three years. Last Sunday, 3rd March, the service opened its doors on Sunday for the first time – offering residents an informal church service and BBQ.
The small service was intimate, with those attending fully involved in all aspects, including a discussion about who God is.
“It’s very laid back but it’s very warming and it’s comfortable for people,” says Food 4 Life Manager, Alison Pringle. “I had one guy who was pouring his heart out to me, saying: ‘I really appreciate this today, I’ve got so much going on in my life but you know what? I just forgot about it today.’”
When planning and praying about launching the church service, Alison and the team from Greater Liverpool Corps decided to letter-box drop the community.
“We have certain areas of Warwick Farm where there’s a lot of drug addiction, you know they’ve got people that come out of jail … it’s labelled a really bad place,” she says. “I went down there with the flyers and I took my eight-year-old daughter and there was a couple of people sitting in the front of the units on chairs and the man was like: ‘oh excuse me love I wouldn’t bring your daughter into this place, this is really bad in here, it’s no good for a little girl to see.’”
Whilst initially a little nervous to hear such a warning, Alison, who has lived in Warwick Farm for the past 40 years, put a smile on her face: “I’m only here to give you guys some flyers for our church service which is starting on Sunday.” When her voice carried through the block of units she was surrounded by people who knew her from the market, welcoming her and wanting to take a flyer – delighted that she would deliver them in person.
Most of the people who attended the inaugural church service that Sunday were from this particular area of Warwick Farm.
“It’s a place for them where they actually belong in society,” she says. “A place to belong to, more than this just being a market where they can come and access food and welfare. It’s a place for them to belong to, to say: ‘this is ours.’”
Comments
Seems like some in the Salvos are remembering the original Christ's Mission and the Mission of the Salvos to be a church reaching out to those who have been forgotten about.