Salvos have new face at Sydney University
Lauren Mason is the new Salvation Army University Chaplain at Sydney University. (Photo courtesy of Lauren Mason)
Lauren Mason is the new Salvation Army chaplain at the University of Sydney, and already, the group on campus is receiving lots of interest.
Over 200 people have expressed interest in being a part of a Salvation Army group on campus, and Lauren is excited to share life with these students.
“Chaplaincy is so good because you just get to do life with people,” Lauren says.
”It’s not about facilitating a meeting. It’s not about facilitating a program. It’s about meeting people where they are. We don’t know at what point we are meeting people in their faith journeys.”
While the university has a prestigious reputation, there is still great poverty present within. Through the group on campus, they hope to be able to meet the needs of not only the students, but also the community.
“We were going through what our founder was about – soup, soap and salvation. It’s about meeting the physical needs of a person, and using that as an avenue to salvation. There is a lot of social division and with that comes a unique set of problems. The dropout rate here is huge, and support services are little.”
Manishka, on a student exchange, has seen a different side to The Salvation Army since coming to Australia.
“Before coming here, The Salvation Army was more like a charity to me. They did a lot of charity work. But I didn’t really think of it as a church,” Manishka says.
“After coming here, I see it’s very much like a family. I think they actually put their faith into action. You’re not just about preaching and going to church. You’re actually doing it,“ says Manishka.
Bronte, another student who has joined the group, has had her eyes opened to what The Salvation Army is really about.
“I knew that there was a humanitarian side, and that there was a church side. But I never understood that they did the humanitarian side because they were a church,” says Bronte.
While the group will focus on humanitarian issues, Lauren does not want the group to shy away from the fact that they are a Christian movement.
“It is a social program, motivated by the love of God. The only way I believe we’re going to bring about a revolution and revival is if we be Jesus in these situations, Lauren says.
“I’m not going to just preach to people. I'm not going to say you have to love Jesus to be apart of our group. If we can focus on demonstrating Christ’s love, I believe that’s more powerful.”
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