By Sandy Grant / Dean of Sydney and Rob Elder / Community Chaplain at St Andrew’s Cathedral
St Andrew’s Cathedral has always played a significant role in Sydney caring for the needs of the surrounding community. During and after World War II (1940-1947), approximately 3.5 million meals were given to active and returning soldiers in temporary Nissen huts erected on Cathedral grounds—the combined efforts of approximately 900 volunteers working for the Church of England National Emergency Fund (CENEF).
Over the last couple of decades, like many other church communities, the Cathedral has offered free English classes to serve the needs of overseas migrants and visitors. Bible reading is included as part of the approach—very appropriately, since the Bible and its message is so influential on our language, laws and culture.
Most recently, we have been especially delighted with the impact of Reverend Rob Elder on our ministry. Rob, a Moore College graduate, was appointed Community Chaplain at the start of 2024, and his position is funded by the Myfanwy Peters Estate for the relief of the needy in CBD of Sydney.
The idea for his role flowed out of the vision of our previous Dean/now Archbishop Kanishka Raffel, and the motivation behind it is expressed well in 1 John 3:16-17:
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
Street T
Rob’s first initiative was Street T. With a team of around 30 hard-working volunteers and chefs, who are a great credit to the Lord in whose name they serve, Street T provides “breakfast, Bible and buddies” on Monday and Tuesday mornings. Street T aims to reach those living on the streets and on the margins around the CBD—many of whom find themselves in our Cathedral forecourt. In its first year, Street T served up about 3,000 cups of coffee, 1,500 pieces of fruit, 1,000 bowls of porridge and 90 Bible studies.
Our goal with breakfast is to provide something nutritious, yummy and warm. This includes homemade food supplied by volunteer chefs from our congregations.
After food, we read the Bible and share a prayer. Reading and discussing the Bible together is a special joy: Rob says, “I’ve really loved listening to God, the occasional debate or new insight, and spurring each other on as we seek to apply his word to our lives.” One year in, we’re only about a third of the way through Luke’s Gospel, so we guess we’ll be finished around our third birthday.
Among our members, there is a notable level of hunger and interest in Christian faith. Many are curious about faith and, sometimes, they have a deep faith in Jesus themselves. It’s been a great joy for us watching a community of love (in all its quirkiness!) taking shape.
As we serve up the porridge, have a chat or share a prayer, we do so in a spirit of friendship. Of course, not everyone is chatty first thing on a Monday morning, and occasionally someone rubs us up the wrong way. But we thank God for the development of a genuine sense of friendship. We’ve loved getting to know our community members; there is no community without them! Our lives are richer as a result of knowing them, and it’s a joy not just to serve them, but to hear their opinions and to pray with each other.
Connections with community
We have also become a place for mobile community services to visit. The Orange Sky Laundry, a free mobile laundry service devoted to supporting people experiencing homelessness and hardship, drops in on Monday mornings. The 4 Voices van for women in crisis comes on Tuesdays.
In addition, once a month, we host a community hub in partnership with the Salvation Army. Our volunteers offer an additional early lunch sausage sizzle and cuppa, while a dozen or more government and community services set up pop-up access points in the Cathedral forecourt. Organisations involved include Anglicare; GambleAware; Homes NSW; Legal Aid; Births, Deaths and Marriages; the Ombudsman; People with Disability; Services Australia; Short Back & Sidewalks (who give free haircuts to people experiencing homelessness and poverty) and St Vincent’s Hospital Homelessness Team. We are so grateful for the common grace displayed in these community services consistently turning up, even in the cold months and on rainy days, so that people off the streets and on the margins can access practical help.
A transforming love
In 1 John 4:10. we read, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” This is an extraordinary love: God’s love for us in Jesus takes away our sins and frees us to live a whole new way. As the passage continues,
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:11-12).
We pray that through the ministry of Street T, many will experience something of this transforming love of Jesus.
Sandy Grant graduated from Moore in 1993. Rob Elder graduated from Moore in 2005.
All Bible passages are from the New International Version.
Prayer points
- Thank God for the ministry of Street T, for their volunteers and for the various connections they have made with their community in their first year.
- Ask God to bring help, hope and healing to those living on the streets and on the margins of Australian society.
- Ask God to reach many with the transforming love of Jesus so that their lives will be changed.
