Lazarus Centre Chaplaincy Newsletter: St Peter’s Day 2019
The longest nights need not be the bleakest
On 23rd June St Peter’s marked the coldest time of the year with Masses of special intention for those suffering homelessness. Fr Philip shared the sermon with guests Chris de Paiva and Pete Burns. Below is a composite of their words.
Fr Philip: Today we offer our Masses with the special intention of showing solidarity with those who are homeless or in danger of being made homeless. We do so through our prayers, in the giving of our gifts and as we light candles to symbolise the light and warmth of Christ. We have two guests with
us this morning. Chris de Paiva, team leader of the Lazarus Centre and Pete Burns. Pete is now a staff member with the Lazarus Centre and will share something of his journey from homelessness to a new life in which he has been able to give so much to all associated with the Lazarus Centre. First Chris will speak to us.
Chris de Paiva: The Lazarus Centre is open 365 days a year and in the past 12 months has provided on average: support for 1000 individuals, 1000 items of clothing, hundreds of swags and blankets (which many have all been donated by St Peters Parish and Foundation) and 2500 shower vouchers.
In terms of numbers of participants, 350 breakfasts were provided per week which equates to 18,200 per year. 60 lunches were provides every Friday at the Health Time BBQ which equates to 3120 per year. The Health Time Program is a multi-disciplinary Allied Health approach to addressing some of the inequalities marginalised people experience in accessing existing health and welfare services and focuses on early intervention and prevention. In total 21,320 are being provided by the Lazarus centre per year. I have been overwhelmed by food and monetary donations that the Anglican Parishes and schools provide and I am grateful for the hard working volunteers both individual and corporate that give up many hours of their week to support the program, some of which have been doing so for 20 plus years. In the past year 3,744 volunteer hours which equated to $102,000 Without this support the program would not be viable. Now Pete will share something of his experience.
Pete Burns:* I want to thank St Peter’s parishioners and all who contribute to help make the Breakfast Program what it is. Nine years ago I was homeless. I cannot speak highly enough of the wonderful programs that Anglicare provide not only at St Peter’s but also St Mark’s. What it gives you as a person living homeless and marginalised is a connection point and access to the basic essentials to survive which is very important a place to access support and get some direction to help rebuild your life. This wonderful program it all about building a community where people can come to and feel like they belong. Somewhere with a sense of empathy, care, someone to trust. This, in my opinion, is the best Breakfast Program in town so the on-going support is paramount to keeping the program running. I am evidence for the value of this program. It was very big part in enabling me to move forward. Thank you for your support.
Fr Philip: As I continue as chaplain to the Lazarus Centre I thank the Anglicare Victoria staff who give their expertise and wisdom. I thank the volunteers who give of their time and encouragement and I thank those who contribute financially and prayerfully to this vital ministry. I sometimes ask those who volunteer with the Lazarus Centre how it is they are able to give so much so freely so that we can continue to offer hospitality and community to those in need. Are they simply making a sacrifice or perhaps carrying their crosses? Invariably they say they get more out of it than they contribute. Perhaps this is the result of our cross-carrying: it’s there; it means sacrifice, but it is not an end in itself but that means be which we enter into resurrection life.
* Pete spoke without notes. This is an excerpt from something he wrote for us some time ago following a similar theme.
Homelessness Week 2019
August 4th – August 10th
Homelessness Week is an annual awareness-raising week to highlight the 116,000 Australians who are homeless on any given night. Homelessness Australia provides information sheets and resources to support events all around Australia.
Get Involved:
Follow @CHPVic on Twitter to stay up to date on all #HW2019 activities Find out more here: www.homelessnessaustralia.org.au/campaigns/homelessness-week-2019
Thanks to some of our generous supporters
For the last six years at the helm at St Peter’s Fawkner, Fr Philip joined me as guest preacher each Good Friday and Christmas Eve. A wonderful gift everyone deeply appreciated. Although I have since left that parish I wanted to pay tribute to the parishioners who so generously contributed to the Lazarus Centre over those years. Almost without fail, each month I would gather gifted items in my car boot, bring them home; Philip then ferried them to Eastern Hill in stages.
There were large boxes of breakfast cereals, cans, tea, pasta, soups, toiletries, personal hygiene items, clothing like new socks and underwear, jumpers, tracksuits, even a heavy-duty top-quality men’s overcoat. Some who weren’t able to shop contributed financially to the Lazarus Centre. The photograph depicts Philip being thanked by the parish by Vicar’s warden, Elaine Corneille, who presented a cheque of $200 for the Lazarus Centre via the Charitable Foundation on behalf of all parishioners (10, yes 10 people!) on Good Friday this year. This surely displays the faithful generosity of the cherished people but also a mark of deep respect, very fond regard and sincere appreciation for Fr Philip and his ministries and regret that that would be his final Good Friday in their midst. Thank you St Peter’s Fawkner. And thank you, cherished Philip. ~ The Reverend Jennifer Inglis
Christy Thiagarajah is a St Peter’s identity in his own right. He has attended the a weekday Mass most every day for more than 25 years! He tells the story of a Breakfast Program participant who, thinking
Christy was a priest because he was always at Mass so early asked him for a blessing – Christy tried to convince him he was not a priest but he would not take no for an answer and so Christy obliged! The weekday Mass congregations and the Breakfast Program participants overlap and interact because of proximity of faith and facilities.
Some participants attend Mass regularly. Christy was challenged to see if there was something he and his work colleagues could do. After conferring with Lazarus Centre Team Leader, Chris de Paiva, Christy accepted the challenge to raise half the funds needed for a bane marie to keep food hot for breakfast. This amounted to $600. He set about encouraging his colleagues at the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions to come up with ideas to raise the funds. A small committee was formed. The first suggestions were to hold a raffle with prizes made by one of Christy’s workmates, a gifted wood worker. In addition Christy offered to host a lunch featuring Sri Lankan fare. Word certainly got around – 100 people attended the lunch and Christy and his friends raised $2135 for the Lazarus Centre. The success of the lunch has already got people talking about the next one. Thanks so much to Christy and all those who made such a substantial contribution possible!