Dear Inner Circle,

Surprises abound at Wayside. Some of the loveliest things happen in a way that is quite out of order. Luckily people are generally not problems to be solved but people to be met and so often the least likely turns out to be the wisest. It’s why at our little Sunday morning church service we adore the little lady we call, Saint Interruptus. She and I have become something of a double act. Once I noticed that we were running a little over time and so I said, “I’ll pick up the pace here, I don’t want to bore you.” “Bore us!” she said, “That’s your job!” Sunday just gone a dark-skinned Aboriginal man decided unannounced to play us his didgeridoo. He stepped up to the altar and rested his didge near a microphone. It was an incredibly beautiful and moving gift he made for us. The dear Uncle however, had some time ago, had his own precious didge stolen, so on Sunday he played on a pipe from a vacuum cleaner. It may have been the first retractable didgeridoo in 40,000 years to be played in this country. A couple who had been with us that day, showed up on Tuesday this week with a brand new didgeridoo. When I gave it to our dear Uncle he melted in my arms and wept for some time. There is a good chance this Sunday that the happiest Aborigine in Australia will lead us in devotion with his beautiful new didgeridoo. We’re not much like a church but it works for those who are not much like Christians.

You’ve heard me talk about Wayside’s expansion to Bondi Beach a few times over the past year and I’m happy to tell you that from 1 July 2016, this will officially become a permanent arrangement. Chapel by the Sea in Bondi Beach will come under the governance and management of The Wayside Chapel and as of tomorrow, we are one strong organisation serving the community in multiple locations. This means that Wayside has full governance and management responsibility of the Community Services Centre at Norman Andrews House and the North Bondi Op Shop, as well as the programs, worshipping communities and the resources that formed part of Chapel by the Sea. We’re delighted to have more opportunity to live our mission of creating community with no ‘us and them’ in the eastern suburbs. We will be a stronger presence to address social issues in the area in such a way that the whole Bondi community will feel strengthened and better served.

Keep reading here.