Celebrating a Milestone
The important milestones in life need to be properly recognised and celebrated. This is one of the most enjoyable parts of my work as a Member of the Legislative Council. That is why I regularly make arrangements for Her Majesty, the Queen and the Governments of Australia to officially recognize longstanding couples and long living individuals by sending them letters of congratulation at important anniversaries and birthdays.
At a time when many marriages do not endure, it is entirely fitting that couples who do achieve these anniversaries and their families should be publicly congratulated. I looked forward to our families celebrating some important milestones recently. Beverley and I celebrated our 50th Wedding Anniversary, my 50th Anniversary of ordination as a Minister, and then more recently our 70th birthdays. We had always thought this would involve great celebrations given to us by our extended family now numbering 24, only to discover they expected the celebrations to be arranged and paid for by Mum and Dad!
However I arrange congratulatory messages to citizens of New South Wales such as 50th Wedding Anniversary from the Prime Minister of Australia, Premier of NSW, Governor-General of Australia and Governor of NSW; with the 60th, 65th and 70th Wedding Anniversary greetings coming from Her Majesty the Queen, the Prime Minister of Australia, the Premier of NSW, the Governor-General of Australia and the Governor of NSW.
I also arrange 90th Birthday best wishes to come from the Prime Minister of Australia and the Premier of NSW. And of course, the highly regarded best wishes for 100th, 105th and 110th Birthdays from Her Majesty the Queen, the Prime Minister of Australia, the Premier of NSW, the Governor-General of Australia and the Governor of NSW.
Unfortunately, The North Turramurra Church of Christ celebrating its 45th anniversary has only my congratulations. The Churches of Christ where I ministered celebrated their 90th and 110th anniversaries, and Wesley Mission celebrated its 190th anniversary several years ago. I spoke at our home church at Box Hill, Melbourne for its 50th, 60th, and last month they celebrated their 100th.
We are delighted to be here to celebrate with you as I have done several times before. I first came here as part of a State Wide series of evangelistic programs across all NSW Churches of Christ, organized by Kevin Crawford 35 years ago in 1975. I enjoyed hospitality at that time in Barton and Arlette Perkins’ beautiful home in Fidden’s Wharf Road.
Since then I have preached here for church anniversaries, youth outreaches, and before dozens of classes of students from Carlingford Theological College where I taught preaching and media communication for ten years.
This church was planted by the Chatswood church in the 1960s. As families moved into the newer suburbs of Turramurra, Pymble and Wahroonga it was decided by the Chatswood Church to establish a management committee to oversee the responsibility of planting a church in North Turramurra. As a result, a small fellowship of families gathered in the area for communion twice a month.
Land was bought and the site was selected to build the chapel. At 3 pm on 27th February 1965 the foundation stone was laid. The main purpose of this brief ceremony outside on the Allarra Avenue side was to ‘stimulate local interest and acquaint the larger Chatswood membership of the thrilling developments at North Turramurra.’ (Minutes 6/2/65)
The land was bought and the chapel erected debt free in 1965 through the generosity of the fellowship at both North Turramurra and Chatswood. Many people sacrificed to make what we have a reality. In August of 1965 the first service was held in the chapel at 9:30am followed by Sunday school at 10:45am.
The sense in 1965 was that ‘God has presented us with a unique opportunity for the proclamation of the gospel – demanding from each of us the highest standards of love and service.’
From 1965 to the present North Turramurra has been served by fine ministers and those ministries of the church have reflected the needs of the community. In 2007 the latest addition to the church, in fulfilment of the founders’ vision, was again added debt free through the wonderful generosity and sacrifice of the fellowship. In 2009 the Manse was restored to provide more suitable accommodation for the minister and family.
One dark night over thirty years ago, I was flying in a single engine airplane from Bendigo, where I had addressed the University, to Tullamarine, to catch the last flight back to Sydney. My pilot was Russell G. Withers, Managing Director of Pacific-Seven Eleven Stores Pty. Ltd.
Russell knew that at Wesley Mission I was planning on building a new Wesley Centre at a cost of over $300 million. I was troubled because it involved demolishing the Wesley Centre built only fourteen years previously under the leadership of Sir Alan Walker, and on which we still owed over a million and a quarter dollars.
Furthermore, Sir Alan had given me ten reasons why we should not redevelop our total site with a huge building many times the size of the existing collection of buildings including the Wesley Centre he had built. As the new young minister, I was a threat to his building.
The decrepit buildings on Castlereagh St., and in Wesley Arcade concerned me and the need to refurbish the Lyceum Theatre which was now showing wear and tear, and high maintenance costs. It seemed to me that total re-development was the only answer. Demolish all the buildings, clear the debt, and build 42 storeys high and 8 storeys underground for car parking of 500 cars was my vision.
I shared my concerns with Russell Withers in the dark cockpit of the small plane. He commented: “The successful store operator in my game refurbishes his store every three or four years top to bottom. So have a look at your own site. You can’t help an old location but you sure can help an old store.”
“You can’t help an old location but you sure can help an old store.” That was true. Our historic location in the very heart of the CBD was superb. The land value was high. But our low level buildings were a century old! We could not help our old location but we sure could help our old property! I became convinced we could redevelop the whole site in what would be one of Sydney’s greatest building projects at that time. Committees were established and over several years approvals were gained, plans were drawn and re-drawn, a developer, a financier and a builder were locked in. This all took 20 years to complete. But we opened in 1991 with 35 official openings with 35,000 people attending.
In 1978, I had written a thesis entitled “Transforming the City Church”, based upon my understanding of what was required for a city ministry in Sydney. I said any new church would require the answers to nine theological issues. Our church members studied my theological requirements of a city church. When we had our theology right, we drew up the specifications, then the architects designed a building to fit them.
On this anniversary I want to consider today those theological requirements which will explain what we should be doing as a church.
For our theological understanding determines how we use our buildings.
Contrary to our Akubra bush hats and four wheeled drive vehicles, Australians are not rural creatures. People by nature are urban creatures. Adam was a rural creature, but his son Cain lived in a city. Mankind has long left behind the concept of a rural Eden, and has headed for the city and the suburbs where he finds the fulfilment of his desires. Every achievement of humanity in art, culture, government, religion, politics, scientific and technological achievement has been born and developed in cities and suburbs. These nine theological understandings must guide our ministry:
1.SACRAMENT:
We have a sacramental ministry. For the Church is a symbol of God’s presence. The Church reminds the world that God is at work and that He can take ordinary lives and transform them by His power. Each person has been claimed by God and is loved by God. God loves them and offers them His power for living.
When the youth is pressured to experiment with drugs, or join in juvenile crime, or when the adult is tempted to be unethical in business, or to commit adultery, that person knows God has a place within his or her life. The sacrament affirms God’s presence. The Church possesses the signs of the faith: a Cross symbolising the Christ, a baptistry for believers baptism, a free-standing communion table, a pulpit, open space for alternative forms of worship including drama, music groups, mime, video and dance. I Wesley Centre I planned for four congregations to worship simultaneously in one huge building with theatre, church, lyceum and chapel.
2.SALVATION:
The presence of the Church is a reminder to the whole world of the forgiveness, healing and hope that God offers those who accept His salvation. That message of salvation must be passed on to others. Hence evangelism is primary to all we do.
We worship in many languages and multiculturalism is a normal way of life. People are valued regardless of race. Human nature has not changed since Jesus walked beside Galilee. In spite of all our technological and scientific ability we still have the same problems. Neither education, technology, psychology, nor scientific progress answers personal need. The Bible indicates that apart from God we are sinners needing salvation. The Church must proclaim salvation in Christ. Only Christ saves from sin.
3.SANCTUARY:
There exists in human hearts a need to find a transcendence in living. Urban dwellers need the elevating experience of worship. Where concrete replaces lawns and trees, where factories shut off the sunset, and where the noise of traffic substitutes for the song of birds and wind in the trees – the human spirit is dulled. Hence a new church should be a place of quiet refuge – carpeted, soft drapes, wall hangings, soft natural lighting, stained glass from our heritage, real flowers and greenery, and an atmosphere encouraging prayer and meditation. The church must be a sanctuary pointing beyond itself to a deep and satisfying relationship each can have with our Creator.
4.SECURITY:
People in the city always feel insecure. But the Church can provide a sense of security in the midst of rapid social change. It can provide an eternal stability, a point of reference when all about is in a state of flux.
So many folk face loneliness, feel fragmented, alienated, depersonalized, and powerless. Personal wholeness and healthy interpersonal relationships are difficult. Their devotion to the things of this world seems to shut out ultimate concerns. The Church is given by God a ministry of reconciliation; bringing the warring and the divided self together under the Lordship of Christ; helping the defeated to find dignity, courage, and reconciling them to God. Hence the church must have areas where people can be at home, feel welcome, and find friendship. Historical memorabilia, and stained glass remind us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.
5.SEMINARY:
The Church must equip Christians for their personal ministry. This involves all aspects of Christian education and of developing those gifts within each individual in small groups and classes. Every church must have a good program of Christian education for students of all ages.
6.SERVANT:
The body of Christ is His servant people. Our Church depends upon His servants seeing the need of mankind and giving themselves into the service of the gospel. The ministry of the Church is the whole people of Christ meeting the needs of people. So we serve the poor and powerless.
7.SOCIETY:
The substance of cities lies not in buildings, freeways and overpasses, but in the way people live together. The roads and streets are a network of communication, the houses and buildings are shells in which we sleep and work. But the life of the city is its relationships. Social networking is fundamental. We bring together the people of the city. Against the impersonality, loneliness, and lack of communication between people, lies the Church with its sense of participation, communication and friendship. That communication takes place in all our social activities. The Church puts heart into society, content into communication, and fellowship into acquaintanceship.
8.SPACE:
Churches must provide space within urban areas. Our streets are lined with building crammed against building, fighting each other as they reach for the sky. Small streets and laneways are over crowded as buildings seem to touch each other at the top. There is an overbearing pressure of buildings. Many people feel entombed within those streets. But the Church breathes space. The quiet atmosphere gives a feeling of space to the spirit. People come in from the street to the quiet and peace of an open Church and sit quietly and pray. A feeling calm and peace comes into overcrowded lives.
9.SPIRIT:
The church is the only provider of the essential human spirit. Every urban dweller ingests some of the pressures, some of the tensions and some of the attitudes of the city. People who live their lives within an oppressive and hard environment cannot help but be infected by the spirit of their community. But the Church can give people a new spirit. Here is the promise of a new creation, of a citizenship that goes beyond this earth to heaven, and a promise of a heavenly city, not made with hands but eternal in the heavens. Our services provide a sense of meaning, hope, and transcendence to living.
When a Church establishes itself with buildings, the architect has the privilege of drawing the lines round theology and of making the Church real in the centre of the streets.
“You can’t help an old location but you sure can help an old store.” Forty-five years of history, and stronger and fresher than at any time.
God has been faithful to your efforts to fulfil that challenge of making a new church for His glory and for the service of your community.
“Behold, I make all things new!” Thank you Lord Jesus! Help us be your Church. We can’t help our location, but we can help our community by being the Church! As Paul said, “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” 1 Corinthians 12: 27
REV. THE HON. DR. GORDON MOYES, A.C., M.L.C.