Parish Profile St John’s Glebe 2016 www.glebechurch.org.au

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Parish Profile – St John’s, Glebe St John’s acknowledges the elders, past and present, of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, on whose land our church stands, and we extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Practical, local and generous, this is St John’s. We are an evangelical community that prays together, eats together, and is generous for the sake of God’s Kingdom in Glebe. We believe this pattern of life and engagement reflects Jesus’ ministry and love for people and connects with the life of the early church (Acts 2:42-47). We believe it also forms a strong basis for inner city mission today, faithfully proclaiming the gospel and demonstrating the love of Christ in a fashion which is relevant, authentic and personally engaging. St John’s is an inner city church with which values incarnational ministry. Glebe is known for its diversity in cultural backgrounds, ethnicity, education and socio-economic status. The diversity in our congregation reflects this wider picture. St John’s provides an accessible, safe and welcoming space for persons of different backgrounds to meet and engage with each other and the gospel. St John’s is part of the local community. We value time spent connecting with locals and showing God’s love through the various activities we undertake within the community. We desire for all to be transformed by the good news of the Kingdom through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. At St John’s reconciliation, justice and transformation are integral to our hope in Christ. In keeping with these themes, we have established a valuable ministry partnership with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the parish. Furthermore, we have been actively connecting with, supporting, and ministering to locals suffering social and economic disadvantage for the last eleven years. All God’s people, men and women, should be encouraged to use their gifts and abilities in the service of God. St John’s endeavours to live out God’s command “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8). St Johns is participating in the Vision 2020 program and the NCLS in 2016. Our ongoing vision is to continue to be a growing community of disciples centred in Jesus, extending his hope to all of Glebe and beyond. 2

This document contains a profile of St John’s which includes an overview of: •

Who we are o Congregation o Mission field o Staff and volunteers o Core values

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What we do o Worship services o Ministries, mission links , partnerships and other community involvement

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Where we are headed o Mission o Church properties (current and future)

Who we are Congregation St Johns is a warm and welcoming church with a diverse congregation. Kneeling at the communion rail you may be sharing the Lord’s Supper with a successful business person, an aspiring musician, an academic, a person who grew up in a house with no electricity, or a person living in public housing and struggling with poor mental health. Our regular congregation is a community of approximately 90 people, of whom about 70 will be present on an average Sunday. Always present at services are: several developmentally delayed adults, who are treasured members of our church; residents of the neighbouring retirement village; members of the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities; families with children; and a range of professionals, students and retirees. Our congregation is a true reflection of the local community. We come to St Johns for many reasons, but the two constants are our desire to worship and learn about God, and the relationships we have within the church.

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Mission field

The challenges we face in St Johns are a reflection of our local community. Glebe is an inner city suburb of Sydney with a population of approximately 13,000. It is an old and diverse suburb with many challenges and advantages. Glebe is located on Sydney Harbour and contains a number of beautiful parks and large heritage homes. It is close to the CBD and is well serviced in terms of public amenities and shops. Glebe Point Rd is well known for its restaurants, cafes, book shops and market which contribute to its “bohemian” character. Glebe is also adjacent to the University of Sydney and many students and university staff reside in the suburb. Glebe’s location close to Sydney’s centre also means it plays host to many tourists, including backpackers. However, there are also a significant number of families residing in Glebe and to cater for this the suburb contains a number of schools and child care centres. 2.4% of Glebe residents are of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage and Glebe contains an adult indigenous education provider (Tranby). In addition, there is one retirement village (St John’s Village) in Glebe. The Village is adjacent to the church and shares car park access with the church and rectory. Glebe is a suburb of contrasts. It has locales where the average socio-economic indicator values are in the top or bottom 10% for Australia. Glebe is home to some of the most well educated and wealthy individuals in Australia; however, it also contains approximately 1800 social housing tenancies housing individuals with high needs. Drug abuse and mental illness are part of the street scene of Glebe. The majority of Glebe adult residents are employed, however there is a higher percentage of unemployed people between the ages of 25 and 44 5

than the Australian average. Furthermore, 29% of Glebe residents over 15 earn above $1000 a week, however 25 % earn less than $400 a week. Glebe’s economic divisions are reflected geographically. Large parts of southern Glebe consist of public housing residences whereas the northern part of the suburb is characterized by expensive heritage homes. The tension between offering the message of God’s forgiveness and salvation to the wealthy and privileged as well as to the poor and marginalized in Glebe is apparent. Glebe has a village feel with many long term residents and unique local characters, but it also has many transient residents. As a consequence of this diversity, ministry staff and congregation members regularly respond to challenging requests from beggars, welcome people they may not meet again, and connect with people with mental health issues. Spiritually, Glebe is also diverse. Glebe has a relatively high proportion of individuals who identify as having no religious affiliation or as being affiliated with religions other than Christianity. 42% of people in Glebe indicate a Christian religious affiliation and 30% indicate no religious affiliation. This is a notable contrast to the national average: 64% and 19% respectively. Geographically and spiritually, St Johns provides a bridge between the significant polarities in Glebe. St John’s is physically located on the divide between the wealthier and poorer areas of the suburb. It provides a valuable meeting place for the disparate elements that make up the suburb. In this urban context we try to represent Jesus in an authentic fashion. The new minister we seek will be well served to have either experience working in an innercity parish, or the energy to take on the challenges of one.

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Core values At St Johns we aspire to be: Evangelical in theology We profess the Nicene and Apostles’ Creed as part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ. We profess salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We rely on the authority of the Bible as the inspired word of God. We believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit. We want to see Christ honoured as Lord and Saviour in Glebe and beyond.

Incarnational in ministry We seek to live lives worthy of our Lord Jesus Christ. In order to do this we proclaim the good news of Jesus in Glebe. We also want to be a presence in Glebe that embodies what we believe. We want to develop relationships with our neighbours and love them. We do this by prayerfully living alongside the people of Glebe, sharing with them in their experiences and seeking to love them where they are.

An egalitarian community We believe that all people—without regard to gender, ethnicity or class—should have the freedom to exercise their God-given gifts with equal authority and responsibility in church, home and world. With regard to gender, St Johns values the involvement of the whole body of Christ and seeks to encourage women in their ministry, including preaching, teaching and leadership roles.

Our calling as followers of Jesus at St Johns in a changing and confusing world is:

1. To be centred in Jesus as individuals 2. To live out the calling of Jesus as a church community 3. To share the story of Jesus, focussing on his life, death and resurrection and the promises He makes 4. To welcome people into our church community

At St Johns we seek a senior minister who shares these values and is similarly called.

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Staff and volunteers In addition to the senior minister St John’s employs 5 part-time staff. Community Ministry Director – 4.5 days p/w Duties include: •

Directing the Glebe Assistance & Partnership Program (GAPP – see section on ministries) including supervising GAPP staff and volunteers and liaising and working with Anglicare

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Building relationships with other service providers

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Active involvement in the running and planning of Sunday services including leading and preaching

Families and young workers minister – 4 days p/w Duties include: •

Running the Sunday children’s program (Kid’s Church) and undertaking a children’s talk as part of the Sunday services

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Coordination of school scripture program and holiday club

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Active involvement in Sunday services including preaching

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Networking with young workers and leading young workers home group

Communications and Property Coordinator – 3.5 days p/w Duties Include: •

Church office manager

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Producing publications and managing the church website

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Point of contact for day to day church property matters

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Involved in church playgroup ministry 1 morning a week

Indigenous Ministry Coordinator – 2.5 days p/w Duties include: •

Developing The Scarred Tree initiative (discussed below)

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Networking with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals and community groups

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Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals and community groups on indigenous events such as NAIDOC week

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Pastoral care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and working with the Glebe Kidz Club

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Working as an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander counsellor at GAPP

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Leading the Glebe Indigenous Christian Gathering (GICG) on a monthly basis

GAPP Community Worker – 2 mornings p/w Duties include - Interviewing clients and the provision of emergency relief and budgeting advice. Student Ministers Over the past 8 years St Johns has enjoyed the ministry of 4 student ministers from Moore College and anticipates a student will be joining us in 2017.

Volunteers St John’s is blessed to have a number of dedicated parishioners who regularly assist in running services and in many of its ministries.

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What we do Worship Services Sunday morning services St Johns provides a low-church style service each Sunday morning at 9.30. We have a monthly routine of two communion services (2nd and 4th Sunday), alternating with worship services (1st and 3rd Sunday). On the third Sunday of each month we run Fusion Church, a less formal worship service with a family focus. A regular prayer ministry is provided during our communion services and every second Sunday prior to the service commencing. Morning tea at the conclusion of each service provides an important opportunity to encourage one another to grow in Christ and to welcome newcomers. These services are the heart of St Johns they centre and equip us for mission, build community, display openness and are compelling. Music Music is an essential part of our services and we have been blessed by having a number of exceptionally talented musicians and singers in our congregation. The band is made up of a group of approximately 5 adults from the church, a number of whom have their own music careers. In addition we have a dedicated organist, Bob Sutton. Contemporary worship music is provided in the morning service on the 1st and 3rd Sunday or every month. On the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month traditional organ based hymns are provided as part of our communion service. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture At St John’s, specific and significant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander days and events are commemorated and celebrated. Also, each Sunday, the Aboriginal custodians of the land are acknowledged. In addition, the traditional dances and songs of indigenous church members are valued elements of many of our services: not only during NAIDOC and the Coming of the Light, but in many of our significant celebrations. Smoking ceremonies and

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fires for communal gatherings have also become part of our church life. St John’s is referred to as “home,” “family” and “a culturally safe place” by our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island members. They told us that, in the past, “whenever we had something good it was taken from us.” A new minister will need strong pastoral skills and a heart to live out God’s call for reconciliation.

Kids Church As part of our Sunday morning service, we also run a small but devoted children’s ministry, coordinated by our Families and Young Workers Minister and maintained by a number of dedicated volunteers. Kids Church is provided on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month during the Sunday morning service and it caters for two age groups – late primary to high school and preschool to mid-primary. We have an average 10 kids at Kids Church each Sunday. In addition, St Johns has recently experienced a nursery-full of new babies with a few more still to be born.

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The Real Meal Once a month St Johns, in partnership with Glebe Christian Life Community, holds the Real Meal. The Real Meal is an informal outreach service centered on sharing a meal together. This service provides a non-threatening and hospitable place for members of the community to encounter Jesus. Good company, music, quality food, God’s word and prayer are provided. We recall how Jesus described himself as the Bread of Life; how he fed the 5,000; of his special meal with Zaccheus and the intimacy of his final Passover meal knowing he was to be betrayed. Job, from olden times, also knew of the need for hospitality (Job 31) and indeed God provided manna to the Israelites in the desert. Underlying all these instances was the care for the spiritual well-being of those who were recipients as well as their physical needs. This service is reliant on the generosity of congregation members who donate their time and food towards this monthly event. Special services A range of Easter and Christmas services are well attended each year. In addition baptisms, weddings and funerals are conducted for people in the local area and others with strong connections. As stated above, St John’s greatly values and respects its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members and as such, we participate in significant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander events such as NAIDOC week and the Coming of the Light. At these times our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters play a particularly important role in planning and participating in our services. Lay participation More than half the congregation assists with regular duties associated with services including welcoming, assistance in leading the service, bible readings, music, prayers morning tea and children’s ministry.

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Attendances for 2015 Morning Service

74 (adults and children)

Baptisms

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Funerals

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The Real Meal

30-51 (adults and children) per month

GICG

12 adults per month

Ministries, Mission Links and Partnerships Pastoral care St Johns is a warm and supportive community. One of our strengths as a family sized community based church is that we are able to provide pastoral care within the congregation on a relational rather than a programmed basis. However there are a number of more formal activities we undertake to meet various needs within the parish:

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Lunches/dinners are held as a way of helping parishioners, including those who bring their children for baptism, to connect with the church (the “dinners for 8” initiative)

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The ministry team follows-up with newcomers and people on the margins using the parish roll

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Parents of newborns supported through the provision of meals made by members of the congregation

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Maintaining contact with those parishioners unable to attend services etc. due to health and mobility issues

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Visiting parishioners in hospital

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A roster for driving less mobile congregation members to and from church

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Pastoral care within St John‘s Anglican Retirement Village.

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Small group bible studies Around 40 people attend one of four regular home groups. Each group studies the bible and acts as a pastoral care resource for its members. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander initiatives – The Scarred Tree Situated on the St John’s grounds is an ironbark tree bearing an ancient scar from the removal of its bark by Eora people for traditional purposes. This tree is a reminder of the continuing presence and importance of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters and their enduring and powerful connection to the land on which St Johns stands. The Scarred Tree is an initiative of St Johns Glebe which began in 2013 and is part funded by Anglican Aid. The goal of The Scarred Tree is twofold: •

To enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to grow in their knowledge and faith in Jesus Christ in a culturally and spiritually supportive environment.

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To invite and encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to regularly attend St John’s Church ministries.

The Scarred Tree undertakes a range of activities including: •

Providing community support for single parent and other families

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Participating in GAPP, Emergency Relief

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Encouraging the learning of cultural dance and language

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Two members are studying at Mary Andrews College

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Providing Pastoral care to Aboriginal children and parents at Gawura Aboriginal School St Andrews Cathedral and Pastoral care to Parents and support staff

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Continued Hospital visitation

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Conducting and attend Funerals

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Conducting Weddings

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Prison visitations

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Advocating for First Nations rights

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Observing special Indigenous days throughout the year 15

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Continued working with Uniting Church Australia’s, Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC) as a paid Resource Worker (Ray)

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Conducting, organizing and attending Prayer meetings

The Scarred Tree is also responsible for the Glebe Indigenous Christian Gathering, a monthly

fellowship of around twelve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who gather to encourage one another in the Lord Jesus.

GAPP – Glebe Assistance & Partnership Program St Johns offers practical outreach to parish residents who are socially or economically disadvantaged through GAPP. For the past eleven years GAPP has provided practical assistance for people who are in tough spaces. GAPP provides people in crisis with a safe place where they can be listened to and can receive practical assistance including emergency finance and food hampers, hospitality, guidance, and an opportunity to learn about Jesus. GAPP is managed by our Community Ministry Director, with help from our Community Worker and Indigenous Ministry Coordinator (both of whom have counselling qualifications) and a group of dedicated volunteers (on of whom has been a volunteer since GAPP’s). GAPP is conducted under the auspices of Anglicare. 16

In 2015, GAPP provided the following assistance and services to the Glebe community: •

Emergency Relief - More than 700 clients were seen by our two Community Workers from January to December 2015, over the 90 days that GAPP was open and in addition, more than 200 food parcels were given out.

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No Interest Loans Scheme (NILS) - In 2015 the NILS program gave out a very small number of loans (total five) in the first half of the year. In July, a decision was made to take a break from issuing new loans due to the cost of the program and the lack of sustainable funding. This means that the focus of the program has been on managing current loans and arrears. This decision will be revisited in 2017 as to the longer strategic plan for this program.

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Drop in centre - GAPP has continued to be very busy on Monday and Wednesday mornings. We love having many of our “regulars” drop by to say hello, grab a cup of tea and sit and chat. We often have craft materials available and exercise classes. On different days lunch, including hot dogs, barbecue or soup is provided.

2015 saw GAPP increase the level of partnership we have with our auspicing organisation, Anglicare. This has meant a higher level of governance related engagement (new database and connecting to their IT system, combined training and meetings) as well as a more robust and stronger partnership “on the ground.” We have had an Anglicare Family Support Worker become part of our GAPP team on Mondays, seeing some of our clients at GAPP each week. An Anglicare counsellor has also come fortnightly and offered low cost counselling to some of our clients. It has been great to have these additional resources.

Looking forwards, we are hoping and praying that we might continue to be a positive, safe and healthy local space for people to come and receive love, care and support in many different ways.

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Children’s Ministries Scripture classes

Each Monday our Family and Young Workers Minister teaches two Anglican scripture classes at Glebe Primary School: a junior and senior class each containing approximately 15 students. Galloping Giraffes Playgroup

St John’s runs a thriving playgroup each Tuesday and Thursday morning. The Galloping Giraffes playgroup began in 2009. The group is held at the back of the church and also uses the fenced grass play area on the car park side of the church. We can accommodate approximately 15 families per session; however, as demand for play groups in the Glebe area is high we usually have a waiting list. The morning activities consists of free play inside and outside, craft, toys etc. We share morning tea together and finish with singing and story-time. We pray with the children and parents at the end of the session before we say goodbye and tell the Easter and Christmas stories when appropriate. We often invite the families to Church events and have had a small amount of crossover from this. We also find it a fantastic way to be engaged and connected with our local community and to support Mums (and Dads, grandparents, carers etc.) in some of life’s challenges along the way.

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Glebe Kidz Club

After school on Mondays St John’s Family and Young Workers Minister and our Indigenous Ministry Coordinator assist in the running of the Glebe Kidz Club, a parent run group of approximately 20 children who meet in St John’s small hall. The parent group is part of the Glebe Treehouse.

Other outreach activities St Johns has also run Alpha courses and the Alpha marriage course. Mission Links Outreach beyond the parish is supported through prayer and established links with mission work. St Johns supports Bush Church Aid, Kate Dalitz - a CMS missionary working with International Nepal Fellowship, Christians for Biblical Equality and TEAR Australia. Other community involvement St John’s is a local church which values its connections to the local community. Glebe Street Fair

Each November St John’s actively participates in the well-known Glebe Street Fair. The church grounds are opened up for picnickers and church members run a number of stalls to fundraise for the church and our missionary partners. In 2015 these included a home bake store, a knitwear and craft store and a TEAR stall. In addition, the church is open for visitors and it hosts a number of musical performances. Furthermore, our talented musicians often have a place on the main stage at the fair. Sharing our resources

We have arrangements for various local groups with similar values to use our properties: •

Monday night there is a women’s NA group that meets in the small hall 19

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Wednesday Night GROW Group (mental health) meets in the small hall - free of charge, this has been a long term arrangement.

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We also make the space available for friends of ‘Scarred Tree’ like The Torres Strait Island Community meetings.

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Once a year in November we offer the hall as a venue for the Glebe Music Festival

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Since March we have enjoyed an ongoing arrangement with One in Love Fellowship, a Korean fellowship, who use the St Johns Hall to meet once week on Sunday 4pm to 8pm. They minister especially to overseas students at the University of Sydney. They are an incorporated association and their lead minister is Ham Kim, who heads up a program at Morling College.

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A member of staff attends the monthly FLAG (Forest Lodge and Glebe) meetings, a local network of community service providers.

Partnerships St Johns Anglican Retirement Village (Anglicare)

St John’s has a formal parish partnership with Anglicare which involves shared physical resources and pastoral duties at the St Johns Anglican Retirement Village adjacent to the church. St John’s contribution to the partnership involves: •

Allowing carers to use our part of the car park mid-week,

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Pastoral duties including a St John’s staff member: o running a weekly bible study in the Village o conducting pastoral visitation o attending the Christmas party and other significant events , o meeting up with the Village manager around once a quarter, o writing a piece for the Village news-letter, o simply being a friendly face.

St John’s receives $10,000 per annum from Anglicare to facilitate these activities and Anglicare has committed to looking after repairs for the whole car park. St John’s has close ties to the Village residents and a number are regular congregation members. A new Senior Minister at St Johns would be encouraged to continue this relationship.

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Glebe Community Garden Club (GCG)

St Johns has a longstanding arrangement with the GCG that grants the group use of the plant beds in the garden of the St John’s Hall, during set times, in which they grow vegetables for their own purposes. They also maintain the other areas of the garden, including the lawn area and native garden site. This benefits St Johns by solidifying a strong link with an influential community group as well as providing ongoing landscaping maintenance.

This year, we have agreed with the GCG that they will transfer their plant beds over to the church side of the estate, specifically the (smaller) strip of land that nestles between the Anglican Retirement Village, church car park and St Johns House. This transfer will take place in advance of the relocation of the office and other ministries from St Johns Hall to St Johns House.

Further, the GCG have been consulted on our wider plans for the landscaping works around the church (discussed in the property strategy section of this document) with a view to them planting and maintaining a comprehensive array of native plants to enliven the space and create a more vibrant and accessible outside area. This arrangement will be formalised with an MoU upon the (imminent) approval of our Development Application for landscaping works (discussed in the property section below).

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Where we are headed Our Mission St John’s seeks to be a growing community of disciples centred in Jesus and extending his hope to all of Glebe and beyond. Our Context - We are a church in inner city Glebe, with its diverse challenges of wide income range, mental health challenges, social exclusion and social sophistication and with its local strengths of rich history, resourceful individuals and families, active organisations and a confident sense of its own identity. Our commitment - We are committed to be an effective presence for Jesus in Glebe and beyond. St John’s has been part of Glebe for over 150 years. We are an evangelical church engaged with our wider community and committed to having women and men serve, lead and teach according to their gifts, understanding and character. These are abiding values. We look with anticipation to the future. To be effective three ingredients are required: •

We must be confident in God - His desire is for people to be made whole, through a relationship with Jesus. He equips us for this work of reconciliation. Our ministries to people in need, to families and to all the local community must be energised by our congregational worship and enabled by his Spirit. We are to be church given to prayer.

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We must possess a culture of generosity - We are to think well of one another, to be open to others in the wider community and to give freely from our time our skill, our experience and our finances.

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We must be strategic - We have to think wisely and creatively about all our programs, such as our emergency relief through GAPP, our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagement through Scarred Tree and our play groups through Galloping Giraffes. We have to better use evangelistic programs such as Alpha. We have to continue developing partnerships with local organisations such as The Glebe Tree House, as it works with children and parents. We have to manage our properties in the most productive way to conduct our ministries effectively. Our 22

properties should earn an income, to supplement our generous congregational giving, enabling us to keep them in good repair and to develop them for further ministry. A new Senior Minister at St John’s would need to share in this vision but would also be invited to add his own stamp to this picture.

Properties (current and future) St Johns is currently in a transition phase where the use of a number of its properties is changing and a series of works are anticipated. The first section below lists the properties are they are currently (October 2016). A further section, The St Johns Property Strategy, provides information on our plans for these properties. Current Church building

The Parish was established on 1st October 1856, when Bishop Frederic Barker, the second Bishop of Sydney, gave land for a church (present hall) and as well as ground rent from 5 cottages. The present church, attributed to the architect Edmund Blackett (but more likely designed by Horbury Hunt) was opened in 1870. The Church is situated on the intersection of Glebe Point and St John’s roads and has a prominent position in the Glebe streetscape. A “user friendly” space has been created at the rear of the church for use by parents and toddlers and a kitchen added to enable the easier serving of morning teas. There are minor leaks in the church roof. St Johns has recently had a development application approved to alter the interior of the church (see ‘future’ section below).

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Halls and office space

Opposite the church, across St Johns road, are two halls also owned by the parish (on the site of the original church). The larger hall, heritage listed and known as the Record Reign Hall, contains a large hall & stage, the church office, three small meeting rooms. Adjoining the large hall is a small hall which contains a kitchen, toilets, two meeting rooms and a small open hall space. The small hall is situated next to a medium sized garden utilised by the Glebe Community Garden Club. All these properties are discussed in detail in the property strategy section below. Derwent Street terraces

The church owns four single storey two bedroom brick terrace houses built around the 100 years ago and located adjacent to the Parish Halls at 119, 121, 125 and 127 Derwent Street. They sit is a row of five terraces with the middle terrace having been sold by St Johns in the 1980s. A number of the terraces are currently leased to people in ministry at or active in St John’s. The amenity of the terraces is quite poor with significant cracking, poor plumbing and one terrace still having an external toilet. The plan is to fully renovate these properties to make better use of the land and to improve amenity. These plans are detailed in the ‘Future’ section below. Rectory and grounds

The current rectory is adjacent to the church. Built around 1960 it is an air conditioned brick house with 4 bedrooms, bathroom and separate toilet upstairs, a kitchen/family room, lounge, toilet, laundry and study downstairs. It has an attached garage and front and rear yard. The rear garden is private and walled adjacent to Foley Park. Given the location positioned between the church and Foley Park and next to Glebe Point Rd, the amenity of the rectory has been found wanting. The vision is for this building to become St John’s House, a hub for the activities of the parish. For further information see the ‘Future’ section below. The parish will provide accommodation to the new minister in keeping with the diocesan guidelines. An allocation of $1200 per week has been made in the budget to facilitate this.

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Future As responsible stewards of the properties for current and future generations, St Johns are

seeking to maximise the utilisation of all of its properties. To this end a decision has been made to consolidate activities in the church and rectory (aka St John’s House) in order to free up the large and small halls on St Johns road for revenue generation. This will provide the necessary income to allow the renovation of the four terrace house which are in need of significant work. This plan has necessitated the re-configuration of the internals of the church. The vision for the terraces is to not only renovate them but to convert the existing stables/garages into granny flats. A key principle in the renovation of the terraces is to create a mix of residences so the parish have the flexibility to respond to future changes as they arise. Church building The requirements were to: •

open up the rear of the church to allow for more varied activities.

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level the floor (i.e. infill between the various plinths)

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open up the front of the church (chancel) to better accommodate special services such as weddings.

A development application (DA) has been approved based on the plan illustrated below (note: with the condition of only one new door opening). A key principle of the works is to respect the ‘fitted’ nature of the church and to re-work any pews no longer required into new ‘fitted’ pieces. St Johns is awaiting the results of a grant application before proceeding with the work. Additional long term items of work are also planned to address: •

leaks in the roof

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sandstone restoration on the bell tower

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re-pointing of the sandstone boundary wall

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Halls and office space

The requirement here was for revenue generation in a way that is sensitive to the values of St Johns. To this end a Heads of Agreement has been signed with the childcare provider ‘Goodstart Early Learning’, a not-for-profit organisation that operates with strong business disciplines that was initiated by The Benevolent Society, Mission Australia, the Brotherhood of St Laurence and Social Ventures Australia. An ‘Agreement for Lease’ and ‘Lease’ are currently being negotiated with Goodstart and the work required to submit a DA for the childcare centre are currently being developed by Goodstart. The plans assume the large hall is retained and the small hall is replaced with a purpose build adjoining building as illustrated in the picture below.

Derwent Street terraces

The strategy with the terraces is to make better use of the land and to improve amenity. This is achieved through not only renovating then but to convert the existing stables/garages into granny flats. A key principle in the renovation of the terraces is to create a mix of residences so the parish have the flexibility to respond to future changes as they arise. The plan below illustrates that the terraces will be renovated as follow: •

two (125 and 127) will become 2 bedroom homes with separate 1 bed granny flats behind each.

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one (121) will become a 4 bedroom and 2 living room home suitable for use as a rectory. 27

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one (119) will become a 3 bedroom with a separate 1 bed granny flat behind.

Rectory and grounds

No fixed plan for work on the internals of the rectory have been progressed, however options for keeping a flat on the first floor have been suggested while utilising the ground floor as ‘St John’s House’. A DA has been submitted for the landscaping surrounding the rectory and the church and we are currently awaiting the determination of council. The plan below outlines the landscaping vision.

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