Salt Church

Ms VLAHOS (Taylor) (15:36): A couple of Sundays ago I had the good pleasure to visit the Playford congregation of the Salt Church at the John McVeity Centre, which is their new home. Based just outside my electorate at Peachey Road, this community does fantastic work in the north. Salt currently has three ministries in Gawler, the City of Playford and Waikerie. Prior to my visit, I had the pleasure of meeting and discussing their work with head pastor of the congregation, pastor Linda Cahill, at my electorate office earlier in the year.

Salt has been serving the City of Playford since 1984 and the current congregation is about 50 people and growing, and it is represented by the full scope of northern suburbs ages: seniors, young adults, young families, teenagers and children. During the time that my children and I were there, we were happy enough to sing, hear their musical capabilities and the praise that they believed in their faith.

They have contributed to a number of events over the last couple of years in the northern suburbs: the Playford carols, the Playford Christmas Pageant, the Upside Down Circus (something I sponsor myself as part of Team Taylor) and the Northern Schools & Youth Outreach program. I have also noticed that an important part of their pastoral work in Playford revolves around children. Recently, Salt conducted a community project in partnership with two other local churches that involved 2,000 slices of cheese and 10 kilos of ham for a hundred Mark Oliphant students, with breakfast once a week over terms 3 and 4 this year. It is a magnificent project because an empty stomach makes it hard for children to learn, so I commend them for their commitment to helping families in the north with this project.

Another thing they have also undertaken has been the distribution of Christmas food hampers and providing morning tea to staff, and monthly hampers for three of the local schools, in partnership with the pastoral care workers. They are reaching out to children in particularly vulnerable times to support them. The program has also received a youth outreach program, which involves about 50 youth to date, and is almost 18 months old. In addition, Salt has recently started a young families group, which is exploring ways to connect, support and encourage young families with young children up to the age of 12 as they discover their legs as parents. There is also a young adults group, which provides fellowship for children and young adults as they move towards adulthood.

It is a growing congregation and one that I will be very proud to be able to visit again shortly. They have also undertaken major social justice projects in the Philippines, Cambodia, North East India, Tanzania and Togo. My thanks go to Pastor Cahill and the other leaders of the congregation for the other Sunday morning, and I look forward to being with you as you relaunch your new facilities at John McVeity Centre on 11 October and joining with you in singing praise and seeing Christ's example of servant leadership in the north.