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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2016-11-16 Daily Xml
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Matters of Interest

Australian Christian Churches Welfare Programs

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:33): I take a moment today to speak about the Australian Christian Churches movement, which is a group of churches within Australia working together, and they have done since 1937 when they were formed under a different name. Australian Christian Churches now consists of over 1,000 churches across Australia and over 315,000 constituents across this land. Notably, the Australian Christian Churches encourages all churches to actively engage with their local communities, and it is not surprising that many of the Adelaide-based Australian Christian Churches' churches have wholeheartedly taken up this assignment.

Churches have made and are continuing to make significant contributions to the community through devoting considerable amounts of time in assisting the less fortunate, and it is that that I would like to focus on today. One such church is Hope Church located in Mile End, not far from here, and led by pastors Josh and Sharon Brett. Hope Church is one of many South Australian churches making outstanding contributions to their local community. Recently, Hope Church held a so-called 'Big Sunday' event. The event involved ordinary, everyday people coming together to give back to the community and to assist those who are marginalised through isolation, poverty, disability or sickness.

Overall, the program provides hope to hopeless situations, as they say, through practical service. The event attracted people of many different ages, talents and skills, who, together with others in the church community, assisted with community projects scheduled throughout the weekend, lasting anywhere between one hour to a full day in some cases.

These community projects included handyman jobs at local not-for-profits, yard clean ups, visiting the elderly in nursing homes, assisting local animal shelters and providing social inclusion opportunities for various people groups, just to name a few. The event was equally successful last year, with hundreds of volunteers participating in activities and projects, including free haircuts for the homeless; a complete renovation on a drug and alcohol facility for Aboriginal women (a first of its kind in South Australia, we understand); fundraising for kids at TeamKids, formerly known as the Women's and Children's Hospital Foundation; and a house and garden makeover on a property that runs a community-focused feeding program.

Hope Church and the Australian Christian Churches, as evidenced by their strong focus on community welfare, believe that wherever there is a need, there is an opportunity to lend a helping hand. Their mission is to build community through community service. Oasis Christian Church, situated in Ceduna, is another example of an Australian Christian Churches part of that movement having a positive impact on community. Established in 1990, Oasis Christian Church provides welfare, counselling and emergency food relief to locals and the Aboriginal people of the region. Oasis Church also holds services in the local Aboriginal language.

In recent years, the church was granted a small government grant to provide emergency food relief to around 1,200 families in the remote region. Over the decades, the church has created many positive relationships with the locals, who originally began attending the church because they were hungry. According to the pastor of the church, locals now often come in not for food, but for prayer and guidance. These are only two examples of the outstanding contribution the Australian Christian Churches have made to community welfare in South Australia.

I commend the many churches that have made, and are continuing to make, outstanding contributions to their local communities, including Influencers Church, Salt Church, Rise Church and, as I have mentioned, Hope Church. They have all made significant contributions with respect to community welfare. There are, of course, many others. The work of Australian Christian Churches may often go unnoticed by the wider community, but, to the disadvantaged and marginalised in our community, the work of the Australian Christian Churches can mean the world. I congratulate these churches on their community service and encourage everyone to be involved and support them in the very good work that they do.

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