Last month’s plane disaster that claimed the lives of Sydney family Gerald and Carolyn Mall and their three young children, David, Amy, and Elysse, shocked and saddened the nation. But it is the church community at St Mark’s, South Hurstville that has been among those hardest hit by the tragedy.

The Malls had been active members of St Mark’s for three years and were part of the small 9.45am family service. They were killed on October 1 when their plane crashed near Cairns en route to Sydney, after an adventure holiday in the Top End and North Queensland.

The sudden deaths have been a double blow for the church, still grieving the death of parish councillor Mark Hudson who was killed in the Waterfall train derailment in January. Mr Hudson had also been part of the morning congregation.

The death of the family has been especially heartbreaking because of the Waterfall tragedy, said the Rev Peter Middleton, rector of St Mark’s. “They’re pretty hard hit for a small congregation. [The Malls] were very active in church and touched the lives of a lot of people. It’s really difficult to have keen adult Christians taken away.”

“We valued the involvement of the Mall family in the life of our church,” Mr Middleton told the 900 people who packed St Andrew’s Cathedral for the funeral service on October 17. “They were clearly people of solid Christian faith, and that encouraged us.

“They were generous in their support of our church’s ministry. They were generous in hospitality as they welcomed people – even people they didn’t know very well – into their home for meals and Christian fellowship. They were generous in giving their time to help promote genuine spiritual growth and experience of God’s love among our people.”

While the parish has bonded in their grief, and has brought people on the fringes closer to the fellowship, there are difficult days ahead. “It has brought people together, but there’s a heaviness,” Mr Middleton said, adding that the children are finding it particularly hard to cope with the loss of their friends.

But seeds of hope are being planted in the midst of the grieving church. Six months ago, Gerald and Carolyn Mall approached church staff with the plan to begin a youth ministry at St Mark’s. They recognised that their oldest, David, was approaching his teenage years and were concerned for his Christian growth. They were due to meet with a representative from Anglican Youthworks to discuss how St Mark’s could provide effective ministry among the young people in the church.

Now plans are in place to honour their legacy by training young people in the parish to start the ministry. “Gerald and Carolyn were the energy behind that meeting,” Mr Middleton said. The couple had offered to provide the funding for a youth minister.

Gerald and Carolyn met at an Anglican Youthworks-run Camp Howard where they were co-leaders. They had been married for almost 18 years. Both had successful careers; Mr Mall ran an aircraft maintenance business and his wife was a partner in the accounting firm Ernst & Young. The children attended Connells Point Public School in Sydney’s southwest and the small Sunday school at St Mark’s.

Both sides of the family take comfort in the knowledge that the Malls had a strong faith in Jesus. “They are now safe in the arms of God in heaven for eternity,” read a joint statement.