Imagine an army of Christians doorknocking 13,000 people across your area in an hour. It could happen if Katoomba Anglican’s new minister can talk CMS Summer School and Katoomba Convention organisers into taking part.
After 12 years the Rev Ray Robinson is saying farewell to St Paul's, Chatswood and will become curate-in-charge of the traditional parish of St Hilda's, Katoomba in the New Year.
The church has been without a full time minister for the past two years and it has been unable to afford one.
The move was made possible through a grant from the Western Sydney Regional Council, and after discussions between the regional bishop and the parish council. Bishop Ivan Lee said he is delighted.
"St Hilda's, a small traditional church, has stepped out in faith and accepted the challenge to reinvent itself under the leadership of an experienced and creative new minister in order to reach their community".
One of Mr Robinson's hopes is to capitalise on Katoomba Christian Conventions and CMS Summer School.
St Hilda's is located on the main street in the centre of the town and the conventions are an opportunity to invite people to get to know the church.
"Parish council is keen to experiment," Mr Robinson said. "People don't need to get involved in theological discussions, just raise the profile of the church."
KYC might be a fixture in Katoomba but so is the annual "Winter Magic' festival. Occult worshippers, new age spiritualists and a growing gay community " many Katoomba residents don't fit into traditional ways of doing church, Mr Robinson acknowledges.
"You can treat magic as something from the devil and condemn it, or do what Paul did at the Areopagus, and declare to people that there is something out there more powerful than magic," he said.
Despite expectations that clergy in his position might be expected to take on a larger, urban parish, Mr Robinson remains humble.
" The majority of churches have not seen significant growth in recent years. The Anglican church was the only church with a full time minister working only in Katoomba," he said.
"People have been trying very hard and it's a hard area to minister in. There is a real need for a contemporary modern church that experiments. Because I have a bit of experience, I might be able to make a contribution."
The Prayer Book service at 8.00am will be maintained, and there are plans to build on the foundations laid by the small evening congregation and the Bible study group that currently meets in a café, as well as develop other ministries in the church.
"At this stage the Sunday School has about six children, so we're starting from scratch," Mr Robinson said.
"The parish does run a very successful children's ministry once a year. The year before last 80 kids came to the children's program. This year they had to limit it to 50 because they couldn't cope with the numbers. The families are there."
Courtesy Southern Cross
