By Paolo Hooke

Parish: Killara
Region: North Sydney

Mission
St Martin’s, Killara stands out for being a beautiful sandstone church on a generous block of land. Beneath this grand façade lies a church ready to embrace change, giving it a more visible presence within the Killara community. As Rector Martin Robinson describes “old moulds will be broken as members are encouraged to embrace the changing times and run with them, moving outside their comfort zones.”
The mission is to reach the local community and people beyond with the love of Christ proclaimed in the gospel, and demonstrated in mutual love and in service to others. By 2010 St Martin’s wants to be a joyful community of 500 followers of Jesus, marked by a commitment to regularly meet together, a biblical understanding, a desire for mission, participation in the community and respect and care for each other.

Ministry
Reaching out to local residents is central to the mission of the parish.  According to Mr Robinson “it requires a considerable degree of patience and perseverance, like trying to catch a 30 pound fish with a five pound line. It takes a long time to be accepted into the Killara community – it is a matter of waiting for people to respond and then working with them once they do,” he said.
St Martin’s gives people time and space to think and reflect, allowing them to explore the Christian faith in a non-threatening way within the context of a formal service. St Martin’s educates people in a rich Anglican tradition with the Holy Communion, the Christian calendar and robes, colour and history.
The church older’s members who encourage the younger Christians to grow in their faith. As Mr Robinson explains, the ministry “aims to bring the world into the church in prayer and preaching, so that members can go back into the world in Christ’s name, refreshed and renewed. It is all about empowering people to live as Christians where God has called them to be.”

Evangelism
There are frustrations in evangelism, a difficulty being the lack of a civic heart to Killara, which consists typically of large houses on large blocks, with no identifiable centre. Mr Robinson says this makes it hard for the church to minister to people in public domains. As a result St Martin’s itself aims to provide community in a dormitory suburb.
This frustration is balanced by exciting developments. There is a growing influx of young professional families within the area, who are starting to have their first children.
In the past three years there has been a large increase in the number of baptisms conducted. For Mr Robinson “baby time is bonding time” – these families regard St Martin’s as a safe place where their children can learn ‘Christian values’.
Parish Assistant Vicki Blackwell says the parish “has a lot of links to kids at various stages in their lives.”
The church is involved in Killara Primary School, with up to 12 Protestant scripture teachers and helpers teaching there every Thursday. In Killara High School, Protestant scripture is accepted as a legitimate presence, which is a blessing to the church as it seeks to share the gospel with students.