Marge and David Briggs are veterans of the 1959 Billy Graham crusade, with over 50 years of Christian service behind them.
They are also two of the first residents of Sydney's newest Anglican Retirement Village " Woolooware Shores " and are keen to make their new home a hub for ministry.
The long-serving members of St Clement's, Jannali have ministered for more than 55 years in their local parish.
So the elderly couple are delighted that they will still be actively involved in ministry to the Sutherland Shire under a new venture linking parishes with Anglican Retirement Villages (ARV).
After two years of planning, seniors’ ministry staff from St Philip's Caringbah have been given funding and resources by ARV to develop church services and Bible studies within the village.
Several other local Anglican churches are also active the village, including St Luke's, Miranda and St Mark's, South Hurstville.
Alongside church and Bible studies, social occasions for the residents will be important in building a sense of community and creating Christian fellowship, Mr Briggs says.
"There are many ways of spreading the gospel, and one of them is to do it through leisure activities," he says.
Mrs Briggs agrees that meeting their new neighbours is a key part of building relationships.
"We'd just like to get to know people," she says.
Ministry team hard at work
Pastoral Care Worker Janice Ackland (pictured) and Chaplain Kevin Engel from St Philip's are gradually getting to know everyone in the facility since it opened in March.
They are providing pastoral oversight and spiritual care to residents and staff at the new village, visiting every resident and providing them with a Bible from ARV and welcome pack from St Philip's.
Sixty three people have moved into the independent living part of the village while 23 have moved into the residential aged care section.
It will eventually house 119 high and low care beds in its residential aged care facility as well as 230 independent living units.
Onsite facilities include a wellness centre, indoor pool, gymnasium, chapel, café and library.
"This is a [part of a] wider vision now to really bring the community into the villages," says Janice, who has been involved in senior's ministry at Caringbah for the past 14 years.
"It's a community in itself " it has so many wonderful attributes. It's not that you're here on your own, doing your own thing."
The plan is to start weekly services on Sunday afternoons at the village involving volunteers from the church at Caringbah.
The first service was held at Easter and devotional Bible studies will be held every fortnight.
"Our aim is to work together with the other churches," says Janice.
"People will continue to go to their own churches and also be involved at church here " they're mission-minded people.
"We're very happy to be involved in any of the social occasions to grow that sense of Christian community and work as a team alongside ARV."
Seniors’ ministry has been integral to the life of the parish of Caringbah for some years and village residents have been invited to join in the church's weekly activities.
Further opportunities for integration and interaction are expected as the village develops as ARV seeks to help churches develop their ministry to seniors.
Parishes with which ARV is already actively working include Cambridge Park, Castle Hill, Dapto, Darlinghurst, Forestville, Gordon, Northmead, South Hurstville and Narrabeen.
It continues to employ its own team of specialist chaplains at its largest site " Castle Hill.
"While it is hoped that this arrangement will ensure that the spiritual needs of the residents of Woolooware Shores are met in a comprehensive way, the ultimate goal for both the parish and ARV is the integration of the church's existing seniors ministry with the work at the village to form a parish wide seniors ministry," says Ross Pendlebury, ARV's Corporate and Mission manager.
"Whilst the focus is seeking to demonstrate Christ's love through the provision of practical care and assistance to older people, as an arm of the church's ministry, ARV is conscious of the need to ensure its work is also making a contribution to the achievement of the Diocesan Mission," Mr Pendlebury says.
"Of particular importance to ARV in the context of mission is the forging of partnerships with the local churches in parishes where ARV has a presence."
