Listening to music in a graveyard might sound spooky to some, but close to 200 people turned out for St John's, Ashfield's Jazz in the Cemetery on Saturday night.
"We had absolutely perfect weather," says the Rev Andrew Katay. "It was balmy and beautiful and warm."
The event was the first the parish has held in the historic cemetery area, which contains the grave of First Fleeter John Limebourner.
Andrew believes three-quarters of the people attending the event were not members of St John's.
"We had outstanding contact with the local community," he says.
"People brought their chairs and flasks of coffee and cheese and wine and blankets and sat down."
The setting provided a good springboard to introduce the message of Easter, says Andrew.
"The mileage we made of the graveyard was that even a graveyard doesn't threaten our hope because it's a resurrection hope.
"The reason we held it before Easter was so that it would then feed into our Easter services and events."
The Steve Morrison Trio played on the night, and spoke about the Christian inspiration behind some of their songs, one of which was "Amazing Grace'.
The two-hour performance was free and began at the family-friendly time of 5pm.
"It's something that contributes to the life of the community," Andrew says.
"The music was outstanding and the mood was very relaxed and pleasant."
Andrew says the floodlit ghost gums behind the stage added to the atmosphere.
"The trees worked to form a natural amphitheatre."
St John's members had letterbox-dropped and handed out 6000 leaflets in the weeks beforehand, and the event was given publicity on the church signboard and website.
"It was probably the best response to advertising we've ever had," says Andrew.
As the church fronts onto two roads, Andrew says people take a short cut through the cemetery every day.
"My feeling is that people are not scared of the cemetery " I think people like the historical context and it's a well-known and well-loved property."
Andrew says St John's is already looking at dates for Jazz in the Cemetery for Easter next year.
The event was organised by St John's' music director Tom Barrett and pastoral ministry assistant, Andrew Errington.
