Many Sydneysiders will know the city's "Little Italy' area, centred on famous Norton St in Leichhardt. What's not so well known is that right next door, in the suburb of Petersham, lies Sydney's own "Little Portugal' - and one Anglican parish has launched a new initiative to reach this community.
While the team at All Saints', Petersham has long seen this community growing around them, a new ministry initiative is now bringing the gospel to this unique part of Sydney.
Stuart Broughton, a returned CMS (UK) and SAMS missionary to Portugal, has joined the team at All Saints' with the aim of reaching the thousands of Portuguese living in and around Petersham.
Antony Barraclough, Senior Minister at All Saints', said the church had been "praying like mad' for years that God would open up a Portuguese ministry " then Stuart offered his services for just that purpose.
"Here is a mission field we have not reached, and here is a person with the gifts, the language skills, the experience and the understanding of the culture," Antony says.
Following World War 2, many Italian immigrants to Australia moved into Leichhardt, while most Portuguese moved into Petersham. "This is "little Portugal'," says Antony. "In the decades since then, we haven't done anything specifically to reach these people, as far as I can tell by looking through the records.
"Up until now, we've failed them."
Since coming on board in October 2006, Stuart's initial aim has been to forge links with the community " making contact with people, learning more of the local sub-culture, and extending hospitality to those he meets.
Already there have been some promising signs. Soon after he started, Stuart visited the local Portuguese radio station to investigate possibilities. Ten minutes after arriving, he was on the air for 15 minutes, and was even able to pray for the Portuguese community on air.
However, Stuart says the ministry will require patience and perseverance. "Many of the Portuguese living in the Petersham area are third generation. They have had minimal contact with the church, and there are very few who'd know anything about the local churches," he says.
"Typically [Portuguese] are very religious, but also very superstitious. Many would say they are Roman Catholic but would not go to church."
One initial aim is to start a Bible study group, while a long-term goal is to see a fully-fledged Portuguese congregation meeting together. In the meantime, the next step is training a small group of people from All Saints'. "People are interested in outreach to the Portuguese community, but they need to learn the language, the culture and the pitfalls," Stuart says.
Antony hopes these "Introduction to Portugal' seminars will help establish the ministry. "We hope Stuart will initiate, plan and train us as much as possible, and then under God it will have a long-term future."
