Queen's Birthday medal recipient and Kairos Australia co-founder, John Fry remembers clearly the moment of truth that led him to Villawood Detention Centre seven years ago.
Mr Fry, a retiree and member of St John's, Beecroft says he was reflecting on the apostle Peter’s visit to Cornelius in the book of Acts in June 2001 when he was challenged about his own attitude to new arrivals in Australia.
Currently a champion of the rights of refugees, Mr Fry says humbly that back then, "I was covertly racist, as a product of my upbringing and I was disturbed by my attitude”.
At the time, Mr Fry was heavily involved in prison ministry, having been part of the small group that founded Kairos Prison Ministry Australia in 1995.
However this course started to change two months later when the Tampa incident became the catalyst that turned the Acts "rebuke' to action.
"I was absolutely shocked and appalled by [the Tampa crisis], and I thought, "I've got to do something'," he says. "A few days later I was in Villawood."
Seven years on, he has received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his service to the community through church organisations, and social justice initiatives to assist prisoners and detainees, an honour which he says "came as a total surprise".
Mr Fry says the “highlight” of every week for the past seven years has been visiting detainees in Villawood, as part of a “demanding” schedule which has also included advocacy and helping detainees with their visa applications.
Eighteen months ago, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship asked Mr Fry to run a program for detainees to teach them about different aspects of life in Australia.
"The aim is to make life less unenjoyable for them while they're locked up and prepare them for life in Australia if they get their visas," he explains.
How ministry tables turned
Mr Fry had been involved in prison ministry for 18 years: first as a member of Prison Fellowship, and later with Kairos, a ministry which in 10 years allowed him to see "hundreds of lives turned around through the love of God and his forgiveness".
Mr Fry, who had initially visited Villawood Detention Centre with St Paul's, Carlingford lay minister Stewart Binns years before he started ministry there, says the needs of those detained in the centre so weighed on his heart that he "could not shake the dust off" when he went home.
"I loved [prison ministry] so much that I found it very difficult to withdraw, but as my other work [visiting Villawood Detention Centre with Frontiers Australia] intensified, it became a logical thing to do," he says.
Mr Fry soon became friends with Amir Mesrinejad, a former Iranian detainee who converted to Christianity in Villawood and is now studying at Moore College.
He and Mr Mesrinejad now run Neighbours and Friends, a ministry "under the broad umbrella of St Paul's, Carlingford" which helps new arrivals with employment and other needs.
Mr Fry's long list of service achievements includes being chairman of Frontiers Australia - part of an international Christian organisation making contact with and befriending Muslims " since 1998.
He was also a member of the Coalition for the Protection of Asylum Seekers established in 2002, which reported to the Archbishop of Sydney.
Asserting that he continues to see detainees converted through the ministry at Villawood, he says knowing the danger many would face if they were to be deported spurs him on to help them with their visa applications.
He adds that 90 per cent of the detainees he sees are Christians themselves, and 75 per cent are Chinese Christians, Falun Gong members or political dissidents.
While the Queen's Birthday Honours awards are among the highest in the country for achievement and service, Mr Fry maintains his ministry is still performed to a single heavenly audience.
"At the end of the day, as a Christian I seek to please only one person " the Lord " so that keeps everything in perspective," he says.
Mr Fry has also been commended for teaching Scripture at Beecroft Public School and Cheltenham Girls' High School since 1990.
Former PM, Woolworths chief honoured.
Former Australian prime minister, the Hon John Howard, who attends Christ Church Lavender Bay, was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for his service to the Australian parliament as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
The award also honoured Mr Howard's contributions to economic and social policy reform, promoting Australia's interests abroad, and developing philanthropic links between the business sector and charitable organisations.
Former head of Woolworths and St Clement's, Mosman member, Roger Corbett was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for his leadership in business through executive roles in the retail sector and organisations, as well as in the community.
As well as his roles on the Salvation Army Board and on Outback Stores' Board of Directors, Mr Corbett has been Chairman of the Council and Member of the Executive at Shore School (Sydney Church of England Grammar School) since 1998.
Also on the honours list was Dr Roderic Kefford, Headmaster of Barker College since 1996.
Dr Kefford was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his service to primary and secondary education through administrative and teaching roles at Wesley College in Perth, as well as Hornsby's Barker College.
James Graham, Chairman of the council of Abbotsleigh Anglican School from 1993 to 1999 was awarded a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for his service to business.
A Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) was also granted to Dapto Anglican Church member Mary Johnstone for service to the Illawarra community, and the Rev Dr Raymond Williamson, senior assistant minister at St Luke's Mosman for his service to the promotion of ecumenism and community welfare.
