While doorknocking is nerve-racking at the best of times, St Saviour's, Redfern churchwarden Robert Freeman admits visiting Redfern's apartment blocks has taken extra courage.
Each of the six Housing Commission apartment blocks in Young Street, Redfern, which stand across the road from St Saviour's, is comprised of 16 to 20 floors, with 34 flats per floor. Each building is home to over 1000 people, many of whom are single parents, elderly, or recent migrants.
Yet Mr Freeman says the small doorknocking team who set out to offer residents free espresso coffee in front of the church on Sunday mornings and a chat if people were interested had some unusual, but largely positive experiences.
"With such a concentration of people there are obviously problems, yet we came across good humour, a willingness to listen, and courtesy (with the occasional exception)."
Walking through the graffitied corridors took gumption, Mr Freeman says.
"As the corridors were so narrow and dark it was possible to see the daylight being blocked through the spy hole when someone came to the door. I then loudly announced, "It's okay, it's only the Anglican Church!' which usually got the occupant to open up and have a chat through the security grill."
The Chinese gospel material and the Colin Buchanan children's DVD were well received. This gave the more "shy' members a chance to go along the second time around as "sherpas' carrying Connect09 material.
However for a small congregation struggling to care for people who walk in off the street with complex issues on a weekly basis, fellow warden Stuart Larkin admits the idea was born out of a feeling of "futility' about Connect09.
"We are small in number and just getting to church each week can be an effort when between us we are responsible for so many things" For all the goodwill of the Connect09 resources " which we never really looked at " we needed to make it real for us, we needed to own the process and get started."
At a meeting to brainstorm and pray, members generated 50 ideas to increase the church's profile and develop new connections, including doorknocking the Redfern apartments.
On his doorknocking trek, Mr Larkin says he met an "old guy with a classic lumberjack-style beard", a young Jewish mum, and a "Rastafarian with Bob Marley curtains", among many others.
However he said the experience has encouraged those who went along to go back.
"Did anyone come to Christ? No idea, but we have contact details for around 20 people who were at least happy for us to come back and say hello at another time," he says.
Was it worth it?
"Absolutely and we'll be out there again and again as we try to connect with God's people living next door to us because we didn't get to everyone in our 'hood."
