Village Church Annandale has opened up its land to the community, in a move that’s been welcomed by members of the parish, government and locals alike.
Called the “Village Green”, the new area was created by knocking down the entire wall separating the church property from the footpath – adding timber seating that wraps around existing trees, plus new grass and plants. This connects naturally to public seating that was already in place, protected from the road by a low hedge.
“I think the walls we had there before created a bit of a barrier between our church property and the community space, but now there’s just a natural flow from the street onto the church premises,” says Village Church’s mission pastor, Jessica Brouwer.
“The changes were simple, but the brick walls created a physical and visual barrier… Now it doesn’t feel like people are crossing a boundary. It just makes the step into church easier.”
Miss Brouwer is Village’s staff member responsible for the Green and its use, and is enthusiastic about the opportunities it presents for enhanced relationships.
“You know how there are people in your community that you walk past all the time?” she asks. “When you walk past someone they’re on their way somewhere else, so to try and get them to stop and talk can be kind of scary. But if they’re sitting there on your grass you have more of a liberty to walk up and say, ‘Hi, I go to church here, what are you up to today?’ in a way that you can’t when you’re just walking past them on the street.
“Now when I see them in the street they know my name and I can say hello!”
Miss Brouwer also praises the support the parish has received from local and state branches of government – both of which supported the changes financially and in other ways.
At the official opening of the Village Green last month, local mayor Darcy Byrne and State MP for Balmain Jamie Parker were both in attendance and spoke enthusiastically about the project and the church.
Said Mr Parker: “When this project first came before me… one of the things that I loved about it was the generosity of it. It’s such a generous proposal to say, ‘We want to open up our space to the public. We want to make sure that we connect not only with people in here with our message of faith, but also we connect with people in the location around our church’”.
Mr Byrne agreed, noting how focused Village Church was on the community around it and saying he “wasn’t surprised at all” that the parish would come up with such an inclusive project when it already had outreach through the arts, children’s services and helping local disadvantaged people.
“I want to thank you, the church community, for thinking not just of yourselves but of how we can make Annandale and the whole of the inner west a better place,” he said.
Miss Brouwer says that, in simple terms, the creation of the Village Green has “made us more visible and transparent, so now our church members come out the front where the community can see us.”
