Fresh wind blows through Manly Salvos with new ministry spaces
BY LAUREN MARTIN
A small renovation to Manly Corps on Sydney’s Northern Beaches has opened up the ministry space and allowed for greater community connection.
Manly Salvos Mission Leader Malcolm Smith and Ministry Assistant Diana Aitken have created an open, welcoming space at the Manly Corps hall, encouraging community members to stay longer and invest more deeply in their relationships with each other and The Salvation Army.
Manly Salvos has long been a welcoming, safe space where people can have a meal, receive assistance, and connect with Jesus through small groups and a weekly chapel service. Over the summer, a big vision and a few small building works refreshed the location, and the locals love it!
Meals are now served and eaten at the front of the building, with an extra window to the street allowing passers-by to look in and see what’s happening. Extended hours now mean that, after breakfast, community members often stay at the centre until lunch. And, it’s in those ‘in-between’ moments that Malcolm and Diana say is where the Holy Spirit is moving.
“The new space has carpet, it’s a bit bigger, and it’s more inviting,” says Malcolm, with Diana adding: “You can have intimate conversations, but no one else needs to hear it … we’re also creating a book nook with comfy chairs.”
A Men’s Hope Group has started on Tuesdays between breakfast and lunch, and Diana is planning to start a Women’s Hope Group or something centred around craft. “We have had comments where people are saying that this place is their home, that we are their family.”
After a public relaunch of the space in early February, the ministry team at Manly have been inundated with people from the community wanting to connect and partner with them. “We have taken on 10 new volunteers this year, and we have more waiting to sign up,” says Mal.
Several community groups want to partner with The Salvation Army and connect with the community in the new space – including a group that can provide light exercise, which Malcolm and Diana say will be perfect for their community members.
“I’m excited about really working on connecting with people,” says Malcolm about the future. “That one-on-one connection and making a spiritual difference in people’s lives.”
Another change that Malcolm and Diana have introduced is moving the weekly chapel service from Sunday nights to Thursday nights, and running it as a ‘café-style’ church. “It’s very informal,” says Malcolm. “We have a basic structure, a talk and a discussion time. We are doing the theme, ‘Is God real?’ and getting great engagement!”
Last year, a visitor to the chapel service approached Diana after the service. He said that during the service, he had a vision of a crack getting wider and wider and water rushing through it. “We do have a crack in our wall,” says Diana. “He was saying, ‘There’s a crack happening, and it’s going to get wider, and the living water of the Holy Spirit is going to rush through here’.
“He must have been on to something because it feels a bit like that right now – God is moving, and we’re just trying to keep up!”
