St Barnabas Church - How Churches Are Adapting to Changing Community Needs

So, you might be thinking, a church, really? Now we want to make it clear that we don’t think organised religion is perfect, but when it comes to building and supporting the wider community, there is a lot we can learn. It is true that over the last few decades the Churches place in the wider community has changed dramatically and many people look elsewhere to find community. We wanted to find out how churches are listening and adapting to the changing needs of the community and what we can all learn from that. That’s why we went to meet Erica Hamence at Saint Barnabas Anglican Church which in true Aussie form it’s more commonly known as Barneys.

Whether they are doing charity work, assisting schools, or simply functioning as local place of worship, Barneys has a strong focus on loving and caring for people. With their numerous outreach and support programs like the 'Love Your Neighbour' initiative, Barneys aims to "meet people where they are at”, by engaging with, and practically supporting those who are most vulnerable. In saying all that, what struck us most about this conversation was that Barneys has placed an emphasis on listening. Erica explains that they are not blind to the realities of those who have felt hurt by the church as a whole but are instead seeking to be worthy of trust, first by acknowledging and listening rather than seeking out trust as part of some kind of PR campaign. This made for a very interesting conversation about the significance of trust in community!