I am back in NZ after taking part in my friend's funeral. One of the parts of his life that we celebrated was a ministry he had in the Kensington area of Melbourne. This area had a lot of high rise flats in it and people with a lot of problems. Ian and his wife Curly set up the "Kensington Christian Network". It was a pioneering ministry.
They had a house in the Kensington area close to where the flats were. They moved there on a salary that was the same as they would have got on an unemployment benefit, Ian did not want to be living on more than the people he was ministering to were on. He worked in the community on a number of projects, networking with various agencies in the area. There were too many to mention here. But their house operated virtually as an open home, there were always people staying there and always extra people there for tea. Their house seemed to have expanding walls, it was mind blowing, gutsy and generous ministry. At the memorial service I recalled being given a baby to feed, it's mother was having difficulties and was at Ian & Curly's for support. There was another woman who sat down beside me and talked for a while. She was partly intoxicated, and leaned across me to play with the baby. She smelt so bad that my nose twitched involuntarily. Yet Ian, and Curly showed nothing but love, friendship and respect for this lady and the various people who came into their lives. As Ian and Curly related to them they did so with much laughter, joy and just one on one connection. Their were heaps of people at the service who attested to the impact of the Corlett's love on their lives.
I got to thinking about this. There are people who will do "stuff" for poor people. That is all well and good. But there is a big difference between doing stuff for people and doing it with genuine friendship and respect. I have found this with Christmas dinner volunteers. Some want to come and dish out food to the poor etc. But when we invite them to eat with them, they say, "Oh no I don't want to do that!" I recall asking Curly while at Kensington how she managed, and her reply then was, "I remember that these are people who Jesus loves, just as he loves me." It was said of Ian that he had the ability to see the treasure in the people others would consign to the scrap heap of life. I try to exercise this sort of genuine friendship in our drop-in. As I headed out to Australia last Friday, I called at the drop-in on the way to the air port. I was quite moved by the friendship and warmth extended to me in my loss. These people treated me as a friend. Each one has a precious personality and something to treasure and celebrate. My task is to see that, enjoy that and respect and value them as a person. If I do that I am representing God to them. Basic respect is so important, affirming and will lift people up.
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